The Jolly Boys' Outing
Encyclopedia
"The Jolly Boys' Outing" is the eighth Christmas
special episode of the BBC
sit-com Only Fools and Horses
, first screened on 25 December, 1989. However, since the story is set on an August Bank Holiday, it is often repeated as a "summer special".
is now working for Alan Parry, Cassandra's father, at his printing firm Parry Print Ltd, while Uncle Albert
has been promoted to "Executive Lookout" for Trotters Independent Traders, i.e: watching out for the police. The so-called traditional Jolly Boys' Outing, whereby all the regulars at the Nag's Head pub
go on a once-a-year day-trip ("beano") to the seaside resort of Margate
in Kent
is also approaching.
The following evening, at Rodney and Cassandra
's flat, the Trotters enjoy a nice dinner with Cassandra's parents, as well as her boss, Stephen (a yuppie
who is much hated by Rodney, Alan, and to a lesser extent, Albert), and his wife, Joanne. The night ends with a game of Trivial Pursuit
, in which Del Boy
suggests that a female swan is called a bic
.
The day-trip to Margate
proves eventful; the coach driver apparently gets drunk half-way through the journey (but it is later established that he was overcome by fumes from the radio burning out), Rodney gets arrested for accidentally throwing a football at a policeman (which he was passing to Del), and Alan gets sick after eating too many jellied eels. Just as the Jolly Boys are preparing to leave Margate and head off home, their coach, equipped with one of the Albania
n low-quality radios being sold by Del recently, ignites and explodes. A train strike however, coupled with a restricted bus service on Bank Holiday
s (this being one), the Jolly Boys are forced to spend the night in Margate. Knowing of the limited number of vacant hotel rooms, the Jolly Boys split up and go in different directions.
Del, Rodney, and Albert split up into their own group. After fruitless searching for somewhere to stay, they arrive at a warm and comfortable guest house, only to find that the last rooms have been taken by Jevon, Mickey Pierce and Denzil. The manageress, Mrs Baker, sends them to the Villa Bella, a darkened, run-down hotel managed by the creepy Mrs Cresswell (and which Rodney refers to as "the Munsters' weekend place"). Rather than spend the night there, however, Del and Rodney decide to visit a nightclub called the Mardi Gras (Del was given complimentary tickets from Mike's old rival Eddie Chambers at a halfway house earlier that morning), where Del's old girlfriend Raquel
(last seen in "Dates
") is working as one half of the Great Raymondo's magic act. Del and Raquel reminisce about the past, and it is obvious that they still love each other. Raquel states her intention to leave the act after it ends, as Raymondo, with his foul temper, sometimes scares her, and Del invites her to live with him in Peckham.
Del and Rodney return to the Villa Bella late, and discover that they have been locked out. After failing to wake up Albert (breaking a window in the process), the Trotter Brothers head over to Raquel's flat to sleep for the night, only to find out that she shares it with the Great Raymondo. Suspecting Raymondo of blackmailing Raquel sexually in return for a job and roof, Del Boy flies into a rage, punches Raymondo and throws his suitcase out of the window, but later discovers from an enraged Raquel that Raymondo is actually gay, they have separate rooms, and only stay in the same flat as it is cheaper than having one each. Despite this, Raquel and Raymondo forgive an embarrassed Del for the misunderstanding.
Upon returning home, Rodney finds Cassandra and her boss Stephen, seemingly alone together. Rodney suspects Stephen of having an affair of Cassandra, punches him and breaks his nose only to find that Stephen's wife Joanne is also there (Joanne had previously planned to spend the weekend with her parents, confirming Rodney's suspicion, but she ultimately couldn't due to the train strike), and is promptly thrown out by Cassandra. Back at Nelson Mandela House, as Del speaks with Raquel over the telephone, he learns the unintended consequence
s of his actions the previous night; Albert was hit on the head by the stone Del threw through the hotel window, and Mike and Boycie were injured by the suitcase he threw out of Raquel's window. The episode ends as Rodney enters the flat with all his things while Del proceeds to eat Albert's breakfast (and berate Albert for trying to eat it himself).
As the credits roll, a recap of the Jolly Boys' Outing in Margate is shown along to the song "Down to Margate" by Chas & Dave from 1982.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
special episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sit-com Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, first screened on 25 December, 1989. However, since the story is set on an August Bank Holiday, it is often repeated as a "summer special".
Synopsis
RodneyRodney Trotter
Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.-Personality:Rodney's personality was based on the experiences of series creator John Sullivan, who also had an older sibling and, like Rodney, claimed to have been a dreamer and...
is now working for Alan Parry, Cassandra's father, at his printing firm Parry Print Ltd, while Uncle Albert
Uncle Albert
Albert Gladstone Trotter is a fictional character from the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He was introduced during the fourth season as a replacement for the character of Grandad due to the death of actor Lennard Pearce...
has been promoted to "Executive Lookout" for Trotters Independent Traders, i.e: watching out for the police. The so-called traditional Jolly Boys' Outing, whereby all the regulars at the Nag's Head pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
go on a once-a-year day-trip ("beano") to the seaside resort of Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
is also approaching.
