Well, my first blog party has been a ton of fun! I blogged about my adventures at Butlins, gave away great prizes, and even shared recipes. But although the party is winding down, you still have a chance to win – check out these British Invasion giveaways that are still running:
On Friday morning, it was time to say goodbye to Butlins. We headed to the Yacht Club for one last meal before catching our train.
I’ll miss you, delicious fry-ups!
After breakfast, we headed back to our room to grab our bags, and made our way out. Guest services called a taxi for us, and we waited at the front gate for them to arrive. This was the first time it had rained during the entire stay, and as we huddled in the rain, two Red Coats ran over and held an umbrella over us! They were very nice, and chatted with us as we waited for the cab. “Do a lot of Americans know about Butlins?” One of them asked. No, but maybe now they will!
Our cab arrived, and we waved goodbye to the friendly Red Coats and bid farewell to Butlins.
Jai and I both had a fantastic time at Butlins, and we’re really happy that we had a chance to go. It’s a very fun place, and I think most families would have a ball there. There are so many fun activities, rides, games and shows for kids, and there’s no waiting around in huge lines for anything. I would love to go again someday!
Wednesday morning came, and it was time for another delicious breakfast:
Inside the Yacht Club
We forgot to take the photo until halfway through the first course. After this we had seconds, and I enjoyed another big fry-up. I was stuffed afterwards, but I still had a piece of fried bread on my plate and I didn’t want to waste it; so we wrapped it in a napkin and fed it to a seagull outside, who happily gobbled it up.
After we ate, we headed over to the laundrette to wash some clothes. As the clothes dried, I popped over the the Skyline to watch “Pingu’s Fun Fitness”. Pingu and a Red Coat led the audience through a series of exercises, and it was very entertaining to watch Pingu flop his wings around in his attempt to workout!
After our clothes dried, we headed back to the apartment. Housekeeping stopped by while I happened to be in the bathroom, and asked Jai if we needed anything. He let them know that we had some dirty towels that could be taken away, since housekeeping didn’t come the day before. The employee said he would come back; and later on that afternoon, the dirty towels were still there, but they had brought a big stack of new towels – so we had more clean towels than we could shake a stick at!
We wanted to head back into the town center, so that we could stop by an internet cafe and upload a few photos. Afterwards, we walked down to the shore, and I stopped in a restroom so that I could change into my swimsuit. I wanted to at least dip my toes in the water!
Then we headed back to Butlins to go to the waterpark! Butlins has a massive waterpark with all kinds of giant, twisty slides. I was too chicken to go down the big slides, so I stuck to a more mild mannered one. I could see families spending a whole afternoon just at the waterpark!
Inside the waterpark
Even the trashcans at Butlins are cute!
After drying off from the waterpark, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying all of the rides at the funfair. It was a really nice afternoon!
Walking through the skyline on our way back to the apartment, we caught a glimpse of Billy The Bear’s “Disco Download”:
Then it was time to head to my favorite place!
It was with some sadness that I enjoyed our last fabulous dinner at the Yacht Club.
First course was a steak pasty, Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas, chips, stir fry, and some delicious pizza. We were too busy eating to take any pictures of the second helping!
After dinner, we went to the Swinging Shillelagh pub in the Skyline to watch the “Soap or Soak” karaoke. Nobody wanted to sing, so the Red Coat who was the emcee entertained us by cracking jokes. He asked the crowd, “Who traveled the longest to come here? Who traveled over 3 hours?” I raised my hand and so did another table. “4 hours? 5 hours? Over SIX hours?!” I was the only one with my hand still raised at this point! “Over six hours? Why didn’t you just go to Skeg?” he joked.
Afterwards, we headed over to the Centre Stage to watch that night’s headliner, a musical review called “The Dictionary of Soul”. Then it was back to the apartment to pack and get some sleep!
On Wednesday, we started our day off right with another delicious meal at The Yacht Club. Here I am getting ready to head to breakfast:
Not the greatest picture of me, but you can see how nice the living room is.
Breakfast was spectacular as ever. These chocolate Croissants were so flaky and delicious! We also had bowls of fresh fruit.
We also had a wonderful fry-up after this. Yum!!!
After breakfast, we headed over to the Skyline, where a photoshoot was taking place with Pingu himself. I’m quite a Pingu fan, so naturally I couldn’t leave without getting a picture!
