We weren't distracted by smartphones – and trying to get on the internet with a dial-up modem was more trouble than it was worth.
Staff at the Five Pointed Star pub in West Malling dressed up as the Spice Girls for Comic Relief in March 1999Schoolchildren gave the Queen a warm welcome to Ramsgate in July 1993, as Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh toured east KentWoolworths can be seen on the right of this picture of Gillingham High Street, taken on January 14, 1993. The building is now a Poundland
If we wanted to go shopping, we'd have to actually leave the house and head to the high street.
As for work, there wasn't much hope of doing that from home.
So, as pictures from our archives show, our town centres in the 90s were often bustling.
It was also a decade where the county was visited by several famous faces.
From Elton John and Pavarotti, to Martine McCutcheon and Monica Lewinsky, it seems celebrities couldn't keep away.
Pavarotti pictured during his visit to Leeds Castle in August 1993Monica Lewinsky attends a book-signing at Bluewater in 1999
To see who else came to town in the 90s – and perhaps even spot yourself – join us on a leisurely stroll down memory lane with the help of these classic pictures...
1990
The year began with Margaret Thatcher still in power and England hopeful of lifting the World Cup. Yet it would all end in tears.
In Kent, history was made on December 1, 1990, when construction workers drilled through the final wall of rock to join the two halves of the Channel Tunnel and link Britain to France.
Jubilant workers celebrate as the huge boring machine used to build the Channel Tunnel ground its way through the last 300mm of chalk at Holywell shaft near Folkestone in 1990.Shoppers walking through a crammed Canterbury city centre in November 1990Runners set off on the Maidstone Marathon in 1990. The first of these events was held in 1983 and the last race was in 1993High Street, Gravesend, on October 31, 1990. Broomfields, seen on the right of this picture next to the entrance to the Thamesgate shopping centre in Gravesend, is now a Greggs. Further down, on the other side of the entrance, was an Our PriceSheerness High Street was described as "overflowing with eating houses" in April 1990. The Neptune Cafe is believed to have been the longest-running business of its type on SheppeyThe First World War tank in St George's Square, Ashford, in 1990. The Mark IV tank, No 245, was given to the town in August 1919, recognising the money its residents donated to Britain's war effort. Since being installed its interior was was gutted to make way for an electricity sub-stationChatham High Street pictured in 1990Rochester High Street in 1990 with the Gordon Hotel on the right of the photograph
The UK ended the year with John Major as Prime Minister and Cliff Richard at number one with Saviour's Day.
1991
On October 30, 1991, the Queen opened the Dartford Crossing.
This was also the year which saw the launch of the Darling Buds of May TV series, filmed in and around the villages of Pluckley and Little Chart.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in Dartford is opened by Her Majesty on October 30, 1991The Darling Buds of May was filmed in and around the village of Pluckley in the early 1990s. This picture of the Larkin brood with David Jason as Pop and Pam Ferris as Ma was taken on April 4, 1991Ann Widdecombe, MP for Maidstone, with pupils of Oldborough Manor School on June 14, 1991Easter Egg race at Leeds Castle on April 5, 1991Christmas shoppers in Week Street, Maidstone, in 1991Inside Atomics nightclub, which opened in Maidstone in 1991. The hugely popular venue in Hart Street closed after 11 years and the building was eventually converted into apartments. Picture: Mick ClarkSigning on at the Job Centre in Chatham in 1991The interior of Highley Reeves jewellery shop in Chatham High Street in April 1991The Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham in August 1991. A Covid vaccine hub was recently set up on the first floor of the buildingThe Nationwide Anglia Building Society in Watling Street, Gillingham, on July 31, 1991. The building is now home to Medway Park Veterinary CentreCurrys store in High Street, Gillingham, on August 7, 1991The Ritzy nightclub (formerly Joanna's) in Canterbury Street, Gillingham, on December 6, 1991. It later became MooMoo Clubrooms, which closed in late 2019Gravesend town centre pictured in 1991A visit by Prince Charles to Brogdale Fruit Farm in Faversham in 1991Revellers at an open-air rock concert held at Broome Park, Canterbury, in May 1991. Danni Minogue, Gerry Marsden (from Gerry and the Pacemakers) and Sinitta were among those performingMcDonald's on the corner of St George's Street, Canterbury, on May 16, 1991. The site is now occupied by FenwickThe Leopard's Head pub in Military Road can be seen in the background of this photo taken in Canterbury in September 1991. That building is now home to a Domino's PizzaIn July 1991, the Princess Royal and Dover District Council chairman Paul Watkins came face to face with Corporal Crabbe and Sid Seagull, alias South-Kent College student Myles Kearney when she opened the White Cliff's Experience at Dover
In July, Princess Anne launched the White Cliffs Experience in Dover. The attraction closed eight years later as it fell short of bringing in the anticipated 300,000 visitors a year bosses had hoped for.
1992
Royalty returned to Kent in 1992, with thousands turning out to get a glimpse of Princess Diana.
She was in Tunbridge Wells for the opening of the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre.
In October 1992, thousands of well-wishers lined the streets and packed into the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre in Tunbridge Wells to catch a glimpse of Princess Diana who unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of the £100m developmentRon and Linda Russell behind the bar at the Walnut Tree public house in Yalding in 1992. The historic pub, built in 1492, has now reopened in line with the latest government guidelinesInside the Swallows swimming pool in Sittingbourne in March 1992Sandancers in Central Parade, Herne Bay, on August 27, 1992. An amusement arcade still stands at this seafront locationThe new Marks and Spencer store all ready to open in March 1992 at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, GillinghamInside the restaurant at the Farthing Corner service area, Gillingham, on October 26, 1992. The site on the M2 is now managed by MotoPeter Cushing at Cushing's View, Whitstable, on June 23, 1992. The town's Wetherspoon pub is named after the legendary hammer horror actorMargaret Thatcher at the opening of the Kent Messenger's new press complex in Larkfield in June 1992Tides swimming centre - opened in Deal by Barbara Windsor in 1988 - is pictured here on January 7, 1992Fantasea Water Park was a popular attraction in Dartford until its closure in 1992The fountain in Dover's Market Square in 1992Overlooking Folkestone harbour and the Rotunda funfair on April 3, 1992. The Rotunda closed in 2003 - and now 1,000 homes are being built along the seafront by Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company, run by former Saga Group chair Sir Roger De HaanCrowds packed along the Leas in Folkestone in 1992 for the Shepway Air FestivalCheryl Milstead was delighted to see Gary Numan at Lydd Airport for the air festival
This was also the year many retailers started withdrawing vinyl records from their stock, due to the rising popularity of cassettes and CDs.
And while people remember the 90s as the decade of Blur and Oasis, let's not forget Stars, by Simply Red, was the best-selling album in both 1991 and 1992.
Driver Graham Barnes had drunk the equivalent of a bottle of vodka when his train derailed at high speed, coming into the station shortly after 2am, causing almost £2million in damage.
A freight train demolished Maidstone East station in 1993The Duke of York relaxed in the crowds watching the 1993 Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's, Sandwich, in July 1993. It was won that year by Greg NormanThe Princess of Wales was an instant hit with officers and men of her namesake regiment when she paid her first visit to Howe Barracks, Canterbury, in June 1993. She spoke of her pride at standing before the regiment as its Colonel-in-Chief and joked: 'It has to said that for a 31-year-old woman to have 2,500 men under her command is quite a feat."Flooding in Yalding in 1993Traffic congestion building up in Strood High Street in February, 1993Sheerness promenade in 1993Morris dancers in Whitstable in 1993Train rides along Margate beach in 1993Herne Bay seafront in October 1993Youngsters having fun at Cygnet Leisure Centre in Gravesend in 1993Dover Hoverport pictured on April 30, 1993. The hovercraft ran between Dover and Calais from 1981 to 2005. It closed after years of suffering losses due to tough competition from the Channel Tunnel. A Folkestone to Boulogne service also ran from 1993 to 2000A fire broke out at Tesco in Grove Green, Maidstone, in July 1993. Kent Fire Brigade's senior divisional officer, Peter May, said he had never seen such a fast spread of fire in his 27 years of serviceThe opening ceremony of the Deal Memorial Bandstand on May 2, 1993
On May 2, 1993, the opening concert was held at Deal Memorial Bandstand, built to commemorate the 11 marines killed in the Provisional IRA bombing of the Royal Marines Barracks in 1989.
