Butlins with Derek, Pat, Steve, Janette & Roni

After arriving at Minehead, we settled into our accommodation and refreshed ourselves before going for dinner at a local pub. The night was then spent watching the tribute Take That group and dancing until late.

After a hearty breakfast we acquainted ourselves with the Butlins site and arranged for a game of bowling in the afternoon. Bowling was great fun and there was some very good scoring. Later in the day some of the ladies went shopping for some glitz while others had some fun at the fair. David was brave enough to go on the trampoline! Dinner was at another lovely country pub and then it was off to dance floor to watch an Abba tribute group and to have a sing along.

Shopping therapy was the order of the day, with a walk through the lovely gardens of Minehead for some, while others went swimming and rides on the inflatables down the flumes. It was a first for John, Mandy & Debbie. After lunch we drove through the lovely countryside of Exmoor and saw ponies & sheep. It was a beautiful day and we stopped off for an ice cream with the stunning coastline backdrop. The trip took us to Lynmouth where we took a stroll through the town and stopped at a fudge shop for gifts and just to indulge ourselves. We had a fish & chip dinner before returning to Butlins for a soul night and more dancing.

Thursday was a day of playing the slot machines in the morning and bowling in the afternoon. Yet another good game and it was a tight finish. However, Derek’s team just edged it for first place! Late afternoon was time for the ladies to have some more beauty therapy before going off to another very nice country pub for dinner. It was well recommended, Pat having been there before. We had both Kenny and Keith with birthdays in the next day or so, so they received the cards and presents from everybody with all of our best wishes. That night we went into both clubs and ended up dancing to the tribute Blues Brothers. It was fab. David even managed to grab the compares mike and gave us all a rendition on his mouth organ and also gave the audience a song. They all clapped and cheered.

Our last morning and the guys fancied a game of snooker before setting off for lunch and a long journey home.

It was a very successful week with everyone enjoying themselves. New friendships were made and we look forward to seeing you all next year, if not before! Thanks to Andrew, Kenny, Keith, John, David, Neil, Maxine, Caroline, Mandy, Debbie, Christine, Jackie, Barbara & Lee for being such a great group.