2w ago

hey brits, help a yankee understand this bbc article

www.bbc.com

Father and daughter who died in Ingoldmells caravan fire named

Very sad for sure. But I get lost trying to parse the article. Google says "Caravan park" is like an rv park. Generally for recreational vehicles on vacation. But the image looks like a fixed structure type place. Google also says a caravan park is for spending holidays, and the article talks about them being excited to spend the holidays together. So I thought I had an idea of what this was. Then the article has a bingo caller saying that everyone behind the bar knew them well. And my first thought was... she's 10... in the US, "behind the bar" means bartender. My second was that doesn't sound like a holiday place. Can someone fill me in on what a caravan park is, what behind the bar means, and what kind of place this pub is. Thanks.

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The caravans in this case are a type known as static caravans - basically the same sort of accommodation as a mobile, towed caravan, but usually bigger and more or less permanently positioned somewhere. They even sometimes have additional casings that hide the wheels underneath to make them look more like houses.
EDIT, as I didn't answer your main question. A caravan park is a term used both for something like a trailer park, where customers tow in their own caravan, but also, as in this case, for a holiday park with these static caravans spread around, similar to small lodges.
Behind the bar - yeah, that's what they mean here too, the people who serve at the bar. As it's in a holiday park, it's likely that it's a family friendly bar where kids are allowed to be as long as their parents are with them, and can even probably go up and order snacks or soft drinks by themselves. It's not a bar bar in the usual adults only sense.
Tragic story :-(
- Okay, so the line about them being well known behind the bar seems odd to me if this was a holiday getaway. Is that implying that they vacationed there very often or something? In the US a comment like that would be reserved for people who live there.
  
  Caravan owners will often holiday in them frequently, though others will mostly/exclusively use them as holiday lets. I believe that they can't be occupied all the time (maybe 10 months in a year) so no permanent residents (I could be wrong on that though.)
  
  I've only ever been to a caravan park in a caravan that you tow but my understanding is that you can live in a static almost all year round so I guess they probably spent most school holidays there or something like that
  
  “Well known behind the bar” is sometimes a polite way of saying he was perhaps a very regular customer .

We don’t really do “RV”s. Our roads are narrower, and parking is a mess. We have caravans, towed behind cars, but again not very common.
A caravan park may accommodate RVs or whatever, but mainly they are like your trailer parks, but more for recreational than residential use. Sometimes the park will have its own restaurant / bar building for refreshments.
We have many family-friendly bars, particularly during the daytime, and at venues serving holiday resorts like this.

Caravan parks are usually a form of vacation home (often rented out by the owner) so although they sound like a trailer park, they don't have the connotations of "trailer trash".
The parks are often in a resort-like setting, with video arcades, bike rental, mini golf, cafes and clubs.
The clubs can be family-oriented so it's not unusual to have kids there too.
Here's where I spent several happy childhood trips, feeding 10p's into arcade machines: there's an arcade next to the club. The family would spend each evening in the club which had a bar and live entertainment every night (I mean songs, comedy etc, not erotic dancers).
https://maps.app.goo.gl/h7SzxRvNAGcsm8a68
Looking at it now, it does have a low-budget vibe (there were communal washrooms, no toilet or shower in our caravan!), but as a kid, I loved it.

Not a brit so could be wrong, but in terms of the caravan park: I've seen stuff like that in british shows like "rich kid skint holiday". You can rent out a caravan to stay in for cheap, so it's basically a room one step above a hostel but below an airbnb or a hotel
And for bars/pubs.. well in my country at least a lot of bars are essentially just restaurants with a bigger alcohol selection, you can just go there to get a meal and enjoy the atmosphere, so it wouldn't be surprising seeing a 10 year old with family there
Again, im not from the UK so im just assuming :3
- Yeah that's pretty much spot on.
  
  Yay! :3

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