Well, here we go, our last newsletter. No doubt many of you will be disappointed to hear this, although some may be saying, thank Christ for that. I am in the latter camp, the job of writing a newsletter becomes harder each year. This one is going to be even more difficult as I won’t be waffling on about the usual prices, improvements or complaints. I could just go gung-ho and let everybody know exactly what I think, but it would be pointless as the editor wouldn’t let me… 2024 was very different for us, but still very special. I have decided to use this newsletter to celebrate the life and times of Magic Cove, with its 44 years of history and also some hilarious and memorable stories from over the years. Hopefully it will be of interest to many of you. For those of you who get bored easily, I apologise and please feel free to do with it what you wish.............. 😀

The Magic is born in a strange turn of events, Magic Cove has actually come full circle from its origins, because what is planned today, was the original idea that Lesley’s parents, Stan and Betty Marshall had for the disused quarry they had purchased. They applied to Cornwall Council to build permanent holiday lodges, but were refused at the time. However, they were advised, that a touring site would be approved. So, this is what they did and the rest as they say is History. The name of the site was chosen because Stan was a magician, known locally as Cornwall’s Tallest Magician. Well, I think we can all agree that opening the campsite was the best bit of Magic he performed. Although he would probably say it was his rope trick. Magic Cove did not actually open until July of 1981 due to timing of the planning approval so it was all hands to the pump to get it open for the main summer season. Stan recruited family to get it done and they were made to work day and night to get the site open. One of the funniest stories, was about Stan’s son David, aged 18 at the time, who had recently trained as a builder and excellent tiler. He was working in the showers and was found, one morning, fast asleep in the cubicle. He had been working all night to get them finished and ended up sleeping on the Job. Well done, Dave, dedication to your work!!

Those early days at Magic Cove were very different to what you all know today. Although there were 25 pitches, only some of them had the luxury of electric hook-up and TV. Early days saw free showers at Magic Cove, which was provided by a Magic Eye system. However, this had its disadvantages, as teenagers would stand in front of them all day. This not only meant that there were sometimes long queues, but the hot water ran out pretty quickly at great expense. Stan wasn’t having this of course, so meters were installed to solve the problem of slow customers and to make some more money 😊

Missing Years Stan didn’t used to write newsletters in the early days, so I have very little information to hand. To this end I will endeavour to make it up, or just waffle on. Both Lesley and I were fresh faced youths and getting to the end of our school days. Don’t think either of us had any thoughts on running Magic Cove?? When I left school, I went to work on a sheep farm for a couple of years, the most stubborn animals on the planet. Following that, I had twenty-one years working for Cornwall Council. Lesley of course, was far brighter than me and went to St Austell college to do business studies and secretarial skills. After qualifying, she went on to work as a legal secretary for a local Solicitors in Wadebridge and then she spent many years in banking with Midland Bank/HSBC.

First Newsletter Stan’s first ever newsletter came out in 1988 and having read them all to get inspiration for this, I have to say what a very funny man he was. I thought I would reproduce some of his stories in this newsletter. Please remember, they are his words not mine and as some long-term customers will know, Stan didn’t hold back with his words.  You could get away with more back then, unlike the easily offended society we find ourselves in today. He would probably be locked up.

Stan would always ask the customers to bring their golf clubs along to challenge him to a round or two at Trevose. He had the Magic Cove golf trophy to spice things up. The man was never home, either being busy at the site, sat in someone’s awning or on the golf course. Betty wasn’t complaining though, at least it gave her some peace and quiet for a while to get on with work at home.

Demand was getting higher for electric by 1993, so he installed hook-up points on some more pitches, although there were still quite a few without power. That year, Stan was also getting disgruntled with how messy people were being in the toilets so decided to let them know and wrote this little gem…

Toilet Talk “the cleanliness left something to be desired this year. I have had to work a bit harder to keep up our standards. Some people need a nursemaid!! You must also remember this, it was the Irishman who invented the Toilet Seat, but the Englishman who put the hole in it and the untrained child who couldn’t find the hole. It was Stanley who had to clean up the bloody mess. One week I offered £20.00 reward to anyone who could name the person who was stuffing the loos with wads of paper, in response a chap said, while sitting there contemplating why he came to Magic Cove, three people were peering over the top of the wall to see if it was him” To be fair things haven’t changed today. We still get wads of paper stuffed down the toilets, not to mention, shit up the walls and in the showers. So, this may answer your question if you are wondering why we are retiring….😊