After hobnobbing with Pingu, we headed to the seafront. Butlins is situated directly in front of the ocean, and you can follow the promenade into the Bognor Regis town center. Neither of us had been to Bognor before, so we were looking forward to seeing the town.
Jai and I on the beach
The Shoreline hotel at Butlins and the Bognor seafront – click to enlarge
The promenade – click to enlarge
The sun was shining, and it was the perfect day to be at the beach.
Jai and I walked down to the Bognor pier, and then headed into town.
We looked around a few shops, and I bought a Bognor Regis teatowel. We also stumbled accross the free Bognor Regis musem, which was fun to look around.
One of the displays from the Bognor museum
Then we made our way back to Butlins, and it was time for rides, rides, rides!
We also happened to see the Skyline gang walking around the resort and entertaining onlookers:
Then it was time for “Pingu’s Chill Zone”!
After Pingu’s show, we stopped by guest services to ask for clean towels because housekeeping hadn’t come through our room that day. This time there was no problem getting the supplies.
Then it was time for another wonderful dinner! The buffet is so huge that we literally did not eat lunch once during our stay. The challenge was to work up enough of an appetite for dinner after the huge breakfast!
My first course included chips and gravy, mushy peas, sausage & rice. Jai’s dinner included sausage, some sort of macaroni and cheese, and a wonderful fish in cream sauce. Of course, we had seconds as well as dessert. I should have taken a picture of the huge dessert selection – it was lovely.
After dinner, we decided to check out “Amethyst”, a magic show that was taking place on the Centre Stage.
The Centre Stage is a huge venue, drenched in disco lights. There was a dance floor and a Red Coat playing DJ, which made it feel like a club – except the people on the dancefloor were all five year olds! It was a fun atmosphere. The Red Coats led the children in dances, and then the kids would chase them in circles around the stage. At one point, they all jumped on top of a Red Coat in a dogpile!
There were more shows coming up after Amethyst finished, but the jet lag was kicking in so we decided to retire for the evening. We had a lovely day enjoying the seafront and the various shows!
This is the last in our series of British Invasion giveaways, and it’s a grand finale!
What would you do with $100 to spend at English Tea Paperie?
Would you buy some notecards? How about some gift enclosures? There are a wide array of beautiful designs to choose from – but if you don’t find anything that fits your personality, Chloe can create custom artwork for you! (Custom orders currently run at $35 per illustration.)
And this giveaway is open to readers worldwide, so everyone can join the fun!
**Please note that the $100 gift certificate CAN NOT be applied to shipping, so please bear that in mind when entering.**
Here’s how to enter:
1. For your first entry, visit English Tea Paperie and tell me what design you would pick and why. Maybe you’d pick the “Coach” bag design because you love fashion? Or the little sparrow because you’re a bird lover? Let us know!
This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment, so that I may notify you in the event that you are the lucky winner!
Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:
2. Write a post on your blog linking to this giveaway and English Tea Paperie. Then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet!
4. Subscribe to my blog updates by entering your email into the “Subscribe” box in the sidebar. Then come back and leave me the email you subscribed with!
5. Subscribe to the English Tea Paperie newsletter by clicking here and entering your email into the “Newsletter” box. Then come back and leave me the email you subscribed with!
6. Become a follower of my blog by clicking the “Follow” button in my sidebar! Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment!
7. Post Contest Corner’s button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:
8. Post “The British Invasion” button on your website – copy and paste the following code, and leave me a comment with the link:
Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway ends on June 11th at 11:59 PM, PST. Winner will be chosen the following day via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to entrants worldwide.
When I woke up Tuesday morning, my first thought was: “Oh no, I didn’t miss breakfast, did I?!” I leapt out of bed and sighed with relief when I saw it was 6 AM. The Yacht Club opened at 8:30 and offered breakfast through 10:30, and I was dying with anticipation after the delectable dinner we had eaten the night before.
First course of breakfast
And breakfast did not disappoint! Pictured above is a traditional English fry-up at its best: two sausages, two pieces of fried bread, fried mushrooms and tomato, beans, and black pudding, served with a latte and juice. This was absolutely delicious and would become my staple breakfast throughout our stay at Butlins. But I didn’t stop there.
