The Reunion proper started at 7.00pm on Friday 23 May 2008,
with Registration and Wine Reception in the Royal Arthur Suite.
.
|
|
|
Above we see fewer than half of those in attendance, almost all of whom did us proud by dressing up in evening wear. |
Saturday morning commenced at 10.00am with a meet-up in the Convention Suite. This was immediately followed by 'Scrapbook Corner,' where all the former Redcoats were invited to bring in scrapbooks and photos from their Butlins' days. I was told beforehand that no-one would be interested, but whoever said that couldn't have been more wrong. I laid out six tables in anticipation but then, as photo albums began to flood in, I had to quickly arrange a further six or more tables to accommodate them. So popular was the display of photos, that the Redcoats left them out, for all to see, until the very last minute before leaving on Monday morning.
|
|
|
|
Just one
of the photo stalls, being besieged |
And here is
another group of ex-Reds, eager to trace |
|
|
|
And here's
a stall with TWO attractions.: |
|
|
|
The two guys used to wear red
coats, |
|
|
|
|
PETE LACEY meets up with his
Children's Auntie, |
Here Pete is reunited with some of
his |
Sunday morning found us all on a Ramble around the Camp, looking for any building which those lovely 1990s 'developers' might have left standing.
|
|
|
|
The Ramble started off from where
the South Swimming Pool used to be. |
As the
prevailing wind begins to chill us to the bone, Val Chambers (left) is seen to be turning into an iceberg. |
Towards the end
of the Ramble I was able to indulge
myself in a further bit of nostalgia, and arranged with our kindly
group
to recreate a photo I'd had taken in 1973, outside the then Queens
Showbar.
Not a bad effort, is it?
|
|
|
|
A few things
have changed since 1973: the women have got shorter; the children have
got taller, L to R: ELSIE HILL (wife of 'Uncle Arthur' from Minehead 1963) 'A.J' MARRIOT, and HERI HARRISON plus one bemused child who was snatched from the passing crowd. |
|
At first glance, when walking around the Camp, it appears that all the pre-1986 buildings on the Skegness site have been demolished, except for the Queens Building and the Ingoldmells Hotel. However, there are actually a few more, although they are hard to recognise as they have been covered in cladding. Um!! Classy!!
|
|
|
| On the left is the Ingoldmells Hotel as it looked in its heyday. |
And here is the Ingoldmells Hotel
as it looks now. Progress, hey? Billy Butlin must be turning in his grave. |
On Sunday
afternoon we had rehearsals for our 'Redcoat
March,' before performing it on Sunday evening.
The 3.30 rehearsal contained just SIX volunteers, from which TWO
dropped
out. However, come 6.30
the numbers had risen to FOURTEEN, which allowed for a far more
respectable
presentation.
|
|
|
The twenty
minute rehearsal proved to be a little too little, |
The main
attraction of the Reunion is to meet
old friends,
closely followed by meeting new friends. Below are examples of
both.
|
|
|
|
BILL
& BEN The Flowerpot Men reunited. |
CAGNEY
& LACEY Reunited. |
|
GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS |
|
|
|
|
|
Kelly Kelleher and her party of six girls. And when I say 'party' - these girls really knew how to party. |
|
|
Three ex-Reds who met their wives at Butlins, and are still married all these decades on. |
|
|
Frank & Marion
Worrall - Barry 1969
Alf and Elsie Hill -
Minehead 1963
|
Sham and Val Chambers - Barry 1972 |
Our grateful thanks go to Eve and Ray Allen, Kelly Kelleher, Val and Sham Chambers, and Rob Lewis, for the above photos.
If you're not pictured here, that's because you haven't sent me any photos!!
More photos will be added when I
receive
them.
o-o-o-0-o-o-o