The birth of Emails Stan wasn’t great with technology and was surprised how many E-mails he had on what he called the super highway... The first E-Mail he ever received was from Germany and went like this “Vee Vant to camp Vith 40 Shildrens and 6 Peoples, (they did spell it correctly, he was helping you with the accent).  He thought, I don’t want 40 German kids running around Magic Cove so he hinted that it might be too small.  Another one was from Holland. A very annoying man who kept asking questions, including “have you got a swimming pool”, Stan said YES, its 3000 miles long & 2000 miles wide and 5 miles deep in the middle. It’s 300 yards away and is called the Atlantic Ocean. 😀

Rabbit 1996 saw the infamous disappearing Rabbit incident and Stan was very angry about this. Although he had his suspicions at the time, he never did share it with the rest of us. Here is the extract from the newsletter at the time. As you can tell by his tone, he wasn’t happy!!

“The weather vane with the Rabbit in the Hat was stolen August bank holiday week, sometime Thursday night. At first, I was pointing the finger at young local lads who were making a bit of a nuisance of themselves in the village, but then I thought it was probably internal. If the thief is reading this and laughing at the time, read on, you may choke on your Turkey, I hope. You sent me a Polaroid photo with the caption “tired of being on the roof, going on holiday, I will be back soon. Love Magic Rabbit” For a start, he has not returned, which makes you a thief, a liar and a cheat. It’s probably laying in your shed gathering dust. Further to the lies and it must be lies, because if it was meant to be a joke (an anonymous one at that) it must have gone really sour, because the cards from Whitby, Spain and Devon have dried up. They were all addressed to Stan the Magic Man, did familiarity breed contempt? What is more important, is will you be man enough to own up and admit how stupid you have been. As its Christmas, I hope you all have a good laugh, apart from the perpetrator, because it could turn out an expensive joke for me. So, Betty will go short at Christmas unless he reappears” Two years later, the rabbit did in fact return. Stan found him hanging over the office door in late August. He now had two rabbit weather vanes as Magic Cove regular John Berwick had very kindly made him a replacement when the original was stolen. The new one was actually a better one, so the stolen one lost his job. Now that we have retired, we propose to keep the weather vane for ourselves and he will sit proudly on my workshop roof. Thankfully the thief doesn’t know where I live. Unless of course, it was a regular that still comes?? We may never know!!! 🤔

Bowling The now famous Ten Pin Bowling nights began in 1998. Back in the day, they used to involve travelling to Bugle for the largest portion of Fish and Chips you have ever seen on a plate, before going back to the RAF base at St Eval for two games of bowling with a gut full. It would appear my good wife was a winner back in the day as well. She was the record holder at the first event with a score of 291 for the two games. Obviously, things never change. The lanes we use today up at Trevarrian Holiday Park are actually the same ones that were used back in 1988, as they were purchased by them when the St Eval base closed down. Things have advanced of course; in those days the scoring was done manually, much to everyone’s confusion. With regards to this year’s final bowling session in September, the Magic Cove Trophy was up for grabs for the winner to keep. Congratulations goes to Martin Snell who got to take the trophy home with a very good score of 163. The best ever score at a Magic Cove bowling night however is 196 by Denis Underwood. 🎳

Magic Shows 1999 saw the beginning of Stan’s Magic Shows in the village hall. He was thinking, what could he do for the eclipse night, and it became obvious…. Magic!! The hall was full to capacity, plus 20 standing and they were turning people away. It took him back to the 70’s when he used to do summer seasons in the village hall. The shows were well supported by locals, and of course, Magic Covers. Many of whom enjoyed being sawn in half or having their head chopped off!! He could always find someone in the audience in a red dress, which would add to the humour of the evening. There was also balloon art for the children to enjoy and other great tricks. These summer season shows were very popular and become a regular occurrence up until 2005, when numbers dwindled and the cost of hiring the hall and profits were not stacking up and it was very sad to see them disappear.