Second course of breakfast
A chocolate pastry and fruit bowl served with a mocha and juice. I was amazed at the quality and freshness of the food – the pastries were so flaky and still warm, like they’d been pulled right out of the oven before serving. And the variety did not disappoint; in addition to the full buffet of fry-up staples, the selection of fresh fruit, and the huge table full of pastries, there was also a big selection of cereals, oatmeal, and breads for toasting. We could have eaten there for a week and never managed to taste it all. I’ve never eaten a two-course breakfast in my life – normally, the pastry by itself would more than suffice – but this food was just SO GOOD.
After breakfast, we spent some time looking around the resort and enjoying the entertainment in the Skyline Pavilion.
That panorama was taken from the “Bob the Builder” play area. There are several play areas for little kids inside the skyline, including a giant maze/ball pit complete with miniature cars:
There are also rides just for toddlers:
This is the Puppet Castle, where we watched a few puppet shows:
In the window of the puppet castle is a charming display of animatronic puppets:
There is also a giant arcade inside the Skyline, in addition to a second separate building that also houses an arcade.
There is also an over-18s section with slot machines. Jai insisted that he wanted “To gamble a pound!”, so we had a look at the machines. Not being gamblers, we were totally clueless as to how to play any of the slot games. As we looked at the instructions on one of the machines, we noticed 1p sitting on top of it. “Hey! Look at that, you won 1p without even gambling anything!” I said. You’re supposed to quit while you’re ahead when gambling, so we did just that and left 1p richer!
There is also a huge assortment of entertainment and shows that happen on two stages: a main stage is situated in the middle of the Skyline, and the Centre Stage is upstairs. During the afternoon, the main stage in Skyline offers all sorts of shows for children. You can meet characters like Barney, Pingu, Billy The Butlins Bear, and Fireman Sam, and listen to them perform songs and tell stories. There are also various entertainment acts and music for adults that take place on the Centre Stage in the evening – there are so many shows and activities scheduled for each day that they gave us a book which listed all the various times and show descriptions.
There is a special team of staff at Butlins who are known as Redcoats. Redcoats assist guests, entertain children, and participate in the live shows, and are identifiable by their trademark red jacket. A number of former Redcoats have gone on to find success in the entertainment business, so the job is often sought after by actors-in-training.
In addition to the characters and Redcoats, Butlins has its own musical group for kids known as The Skyline Gang. They sing songs and entertain with comedy and tricks. We happened to be walking through the Skyline as they were performing “The Pirate Escapade” with a giant dog:
Outside the Skyline is a funfair, filled with rides. All of the rides that we went on were included in the stay and free to ride. (There were also a few other amusements that you could pay to get on, such as the go-karts.) Best of all, there were no lines – whenever you wanted to go on a ride, you could hop right on and ride as many times as you liked. There was a carousel, dodgems, the “Rockin’ Tug”(a big boat that spins around), and two “white knuckle” rides that launch you into the air!
This is Jai’s foot as we flew through the air!
Wheee!
The top of the Skyline, as seen from the ride
The thrill rides were fun, but after eating such a huge breakfast, we thought it would be wise to take a breather and do something a little more mild!
Me on the Dodgems
Our first afternoon was really nice and full of fun things to do. My only complaint was that when housekeeping came through our room that morning, they did everything but stock the toilet paper, so we ran out. Guest services told us they would send some over, but no one came, and we had to ask two more times before it was re-stocked. However, I would also like to point out that everyone we spoke to on staff were very nice and courteous. In fact, the last time we went to guest services to ask about the supplies, they had closed; I said to Jai, “Hmm, I wonder who we should ask?”, and a staffer who was off the clock and on her way home overheard us and stopped to help. I really appreciated her going above and beyond like that! She pointed us next door to the resort security, who got the supplies to us.
Other that that, the day was perfect. After the funfair, we went back to the room for a little bit and decided to pop open our complimentary bottle of Chaumet.
Then we went onto the balcony to enjoy our drinks:
As evening approached, it was once again mealtime, and we headed to The Yacht Club to enjoy the feast!
Every night, there were new dishes to try. For my first course, I enjoyed some mushy peas, chips, garlic bread, delicious chicken, yummy meatballs, and some stir-fry noodles and rice. There’s something underneath the garlic bread too, but I’m not sure what because we ate so many things. For my second course and dessert, I was too busy pigging out to take a picture!
