Beware The Spaceman

Tag: Butlins Skegness

  • It’s a Puppet: The Winner

    Retro Reaction in ZX Spectrum colours


    Countdown: Favourite British Puppets — Part Four (The Winner)

    It’s time to reveal my favourite of all British puppets.

    I was surprised to see how many years some of the others on our countdown had on air. But our number one? He’s been around in some form or another for over 75 years. As recently as 2021, he also came Number One in a Sky TV survey — the childhood TV character of all time. He’s met the King and is part of the Magic Circle.

    I am, of course, talking about

    1:Sooty

    When I was younger, it was Sooty & Co. Sooty the mute bear helps run a shop alongside Sweep, Sue and little cousin Scampy. So all that stuff Geoffrey dealt with? If you’ve watched many of these kids’ TV episodes, you know the score. Authority figure. In this case, Matthew is getting something thrown at him — gunge, custard pie, or a water pistol. Always ending with: “Bye Bye Everyone, Bye Bye.”

    This gets points for the “watched with Grandad” factor too. Though I do remember, while I laughed a lot at it, he enjoyed it but once commented: “He’s not a patch on his Dad.”

    The Harry Corbett years remained a mystery to me. I remember one of those Sooty prize‑giving machines at Cleethorpes had artwork saying Harry Corbett’s Sooty Show. I liked its vintage look, but it always felt wrong. The Sooty show for me was Matthew.

    Then I grew up and mostly forgot about Sooty.

    It’s the early 2010s. I’m at Butlins Skegness and there’s a change in line‑up. At the time I’m at least a quarter‑century old and fifteen years out of the target age range (visiting with family and friends — no kids at the time). I finally see Sooty live. I felt like a kid in front of CITV.

    The talking head had changed. A bloke named Richard — he was actually pretty good.

    But he wasn’t a patch on Matthew.

    Yeah, I heard it. I’ll get my coat. I know where the door is.

    I’ll catch you in the next one. But for now…

    Bye Bye Everybody. Bye Bye.

    It’s a puppet(3-2)

  • Butlins at 90: Mind the Cracks

    a spaceship above the world with title

    Long‑term readers may recall my very biased feelings about this place in Skegness. Butlins is hallowed ground for this family. Butlins can do no wrong.

    Yes, the rose tint is real — but that’s coming from a guy who writes more about the past than the present. Today’s version is nothing like the place I loved in the 90s: the monorail, the outdoor pool, and of course the kids’ clubs we all adored.

    I’ve witnessed the magic this place holds myself, and I’ve seen that same magic spark in the nephews.

    During a performance of Rock Theatre, one nephew had already left, worn out after the day’s activities. Then a message came over the speakers: “We need to pause this show due to technical difficulties.” Common enough, but the kids had seen it — the crack in the Butlins experience. And once you see one crack, you start spotting more. The queue wrapped around the whole shop, and then for swimming, and then the bar. That’s three. The splash fountains not starting on time, half the fairground rides closed. The cracks are there.

    Butlins isn’t alone in having them. But unlike, say, the mighty Disney, it’s not quite as good at hiding them. Some of those cracks were more obvious because of the heatwave — an unusual stretch of good weather. Others, I suspect, were down to being understaffed. And you have to wonder if that’s a choice… and if it is, whether it needs a rethink.

    But for this year, the kids had a great time. The place remains special, largely untarnished, and I’ll be doing everything I can not to see the cracks. I’m rooting for you, Butlins — even though I know that’s an uphill battle once the kids get older.

    The Butlins magic belongs to childhood. There will always be a last dance with the Skyline Gang — we just don’t know when. Don’t look for those cracks, kids. Not yet.