This was to be our last public appearance for 3 weeks, as our attention (and practice time) switched to preparing for our big 40th birthday celebration weekend. Preparations for this had started almost a year earlier, with committees meeting regularly throughout the winter to plan some of the entertainments for the weekend (The Fun Committee), and also the organisations and practical details for the weekend (The No-Fun-At-All Committee). Eventually, after all the planning, the weekend finally arrived and on Friday 21st July we and our excellent weekend guest teams (Brighton, Chinewrde, Oyster and Silver Flame) assembled at the venue we had hired for the weekend, Tadley Rugby Club, near to Aldermaston in West Berkshire – transformed for the weekend into Billy Bedlam’s Holiday Camp! The extensive grounds surrounding the rugby pitches were used for camping, and all of BB were also transformed into holiday camp Redcoats (or more accurately Red-and-White-Coats), and all the indoor activities and meals took place in the large clubhouse room, also transformed for the weekend into the ‘Hawaiian Ballroom’.
On Friday evening, various soups, bread and cheese were served to arriving guests, and the clubhouse bar was open for liquid refreshments. Jameson had put together a couple of quizzes for visitors (and BB) to puzzle over, based on TV’s Only Connect programme, and a very sociable social evening followed. Then on Saturday morning after breakfast, each of the guest teams performed one dance each to the other teams before two 55 seater coaches arrived to whisk us and our guests off to the day’s dance locations – The West Berks Brewery, near Yattendon, a small independent brewery, and also the Milestones Museum of Living History on the edge of Basingstoke. All of the teams were also together at lunchtime at two adjacent pubs in Sherfield-on-Loddon – the Four Horseshoes, which served us lunch (excellent sandwiches and chips), and the White Hart. BB split into 2 teams for the day – BB A, with Roy as musician plus Robert as excellent occasional drummer, and BB 1, with Sue and Bob as musicians, with each team just about having 7 dancers, but which worked out fine. The weather though was a bit mixed, with showers throughout the day making it difficult at the outdoor venues, though the Milestones Museum being all indoors was an excellent venue.
The coaches arrived back at Tadley around 5, in time for tea and cake before some It’s a Knockout games for the teams on the sports field (indoors if wet) (which it was – so indoors then). Some especially memorable team games followed – winding up a stick of rhubarb on a long piece of string proved particularly therapeutic, and in the end was easily won by BB’s Florent, looking very Frenchly nonchalant as his nimble fingers outpaced all the opposition – though sadly he had to be disqualified for being one of BB. The Spacehopper relay races also proved extremely exciting until the point where one of the competitor’s head came into contact with the hard floor, causing the race to be abandoned as a draw. The rain outside then cleared in time for the exciting coloured water relay race, where each member of the team had to run the course with a small cup of water and fill a sweet jar at the other end, the jars containing a coloured powder which helped to show how full it was getting. Brighton attempted to fill their jar faster by using tankards, but then found the task harder when their jar was removed.
Supper for the evening was a BBQ, cooked freshly by an outside company brought in for the evening, and who did a great job, especially as during the early part of their cooking they had to contend with a monumental downpour. Once that was over, puddings (provided by us) were consumed, though somewhat messily by some of Brighton and BB during a dance where they were only allowed to eat them through the joined arms of their partners (you had to be there, really). After that the tables were cleared away and the evening entertainment (or “Talent Night”) could begin. And, hosted by our very own Jerry in smart MC’s jacket, what an evening it turned out to be!
straw boater and cane (canes made by Lee). After a cheesy entry we adopted a 4 by 4 formation for a dance we had been practising for a few weeks, with choreography by Will, to the song ‘Putting on the Ritz’, this particular version by Robbie Williams. A great start, and after that proceedings moved along with every holiday camp’s favourite, the ‘Knobbly Knees’ contest. Our own Bob was the judge, moving along the line of ill assorted male and female knees, and proved to be not at all put off by a late entry of a very familiar pair of knees indeed. Next up was Silver Flame’s spot – a take off of appalling talent contest entries with an appropriately slimy compere – though actually we quite liked the balloon modelling. Then it was time for some judging of competitions running during the day – firstly the ‘decorate your coconut’ competition. It was a difficult choice for guest judges Jill and Sally, with some excellent offerings (imaginative use of a melon amongst them), but in the end Chinewrde’s bikini clad offering won, possibly on account of the marmalade rum it was filled with. And after that it was time to bring on our wonderful 40th birthday cake, made for us specially by Will’s sister Maria, with the 2 halves brilliantly iced to look like a BB top hat and a BB rosette. And the first cut just had to be made by our longest serving member Paul. Next up, Oyster sang a song called ‘Bedlam’s Holiday’ to the tune of ‘Summer Holiday’ – “We’re all going on a Bedlam’s Holiday, sticks and hankies for a day or two” etc, and including the particularly ironic line given the day’s weather “It never rains on Berkshire Bedlam”. After that came an act which was a surprise to everyone in the room, and especially the rest of BB – originally billed as ‘Dazzling Dave Steptoe’, but introduced on the night as ‘Elvis Steptoe’. And in came David, hair brylcreemed back, 70s shades, blue suede shoes, clutching a microphone, who promptly tore into ‘All Shook Up’. And shake everyone up he certainly did – a brilliant performance, with a great impression of Elvis’s voice, all the actions and movements, microphone twirling throughout, and – most impressive of all – managing to keep a straight face while the room just erupted. After finishing he was immediately called back for an encore, and gave us Moon River, and finally Blue Suede Shoes. Without question the performance of the night!
He was a tough act to follow, but Chinerwde next gave us their own rendition of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, with the Caterpillar gradually growing as it added more people until eventually it was beautifully sick all over John just before metamorphosing into a beautiful butterfly, though confusingly the caterpillar was still very much in evidence at that point. After that Brighton got everyone in a large circle for a confusing clapping routine involving yourself, your neighbour, yourself, the other neighbour, and then it was a bit of a blur. Great fun though! In between all these spots Jerry was valiantly filling in with some of the jokes submitted by various teams during the day. Sadly he ran out of time before he could properly explain the difference between jam and marmalade – perhaps another time. And then, as if the evening hadn’t been wild enough already, a series of cheesy disco hits for people to join in with, and soon there was a dance floor full of people happily and with great relish doing all the approved actions for Oops Upside Your head, The Macarena, YMCA, and many many more. But eventually we came to the final routines of the evening – BB entering again, and this time breaking into a routine first performed almost 5 years ago their own interpretation of Gangnam Style. After that all the BBs gathered together to sing the traditional Holiday Camp closing song, ‘Goodnight Campers’, which brought the official celebrations to a close, though the unofficial merriment continued for quite a bit longer. Overall a great night, and a reflection of what so many of BB and all our guest teams had put into it!
The next morning, Sunday, after breakfast the campsite and clubroom were cleared and everyone proceeded to Reading for a day’s dancing, where we were also joined by the wonderful Windsor Morris. The dance venues were Forbury Gardens, 2 locations in Broad Street, the Market Place, and finally a gathering of all the teams outside the Town Hall for one dance each. All of the teams put on a great show throughout the day, and miraculously the rain pretty well held off for us. The last spot outside the Town Hall was also very memorable, with each team doing a great final dance – BB had saved the Sword Dance to finish off the whole weekend, which also went down very well. after that, and some final photos, it was time to say goodbye to all the fabulous teams who had joined us for the weekend. Another truly memorable anniversary!