h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Butlins Holiday Camps - a British Institution - A846858
Author: Jimster - U292

Funnily enough, this entry was originally about the subject of the last paragraph, but things went a bit topsy turvy when I realised I was more interested in the origins of Butlins than the TV show it inspired.

By no means definitive, but hopefully interesting enough to inspire an h2g2 knobbly knees competition or something

Jimster

Butlins Pwhelli. Is that how it's spelt. Brings back great memories. Unusual subject & interesting read. Any chance of name-dropping some redcoats? Tho' some of the names might get u locked up i.e. Michael Barrymore and Des O. Butlin's was a whole host of the unseen. Did you know that the qualifying rounds of World Darts were held at Butlins camps. Now not a lot of people know that

Excellant. Enjoyed reading it although I never had the pleasure a visiting one of the camps. There were many entertainers that started their careers at Butlins, but their names escape me at the moment. I am sure that others will come up with some names.

About half way down reading the article, the thought came that this had to include a reference to Hi De Hi and there at the bottom it was.



Stuart

Thanks for the comments

I think I'll add a line saying that many popular entertainers have got their first experience with an audience by working at Butlins or similar camps. Don't want to go into a list, possibly because most of the ones I know will be treated with a 'WHO?!' or in one instance '... oh...'

(Wasn't H from Steps a Red Coat?)

I like the footnote about how to pronounce chalets. Maybe you could mention that the *really* common amongst us called them a 'shally'.

Very good, I liked this entry very much, and although I think all the camps were in prime locations right by the beach, which was probably part of the huge attraction.

This is a great entry, Jimster!

I think it might be worth mentioning that the Mosney camp was in Ireland (I think it was the only one outside the UK). The organised jolliness was often considered very 'foreign' here, and didn't always go down well. The Mosney camp is now being used as a centre for refugees and asylum seekers.

Is there something missing in the last paragraph of the the Post-war Years section? 'Such things as hot running water and three meals a day in Post-war Britain' surely needs a conclusion.

There is a typo in the first sentence: 'vigourous ' should be 'vigorous'.


Azara

My first Butlin's holiday was with my mates in 1970 - you've GOT to mention chalet-rash.

Well, this one's been here long enough to picked.

A few typos to be amended first:

"Norman Bradford, a cherry fellow..."

"Such things as hot running water and three meals a day in Post- war Britain."

Was there meant to be more to that sentence, like "...were unheard of for most of the campers in their daily life."?

So who's up for recommending it?

Jimster,
You say that holidays abroad have changed expectations etc., but I think now is the time to re appraise the Holiday camp in the light of events over the last year or so.

We've taken our 7 year old to both Butlins and Haven presisely because they are safe environments where a boisterous child can be let off the reins a bit!
On both occasions the parks were full and he had a fun filled, enjoyable and above all safe holiday. This means that we can relax as well.

I do think that holiday parks as they are now, have the potential to come back into their own as the old fashioned image is shed in all ways, from food and accomodation to entertaintment etc. After all the Disney parks are just a flash variation on an old theme!

>(shortly before it was used as the location for three episodes of >the similarly declining Doctor Who TV series).

- how can you say that, six months before the amazing Rememberance of the Daleks was shown?.

Anyway, a mention of the story title (Delta and the Bannermen), and a link to A662960 'Doctor Who' Episode Guide wouldn't go amiss.

There was a creaky old b/w set in a Butlins I'm sure. The central theme was a confidence man/murderer played by(?). Anyway the dotty woman who was going to be killed was saved by Flora Robson. Jack Dixon of Dock Green was in it too as a dad who got his son's money back from some card sharps. Anyway it was set in about 1948 and the whole place, ents etc was almost exactly the same as when I first went twenty years later. That was the strength and weakness of the concept.

Just seen this, Jimster. Really like it. Never been to Butlins, mind you.

One possible typo - 'Norman Bradford, a cherry fellow' - should that be a 'cheery' fellow?

><.

Kerr wrote:

>> how can you say that, six months before the amazing Rememberance of the Daleks was shown?<<

Ah, see while we enlightened viewers were enjoying the battles against Gavrok and the various Dalek factions, the general public were more interested in the affairs of the people of Weatherfield. Just as Butlins was still providing excellent entertainment for the lower numbers of people who went there, Doctor Who was, at the time, in a process of reinvention that produced some of the most challenging and entertaining stories in years... but only 5 million people bothered to tune in, Raquel and Curly being a bigger draw than Davros and Jasmine Breaks.

Don't worry, Kerr, I'd never let an unreasoned attack on the best TV show ever to creep in, but it's fair to say that the *status* of the show itself was in decline...

Oh, fixed those typos, by the way.

Nice one.

This nicely explains the whole 'Uncle Ernie's Holiday Camps' in Tommy then...

What an odd nation you live in.

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Cheers all!

Jims

Jimster! and I wasn't being *that* serious about the Dr. Who thing you know. I mean, what sort of totally sad obsessed geek tdo you take me for? Oh. One like that, I see

for Jimster!

Azara

Hey Kerr,

My simple rule of thumb when discussing geekery is to assume I'm always a bigger geek than anyone else (hence the gratuitous namedropping of Jasmine, above).

Hehe