Broken Bones Betty broke her arm when getting the site ready for Easter one year. She had fallen off the ladder while painting which meant poor Stan had to do all the work. He had to cancel his golf and do all the cooking, washing, ironing, cleaning and taxi work. Stan got the blame as he had set up the ladders for her at the wrong angle. It made him realise however, that he could run Magic Cove single handed. So, from then on Betty took a bit more of a backward step from the day to day running of the site. Later in the same year, Stan decided he would get his own back. For those of you who have been coming for many years, you will know that at one point Stan would ride his bike to and from the site from home and that Stan liked to spend time with the customers. It was not unknown for him to invite himself into an awning one morning and be still there a few hours later. This was much to the frustration of some customers, as the days plans were shelved!! If he did get kicked out, he would move to the next unsuspecting customer.  These visits would result in bacon butties, copious amounts of tea or coffee and even the occasional glass of wine or two!! This had disastrous effects one Sunday afternoon when he was late home for his roast dinner. While cycling along Tredragon Road, he came off his bike. (Stans excuse was that his hat blew up and he took his hand off the handlebars to rescue it, but was it too much red wine?) This resulted in a smashed-up face, a cracked tooth and also a chipped elbow. The reaction of the customers was a certain amount of hilarity, until they knew how bad it was of course. Maybe the time had come for Stan to slow up a bit.

The changing of the guard It came as a complete shock to many, but Stan did indeed decide to retire at the end of the 2002 season, having run the site for twenty-two years. Originally the plan was to pass the baton on to his son David but after much consideration David decided against it. This meant that Lesley was given the opportunity and the rest as they say is history. Hobby Stan, as we know, built Magic Cove in 1980/81 and opened 17th July 1981. In all that time running the site, he always said it was more of a hobby than a job. However, he thought the time to retire was now that

the grey hairs had started to show. He had derived a tremendous amount of pleasure over those years, the work that obviously had to be done, in the main it never seemed like work at all. The reason being that it had always been outweighed by the friendliness of the customers, with the friendly banter which has been in the forefront in all those years. He still had customers who had been coming from the very first year and could usually boast 80% return, which made it like an annual reunion.  Stan of course wasn’t going to hand over the reins in Tommy Cooper style “just like that” Of course he was going to be around for Lesley’s first season, firstly for training purposes and secondly to cut the grass at the weekends of course. He fully intended to keep visiting for all those cups of tea, coffee and bacon butties he used to consume free of charge in exchange for the verbal garbage. However, the time had come that he could now be booked in advance to drink your tea and coffee, but the verbal’s had to be paid for, maybe discount for a bacon butty or two!!

Lesley’s first newsletter contribution not a bad first contribution, although a few years later she decided to pass the job on to some other mug!! “First of all, thanks must go to Mum and Dad for giving me such a wonderful opportunity of being able to run such a well-established business and also thank you to all you campers out there for helping to make it so successful.  I don’t want any of you to panic, Dad will still be making special guest appearances (I can’t get rid of him that easily!)  I would’ve liked to have taken over for the 2002 season, but you know how stubborn he can be!  I’m not quite so multi-talented as Dad, so I may have to call on his services occasionally, unless there are any willing campers on site with special talents (plumbers, electricians, etc)!  All help gratefully received! I’m really looking forward to the Magic Cove experience, meeting customers both old and new.  It will be a complete change to working in the Bank.  I met lots of you while serving my apprenticeship in the 2002 season and you’ll be pleased to know that Dad taught me all he knew (it only took 5 minutes)!”

The woman’s touch It didn’t take long for the new management to add her own personal touches around the site. There would be a new interior colour scheme to replace the magnolia which brightened up the place a bit, hooray! Plus a few extras to add that “woman’s touch”.  A library - with books to borrow, swap or buy (donation to charity). Pictures on the walls and flowers in the toilets. Stan had managed to slip and broke his hip at the end of January, unfortunately it refused to heal very quickly.  Despite his disability, he still managed to make quite a few appearances at Magic Cove on his crutches and was still able to help Lesley by cutting the grass for most of the season. On his visits he noted that, as usual, Magic Cove was still its normal happy place to be. This pleased him greatly.

