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Inspector Morse Society Go To ‘Colditz’ an alternative view of the 2003 weekend to Lyme Regis
Friday 26th September 14.41 Arrive at Lyme Bay Holiday Village to be told that the room is not available until 16.00 – not that it is still being cleaned just no admission. Then told car is wrongly parked. A good start. Decide to go Lyme Regis on a reconnoitre. Drive the 8 miles and manage to park by the sea. Find The Pilot – the pub for the evening get together. Decide not worth the 16 mile round trip. Look for and find The Bay Hotel, the start of Morse’s holiday and the venue for the Saturday dinner and murder. Notice the menu board saying no lunches and dinners until further notice! What has Antony organised! Drove back to Seaton to find a restaurant for dinner. Walk into the main street to find John, Jackie and Auntie Margaret are having the same thoughts except that they are one step ahead of us having found an Italian restaurant opposite the camp. We agree to meet at 19.00. After a quick stroll (not much to see) return to the camp to book in. We are given an envelope with a key and camp weekend programme including bingo and line dancing – must be difficult on a zimmer which sums up many of our fellow inmates (Ed. But not members of the Society). Also if we wished to be visited by a friend we must give 24 hours notice in writing. John and company have by now also booked in as we drive to our allotted cell (sorry room) words like Colditz and Stalag spring to mind. The cells are just about adequate with the smallest beds imaginable but we do have a bathroom with bath and hand held rubber shower (Ed. Much appreciated by John and Jackie). We are all in the same cell block and have a view of the tramway and children’s animal corner, at least we do not have to look at the topless welsh beer drinkers! 18.50 meet John and company plus Glasgow Maggie (a former nurse) in the wine bar opposite the camp. On the walk through we identify signs of escape tunnelling. John has booked the restaurant for 18.00 but we are soon joined by two more inmates. Arrive at restaurant who say that there is no more space but using our survival instincts decide to be cosy and get by. Excellent meal which takes the evening; as we finish eating Janet and sister arrive. Janet starts on pints (no food). At about 21.30 Antony, Phil, Colin and Dorothy arrive; they haven’t been to The Pilot either and need to eat. Restaurant happy to oblige. Once Antony has settled we break the news about The Bay Hotel. We really do know how to make people cheerful. After a few more drinks and more chat back to Colditz. Meanwhile in panic Antony and Phil go and visit The Bay Hotel at midnight only to find the ‘worse for wear’ owner and friend in kitchen with bottle of Scotch for company. The chef has left and owner has sacked all the staff and closed hotel and is under the impression that Society is arriving the following weekend. He promises that he will cook, something he hasn’t done for years, and says that it will be Alright on the Night but Antony feels it more like Fawlty Towers! Not helped by fact that owner is tall and resembles Basil Fawlty more than Denis Norden. Hope that waiter is not from Barcelona. Go to sleep hoping the Red Cross parcels arrive before breakfast.
Saturday 26th September Nice morning, go for a walk to get the morning paper to see if the war is over. Breakfast served 08.00 and there is a queue before the doors are opened. Food not bad. Board the coach for the day. We are accompanied by a Red Setter from Holland and Janet’s little dog. | |||||||
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Inmate, John Tennant, in his double cell (in Dorchester, not Lyme Regis) | ||
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Visit the Old Courts and Cells; seems like the camp but we have electricity. Then to the Tutenkamun and County Museums. All very interesting and really needed more time. Lunch in the King’s Arms where Morse stayed at the end of his holiday. Coach again and off to the Royal Signals Museum. Interesting if brief visit. Then to Hardy’s Cottage. No tea as the tea shop has packed up. This does not auger well for dinner. Back to Colditz, change and back on the coach to Lyme Regis. John White is disappointed because Maggie won’t wear her uniform for dinner (or at any other time). Guess what? The hotel is up and running and the only change to the menu is the vegetables and puddings. Parts for the murder mystery are allocated by Sherlock Antony Holmes. The meal is excellent and the murder is committed. Only two people identify the murderer and he didn’t know he did it! A great evening – oh ye of little faith! Return to Colditz for the march through the cell blocks. An attempt to whistle Colonel Bogey but too much laughter (Ed. Some of us went and joined the zimmer frame set in the nightclub, no doubt a diversion for a mass break out).
Sunday 27 September More Red Cross parcels have arrived in time for breakfast. The plan after the mass escape is to meet at Ottery St. Mary to see the Coleridge Plaque on the church yard wall. Then to Pewsey for lunch and on to Newbury for the canal trip. We decide to leave at Ottery as we are driving away from home. Another successful weekend for the Society and many thanks as ever to Antony.
(Ed. Since 2003 there have been reports in the press that The Bay Hotel has been put up for sale and is likely to be turned into a nursing home. The current status is unknown.) | ||
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