A Coastline customer has lived in the same Camborne property for a remarkable 65 years.
Stanley Nicholas, aged 78, can recall the day his family of five finally moved out of their one-bedroom house with a leaky roof.
He said: “We went for a day at the beach in St Ives on Saturday, July 14, 1960, but mother couldn’t rest because she knew we were picking up the keys on the Monday, so we came home and started packing.
“She had been on the housing waiting list for 25 years – she was so excited to move in - she even asked our next-door neighbour in Albert Place to push a wheelbarrow of our belongings to the new house in Pengwarras Road.”
The property was originally owned by Camborne-Redruth Urban District Council, before being taken over by Kerrier District Council and then Coastline Housing in 1998.
According to the most recent census in 2021, Stanley is the only resident still living in Pengwarras Road, from those who were there in the 1960s. He originally lived in the property with his mother, stepfather and two sisters.
He fondly recalls “lots of lovely shops” in Camborne such as Liptons, Wimpy Bar and Knees Arcade, where he and a friend would regularly call in to buy a Dinky car after school.
Stanley spent 23 years working in Wesley Street for mining engineer Holman Brothers, which later closed in 2003 and was redeveloped as a Tesco store.
Besides his 40-hour weeks doing nightshifts at Holman’s, he spent a whopping 48 hours a week working voluntarily at Camborne Skating Rink and amusement arcade, before it became much-loved nightclub the Berkeley Centre in 1983.
During an 18-month period when he was unemployed, he helped to deliver Meals on Wheels, before becoming a taxi driver in Camborne and Redruth shortly before his 40th birthday. He only recently retired after 38 years.
During the 1970s Stanley and his second wife won numerous medals for ballroom and sequence dancing and even had their name up in lights at Winter Gardens Blackpool, after winning one prestigious competition.
Success also came at events in Butlins, Minehead, where the couple’s fleet feet won them enough vouchers to pay for future breaks at the holiday park for the next seven years!
“I lost my mum in 2017 and my third wife passed away in 2022, but I’m still going on okay. I don’t dance anymore, but I do enjoy trainspotting, and I quite often travel on trains to see steam engines,” added Stanley, who enjoys regular lunches with friends at Camborne Conservative Club.
Stanley’s sisters live in Polperro and Rosemellin respectively. He also has a daughter who lives in a Coastline property near Camborne School.
Stanley has been engaged for the past three years to Jean, who lives in Redruth. They originally met (and shared a first kiss!) in Camborne just before Christmas 1964. Some 61 years later they are now delighted to be together once more.
Do you know of anyone who has lived in a Coastline property for a long time? We’d love to hear from customers who have done a stint like Stanley!
Email matt.dixon@coastlinehousing.co.uk