In the 1980s I was General Manager of Pontins at Brean Sands in Somerset and I used to visit the other Pontins a few miles away at the lovely SAND BAY complex which catered mainly for elderly couples during the out of season months offering FULL BOARD holidays for bargain prices. Most of the charming OLD AGED PENSIONER couples would arrive by coaches from all over the country for a holiday to remember. Trouble is that a lot of these oldies could not cope with feeding their faces with three really good meals a day and supper ballroom dancing, swimming, competitions, cheap drinks, great stage shows and all round fun and possibly a little bit of ‘slap and tickle’ back in the old chalet! Imagine!

By day four some of the old fogies are wilting like Lillie’s and cannot cope with the pace but ‘I’ve paid for it and I am going for it’ is the general attitude despite the fact that on average there was at least one death a week from sheer exhaustion from those who could not cope with the pace. Pontins at Sand Bay was therefore known as GODS WAITING ROOM.

On one last night of the week at Sand Bay in the Ballroom where everyone was enjoying the build up to saying ‘Cheerio hope to see you again’ one old gent died in the middle of the dance floor and the quick minded Assistant Manager covered the body in a blanket surrounding it by chairs and carried on with the band stage show FINALE’ march of the MODS and the whole crowd did a CONGA around the deceased! How distasteful but bloody funny. Wake UP!

I used to have some really good chats with these lovely old folk but you would always get the few moaners who wont go for a walk and they wont join in the fun because they are too tired and their ‘too ill’ to be bothered to do more than just sit and bloody moan and the moaners are ALL MEN!

In the past two weeks as the season got busier I have seen so many old faces from previous years and I was shocked that two of them had almost given up the will to live saying their wives had tried hard to get them to exercise but they are happy to sit around and do nothing about their plights. One man said to me’ I have NO REAL REASON to get out of bed or any reason to live’ and yet we have a lady customer who has struggled against her cancer and taken all the treatment and medicines with terrible side effects she has finally been given the ‘all clear’ and it is a delight to see how happy she is to be with her devoted husband walking the walk and working together for her convalescence.
Come on lads don’t turn our Car Boots into GODS WAITING ROOM get up and do something about your ills and do some exercises, buy some weights, I do half an hour every day on the weights and then I go for a jog (then I wake up and its all a dream) but I remember the time when I was disabled and had to rely on the Blue Disabled Pass, that was 14 years ago! Get some exercise my lovers, Go for it!!

AMEN

Geoff