Rope Trick many of you were lucky enough to see Stan perform his rope trick (which he was very proud of, as he invented & made it himself).  He must’ve performed it hundreds of times, although it seemed like thousands!!!  In 2004 he won an award from his fellow Cornish Magicians for the best pocket trick and also won the Close-Up Magic Cup earlier in the year.  He was very proud of it and used to carry the trick wherever he went and performed it in so many unusual places. 😀

My Arrival regular visitors to Magic Cove will remember a new face around the place in 2005. I was the new Mr Fix-It and was responsible for some of the improvements that year.  Lesley and I found each other via an Internet dating Website and after exchanging several e-mails, we met in February.  Initially I was only around the site at the weekends and evenings as I had a day job to do in the week.  In the early days I looked on longingly, watching Stan cutting the grass on the ride-on mower, hoping for a chance to get on it myself.  Being the apprentice, I wasn’t getting on it anytime soon. I finally won my spurs in the June. My presence to help out with the maintenance jobs and indeed the cleaning (rubber gloves provided, of course!!!)  meant that Stan had been able to enjoy his retirement even more.  He was quite pleased with this as he could spend more time on the golf course!  He still managed to drop in every now and then to see all his friends and invite himself into their caravans etc for a cup of tea and a chat and also to make sure Lesley and I were doing things right!

25th Anniversary 2006 was Magic Cove’s 25th Anniversary and a special guest appearance was made by Stan who put on a magic show for our customers. The weather was kind to us and everyone was able to bring their chairs and sit out in front of the office, from where Stan preformed his show.  Alan Sidebottom, who has enjoyed holidaying at Magic Cove since we opened in 1981 and had visited us every season, was plucked from the audience to assist Stan with the rings trick and was a real star.  Refreshments were in abundance and a great evening was enjoyed by all.

Mrs Lesley Lightfoot in October 2006, just two weeks after closing and indeed, only 18 months after we met, we got married at the Hotel Victoria in Newquay. Well, we weren’t getting any younger, so thought, in the words of regular Bob “lets crack on”!! After almost 12 months of planning, the day itself went by in a flash.  Transport to the venue was courtesy of George the Chauffeur in a stretch limo (yes, they negotiated the infamous hairpin bend in Mawgan Porth).  Lesley was accompanied by Stan and her two bridesmaids, one of which was daughter Lauren. We enjoyed a very special day, one which we shall both never forget. We were also amazed by the many cards and gifts we received from our customers, which was very much appreciated. We honeymooned on the Red Sea Riviera, Egypt for 2 weeks and had a “Phar-Ohl” time!!!! 😊 

Stan Marshall 1937-2007 Stan died suddenly following a heart attack in September 2007. His retirement was cut way too short, having passed the running of it over to Lesley only five years earlier. Many of you knew Stan very well and it was going to be hard to imagine Magic Cove without his regular visits. Without Stan’s hard work, Magic Cove would not have existed and he laid the groundwork to what Magic Cove was.  His funeral was a celebration of his life and we were very overwhelmed to see so many of you travelling hundreds of miles to attend.  Regular customer Chris Rhind-Tutt, stood up at the service to speak on behalf of Magic Covers and his words were very special. The last lines of his speech said it all, Stan brought Magic to people’s lives, he could conjure up solutions and make problems disappear.  Stan - gone but never forgotten 💔

Katie our daughter Katie was born on New Year’s Eve 2007. We have lots of special memories from Katie’s early years, spending time with the campers. Special thanks to bike shop owner Debby Whiting who on two occasions gifted her a bike. And also, to Reg Whitmore who gave her the confidence to ride them. Just two of the many examples of the kindness and love that our customers have shown. Later on, Katie started a regular event called "Dog of the week". A picture with her favourite dog featured on our Facebook page each week. We asked her if she had a favourite for the season, but she said no, she loved all of your canine friends.  As Katie got older and the teenage years set in, she would spend far less time at the site. She has just done her GCSEs with brilliant results and we are extremely proud of her. She is now doing A levels in Biology, Geography and Psychology. Our baby girl is growing up fast, eeek where is the time going. In January she will start learning to drive.