1994
The Tour De France came to Kent in 1994.
The race drew three million spectators, with its route running through Dover, Folkestone, Canterbury, Ashford and Tunbridge Wells, on its way to a finishing point in Brighton.
Le Tour racing past the Westgate Towers in Canterbury in 1994People lined the streets in Canterbury to wave the cyclists on in 1994The Queen came to Folkestone in February 1994 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regiment of which she is Colonel-in-Chief. She visited the 650 soldiers at Shorncliffe Barrracks and started a sponsored cycle ride by eight soldiers to Stirling. She is pictured enjoying a laugh with one of the cyclistsBelly dancers at Maidstone carnival in 1994Beauty queens at Maidstone River Festival in 1994Oyster fishermen in Whitstable in 1994Archaeological dig at the construction of the new Thanet Way in 1994Having a knees-up at the Cockney Festival on Margate seafront in 1994Youngsters jumping for joy at busy Broadstairs beach in 1994Chatham High Street in 1994. InShops on the left of the picture later became the Trafalgar Centre, which has been empty for several years
The year also saw the Channel Tunnel officially open, Tony Blair become Labour leader and Lidl open its first stores in Britain.
The three biggest selling songs of the year – which have all since become 90s' classics – were Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet, Saturday Night by Whigfield and Stay Another Day by East 17.
1995
This was the year Paul Scally began his long reign as chairman of Gillingham FC, overseeing an upgrade of Priestfield Stadium in the second half of the decade.
The Queen Mother paid a visit to Dover – and later that year, aged 95, is believed to have become the oldest patient to have a hip replacement.
Nicola Clark, 10, presented the Queen Mother with a posy when she visited Sunny Corner sheltered housing scheme for the elderly at Aylcliffe, Dover, in July 1995Crowds at Gillingham Football in 1995. Three of the four stands at Priestfield were demolished and rebuilt in the second half of the decadeProtesters at the construction of the New Thanet Way in 1995. The A299 was upgraded between 1989 and 1997 to dual carriageway for almost its entire lengthInside the Royal Star Arcade in Maidstone in 1995. Once the home of Maidstone’s main hostelry, in 1989 the site was converted into an indoor shopping centreRescue effort after a killer whale washed up on the beach at Pegwell Bay in 1995. Sadly, the orca, nicknamed Peggy, was too weak to breathe properly and had to be put downChatham High Street in 1995The Britannia pub in Townwall Street, Dover, in 1995. It closed in 2008 and by 2011 had been demolishedCounty Square shopping centre in Ashford in 1995The Buttermarket in Canterbury in 1995A wedding day trip on the River Stour in Canterbury in 1995Ricemans department store and the old McDonald's in Canterbury in 1995
By the end of the year, a whopping 1% of the UK population (600,000 people) had access to the internet.
1996
Kent's links with the continent took a giant leap forward in February 1996 with the opening of the £100m Ashford International Station.
It allowed passengers for the first time to take a train direct to Paris or Brussels and arrive within a couple of hours.
