Summer Throwbacks

I originally wrote this post back in Summer 2020, when Covid-19 had fucked up pretty much all of our summers. Some of us managed to get away and enjoy a staycation or two, while others were lucky enough to get a cheeky trip abroad before they brought in quarantine rules – however, we did none of that. I wasn’t particularly thrilled on the idea of getting on a plane, nor the idea of sleeping in a bed that countless other rando’s had slept in, plus, we had the added expensive of buying a house, so a holiday wasn’t really our priority for 2020.

At the time of editing this post (April 2021 just for context) we’ve just had confirmation that stage 2 of our Covid Roadmap will go ahead on the 12th of the month, so many of us are hopeful that we’ll get some sort of summer this year. I’m very much in the mindset of “don’t get your hopes up” seeing as you know, Boris cancelled Christmas 3 days before the main event, so my summer plans won’t involve anything extravagant. Call me boring, but I’d rather wait until we’re completely out of the woods. Anyway, back in summer 2020 when I originally wrote this post, I wanted to look back on some of my favourite holiday memories, and I think that as summer 2021 is perhaps still a bit uncertain, now is a good time to relive them once again.

Brean – Summer 2009

2009 was quite the summer – we spent numerous weekends over at Liam’s house, having barbecues and drinking Strongbow (we were that classy). Once we were broken up for the summer, we went off on our first holiday together to Brean, where we stayed in Liam’s nan’s caravan. We drove in two cars packed full of vodka, beer, and even more Strongbow, and spent three days drinking, eating junk food, and pissing away money in the arcade. Highlights include vodka muffins (where you soak a shot of vodka into a mini-muffin – don’t do it, it’s disgusting), Skittle shots (dropping skittles into a vodka shot – again, don’t do it, it’s disgusting), the electricity going out one evening when we were all hammered AF, getting completely soaked on the log flume, and bleeding the penny machine dry (lets just say I’d smash it on Tipping Point). We ate so much junk food I distinctly remember asking my Mum for a plate of vegetables for dinner the night I got home.

Dawlish – Summer 2010

An upgrade on our trip to Brean. We spent the best part of our final year of sixth form planning a week’s trip to Dawlish in a 10 berth caravan (we couldn’t afford to go abroad) and when exams were done and dusted, we headed off on our epic FWENDS holiday. Essentially, we did a lot of what we did in Brean, just for longer. We thankfully had better weather than Brean, meaning we could enjoy the beach more often and go on more trips out for the day, which was great, and we spent our evenings getting drunk in the caravan. It was a week that was packed with laughs, some of the stupidest but hilarious inside jokes, some of which are still referenced to this day. 

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Barcelona – Summer 2016

Barcelona was always a momentous trip as it was the first time I’d ever got on a plane. We booked a 4 day break in a hotel that was just beautiful and right next to the beach. The flight there was fine (I wish the same could be said about the flight home) and I was so proud of myself for enduring it. We got horrifically pissed at a tapas restaurant on the first night and we essentially wrote off the entire next day afterwards because the hangover was so bad. Not ideal when you’re only there for another 3 days. Thankfully, we made it through the rest of the trip hangover free and the weather was gorgeous. The weather turned just as we were leaving, which wasn’t ideal – especially as we were about to get on a plane. This then resulted in the most horrific, turbulent flight home which scared the shit out of me. Despite that, it was still nice to get away for a few days to somewhere with some decent weather!

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Gran Canaria – Summer 2017/2018

We went to Gran Canaria 2 years running because we loved it so much, and both times we went were amazing holidays. We were so lucky with the weather each time and we had some of the most amazing food. To be honest, the second time we went, we did pretty much the same stuff as before, but everything felt so much more relaxed – we knew where we were going, we knew what bars and restaurants were good, we knew the best transport links. The hotel we stayed at was also incredible – it was absolutely spotless and had the most beautiful rooftop pool, as well as a private lift down to the beach. One of my highlights of both trips was our day out at Palmitos Park, where we watched some amazing animal shows – the parrot riding a bike was my favourite – and took some of my most favourite photos.

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Bubble Rush – August 2017

Who knew that I would run a 5k for charity?! 2017 was the year that Lillie and I took up running, and as a way of making sure we kept it up, we signed up for a charity fun run. It was a fab day and in spite of the fact that we struggled most of the way through because we were both THAT unfit, it was so much fun and we raised over £300 for our local hospice charity. Have we been running since?…That’s not important.

DogFest – June 2018/2019

I was gutted at the news that 2020’s DogFest was cancelled, as the last two years that my Mum and I have gone have been so lovely. Daisy had the best time meeting some new friends and there were just so many dogs to smooth!

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Madeira – June 2019

Our holiday to Madeira in 2019 was great fun, despite a rocky start with the flight from hell! We had the best time exploring what is just the most beautiful and pretty place, exploring the Botanical Gardens and taking a ride in the cable cars. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel too that was near the beach and surrounded by loads of amazing restaurants. I’d love to go back at some point!

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It’s no secret that this summer will undoubtedly be different to all the others, but reminiscing through some of my favourite memories has got me thinking a bit more positively about what’s to come. Hopefully, if things continue as positively as they are, we might get a bit more of a summer this year – just as long as people don’t act like total fucknuggets and go overboard in the pubs…

What are your favourite summer memories? Let me know in the comments!