Lauren we have also had another proud parent moment, Lauren graduated this year obtaining a degree in Wildlife Education and Media and is continuing her studies for a further year to obtain a Batchelor’s Degree in Applied Zoology, all this studying alongside bringing up our Granddaughter, Freya ♥

Christmas Party We have always been nagged by a few about opening for Christmas. The main culprits being September regulars Alan and Sue Wickens. It was because of our continued resistance that the Wickens and others who were staying in late September 2009, Christmas came to Magic Cove.  It took lots of secrecy and organisation, but the result was a wonderful surprise party, complete with decorated tree, plenty of food and drink and even Christmas music. A good time was had by all. This event spawned what would become an annual end of season event. Although latterly they have been just food, drinks and dancing around the campfire, we had a couple of major ones including a fancy-dress party. We hired a Marquee for the night and everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion, food was in abundance and drink flowed well. DJ Mick Burton got everybody dancing, but thankfully did not get my wife drunk like he had the previous year. We even had prize winners who were Dave Yarde in third place for his St Trinians Schoolgirl, (following a vote off against Lauren’s Space Invader). Lesley in second place for her clown (looked quite scary) and the deserved winner…Mick Burton for his fantastic Abe Lincoln. My Wyatt Earp couldn’t sway the voting, not even with my gun, although Jayne loved it, dressed as a (drunk) Nun, rolling on the floor! The following year we had an 80’s themed fancy dress, with some great costumes. I am unsure however if my costume was a wise choice?? I was quite pleased with my Jimmy Savile attire, BUT, the next day the sh*t hit the fan!!  I was however, able to sell it afterwards on eBay for 3 times the price I paid for it!!  😀

Major changes in 2013 Magic Cove had some major changes. Firstly, we went from 26 pitches down to 18. This was decided because units were getting steadily bigger. The original pitches couldn’t cope with this and the gaps between the units not complying with our licence. We had been given a couple of warnings about this, so decided that a change was definitely needed. The bigger pitches, of course were a hit, along with the new slate standpipes with the lower height for the less able bodied. We also built a Launderette with two washing machines, a tumble dryer, two washing-up sinks and a payphone. This meant relocating the mower shed and I was especially pleased with my sparkly new one, complete with electricity and a vice. There was even room for a bed if I was to get on the wrong side of my darling wife!!  A big thank you to Lesley’s brother Dave who did all the hard work over the winter. Although we did finish him off, he hasn’t really been able to work since. We were on a tight schedule and the paint was still drying when the customers of the season arrived!! 😵

Lesley’s Melanoma to quote the late Queen, 2014 was our annus horribillis. The year didn’t start great for us when Les had a mole on the back of her leg removed in January and we then had the agonising three and a half week wait for the results, to be told it was a malignant melanoma.  Unfortunately, being deeper than they liked, this meant further treatment.  A biopsy of the lymph nodes, as well as a wider excision on her leg 2.5cm all around from the original scar. All of this was done at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, being the only hospital in the South West to specialise in the procedure at the time. The results of the biopsy brought us more bad news when they found a speck of melanoma that had spread to the lymph nodes.  Another bigger operation was then carried out in Exeter at the end of May to remove all nodes from her right groin. No more melanoma was found in the removed nodes, but Les now has to live with discomfort in the leg and swelling, having developed Lymphedema, but things could have been a lot worse. Once again, our Magic Cove family pulled together and many of you stepped into the breach to help me out. Also, a special mention to Lesley’s brother Roy, who travelled down from London to help me out during the spring bank week. Mower training and rubber gloves provided. Thankfully, Lesley has now been cancer clear for 10 years.