After dinner, we headed back to our apartment to kick back and watch TV. We could have opted for the live entertainment offered at the Centre Stage, but we were still recovering from jet lag so we decided to take it easy and rest up for the next day’s activities!
We arrived in Butlins on May 4th, after a very long day of traveling. We took the train from dad’s house in Birkenhead, and it was a journey fraught with delays, cancellations, and running from one end of the train station to another in a mad dash to catch the train we’d been re-assigned to without warning. (We were traveling on Southern Rail on a bank holiday – enough said) But despite the litany of mishaps, we somehow managed to arrive on schedule. We arrived at Butlins around 5 PM, and were eager to get settled. At the check-in desk, they gave us our key and directed us to our deluxe accommodations at “Yachtsman Drive”. There are multiple hotels situated at Butlins, and each section of apartments is nautically themed- the row we stayed on was named “Oyster Bay”.
This is the row where our apartment was. Each room had a nicely landscaped garden in the front, which was a really nice touch.
This was waiting for us when we opened the door!
View from the living room
The apartment was huge, inviting, and well kept. The living room had two leather couches and a big TV, with a little kitchenette containing a mini-fridge and kettle. Next to the living room was a bedroom containing two twin beds (which I forgot to get a picture of), and upstairs was the bathroom and a massive master bedroom:
First half of the room. They included a smaller second TV up here so that you could watch telly while relaxing in bed. And notice the nice little balcony outside?
The second half of the room. Told you it was big! This is the nicest English accommodation I’ve ever stayed in. The room also came with a safe, to lock up our valuables while we were out and about. The instructions on the safe were worn away, so we couldn’t figure out how to program it, but after some back-and-forth with the help desk, we got it sorted.
We were ready to eat after our long day of traveling, so we made our way down to The Yacht Club restaurant – Deluxe accommodation includes an all-you-can-eat buffet at breakfast and dinner. Now, anyone who knows me knows that one of the things I miss most about England is the food. English sausages, pasties, pies, baked beans (they sell something called baked beans in the US, but it’s not the same) – I miss all the yummy things I can’t get in the states. To my delight, the buffet included all of my favorite foods and more! The spread was absolutely huge – the buffet had a wide variety of main dishes, and there was a full salad bar, cold cuts, crackers, a whole table full of desserts, and every kind of beverage that you could want.
Our first meal at Butlins. I was so excited about all the food that I forgot the gravy, which I went back and got after I snapped the pic. After we ate this, we had seconds…and thirds….
Oh my gosh, the food was SO GOOD. Not only was it my favorite food, but it was so well cooked. Everything was fresh, hot, and absolutely delicious. And the variety was something else – you would go through the line once, and by the time you went back for seconds, they had added new dishes to the buffet! For my first course pictured above, I had a Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas, a cheese & onion pasty, chips, yummy garlic bread and a little stir-fry. I also loved the coffee machine, where you could choose from a latte, a caramel macchiato, a mocha, a cappuccino, and all sorts of other yummy drinks. All my favorite food, plus my favorite coffee? It was heaven. Just writing this is making me really hungry, and sad that I’m not at the all-you-can-eat Butlins buffet anymore. MMMM!!!
After dinner, we wandered around the resort a little bit. At the center of Butlins is the Skyline Pavilion, which is a gigantic, permanent circus tent with all sorts of entertainment inside. There are two stages, a funfair and multiple play areas for toddlers, a giant arcade, restaurants, and more. We paused to watch a puppet show at the Puppet Castle, then headed back to our room. We could have stuck around for more entertainment, but we were happy to relax back at the room after our long day and get some ZZZZs.
Today we’re featuring another fabulous Brit-owned business – English Tea Paperie! Londoner Chloe Minyon moved to the US in 2006 to marry her husband, Joe. As Chloe made her new home across the pond, she was inspired to start her own stationary business, offering personalized note cards, gift enclosures and calling cards. Each set of cards is handcrafted with care, with creative designs to suit any taste.
When I received these note cards in the mail, I was immediately struck by how charming they are. The first design, “Beach Bum – Hanging Flip Flops”, is cute and summery – fitting, since I live on the beach! The second design, “Sweet Sparrow”, is absolutely darling. I love the elegant typeface and the coordinating chocolate envelopes. Each set contains 12 flat 5X7 note cards and matching envelopes, tied up in a pretty ribbon. If you’ve been putting off writing that letter to Aunt Betty, this darling stationary might motivate you!
