Where's Noddy?
Love Letters Between Two Pontins' Bluecoats 1982 - 1984
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In the Spring of 1982 I was 29, jobless, homeless, divorced, and skint. I had been accepted to study for a Physics degree at Swansea University, starting in the September of that year. I needed something to do for the Summer. An ad in the South Wales Echo led me to an interview in Cardiff. Pontin's Holidays were looking for staff for their camp at Brean Sands, in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. Expecting bar work, I was offered, and accepted, the job of Noddy Train / mini-bus driver. A few weeks after starting work I was 'promoted' to the role of Bluecoat. I became friendly with a 21 year-old Bluecoat, Angela. She was an 'Aunty', working with the children. During the season we formed a relationship. Early in September, a few weeks before I was due to leave for University, to pacify a complaining camper the general manager faked my sacking. I was to leave immediately and return the following Sunday, after the complaining camper had left. Sworn to secrecy, I found myself at Bristol bus station with some paper and a pen, and started to write... Bristol Bus Station 8.9.82 Angela (Bluecoat) Pontin's Holiday Camp Brean Sands Burnham-On-Sea Somerset My Dear Angie, We didn't have a chance to talk before I left, so I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts and send them to you. Firstly, whatever other feelings you may have, you MUST trust me on this occasion. The circumstances surrounding my sacking are not what they appear to be; however, I am sworn to secrecy and can't explain fully, yet. We shall meet in a few days and talk. You will accuse me of being deceitful, but I hope you will see that my hands were tied. I know that none of this makes sense to you, but things will become clearer by next week. You and I seem set on a collision course, don't we? We had quite an informative chat last night (Tuesday), but when you left I felt gutted. I opened the door and offered you a gracious way of returning to normal, and you just left me hanging there. I'm fully aware that what I said sounded like an ultimatum. Please, Angie, keep an open mind and be prepared to talk. I swore to myself that I would not become involved with anyone for a long time: how wrong I was. You are it! I love you Angie, and miss you already. Martin x On the Sunday I returned to Brean Sands. Angela and I patched up our relationship. A couple of weeks later I left to go to university, and started writing...
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About the Book
A very British institution is the Holiday Camp. At the heart of Pontin’s Holidays was the entertainments team—the Bluecoats. When not running competitions and bingo, introducing cabaret acts, acting as compère for Glamorous Grandmother and Talent shows, and performing in the weekly Bluecoat Show, they mingled with guests—“campers”—telling jokes, being charming, and being pretty adept at the waltz and the foxtrot. An oft-asked question was “What do you do in the winter?” In 1982, two Bluecoats, one from Wales, one from Scotland, found themselves working together and falling in love. At the end of the season, separated, their love letters answered this question. In an age before mobile phones, texts, social networking, digital cameras, and the Internet, these letters explore the difficulties, frustrations, doubts, and occasional hilarity of loving at a distance and surviving Thatcher’s Britain. The letters span the period from near the end of the 1982 season to the start of the 1984 season, and cover working at three Pontin's Holiday Camps.
About the Author
Martin Hill-Jones has worked as a long-distance lorry driver, car salesman, actor, and civil servant. After 'dropping out' from university in 1982, he tried again ten years later, and graduated with an Honours degree in Literature and Modern Art. He retired in 2012 and moved to Spain.