Lesley’s Three-Day Triathlon Lesley wanted to give something back to Macmillan Cancer Support, who had been amazing during her ordeal. Lesley was originally inspired by Magic Covers Jane Moore and Sarah Short who were taking part in The Race for Life for Cancer Research UK.  She proposed to Swim 1 mile, Cycle the whole 35 miles of the Camel Trail and Walk 18 miles from Padstow to Mawgan Porth. This was going to take place over 3 days.  Although I was 100% behind her, I thought this would be tough, especially as she had been diagnosed with Lymphoedema in her leg, but boy did I underestimate Lesley’s heart and determination. I am not the strongest swimmer, but I was determined to support her by doing the cycle and walk with her. We spent the summer in training, doing lots of cycling along the trail and plenty of walking and Lesley went swimming at least three times a week.  The Triathlon was a great success and I am extremely proud of her achievement.  We had so many people to thank, including Margaret Pook, who kindly donated her bike to Lesley.  Debby Whiting who gave her time while on holiday to service our bikes.  Stuart Clarke who came on the walk with us and was our paramedic (thankfully not needed!!) and pacemaker. Without you Stuart I think we would have taken a lot longer!  Linda & Ray for practically running the site for the three days and to everyone who gave us the fantastic welcome at the end when we arrived on site. We were both very emotional.  The final total raised was £2350 and we were blown away by your generosity Although it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, for me personally, I vowed that I would never ever get on a bike again!!.... and I haven’t!!

Mawgan although we were considering a dog at the time, we were unsure of what breed to get.  Katie was keen on a Westie, but I wasn’t as they are a bit small and yappy for my liking.  Apologies to the Westie owners amongst you!!  Martin and Joanne said “get a Cockapoo” and after much deliberation and reading up, we decided to follow their advice and got our gorgeous Cockapoo Mawgan. He is quite a character, but we soon learnt that he is every bit as yappy as any Westie. In fact, he barked at everything and still does. We do still love him to bits. He is now 9 and getting a bit of a grumpy old man (a bit like me really) I think he will certainly miss the summers at Magic Cove. Well, he will certainly miss all the treats you used to give him. He usually puts on a kilo every summer 😀

RIP Captain Jack We were in complete shock to hear the tragic news that Andy Carr (aka Captain Jack) very sadly passed away in 2016 at the young age of 44. We were asked by Andy’s close friends Jane and John Berwick if they could install a bench on site in Andy's memory as he loved Magic Cove so much. A lovely gesture indeed and a big thank you to all who donated towards the bench, a grand total of £370 was raised. After much deliberation, it was decided to locate it outside the Launderette. It is a lovely bench inscribed simply with the words “Andy’s Bench” It was a popular addition, especially for hikers. For those who are wondering what has happened to the bench now we have closed the site, John and Jane have taken it to give to Andy’s widow Liza to put in her garden.

The Butcher our three times weekly butcher Richard Ellery decided he wanted to retire after many years of providing the best barbecue produce to Magic Cove customers.  Many of you may recall at one point we also had a cake lady called Audreen who would visit, but unfortunately, she had stopped many years earlier. Richard was a real character and had been visiting the site since the early days of Stans tenure. His humour and stories were a joy to everyone he came in contact with. He was another big part of what made Magic Cove so unique. He had stopped selling off the back of his van a couple of years previous and was only taking telephone orders, due to stupid EU laws. The powers that be decided that his unrefrigerated van was no longer legal and a health risk, despite using the van for all those years and not killing anybody! Richard’s wit and sarcasm was sadly missed, although like us, he planned to enjoy his retirement.

Hog Roast Talking of meat, regular Bob Flower celebrated his 60th birthday at Magic Cove in 2019. He decided he wanted to share this milestone with everybody, so arranged for a delicious Hog Roast to pay us a visit. It was a lovely afternoon, the weather was kind to us and we all sat around enjoying the lovely Hog Roast reminiscing about Bob, for those who know him, there was obviously a lot to talk about….. 😆 you are 65 now Bob, hope you are still living the dream ………Crack on!!

The C Word the Covid pandemic was very challenging and we were extremely relieved to be given the green light to open from July onwards for half a season in 2020. It had been a worrying time and if we hadn’t been permitted to open, we may have been living on bread and jam!!  It was certainly really lovely to see everyone again, but we did miss all of the hugs!! It was certainly a very different season for us, but the magic could still be felt. It was nice however to have a break from cleaning toilets Almost everybody was very sensible. This did not include one of our first customers in July however, a one-night casual. She decided to walk right into Lesley’s face and shake her hand, as Lesley backed away, she kept coming forward.  Lesley was straight off to the sanitiser!! 😷

