Wish You Were Here!: The Lives, Loves and Friendships of the Butlin's Girls

Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, History
Cover of the book Wish You Were Here!: The Lives, Loves and Friendships of the Butlin's Girls by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson, HarperCollins Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson ISBN: 9780007551620
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication: June 19, 2014
Imprint: HarperElement Language: English
Author: Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
ISBN: 9780007551620
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication: June 19, 2014
Imprint: HarperElement
Language: English

Touching true stories from the heyday of the Butlin’s holiday camps. ‘When I got to the camp I felt as if I’d suddenly walked into Utopia – it was so colourful, so warm, so friendly. There were lights across the roads, there were banners fluttering in the breeze… There seemed to be laughter coming from every building.’ With grey post-WWII skies hanging low over Britain, factories lining the streets and smoke stacks dotting the horizon, there was one way that ordinary families could escape: the ever-cheerful holiday camps of Butlin’s. When Billy Butlin founded his holiday camps in 1936, they were bastions of community spirit and havens of luxury. Here, for one week, wives and mothers were freed from the toil and drudgery of housework, children ran free through the grounds, fathers and husbands hung up their work clothes. Ever-helpful redcoats were on hand all hours of the day, dinner halls ready with plentiful food for old and young alike, bars stocked to quench any level of thirst, ballrooms waiting to be flooded with shiny shoes, rustling dresses and peals of laughter. And, as the sun went down on another exhausting, happy day, a chorus line was ready to sing holidaymakers back to their beds. Rich in period detail and highly evocative, Wish You Were Here! follows the lives of seven of the camps’ key figures through the highs and lows of the holiday season: from redcoats searching for stardom to young families who returned year after year, to pensioners who rediscovered an inner youth. The laughter and tears, the loves and losses, and the fun and friendships that have lasted a lifetime – it's all here. Funny, moving and heartwarming, they are tales of swimming pools and sing-a-longs, Glamorous Grannies and bicycle rides, and of a community spirit that burned brightly in a much-loved British institution.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Touching true stories from the heyday of the Butlin’s holiday camps. ‘When I got to the camp I felt as if I’d suddenly walked into Utopia – it was so colourful, so warm, so friendly. There were lights across the roads, there were banners fluttering in the breeze… There seemed to be laughter coming from every building.’ With grey post-WWII skies hanging low over Britain, factories lining the streets and smoke stacks dotting the horizon, there was one way that ordinary families could escape: the ever-cheerful holiday camps of Butlin’s. When Billy Butlin founded his holiday camps in 1936, they were bastions of community spirit and havens of luxury. Here, for one week, wives and mothers were freed from the toil and drudgery of housework, children ran free through the grounds, fathers and husbands hung up their work clothes. Ever-helpful redcoats were on hand all hours of the day, dinner halls ready with plentiful food for old and young alike, bars stocked to quench any level of thirst, ballrooms waiting to be flooded with shiny shoes, rustling dresses and peals of laughter. And, as the sun went down on another exhausting, happy day, a chorus line was ready to sing holidaymakers back to their beds. Rich in period detail and highly evocative, Wish You Were Here! follows the lives of seven of the camps’ key figures through the highs and lows of the holiday season: from redcoats searching for stardom to young families who returned year after year, to pensioners who rediscovered an inner youth. The laughter and tears, the loves and losses, and the fun and friendships that have lasted a lifetime – it's all here. Funny, moving and heartwarming, they are tales of swimming pools and sing-a-longs, Glamorous Grannies and bicycle rides, and of a community spirit that burned brightly in a much-loved British institution.

More books from HarperCollins Publishers

Cover of the book Mr Unbelievable by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Hummingbird Bakery Rainy Day Treats: An Extract from Cake Days by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Secret Sister: From Nazi-occupied Jersey to wartime London, one woman’s search for the truth (Long Lost Family) by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book The Times On This Day: Facts and trivia for every day of the year by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Riverford Farm Cook Book: Tales from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Dot by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Fortress Of Dwarka by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Collins Very First Spanish Words (Collins Primary Dictionaries) by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Keep Off The Grass by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Breakheart Pass by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book The Lost Love of a Soldier (The Marlow Family Secrets, Book 4) by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book We’ve Always Got New York by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Bedlam (Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 12) by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book The Siege of Leningrad: History in an Hour by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
Cover of the book Circles of Stone (The Mirror Chronicles, Book 2) by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy