How Eileen’s Booker trips became a social lifeline for so many

How did you first begin organising group trips?

I used to work for the Marlowe Theatre and formed Friends of the Theatre and started taking people to theatres throughout London to see shows. From that it grew into day trips and holidays.

Then, 17 years ago, I lost my job when they closed the theatre for refurbishment, so I decided to start up on my own. I put an advert in the local paper and then other people heard about me through friends.

What do you enjoy about organising trips for people?

There are a huge number of widows and widowers out there and I have become a bit of a social service for older, single people.

The group is predominantly women because unfortunately there are more widows. When they get off the coach most of them will give me a kiss or a hug goodbye and it makes me feel really good that I’ve done something good for them. I have a large number of regulars on my trips and it’s lovely to be able to hear them saying hello to each other. People have become friends; my husband and I have made good friends with some people that we met when they started coming on my trips.

Do your group share common interests?

No thank goodness. If they did I’d be pushed to fill coaches. There is a nice variety of interests and that’s good because we can visit different places.

My group are generally older now because people who joined me 17 years ago have stayed with me. I find that evening trips don’t tend to be as popular because my group don’t like getting home late at night. Day trips and matinee shows are far more popular.

What sorts of trips do your group go on?

We do one day trip per month and four holidays per year. My latest brochure has just gone out and we are going to Frameless and The Chimney Lift at Battersea. We’re also off to Theatre Royal Drury Lane followed by a fish and chip lunch, and the Royal Albert Hall. We have a holiday to Potters Resort in Hopton-on-Sea, we’re going to see Barnham at the Richmond Theatre and then we’ve got Battle Proms. 

We’ve also been to Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall and we’re doing Faulty Towers the Dining Experience. I do offer a real selection of different things.

How do you continue to find new ideas?

Running the trips for 17 years, it can sometimes be hard to find new ideas, but that is where the Group Leisure & Travel Magazine comes in. Sometimes I will see something on TV and think that looks good, so I will go and research it to decide if it would make a popular trip for the group.

“People have become friends; my husband and I have made good friends with some people that we met when they started coming on my trips.”

What types of holidays do you go on?

They aren’t always in the UK; there is usually one abroad. We’ve been to Cyprus and I’ve booked that again for two years’ time. We’re also going to the Algarve later this year.

This year we’re going on a river cruise in Portugal with Riviera. My group love a river cruise. We have done five, all on different rivers and all five have been brilliant.

My favourite one cruise was in Budapest on the Danube. The boat set sail outside Budapest as it became dusk, and all the landmarks were lit up. We were able to enjoy Champagne on the way into the city and it was magical. We haven’t done an ocean cruise yet, but I am planning to try and organise one.

Where have you been recently that has really stood out?

Last July we went to Kynren and that was unbelievable. It was enormous, I couldn’t believe the size of it. It rained but we put our coats on and we were all fine.

How do you keep everything organised?

When people book I keep a physical sheet for each outing and I have a book that I record payments in. I tend to ask for a deposit and a second payment. I like to have physical copies of everything because it means if something was to happen to me and I couldn’t go on a trip someone would be able to pick it all up.

How important is a good coach driver?

It’s very good to have a driver who can provide a nice audio-commentary along the way. We went to Austria some years ago and our driver knew it like the back of his hand. When we go to the Isle of Man later this year we will have a driver with Dunwood who has been ten times in the last year so he knows it very well and will provide us with a commentary. It’s lovely to have someone who can provide that because I can relax a bit more and enjoy it with everyone else.