Betty Marshall Lesley’s mum very sadly passed away in 2023. Those regulars among you knew her well as she used to come down to the site at every opportunity. Think she inherited this from Stan. She loved spending time with the customers having a cuppa, or preferably a sneaky glass or two of red wine wherever it was offered. She also loved the Macmillan coffee mornings, for which she would be busy baking scrummy cakes and sponges. Alan Wickens always looked forward to her Lemon Drizzle cake, his eyes out on stalks. She is now back with Stan, as their ashes are spread together on the clifftop below Red Cove and overlooking the beach. Sleep well dear Mum 💔 

Coffee Mornings These began in 2013 and continued every year thereafter and were the brain child of Sue and Alan Wickens. They were always an amazing success and well supported by everyone at Magic Cove. We always included a raffle to boost funds and a big thank you to all who donated prizes over the years. We have had a count up of what we have raised for Macmillan Cancer Care and are proud to say that between us all we have raised the magnificent sum of £8,007. That’s an incredible amount which we are very proud of, so give yourselves a big pat on the back…. 😊

Alan and Pauline Sidebottom Magic Cove had so many regulars and indeed special customers over the years. Far too many to mention here, I am already up to 8 pages. However, we would like to give special mention to Alan and Pauline who holidayed at Magic Cove for every one of the 44 years that we were open. They must have liked it here!! Alan always used to say that he had missed one year because of being made redundant, however Pauline recently put him right. You should know, a woman is always right Alan! Apparently, they used to come twice a year and only cancelled one of them in the redundancy year. Their family grew up coming to Magic Cove and they have obviously seen so many changes over all those years. Alan has shared many stories about his times here, but one sticks in the memory. Back in the days of Stan running the site, Alan had come off the beach and needed a shower. With the gents being very busy, but the ladies quiet, Stan said nip in there. Of course, once he started showering, the queues appeared in the ladies. Stan went in and shouted over the door “are you alright in there Elaine!!!!” The response from Alan in a feminine voice “yes thank you…” Well done to you both, Magic Cove salutes you.

Fun facts Doing a quick calculation, we have managed to work out some numbers. In the 22 years we have been running the site, we have used 14,979 cubic meters of water. Spent £77k on electric, but to help offset this, we have received £27k over the past 12 years from the solar panels. Cleaned 19,710 toilets (not going to miss that one) and gone through 8,400 rolls of toilet paper. In the words of the comedian Jethro......Chriiist. We could work out some more, but we can’t be bothered 😀

Thank you’s We have made so many special friends throughout our time running Magic Cove and we are going to miss everyone greatly…. well almost everyone, some customers are very annoying, but I am not giving you any names….😊 We hope we have done good looking after you all. It has to be said also, that on many occasions, you have looked after us too. Thank you to Sue and Alan for hosting all the coffee mornings. To Ian for sorting out druggies when they turned up one spring bank many years ago (you had them running scared) To Reg for giving Katie the confidence on a bike and your Bacon & Egg Baps. To Stuart for mucking in and getting himself dirty for me on many occasions. To Debby and Phil for Katie’s bikes, the bacon baps and the tons of chocolate of course (well mainly the chocolate). To John & Jane for all your kind gifts, especially the pies. To all the site wardens over the years, like Jean and Norman (Norman now sadly deceased), Maureen and Mick (Mick also sadly deceased) and to Linda and Ray who have been our rock through the difficult times of the last few years. Thank you for all your kind gifts and cards for our retirement, the list could go on and on, but I am running out of room.  So now we begin our retirement…… we have lots of jobs to catch up on at home, we have our gorgeous 2-year-old Granddaughter Freya to keep us busy on babysitting days and we have got ourselves a Motorhome.  We can finally, after 22 years, enjoy going away in the summer months, rather than always holidaying over the winter. So look out, you may see us on a touring site near you, or we may even come knocking on your doors. It’s going to be Magic 😍

And Finally I would like to finish with the words that Stan used at the end of his Magic Shows and following his trick “The Misers Dream”. Adapted slightly to suit us of course…

“You have been the best customers ever. If you enjoyed your holidays, then we have been Magic Cove Touring Park. If you haven’t, we have been M***** Thank you and goodbye” (Well, you work it out!!)

Sending you all our thanks and best wishes

Lesley, Brian xx