Part III holidays in Britain

1 Read the essays about the life in contemporary Britain seen through the eyes of the British people.

At the seaside

Although more and more people are going abroad for their holidays, a third of British holidaymakers still go for a traditional seaside holiday in Britain. It was the British who started the fashion for seaside holidays — not surprisingly, since nobody in Britain lives more than 120 kms from the sea. The trek to the sea began at the end of the eighteenth century, when fashionable London society followed the Prince Regent (later George IV) to Brighton, a small town fifty miles from London. The prince found the climate agreeable and built himself a summer pavilion there. Today Brighton is a popular place for holiday-makers and the pavilion is used as a museum, assembly room and conceit hall. Many Londoners go there for the day during the summer, and Brighton has been called "London by the sea".

Gwyn and Mary Williams have never been abroad. Most of their neighbours have been on package holidays to Spanish resorts and Mary would like to go to Spain next summer. It would cost more than a seaside holiday in Britain but not much more.

Gwyn is not so sure. He likes going to Brighton every year. They sit on the crowded, stony beach, sleep in the sun, listen to their transistor radio and occa­sionally have a swim in the sea. In the evenings they go to concerts of light music or funny shows, and they often spend an hour or two on the pier. Piers are a speciality of British seaside towns. They stretch out to sea, carrying on their iron legs restaurants, theatres, dance halls and other places of amusement. Gwyn spends hours putting coins in slot machines, hoping to win a prize, whilst Mary visits the fortune-teller or has her photograph taken wearing a hat with "Brighton" painted on it. On their way back to the hotel, they walk under the bright lights of the sea front eating fish and chips out of a newspaper.

Herbert Perkins, being a Northerner, does not like Brighton.

"It's just a suburb of London," he says. "Now take Blackpool! You've never seen anything like the lights of Blackpool! Blackpool's tough — and you know it's northern the moment your landlady says 'cum in!'"

Blackpool is on the Irish Sea, not far from Manchester. Holidaymakers go there from all over Britain, but especially from the north.

"There's plenty of money in Blackpool," says Herbert. "I've known Yorkshire miners spend a fortune in a week there."

Holidays

Last year the Macdonalds decided to spend their summer holiday in Cornwall. They chose to stay in a self-catering flat in a private house near the beach. Self-catering flats, cottages and villas are becoming more and more popular. Many people like the privacy and independence from hotel routine; it is also cheaper for families with children. The Macdonalds had found the flat through an advertise­ment in the newspaper. Like all sensible people, they had booked the flat 6 months in advance, since they knew that if they delayed, they would find that the whole of Cornwall had been booked up.

They started out early in the morning and were soon on the motorway to the west. But the sun was already setting when they at last reached the little seaside town. They were all exhausted as they got out of the car in front of a four-storeyed house on the sea front.

Peggy: Look at all that sand, children! Tomorrow, Daddy will help you build a sandcastle — two sandcastles, won't you, Daddy?

Ian: We'll see! Just now I want my supper - and a wash. Come on! Let's get inside.

Landlady: Good evening, madam. What can I do for you? Peggy: The name's Macdonald. We've booked your upstairs flat.

Landlady: Macdonald? Ah, yes! I'm afraid there's been a mistake, madam. You booked for next Friday.

Ian: Oh Lord! I told you not to let mother do the booking for us! Peggy: All right lan! Is there anywhere else, do you think?

Landlady: In August, madam? I'm terribly sorry, but the whole town's booked up. I'm afraid you won't find a room anywhere.

lan: Not even a bed and breakfast place?

Landlady: You might possibly find a farm if you went inland.

Peggy: We want to be by the sea — because of the children.

Landlady: Then I don't know what to suggest. There's a caravan park two miles along the coast, but I'm sure it's full. Or there's a Butlin's Holiday Camp.⁵

lan: No, thank you! We want some peace and quiet. We've been twelve hours on the road. We're exhausted.

Landlady: Well... I'm sure we can do something for the children. They can sleep in my lounge. But I'm afraid we can't help you and your wife.

Peggy: Oh, that's all right! We can sleep in the car. Cheer up, lan! The drive home won't be so bad. There won't be nearly so much traffic!

Hitch-hiking

Gareth and Christine went youth-hostelling⁴ in the Lake District last summer, and, since they could not afford the bus or train fare, they decided to hitchhike. A lorry driver was the first to stop and give them a lift, but he only took them 50 kms. They travelled the next 112 kms in a second lorry and then an elderly couple in a Rover took them another 48 kms. They had travelled 240 kms in five hours.

But at last their luck ran out. They waited by the roadside for an hour and nobody stopped. It began to rain.

"Go and hide behind that hedge!" Christine told Gareth.

"Why?"

"You'll see!"

Gareth obeyed and Christine stood at the edge of the road with thumb raised. Almost at once a sports car drew up.

"Want a lift, love?"

"Thanks," said Christine. "Got room for my boyfriend? You see, I never hitchhike alone. Come on, Carry!"

The weather

"What's the forecast?" asked Ian.

"Oh, showers and sunny intervals!" said Peggy. "But you don't want to believe the forecast!"

"I think we should go camping in France next year," said Ian. "The kids would love it and the weather would be more reliable."

The British love to complain about the weather. Notice how often they mention it when they greet you. However, there are rarely extremes of cold or heat in Britain and when temperatures drop below 0°C or rise above 32°C nobody is prepared.

There is usually more rain in the west than in the east, and more snow in the north than in the south. But, thanks to the Gulf Stream, the Western Isles of Scotland sometimes have milder winter days than the South of France.

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