McFun for all the McFamily

Well gentle reader, I saw in the New Year at Butlins in Minehead, sucking Diamond White from a can, while "Status Clone", "Girls Alouder", and "Tim Jones" entertained us in a large echoey marquee, and shaven headed youths jostled to play on arcade games.

Butlins is a marvellous institution. Unlimited helpings of fish and chips, FREE wine, a massive swimming pool with a wave machine and 5 huge waterslides, and all the entertainment you can handle - a nightclub, 3 different stages, snooker hall, bowling alley and amusement park, but we did all feel a little bit like a filet-o-fish out of water. My friend Jason got hauled up on stage to be a stooge for the comedy act, who instantly latched onto the fact that his clothes had come from Next rather than Woolworths, and commented "Shouldn't you be at Center Parcs?"

The company was tremendous fun, and we all enjoyed ourselves the most, I think, by getting off base (the guards in the machine-gun turrets were watching the far perimeter) and taking a walk along the coast to Dunster.

Happy New Year one and all!