Disabled Folk Have A Week's Holiday At Pontin's Camp In Suffolk

People with disabilities make the most of an autumn holiday week at Pontin's.

Holiday makers with disabilities are arriving for a special holiday week at Pontin’s Holiday Village at Pakefield, broadcast in October 1974. Wheelchair users are pushed by helpers including Red Cross members and the lift in a St Christopher’s coach enables a woman in a wheelchair to be lowered to the ground. Scenes of the entertainments hall open with a shot of the flamboyant light fittings and glitter ball hanging from the ceiling. People play bingo as Graham Henry, Entertainments Manager, calls the numbers. Judy Finnigan, Anglia Television presenter, asks Mr Henry if he has to make any special adjustments to his normal routine. He says very few as guests are treated the same as the summer guests. The weather has been bad but there are indoor activities. Judy compliments him on his patience under normal conditions, and he says the guests are great people. Indoors and outdoors, Judy interviews some of the holiday makers who have been making the most of the opportunities in spite of the weather. A man and his wife are enjoying their second Pakefield holiday. Another man has been to Lowestoft and says enjoy yourself as you might not be here tomorrow. The dining hall is full of holiday makers enjoying a meal at the long tables. Fred Pontin greets two women who are twins, identified by Anglia Television as Violet Dexter and Rose Haynes aged 82 years. Judy Finnigan interviews Fred Pontin, the owner of the Pakefield holiday camp. He says these poor people are not welcome in many places and his holiday villages are suitable for the holidays they need and deserve. A woman in Red Cross uniform is interviewed about effects of the unfortunate weather, and says the holiday makers are prepared to forget it and still enjoy themselves tremendously. At the swimming pool, a woman enters the water and pretends to complain about the temperature before floating on her back.

Keywords

Holidays; Holiday Camps; Disability; Disabled Access; Swimming Pools; Dining Halls; Bingo; Twins