Now here is another one of those bits of street furniture we all took for granted.
There was a time when the cigarette machine could be found almost everywhere.
But now I doubt that there are many left.
So much so that recently I was asked whether I could remember the machine that stood opposite the Seymour, and while the answer was yes I couldn’t offer up a date for its disappearance.
And I suppose that is the point about street furniture.
They are so part of our everyday lives and so taken for granted that we no longer see them let own clock when they vanish.
I don’t know when this one in Deal High Street was abandoned or why but given that neither of the properties on either side is now a shop I am guessing it will be a long time ago.
Today of course you can still come across and use vending machines but they are big, brash and usually dispense products which cost an arm and a leg.
Look closely and you can pick out that the charge for a packet of cigarettes was 30p compared to £9 today.
All of which may help date our machine as well as offering up a lesson on the price of things.
So as a way of celebrating their passing the challenge is to find and display a vending machine near you.
There are no prizes save the gratification of knowing you will have shared your vending machine with the world.
Location; Deal Kent
Picture; cigarette vending machine, 2016, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick
So much so that recently I was asked whether I could remember the machine that stood opposite the Seymour, and while the answer was yes I couldn’t offer up a date for its disappearance.
And I suppose that is the point about street furniture.
They are so part of our everyday lives and so taken for granted that we no longer see them let own clock when they vanish.
I don’t know when this one in Deal High Street was abandoned or why but given that neither of the properties on either side is now a shop I am guessing it will be a long time ago.
Today of course you can still come across and use vending machines but they are big, brash and usually dispense products which cost an arm and a leg.
All of which may help date our machine as well as offering up a lesson on the price of things.
So as a way of celebrating their passing the challenge is to find and display a vending machine near you.
There are no prizes save the gratification of knowing you will have shared your vending machine with the world.
Location; Deal Kent
Picture; cigarette vending machine, 2016, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick
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