People have been turning their nose up at Butlins holidays for decades,but I – like my mum – have nothing but fond memories of themWhen the enterprising Billy Butlin saw the slogan “Our true intent is all for your delight” painted on a fairground organ, he had no concept it was a quotation from A Midsummer Night’s Dream – or so the fable goes. Immortalised by John Hinde’s snaps of the Butlins holiday camps in the 1960s, or the choice to revive the slogan in the race-up to its 80th anniversary nowadays would seem like a no-brainer.
The company’s belated realisation that there’s capital in all that dazzling glamour has come after decades spent in pursuit of relentless modernity. The camps became “resorts,the chalets became “apartments” and huge canopies were erected over the amusements. The likes of Papa John’s, Burger King and Pizza Hut moved in to demonstrate that uniforms and uniformity were no longer the order of the day.
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Source: theguardian.com