Pennsif - The Early Years - Our First Holiday Abroad, Mallorca 1969

Our family holiday in Majorca / Mallorca in May 1969.

This was our first trip abroad so a big event in the timeline of a working class family aspiring to move up to the lower middle classes.

We flew from Luton Airport on a package holiday with Monarch (now defunct).

And we stayed at the Hotel Alomar in C'an Picafort.

It had a swimming pool. And we went on donkey cart rides.

We were living the high life!

And we were near a beach with plenty of rock pools where I endeavoured to persecute the local crab population.

Then there was a boat ride on the Brisa - with paella and sangria. Hit me with another shot please... I can take it and I'm only 8 for another day or two.

Hot dogs, emmm. Give me more.

Not sure that scaffolding will quite make the grade with H & S.

Let's play tourists with cathedrals, and street paintings and bullfighting and things like that...

A bit of rough and tumble on the beach never did any harm particularly when I was bigger than he was.

And ice creams too. Living the life of Riley eh?

I had my 9th birthday there. And I got a donkey as a present. I kept him for years.

And a little wind-up bull as well. I think the boy holding the Action Man was from Germany. I don't think we spoke each other's language but we could still play bullfighting.

I had three Action Man. One even spoke when you pulled the cord. "Enemy ahead, range 200".

Then it was back to the airport for the flight home.

We were international jetsetters now...