Discovering Southwold

TO LISTEN TO JANET GERSHLICK CLICK ON THE LINK AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE >>

The beach huts in Southwold are very special to many people.  They’ve got a huge amount of history and even the names are well chosen, with lots of stories behind them. 

For many people they are just a place to simply be.  To sit, have a cup of tea, watch the people on the prom go by and then try and be entertaining as people always peer into the beach huts and ask questions of beach hut owners. 

Many people have them in their families for generations and hoping to hold onto them for future generations.  They are a big part of Southwold and many people believe that they ARE Southwold. 

They’re colourful and they sit there and they just love basking in the sun, as do the owners.

Auntie Bong Bong

My beach hut is called Auntie Bong Bong and although it seemed a very good idea at the time there is some embarrassment because always people stop and ask….

Basically, I’ve got a nephew called Ben and when he was four he decided that I was exactly an Auntie Bong Bong in the family and that’s who I am in my family and because my beach hut is so much a family beach hut, then that’s what I call it.

Therefore I’m always tormented by people asking about it and enjoying the history and the funny name.

JANET GERSHLICK HAS WRITTEN BOOKS ON THE SOUTHWOLD BEACH HUTS; THE STORIES BEHIND THE NAMES ON THE SOUTHWOLD BENCHES; AND THE PLAQUES ON SOUTHWOLD PIER.  ALL THE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SOUTHWOLD TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE AND OTHER LOCAL OUTLETS.