The Butlins Bubble

Its almost 3 months now that i've been here, and I have met some pretty amazing people. In Butlins, it's like we have our own world. Its a mix of Big Brother, Jersey Shore and your first year of college. It is also known as 'the bubble'. About 500 team members live on site, and we are the bubble. Everyone is switching rooms, dating eachother, and out drinking a lot, its just a different world. In the real world, couples wouldn't move in together as quick as they do here, rumours spread like wildfire, and we all live off of microwave meals or team diner for two quid. Most people live with the same team that they work with, but not everyone. There are different style accommodations to live in. I live in a four share. In my room it should be me and another girl, then across the hall lives two girls, and we all share a washroom, and open kitchen / living room. Other accoms are the same style, but only shared between two people. Then there is the 'couples accom' which is one bedroom for two people, and a shared bathroom and kitchen / living room. Lastly there is singles. One washroom and kitchen shared between a few people, no living room, but everyone in that accom has their own bedroom which they don't have to share. Since I have been here, lots of the reds have moved around. I switched accoms shortly after coming here, into the one that I am currently in. I lived with Chloe, but she moved into a couples accom with her boyfriend. So i have my own room, which is nice and big, until they move in someone new. In my accom I have two other girls, who are moving out into their own accom. So another red is planning on moving in with me. I'm currently in the midst of painting and re doing the accom so its how I like it, before they move in other people with me. Its strange because back home, I never really cared if my room was a mess, or if I let dishes pile up a little bit in the kitchen, I would just put it off and do it later. Here, its not like that at all! Now that I basically live on my own, my room is almost always tidy, and the kitchen makes me cringe if its not clean. If the living room has stuff lying all over the place, it stresses me out! I never used to be like this, but the bubble has changed me. Talk about growing up fast! Making mama proud for sure!

There is currently around 30 redcoats on the team. They are in need of more, so i'm assuming in the next few weeks we will get some newbies. All of the reds had to audition to get their job, and fight for it with 100s of other hopefuls. I would say everyone has some sort of talent. Singing, dancing and hosting are the most popular. The entertainment team is full of outgoing, loud, and unique characters. Of all of the Butlins, Bognor Regis has the tallest female red, and the shortest, the youngest redcoat & only canadian (yours truly), two magicians, a Guiness Worlds Record adjudicator, many singers and dancers, and a whole ton of characters. Not only is there 30 reds, but there is also Billy the bear, Butlins main man, and his scottish girlfriend Bonnie Bear. Then the skyline gang which is made up of Mimi, Candi, Pip, Bud, Sprout, Dude and their dog Rainbow. Dino and Darwin are two dinosaurs that are best friends and like hanging out at the Shoreline hotel a lot. Barney, BJ & Baby Bop; Angelina Ballerina; Fireman Sam and Naughty Norman Price; Pingu; Bob, Wendy & Spud; Ludo another big green dinosaur, and lastly Cedric the seagul. My job has given me the opportunity to hang out with the characters I grew up watching on tv, and allow me to meet the most amazing people.

Other teams here are Splash, which are the lifeguards that work in the water park. Then there is the Sports Coaches & Leisure so all of the people that work with the kids on football, archery, the rock climbing wall, stuff like that. Fun fair team which is indoor, outdoor, and a lot of them work overtime in Safety. Resort safety, which is security, they work the venues at night, overlook the resort and work the gates. Then there is the restaurants like Papa Johns, Bar Rosso, and the Beachcomber. There is also Bars, which work Center, Reds, Hotshots and Jaks. Those are all of the different teams that I have become friends with so far! All together we make `one big hearted team`.

For an update on whats been new with me,just lots of work, and i`m always doing something new in details. For example, I was a cheerleader at a wrestling show last Saturday. I went out with the bad team, at first I was really nervous about doing it, but by the end, its become my new favorite shift! Last week I took part in the `Best of British Garden Party`which was a family sports day basically and everyone was split up into the four different countries: Wales, England, Ireland and my team, Scotland. It was alot of fun as I got to participate, characters came out, and it was the first day of it, so it was all trial and error. Last night I did party dances on stage with Billy and Bonnie which was a first, and was absolutely adorable! In Center Stage we have had around eight reds going on stage instead of just the regular three for party dances, creating WOW moments for families. Its such a good laugh having all of us on stage, stuff like that is why I love being a redcoat.

A few weeks ago, Butlins hosted a Special Needs Hockey Tournament. Of all the places in England, Butlins Bognor is where they stayed. It was a Canadian team, and I was so happy all week! Canadians were everywhere, we were taking over bognor!! Brianna, a friend from home, was one of the coaches and it was amazing to see her. She was my first and only friend from home that i`ve seen so far. I was working while they were down but fortunately in between shifts and after work I went out with them. Made a new friend named Cody, hes 18 and his uncle played on the team. He was down to party so I took him out at night on resort to show him how we do it at Butlins. His first night out he ended up being escorted from the Shoreline hotel to his room because he passed out in the washrooms. I found this out from security the next day, because he was so drunk he didn`t even remember! To say the least, I know he enjoyed his time in England. Brianna brought me stuff from my mom which included a teddy bear that I now sleep with, chocolates, tootsie rolls which you can`t buy in England, and last but not least, TIM HORTONS. Thank god for that!!! To the brits reading this, Tim Hortons is the Canadian version of Costa or Starbucks. To the canadians reading this, moving to a country without Tim Hortons is harder than you`d think!! The Canadians all left and then it was an adult weekend. I went out on the Friday night, nothing out of the ordinary there, but then sat out the Saturday and Sunday. Just wasn`t feeling it, and needed to chill out and have a relaxed weekend. So I did some painting, walked around town, watched movies, played Black Ops and hung out with Matt the whole weekend.

We are back onto regular breaks now but because schools in, its mainly young families with tots, and grandparents. Not as full, so its not too hectic. This weekend coming up is the Footballers weekend. Its 3 days that Butlins hosts all of these football (soccer) dads and sons. Im a bit nervous about this one because apparently its a nightmare of a weekend. I work in Center stage until one in the morning on Friday by myself, but then I have Saturday off which isn`t too bad. Once we get through this weekend, the next three in a row are all adult weekends. Should be a good time and I probably won`t have to work too much so I want to do a bit of travelling.

Tomorrow I am off to London as long as the weather is half decent, with Matt. For those back home that have yet to see facebook, I am now in a relationship. To answer the basic questions i`ve already been asked.. No, he is not a redcoat, hes resort safety, a few years older than me, tall and yes, he is british. Things are going really good here. I love my job, my accom is coming along, and I have a great guy that I get to see all the time. I`m a very happy and lucky girl. Sorry it took so long for an update, but this is whats going on, on my side of the pond!