Introduction

Abstract

Cultural historian Jeffrey Hill considers that holidays are ‘imagined events’ (Hill, 2002: 86). Although referring to the work of John K. Walton (2000), he puts it succinctly that holidays ‘exist in the mind’ and are ‘capable of generating immense pleasures of anticipation and remembrance’ (Hill, 2002: 86). The social research organisation Mass Observation highlights the ‘holiday dream’ in its study of Bolton mill workers in the 1930s and, as Cross points out, ‘For many the holiday dream means a release from routine, a radical change from accustomed space, time, and activity’ (Cross, 1990: 42). If a Sunday visit to church helps workers ‘through the rest of the week’, the holiday has a’longterm function’, giving millworkers ‘something to look forward to’ as manifested in the weekly saving of money in holiday clubs (Cross, 1990: 40).¹ A Butlin’s souvenir brochure from 1939 demonstrates that the company similarly understood the ‘before, during and after’ aspect of the holiday experience:

The thought behind the issue of this souvenir is to provide a happy ending to a perfect holiday. First there was the thrill of holiday planning, then the holiday itself. Now comes the pleasure of looking back through these pages, which it is hoped, will help you to live again the happy carefree days you spent with us. (Illustrated in Read, 1986: 23)