Individuality is important to Chloe, who is happy to create customized stationary designs for her customers. She’s also passionate about the environment, and is striving to make her products as “green” as possible. From the English Tea Paperie website:
“Our cottage industry desires to use a green environment standard. We utilize acid and lignin free paper created by wind power and our envelopes are 30% recyclable post consumer waste. All extra card is donated to a local public school in VA for art projects.”
Want some fabulous stationary of your own? English Tea Paperie is offering Contest Corner readers 10% off their order! Simply click through this link to redeem the discount. And watch this space, because tomorrow we will be giving away a $100 English Tea Paperie gift certificate – that’s right, $100! You won’t want to miss it!
As you know, I decided to host this blog party in honor of my Butlins trip. Back in March, FuelMyBlog and Butlins Resorts teamed up for a special campaign where they selected 25 bloggers to go on a special press trip to Butlins and blog the whole experience. I was one of those lucky bloggers, and I had the opportunity to stay at the resort with Jai from May 4th through May 8th. So for the next five days, I’m going to be reviewing our experience and telling you what our stay was like in words, pictures, and videos.
So what is Butlins? Many of my readers live in the US, and probably have never heard of Butlins before. Butlins is a popular UK resort that has been around since 1936, who offer family getaways complete with lodging, entertainment, and rides. Butlins has changed a lot over the years, and they are eager to spread the word. The current impression that a lot of people have of Butlins is very old-fashioned, with people telling me that when they think of Butlins, they think of resort coordinators barking, “It’s 7:45, rise and shine! It’s 8:30, time for breakfast! 10 a.m, time to go swimming,” etc. And although the Butlins of today is a very different place, many people still think of an outdated image when they think of the resort – including my dad. When I told him I had signed up to be considered for the blog trip, he said, “Are you sure you want to go to Butlins?” (Of course, as soon as I was chosen and told him I’d be coming to visit in a month, he was excited about it!)
Butlins offers two kinds of breaks: family breaks and Adult Big Weekends. Being immature young-at-heart, we thought the family break looked like the most fun. Rides? A water park? Shows? 50 free activities to choose from? Count us in! Butlins has three locations, and we opted to go to the resort located in Bognor Regis, on the south coast of England. Bognor looked like a beautiful area, and we would also have a chance to stop in London on our way – Jai had never been there before, so that was another fun stop to add to our itinerary.
So what did we think of our Butlins experience? Was it indeed “Altogether more fun”? Read on:
Yesterday, I introduced you to The Royal Tart, a company that specializes in fabulous party packages. I had a chance to review the White Diamond teapot, and I am smitten with the elegance it brings to teatime. And today, Royal Tart is offering one lucky Contest Corner reader the chance to win a $75 gift card!
So what would you get with a $75 gift certificate?
Or perhaps you’d go all out and put the credit towards a fabulous Royal Tea!
The possiblities are endless!
**Please note that the $75 gift card CAN NOT be applied to shipping, so please bear that in mind when entering.**
How to enter:
1. For your first entry, tell me what you’d buy with a gift card from The Royal Tart!
This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment, so that I may notify you in the event that you are the lucky winner!
Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:
2. Write a post on your blog linking to this giveaway and The Royal Tart. Then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet!
4. Subscribe to my blog updates by entering your email into the “Subscribe” box in the sidebar. Then come back and leave me the email you subscribed with!
5. Become a follower of my blog by clicking the “Follow” button in my sidebar! Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment!
6. Post Contest Corner’s button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:
7. Post “The British Invasion” button on your website – copy and paste the following code, and leave me a comment with the link:
Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway ends on June 8th at 11:59 PM, PST. Winner will be chosen the following day via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to US residents and APO/FPO addresses.
Contest Corner is your resource for the best giveaways on the net! Journalist Beeb Ashcroft gives you her upfront opinions on the newest & coolest products - along with a chance for you to win one for yourself!
Yesterday, 
As you know, I decided to host this blog party in honor of my Butlins trip. Back in March, 
Yesterday, I introduced you to 
Contest Corner is your resource for the best giveaways on the net! Journalist Beeb Ashcroft gives you her upfront opinions on the newest & coolest products - along with a chance for you to win one for yourself!
