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Thread: Old gits reminiscing about past weekenders

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    Senior Member Minnie M's Avatar
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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    MOD NOTE, some of the following posts have been copied over from Gav's "Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps" thread
    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    ......In fact, one of the biggest and most popular European dance camps, has shared dormitories, with separate buildings for the classes and freestyles!
    Judging by the feedback, these "less than ideal" arranged camps are the best ones and not to be missed, but the poor accommodation just puts me off.

    Anyone else feel the same, or is it just me?
    If you've been to the likes of Herräng/Goodnight Sweetheart etc, are we really missing out by being picky?
    I think over the years I have been to nearly all the dance weekenders etcs -at Herräng which is over 5 weeks (you choose how much you want to attend) - they did have shared dorms and camp sites, BUT when I went, we stayed at very nice accomodation right next to the camp, so you do have a choice. For me, that made the difference

    At Goodnight Sweetheart the hotel was a drive away from the camp - it did spoil the weekend for me. Same with Jumping at the Woodside, but they had their classes splattered over the town !

    Anyone remember JiveBug's Bisley weekend ???? We stayed in the barracks and shared the showers and some people even found unwelcome company in the beds

    After attending LUX over the Bank Holiday, I have to say the hotel option is definitely the best.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    OK, We've got Southport and Camber covered, how about a 4 day dance weekender where there's no on-site accommodation and the nearest is 4 miles away? It's in February, so how do you fancy the drive in and back probably several times a day?
    Nah........ the weekend has got to be pretty special for me to do that again - one of the joys of weekenders, is having a drink and not worrying about the car
    Last edited by Lory; 8th-September-2010 at 02:34 PM.


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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Minnie M View Post
    At Goodnight Sweetheart the hotel was a drive away from the camp - it did spoil the weekend for me. Same with Jumping at the Woodside, but they had their classes splattered over the town !
    What was it about that that spoiled the weekend? We just did Camp Savoy, and elected not to use the camp accommodation, but stayed at a hotel around five miles away - and we had an amazing time regardless. I don't think it did anything to harm our enjoyment.

    I agree it's nice to be in the center of things, staying with everyone else, but gone are the days when I was happy at Beach Boogie sleeping in a teensy tent (for example) - these days I prioritise comfort.

    The only camp I've been to where that isn't necessarily an option is Herrang - you can get nice accommodation, and we generally have, but there is an element of luck involved. Is it worth the discomfort? Absolutely yes - it's rare you get the opportunity to have such intensive dancing and learning over that kind of time period - but it really depends what you want out of a camp.

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by CheesyRobMan View Post
    That's no comfort if you haven't been able to sleep properly all weekend in the cold, damp, noisy room and are so tired that you can't enjoy yourself.


    My "Weekender" career started during the late 80's at Pontins Prestatyn Soul weekenders. Back then, I didn't care about the freezing cold chalets, the constant noise, the lumpy beds and the damp...you don't care about that stuff when you're 19 and you can live on about 30 minutes sleep for the whole weekend without it affecting the enjoyment of the weekend.

    Now I'm pushing 40, I feel the same as you in that I just don't have the stamina to dance unless I've had a decent rest in a warm, comfortable bed. I know it makes us sound like grumpy old farts, but it's just a fact of life for most of us.

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Double Trouble View Post


    My "Weekender" career started during the late 80's at Pontins Prestatyn Soul weekenders.
    My disco weekender career started one Easter in the late '70s at Caister on Sea on the East Coast. It was freezing cold and mostly we still lived with our mums. This was a weekend where we had our own place. I was in my early 20s and didn't even drink alocohol very much - I mostly lived on a soft drink called Strawberry Cresta "It's Frothy Man" - subsequently withdrawn due to it's high sugar and acid content!

    We stayed up all night keeping busy - because it was too cold to sleep. I can remember roller skating around the site most of one night. Another night I'd noticed that the blankets were orange so we started a Hari Krishna chant around the site in the orange blankets bashing spoons on pans and chanting "Hari Krishna, Hari Rama" - we didn't know if there were any more words, but we gathered many followers!

    This was at a time when there were disco dance contests on TV and some of the finalists came a performed a cabaret on the Saturday night. We all wanted to dance like the champion Grant Santino - I nearly broke my back trying to learn his back flips!

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Double Trouble View Post
    Now I'm pushing 40,
    I think this is all relative. I'm 54 in a few weeks. I was talking with a guy in his seventies the other day and he said he'd love to be 54 again. So I'm now enjoying my relative youth on his behalf.

