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Skegness - hell on earth!

42 replies

ginmummy · 05/08/2006 17:59

I've just come back from a week in a caravan in Skegness with my sister, her 13 year old son and my ds and I just wanted to say how awful it was! I really don't care if I come across as a snob for saying this - it's a horrible place! Full of Burberry clad teenage parents pushing a buggy with one hand and simultaneously smoking a fag and drinking from a can of Special Brew with the other, children who are so high on sugar and tartazine that they couldn't stand still if their lives depended on it, shops selling all sorts of cheap and nasty crap, most of it highly unlikely to conform to BS or fire standards, and rows and rows of arcades and bingo halls full of said Burberry clad teenage parents and all with a fuggy cloud of cigarette smoke that hits you like a wall when you walk past. We had the misfortune to stay on a caravan site in Chapel St Leonards with an attached club that you simply cannot miss when you drive through this otherwise nice village; the club has a garish luminous orange facia complete with several ?golden? palms on the front that are actually the uniform luminous orange to match the rest of the facia (so they blend in with the surroundings I guess, though where orange palm trees are native to is a mystery) and these light up at night, giving the nauseous feeling that you?ve maybe had too many house cocktails even though it?s only 5pm! Inside the club there is a main part for adults and children over 14 and a part to the side for families with children under 14. None of it is non-smoking and it?s heartbreaking to see said Burberry clad teenage parents sitting drinking a pint and simultaneously smoking with one hand and playing bingo with the other, desperately trying to quieten babies and young children (?shut the fk up or I?ll break your f*g neck Kyle? was one method of oral chastisement I heard) with a bockle of fizzy orange in their pushchair, rocking it vigorously with their feet because their hands are full with pint, fag and bingo dabber.

I hated the club but unfortunately there weren?t many other places to go, and whilst I was more than happy to have an early night in the caravan, my sister went because it was better than sitting in the caravan ? how boring. Trouble is that even though quite a few members of our family were staying on the same caravan site and in the same club, she ended up sitting mostly on her own when I?d gone after about half an hour, so consequently we didn?t go out on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. On Thursday night we had a blazing row where she accused me of being a snob and looking down my nose at people, which I probably do without realising it, but I don?t care, that place is just not my idea of fun.

Don?t think I?ll be going on holiday to Skegness or with my sister again in a hurry!

OP posts:

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Gillian76 · 05/08/2006 18:07

Don't hold back now!

Think I would have left before the end of the week...

TambaIsBadBadBad · 05/08/2006 18:10

Glad you had such a nice time

ginmummy · 05/08/2006 18:10

If I drove a car I would have come back on Friday morning after the argument. I only went to spend time with my sister, nephew and ds and it turned into a major barny, with frictions that I'd long thought had been forgotten coming to the surface!

That place really brings out the worst in people. If I'm a snob, she's an argumentative bully.

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zippitippitoes · 05/08/2006 18:11

oh dear..wasn't there a nice quiet pub garden in the town..walk on the beach..library to go to?

SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 18:16

No comment on your sister, but if you seriously think shops are selling illegal items then perhaps you should call the relevent authorities and reort them? I have to say though that I find it quite unlikely. I am afraid that just because the shops did not match up to your requirements (Next, Gap, Harrods?) it is probably a reflection of the economic status of the entire area and nothing more than that.

I am surprised that one so cuturally aware and morally superior as yourself could not see the true sadness that this lends to a once wonderful town, rather than judging people in whose shoes you are lucky enough never to be likely to walk perhaps your energy would be better spent setting up a good support network - I am sure NCT will have an opening for you.

SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 18:16

Zippi, the beach is really very nice - they have worked really hard on it

ginmummy · 05/08/2006 18:17

The beach was a several mile walk and it was throwing it down for most of the week and I forgot the rainshield for ds's pushchair. Didn't think to look for a library, though I did purchase two books from a car boot sale for 90p for both! That's one positive I guess!

When we were walking round the car boot sale I told my sister that I wanted to look for a book as I'd forgotten to bring one, and whenever we saw a stall selling books she'd ask me if they were any good and when I said not really she said "why, have you read them all?" I'm not really into Mills and Boon either.

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SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 18:19

OMG - they were selling Mills and Boon at a Car Boot Sale - now I see what your problem was now

ginmummy · 05/08/2006 18:26

Securmummy - if trading standards walked round the stalls selling dvds for £1 and tracksuit tops with '1 World Cup and 2 World Wars' on the back just above an England flag then I'd like to think they'd do something about it. It just beggars belief that they haven't done anything yet.

I remember going to Butlins at Skegness about 25 years ago with my whole family and liking it, and I guess the whole place is geared towards children. I don't want to start on with the whole smoking debate but when the smoking ban in pubs and clubs does come into effect places like Skegness will benefit hugely! That was my main gripe with the place - the fug of smoke that filled everywhere you went.