The following evening, at Rodney and Cassandra
Cassandra Trotter
Cassandra Louise Trotter is a fictional character from the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. She was portrayed by Gwyneth Strong.-Biography:...
's flat, the Trotters enjoy a nice dinner with Cassandra's parents, as well as her boss, Stephen (a yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
who is much hated by Rodney, Alan, and to a lesser extent, Albert), and his wife, Joanne. The night ends with a game of Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
, in which Del Boy
Del Boy
Derek Edward Trotter, better known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its prequel, Rock & Chips...
suggests that a female swan is called a bic
Bic Cristal
The Bic Cristal is an inexpensive disposable ballpoint pen mass-produced and sold by Société Bic of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France.-Background:...
.
The day-trip to Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
proves eventful; the coach driver apparently gets drunk half-way through the journey (but it is later established that he was overcome by fumes from the radio burning out), Rodney gets arrested for accidentally throwing a football at a policeman (which he was passing to Del), and Alan gets sick after eating too many jellied eels. Just as the Jolly Boys are preparing to leave Margate and head off home, their coach, equipped with one of the Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n low-quality radios being sold by Del recently, ignites and explodes. A train strike however, coupled with a restricted bus service on Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
s (this being one), the Jolly Boys are forced to spend the night in Margate. Knowing of the limited number of vacant hotel rooms, the Jolly Boys split up and go in different directions.
Del, Rodney, and Albert split up into their own group. After fruitless searching for somewhere to stay, they arrive at a warm and comfortable guest house, only to find that the last rooms have been taken by Jevon, Mickey Pierce and Denzil. The manageress, Mrs Baker, sends them to the Villa Bella, a darkened, run-down hotel managed by the creepy Mrs Cresswell (and which Rodney refers to as "the Munsters' weekend place"). Rather than spend the night there, however, Del and Rodney decide to visit a nightclub called the Mardi Gras (Del was given complimentary tickets from Mike's old rival Eddie Chambers at a halfway house earlier that morning), where Del's old girlfriend Raquel
Raquel Turner
Rachel "Raquel" Turner is a fictional character from the BBC television sit-com Only Fools and Horses, in which she was Del Boy's longtime girlfriend...
(last seen in "Dates
Dates (Only Fools and Horses)
"Dates" is the seventh Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1988.-Synopsis:The Trotters have been earning a lot of money recently, and Albert's birthday is coming up, though Del Boy and Rodney pretend to have forgotten...
") is working as one half of the Great Raymondo's magic act. Del and Raquel reminisce about the past, and it is obvious that they still love each other. Raquel states her intention to leave the act after it ends, as Raymondo, with his foul temper, sometimes scares her, and Del invites her to live with him in Peckham.
Del and Rodney return to the Villa Bella late, and discover that they have been locked out. After failing to wake up Albert (breaking a window in the process), the Trotter Brothers head over to Raquel's flat to sleep for the night, only to find out that she shares it with the Great Raymondo. Suspecting Raymondo of blackmailing Raquel sexually in return for a job and roof, Del Boy flies into a rage, punches Raymondo and throws his suitcase out of the window, but later discovers from an enraged Raquel that Raymondo is actually gay, they have separate rooms, and only stay in the same flat as it is cheaper than having one each. Despite this, Raquel and Raymondo forgive an embarrassed Del for the misunderstanding.
Upon returning home, Rodney finds Cassandra and her boss Stephen, seemingly alone together. Rodney suspects Stephen of having an affair of Cassandra, punches him and breaks his nose only to find that Stephen's wife Joanne is also there (Joanne had previously planned to spend the weekend with her parents, confirming Rodney's suspicion, but she ultimately couldn't due to the train strike), and is promptly thrown out by Cassandra. Back at Nelson Mandela House, as Del speaks with Raquel over the telephone, he learns the unintended consequence
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
s of his actions the previous night; Albert was hit on the head by the stone Del threw through the hotel window, and Mike and Boycie were injured by the suitcase he threw out of Raquel's window. The episode ends as Rodney enters the flat with all his things while Del proceeds to eat Albert's breakfast (and berate Albert for trying to eat it himself).
As the credits roll, a recap of the Jolly Boys' Outing in Margate is shown along to the song "Down to Margate" by Chas & Dave from 1982.
Story arc
- The events of this episode are mentioned in "Sleepless in PeckhamSleepless in Peckham"Sleepless in Peckham" is an episode of BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 2003 as the third and final part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy, and as the final episode of the entire series.-Synopsis:...
", implying that the Jolly Boys' Outing was a regular event from the 1960s before Del blew the coach up. The very first Jolly Boys' Outing was seen in the first episode of the prequel series Rock & Chips.
Episode concept
- John SullivanJohn Sullivan (writer)John Richard Thomas Sullivan OBE was an English television scriptwriter responsible for several popular British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends....
's sister-in-law Penny was the inspiration behind the script, as she told him of an event her father used to go on each year, called the "Jolly Boys' Outing".
Music
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