Dear friends. It's time for Tell Us About, when nine bloggers around the world interpret a prompt and give their very different perspectives.
This month it's HOLIDAYS, or Holidays and Vacations for US readers, the prompt from Mary Katherine.
As you read this, I am actually away on holiday, cycling the length of the UK - 1000 miles (or 1609 kilometres). But I created a post before I set off, and it takes us back to the 70s.
We had just four family holidays when I was a child and teenager. The first two were stays in static caravans in Torbay, which wasn't far from Plymouth where I lived. The third one was special because it was the first time we stayed in a proper hotel.
THE TIME MACHINE TRAVELS TO 1971
As a child I was always writing stories and comics and adding my crazy little drawings. For our first ever holiday in 1971, I had to resort to writing on old wallpaper to capture my journal (top pic). This lairy wallpaper was in our bathroom!
I was 10, my elder brother Andrew was 16, and Robert was six. The caravan park was called Grange Court, and at that time our 6 berth caravan in Goodrington, Torbay, didn't have a bathroom so we had to traipse across the park to use the shower block. It rained most of the time.
Here I share with you a photo of the caravan from the brochure and my assessment of our visit to the famous Babbacombe Model Village.
Buying a souvenir was essential. Here's what I chose from the site shop.
BY 1974, THE JOURNALLING WAS MORE SOPHISTICATED
In 1974 we hit the big time, the dizzy heights of a hotel stay in fashionable Bournemouth. Andrew was now 19 and didn't want to come with us. I was 13 and had a new love of fashion. Robert was nine.
We drove from Plymouth in a MK2 red Cortina which was always breaking down. It was a fractious 6 hour journey and we had to push the car at one point with Mum in a mini dress.
I now had a proper folder and plain paper for my journal, although sadly it seems to have suffered some water damage.
The Hollyhurst was a small family hotel in Westcliff. A gong was sounded to call us to dinner, and Robert and I would crouch at the top of the stairs to watch the dishy Spanish waiter whose job it was.
He had a tendency to call me "young girl" when he took my order which crushed me because I thought I was very sophisticated.
Starters included a tiny glass of Florida Orange fruit juice, which came in a can and was the epitome of culture, and a fan of melon. Main courses were mainly roasts. Desserts included gooseberry crumble, "pear belle Helene" (tinned pears) or jam roly-poly.
I kept all the tickets for anything we visited plus the programmes for the productions we saw: the Mike Yarwood Show, the Lulu Show, with guests Roy Hudd and Little and Large, and a farce called Move Over Mrs Markham, which we had to leave during the interval as Dad thought it was too risque.
I documented each day's activities as well as drawing the wallpaper in our room.
I also included several postcards.
The hotel bore an astonishing resemblance to John Cleese's wonderful creation in Torquay, Fawlty Towers. The staff in Bournemouth however were entirely different and very charming. (Still no majestic hoards of wildebeests galloping across the plains though).
OUTFITS!
You may remember in those days photos were often sent off to be developed, and companies competed to be the cheapest. Sadly, the photos we took discoloured and Mum threw them away. Some miniature photos in my journal still look fine but don't reproduce well here as they're too small.
On one day Dad went to watch some cricket and Mum took us to Marks and Spencer with her newly acquired cheque book. She bought us each an item of clothing. I chose a light blue denim skirt. I wore it to Corfe Castle with my blue furry bomber jacket, white tights and burgundy platform shoes from Ravel. I was one of the first at school to have this pair, which took the second form by storm.
I must have looked a bit strange walking around the ancient castle ruins in vertiginous shoes, but hey, I was a dedicated follower of fashion.
On an open top bus I'm wearing a delightful co-ord, a matching peplum top and midi skirt, cream with tiny flowers. Robert was inexplicably wearing a shirt and tie.
THE TV ROOM
One of the highlights of Thursday was Top of the Pops, a BBC show that was watched by millions. We all had TVs in our rooms but everyone in the hotel piled into the TV Room to watch it. The number one hit that week was When Will I See You Again? by the Three Degrees, rumoured at that time to be the now King's favourite band.
PS....
I wrote about the Hollyhurst at my other blog and was thrilled when someone left a comment saying their grandparents had owned it.
Last year I went back to Bournemouth for a pop concert and wondered if we could stay at the Hollyhurst. But it doesn't exist as such, having been incorporated into the nearby Kiwi Hotel.
I hoped you enjoyed another trip in my 70s time machine. To see what my blogger friends made of holidays and vacations, pop over to their blogs:
Penny (UK) at Frugal Fashion Shopper
Debbie (AUS) at Deb's World
Marsha (US) at Marsha in the Middle
Suzy (Yorkshire lass living in Portugal) at Suzy Turner
Leslie (US) from Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After
Jill (AUS) at Grownup Glamour
Mary Katherine (US) at MK's Adventure
If you're a blogger you can join our link-up on holidays which is open until Friday 23 August. And if you'd like to be ready to play in September, the prompt set by Jill is Favourite (Favorite) Things.
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A fascinating stroll down memory lane, especially when you realize how much things have changed. I am happy photography has become so instantaneous. It was awful waiting in anticipation for film to be developed, only to discover the pictures were terrible. No more costly mistakes!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this! Such a cute look into your life. Very similar to my childhood: I also used to write and draw comics. I actually wrote my first ever diary entry at the age of about 4 and it went "I wish I was old enough to wear the clip-clop shoes that my mum does". Manifesting a high-heel obsession early on :D
ReplyDeleteTeresa Maria | Outlandish Blog
You were my kind of kid. I always liked writing and illustrating life but I don't remember ever journaling about our family trips. Appreciate that you included 'swatches' of the wallpaper and carpeting. Had to look up 'candlewick' bedspreads and discovered they are what I know as chenille. We once stayed in a hospital overnight while visiting my father's best friend who was a Catholic priest. He and a group of nun/nurses provided the care at the hospital. Maybe it was a kind of rehab thing? Anyway, I remember sleeping on a hospital bed with a chenille cover that night. Candlewick. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteInteresting read, lovely to hear these nostalgic memories. X Jacqui x
ReplyDelete