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ginmummy · 05/08/2006 18:28

Not so much that they were selling Mills and Boon at a car boot sale, more that she didn't get that I didn't want to read it, that it's not my personal choice of literature.

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SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 18:35

Your op stated shops selling the stuff.

I agree about smoke in places like arcades, however, these are entertainment spots most of which serve alcohol. Beer and cigarettes go together - that is just the way it is! (until said ban) If you want to take your children to a place without smoke then you need to shop around more!

As to your sisters reaction, TBH I would think that she felt you were including her in the generalisations you were making - I know I would have felt that if I where there! (ie trying to enjoy what was there and being told it was all terrible and your child couldn't be there, why did we come etc).

I am sure many here will think I am wrong, but I think you are coming across as very snobby! Whatever happened to just giving in and enjoying something for a week? Make the best of it! No-one says you have to ever go back, but it is one week from your life, would it have hurt you to try and join in a bit so as you could have fun with your sister instead of ruining the holiday for everyone concerned?

sallystrawberry · 05/08/2006 18:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 18:44

Oh hell, SS - that is what I meant to say...must stop getting so caught up in my rants.

Leaving with my soap box now.

hulababy · 05/08/2006 18:44

Not been for a while, but I can imagine TBH. Not my idea of a fun place, although the beach itself is alright. I hate the typical British seaside/sea front type arcades and cheap nasty shops. I know not all our sea side places are like that BTW, but those that are are bad!

compo · 05/08/2006 18:45

I think you should research your holiday destinations better in future
Did your ds and nephew have a good time though? Kids love arcades etc so perhaps it was worth it for them?

ginmummy · 05/08/2006 18:47

Point taken.

This is the first time I've actually said what I think to anyone apart from my mother (who joined us on Thursday afternoon for two days and who thought exactly the same as me).

Yesterday mum, ds and me went to the beach and built sandcastles and flew a kite (sis refused to go as she doesn't like the beach or the sea) and you're right it is a nice beach and I can't comment on it being cleaned up as I don't remember it from when I was younger. I just wish we could have gone sooner. (I don't drive and the weather was atrocious - not great for going to the beach.) We also went to the Animal Farm place and had a lovely time, and there is a lot more to do on that part of the coast than gravity defying rides and bright lights. I just went with a sister who likes the rides and a son who likes the beach and a nephew who likes them all, and it's a shame that it took a blazing row like that for us to realise that we really are chalk and cheese.

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ginmummy · 05/08/2006 18:50

Compo - it was booked in Feb and sis asked if I wanted to go halves on a brand new caravan, and thinking that it would be a nice family bonding opportunity I said yes.

I just wish I had a car as it would have made a huge difference to things!

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SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 19:00

Ginmummy, I agree that having a car is important - wherever you go, mainly because if you have control of things to some extent, it is easier to accept what is there - ie you can say, ok we will do a couple of hours of arcades, then go to the beach - then we all get our way IYSWIM. There is nothing better at adding to tension than feeling trapped in a situation you don't like.

Why don't you try again next year but go for a place on the beach, near a holiday type camp with a couple of close towns so that you are more likely to be able to escape the arcades etc.

If you are interested, Scarborough can be good - there are places where you can get a caravan near the beach but away from the holiday camp, the camp is there for the kids evening stuff and the town has the usual arcades. However, close by are Filey, Robin Hoods Bay, Whitby and many other places that are very very pretty with nice walks and interesting places to visit.

Anyway - I think I left already

expatinscotland · 05/08/2006 19:00

Where's Skegness?

cece · 05/08/2006 19:02

I found Skegness very bracing

expatinscotland · 05/08/2006 19:04

Gin
I agree about the car thing! SO worth it when you go on holiday as many self-catering cottages are accessible only if you're in a car.

And they can be quite nice.

ginmummy · 05/08/2006 19:25

Scarborough sounds ideal! Next time (if there is one) we'll have to sit down and talk about what we want from a holiday and where would be suited for us all.

I'm sorry if I came across as being a snob and looking down my nose at people. It was a rant that I needed to get off my chest and perhaps I shouldn't have done so on a public forum. I appreciate that people like different things and that we'd be very boring if we all like the same. For what it's worth I think we would have had the same argument wherever we'd gone as we are very different people with very different likes and dislikes.

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mrsbang · 05/08/2006 19:26

Poor Skeggy! Tis not that bad really.

zippitippitoes · 05/08/2006 19:28

are you sure you won't be taking her to somewhere cultured and posh tonight? for your week away with your rules?

SecurMummy · 05/08/2006 19:43

Gin, sorry for my soapbox, you are of course entitled to rant!

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