In 1984, after completing a degree in economics, I decided to apply to be a Club 18-30 rep. It seemed more fun than doing a normal job.
I sailed through the interview where I had to perform several tasks, including talking about the inside of a ping-pong ball for 60 seconds, and was delighted to be told I had a job for next summer. There was only one catch – it was in Middleton-On-Sea, near Bognor Regis.
The venue was an old Ladbroke site and was still being converted into ‘The UKExperience’ when I arrived with other reps about a week before the season was due to start. To put it bluntly, the accommodation and facilities were cheap and cheerful.
The main problem we had that summer was the weather – the English climate did not help to bolster the traditionally quiet months of May and June. Bookings picked up in peak season and were helped by the Club marketing short breaks. At weekends the site was often teeming with young revellers, much to the annoyance of the local population.
The season had the usual high jinks and adventures associated with any young people’s holiday, but it became increasingly difficult to keep people entertained in bad weather. Beach parties and boat trips are not quite the same in the rain and often copious amounts of alcohol had to be used to make them run more smoothly.
One day my exasperated boss saw it was pouring with rain and pinned a simple message on the entertainments board:’Wild Rabbits’. This was a suggestion for how holidaymakers should act to kill a few hours during the day.
In the main, male holidaymakers were well behaved, particularly when there were a lot of women to distract them.
Occasionally though, some who hadn’t scored and had got through hundreds of pounds paying English prices for beer, became a bit disgruntled. I was woken up in the small hours by a frantic bar manager who said a group of Newcastle United supporters were getting out of hand and threatening to smash the place up. Amazingly, I managed to placate them – ah, the power of the rep’s badge!
The season was great fun but the intense atmosphere took its toll:two reps had breakdowns. The next year proved to be the last for the UKExperience as holidaymakers voted with their feet and went abroad. Meanwhile, I decided it was time to get a normal job.