    Please feel free to enjoy your late 30s in the way I would if I was your age again and able to have another go

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    My disco weekender career started one Easter in the late '70s at Caister on Sea on the East Coast.
    My introduction to weekenders, began at Caister too. I went to the very first soul one.
    My friend and I, both aged 15, lied to our parents and went on our own

    With money saved from our Saturday jobs, we arrived by coach, into total mayhem. Our chalet was beyond freezing and we'd brought no 'extra' clothes. So when the whole camp turned into one major water fight, we inevitably got soaked and had no way of drying off, no clothes to change into and no heat to warm ourselves up

    But, we were 15, away from home, dancing till daylight, so who cared? Not us!
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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    no clothes to change into and no heat to warm ourselves up
    I've just remembered that there was a very basic shop and I made myself an outfit from a few of the things that were available. I still can't believe I went dancing wearing nothing but half a yellow duster, a shoelace and some clingfilm!

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I've just remembered that there was a very basic shop and I made myself an outfit from a few of the things that were available. I still can't believe I went dancing wearing nothing but half a yellow duster, a shoelace and some clingfilm!
    I know, you wouldn't be caught wearing that much nowadays!

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I still can't believe I went dancing wearing nothing but half a yellow duster, a shoelace and some clingfilm!
    You can't, but everyone else can!
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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    I know, you wouldn't be caught wearing that much nowadays!
    I was young and a bit skinny at the time. However, I did have to take off the clingfilm when it started to get hot.

    I met Sally James, one of the TisWas presenters while I was wearing this outfit. She said "what are you?". I anwered "a Klingon" just as the Phantom Flan Flinger got me in the duster with a paper plate of shaving foam!

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Please feel free to enjoy your late 30s in the way I would if I was your age again and able to have another go
    Thanks, I'd love to, but I don't think I have enough industrial strength cling film to wrap myself up in.

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Double Trouble View Post
    but I don't think I have enough industrial strength cling film to wrap myself up in.
    How about some shrink-wrap?

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    How about some shrink-wrap?

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    You can't, but everyone else can!
    (Sorry Andy)


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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    My disco weekender career started one Easter in the late '70s at Caister on Sea on the East Coast. !
    Was this April 1979, was the event called the "1st National Soul Weekender"

    If it was you have just gone up in my estimations for what its worth.

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Gerry View Post
    Was this April 1979, was the event called the "1st National Soul Weekender"

    If it was you have just gone up in my estimations for what its worth.
    I think it was a disco weekender in 1978 - it might even have been 1977. I did go to a soul weekender at Caister and dance all night, if not all weekend. Possibly it was 1979 - I was so high on Strawberry Cresta and soggy chips that all the weekenders seem to have merged into one in my memory

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I think it was a disco weekender in 1978 - it might even have been 1977. I did go to a soul weekender at Caister and dance all night, if not all weekend. Possibly it was 1979 - I was so high on Strawberry Cresta and soggy chips that all the weekenders seem to have merged into one in my memory
    I think it must have been 1979 as it was the first of its kind, I don't believe this had ever been done before. Can you remember any of the Dj line up

    Chris Hill
    Greg Edwards
    Chris Brown
    Robbie Vincent
    Jeff Young
    Tom Holland
    Sean French
    Froggy

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Gerry View Post
    I think it must have been 1979 as it was the first of its kind, I don't believe this had ever been done before. Can you remember any of the Dj line up

    Chris Hill
    Greg Edwards
    Chris Brown
    Robbie Vincent
    Jeff Young
    Tom Holland
    Sean French
    Froggy
    I remember Froggy - it's a memorable name. Was he a skinny guy? How do you remember all the others?

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    I remember Froggy - it's a memorable name. Was he a skinny guy? How do you remember all the others?
    I was into soul music from the age of 16 and I used to go to some of the event hosted by some of those DJ's. My first wife used to tell me tales of what happened at the first Caister and years later I went to 5 or 6 events. I was told by friends that there were still guys n gals going who had done to the very first one, this was 15 years later.

    Music wise, I still anuthing jazzy and Soulful.

    Lastly Froggy died a couple of years ago.

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    Re: Accommodation at Weekenders/Camps

    Quote Originally Posted by Gerry View Post
    I was into soul music from the age of 16 and I used to go to some of the event hosted by some of those DJ's. My first wife used to tell me tales of what happened at the first Caister
    I think some chalets were trashed. I did some damage by mistake. I broke a window while pressing my naked bottom against it

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