The Duke of Kent travelled to Ashford International by train from London with Transport Secretary Sir George Young for the opening ceremony. Customer care worker Maria Lawrence is pictured explaining to the Duke how to book a ticketPrince Charles opened Thanet's hospital, names after his grandmother, the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, in June 1996. Signed portraits of both the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales have been given pride of place in the entrance hall. The Prince is seen here with physiotherapy patient Florence Hobson, 77, from BroadstairsThe Royal Marines staff band marched through Deal for the last time in 1996Martine McCutcheon - who starred as Tiffany in Eastenders - at the rehearsal of Cinderella for the Marlowe Theatre in December 1996Shoppers stroll past Superdrug and Woolworths in Week Street, Maidstone, in 1996. Woolworths is now occupied by a Poundland and a Deichmann storeBank Street, Maidstone, in 1996. The Loder & Paynes site was more recently occupied by Gallery nightclubInside the Trebor sweets factory in St Peter's Street, Maidstone, in 1996. It shut four years later and was demolished to make way for housingFancy dress for Christmas in Maidstone in 1996Princess Anne at the opening ceremony of the Medway Tunnel, linking Strood with Chatham, on June 12, 1996Chatham High Street in 1996Inside the Pentagon shopping precinct in Chatham in 1996Families enjoying the sun at Leysdown Beach in 1996The landlord and his wife at the Kings Head pub in Grafty Green, near Maidstone, in 1996St Margaret's Street, Canterbury, in 1996. The Amber Glow shop has since become Angel’s body piercing studio, while the premises next door is now occupied by L’Occitane boutique. The bouquets on the right of the picture were being sold by Interflora Flowers World Wide which has since been replaced by Marlowe Florists.Behind the bar at The Harrow Inn in Lidsing near Gillingham in 1996Paul Scally, right, celebrating at Priestfield in 1996 as Gillingham gained promotion from the old Division Three (now League Two)
While football fever gripped the country as England hosted Euro 96, there were also celebrations when Gillingham, then managed by Tony Pulis, gained promotion from the old Division Three.
1997
The year will always be marked with sadness in the minds of so many, following the death of Princess Diana on August 31.
The tragedy sparked an outpouring of grief and floral tributes were laid across the county.
Tributes were left across Kent to remember Princess Diana following her tragic death in 1997More flowers for Princess Diana, left outside Rochester Cathedral in 1997Simon and Lisa Swaine, landlords of The Angel in Rainham on March 10, 1997Making a splash on The Log Run at Dreamland in Margate in 1997Busy Chatham High Street in 1997Tony McCarthy serving the drinks in The Britannia, Gillingham, in 1997Market stalls in Gillingham High Street in 1997Excalibur Nightclub in Gillingham in 1997. The Brompton Road site is now making way for a potential development which would see 57 flats built across a four- and five-storey block.Amadeus nightclub opened in Rochester in 1997. It was later renamed Passion and sadly closed for good in the summer of 2011. It is now a Hollywood Bowl.Labour swept to victory in the 1997 General Election - but Tory MP Ann Widdecombe kept her seat in Maidstone and The Weald
And 1997 will also be remembered for the earthquake in British politics caused by New Labour.
Tony Blair's landslide victory left his party with a majority of 179 in the Commons.
In Kent, Labour MPs secured eight out of 17 seats. Today, the party has just one, held by Rosie Duffield in Canterbury.
1998
Construction on major projects was underway in 1998.
While work was beginning on the Millenium Dome in Greenwich, Bluewater in Dartford was nearing completion.
Coin Castle in Leysdown in 1998JJ's nightclub in Sittingbourne in 1998. The venue was located on the corner of the High Street and Bell Street. Picture: Sam JacobsRamsgate harbour pictured in 1998Bob Marshall-Andrews, MP for Medway, and his wife slept in a box made in the shape of the Houses of Parliament in 1998Fire ripped through the old Gala bingo building in Chatham High Street on September 30, 1998Street Theatre Day in Canterbury in 1998
This was also the year when the first DVDs were sold in the UK.
1999
We are now at the final stop on our journey through the 1990s.
And who better to sing us out than Elton John? He performed for three nights in September at Leeds Castle as part of a solo tour spanning North America and Europe.
Elton John in concert at Leeds Castle in 1999Fans applaud as Elton John sings Your SongA Seafrance ship can be seen in this picture overlooking the Port of Dover in 1999. The French company began operations in Dover in 1996 and ran services across the Channel before going into liquidation in 2012One of the stalls at Ashford market in 1999The swimming pool at Larkfield leisure Centre in 1999The George and Dragon pub in Headcorn High Street in 1999The multi-storey car park in Canterbury in 1999 before the arrival of Whitefriars. Picture: Martyn BarrYoungsters are entertained by magical fireman Bob Barron at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in October 1999Shepherd Neame pub The Stage Door in Dartford, photographed in 1999. Picture: John HumphreysActress Joanna Lumley at the Everest Connection shop in Station Road, Ashford, in 1999. Picture: Mick Gell
We hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane through Kent.
