Camp Camp

Heard an interview with Roger Bennett, the co-author of Camp Camp and Bar Mitzvah Disco. It sent me into a reverie of being an 11-year-old camper at Cedar Lake Camp in Pennsylvania, surrounded by teenaged limeys.

In this interview on the Sound of Young America, Bennett retells his experience of being a young Jewish Liverpudlian hooked on American culture and getting a chance to come to America for a summer. The rub? As soon as their plane landed, he and his compatriots were whisked off to the middle of nowhere to cater to a bunch of "tatilahs" who were probably rubbish at all that outdoors rubbish.

That all put me in mind of Andy (from Manchester?) and my other counselors at CLC. Andy did seem a tad miserable, as if he had been hoodwinked into a summer in an area that would have been indistinguishable from a wilderness in Europe. No New York buildings or California beaches. Just bug juice and the job of bringing Ronnie's bran cereal to breakfast (a little embarassing for all involved). I feel bad for him now.

I wonder if he played some role in my fascination with the UK?