For the episode, please see "The Jolly Boys' Outing".
| "The Jolly Boys Outing" | |
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Organiser |
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The Jolly Boys |
Del Boy Trotter |
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Date |
An annual event that took place between 1960 and 1989. |
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Location |
Margate |
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Transport |
Coach |
The "Jolly Boys' Outing" was a event that Del organised every year between 1960 and 1989. It typically involved Del and his male friends and family members hiring a coach for the day to go on a "beano" to Margate.
The Typical Day[]
Usually, the boys hire a coach to spend a day during the summer bank holiday weekend at Margate, starting with a few drinks at the Halfway House before setting off to the beach at Margate. They will also visit the amusement park and other attractions before taking a photo and heading home.
Other traditions include:
- sticking a sign up in the coach windows that informs people that the Jolly Boys are going to Margate
- about 27 people going
- sandwiches being made for the the boys to eat on the bus
- buying fish and chips for dinner
History[]
The first Jolly Boys' Outing was shown during the first episode of Rock and Chips. Freddie "The Frog" Robdal joins the coach party but unfortunately ends up using it as an opportunity to rob a jewelers. Sid kept a photo of this trip and Rodney later uses it to identify Freddie as his father.
Although the event has been mentioned a few times throughout the series, the only other time the Jolly Boys' Outing has been featured in the show was during the 1989 Christmas special, where it was the main storyline. The episode sees Del and 26 other lads, including Cassandra's father and Rodney's boss Alan, hiring a coach to, as ever, go to Margate during the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend. Del notices fumes from the radio he fitted to the coach but, before he can think anymore about it, Rodney interrupts and tells him that they have arrived at the Halfway House.
Whilst having a few drinks and looking for Del, Mike bumps into his old rival Eddie Chambers. Mike then finds both Eddie and Del in the toilets, where Del has an idea: he says to Eddie that if he and Mike can have some free tickets to his nightclub, he'll bring the rest of the coach party down to pay at the door. Mike reminds Del that they have to be out of Margate by seven o'clock, but Del suggests to flog the tickets to people on holiday.
Mike then tells Del what the problem is. Harry, the coach's driver, has apparently become drunk and the only other person who can drive the bus is Denzil. He says that he has had a few drinks, but Del says this can't be true because he is on antibiotics due to an ear infection. Denzil eventually gives in. Realising that they will be stranded otherwise, he says that he will drive the coach to Margate, so long as Harry drives it home. With that the group prepare to leave.
At that moment however, a couple of police officers come over to question Del about the state of Harry. Unfortunately, this happens just moments after Del ordered Rodney, which he, Mickey and Jevon were kicking around. He passes the football to Del, but hits one of the policeman in the head. Despite Del and Rodney's insistance that it was an accident, the officer arrests Rodney. This results in another pitstop, but fortunately Del and Alan quickly get Rodney, who has been let off with a warning.
With that the boys reach Margate and proceed to have a really good time. They go to the beach and amusement park, enjoying fish and chips, ice cream, donuts and jellied eels. After a memorable day, the group heads back to the coach and prepares to leave. Before heading back, Rodney calls his wife Cassandra, who mentions that the police phoned the flat, meaning she knows about his arrest.
Whilst the couple are talking, Del is relieved to see that Harry has sobered up. The driver is both worried and confused. He insists that he did not touch any alcohol at the halfway house and only had one glass of lemonade. The pair both note that they were lucky Denzil was on hand. At that moment, Denzil pokes his head out of the coach. He has also noticed the fumes coming off of the radio.
They call over Boycie and Mike, who tells them that the radio is resting on top of the main petrol line. Del switches the radio off, but to everyones horror, it catches fire. Following a moments panic, Del orders an evacuate of the bus. The entire party, runs to safety. Back in the phonebooth, Rodney defends his brother from Cassandra, saying its not right to say that Del causes trouble wherever he goes. Just as he says this, the coach explodes, leaving the group stranded in Margate.
The boys try to catch a train, but there is a rail strike, leaving the trains unavailable. They can't catch a bus either, having missed the last bus by ten minutes. As the others start to blame each other, Alan takes control of the situation. He tells the group that they are going to have to spend the night in Margate and wait for the replacement bus, which will arrive at 9 o'clock the following morning. However, due to it being a bank holiday, the group knows that they are going to have to fight tooth and nail to find a room. They break off in various directions.
During the night, Del causes havoc. Although they find accomodation, he and Rodney go out for a drink, which results in them being locked out of the hotel. They attempt to get Albert's attention, with Del chucking a rock, which breaks the window and leaves Albert with an injured head. They turn to Del's former love interest Raquel for help. Following an altercation with her flatmate/employer the Great Romondo, Del threw his suitcase through the window, which landed on Mike and Boycie.
Despite all this, the whole group made it safely back to Peckham the following morning. The replacement bus service arrived the following morning and everyone returned to their daily routines. This proved to be the last known Jolly Boys Outing however, as due to the incident with the previous coach, the bus company refused to let Del hire out another coach.