A Cardiff teenager has celebrated his 18th birthday with a difference - by recreating the classic ‘The Jolly Boys’ Outing’ episode from Only Fools and Horses, complete with a vintage bus and Del Boy sarnies.
Jack Street, from Cardiff , who turns 18 on Sunday along with twin brother Sam, came up with the idea after developing a “bit of an obsession” with the BBC sitcom series.
Together with dad, Andrew Street, the father and son plotted how they could best replicate the iconic coach trip from the 1989 Christmas special, which featured an eventful journey from the Nag’s Head pub to the seaside resort of Margate in Kent.
The closest the duo could get to the Nag’s Head was The Butchers Arms in Rhiwbina, while Penarth Pier had to make do for Margate.
Andrew even managed to get permission from the estate of series creator and writer John Sullivan for a special screening of the original episode at the Penarth Pavillion cinema.
The party kicked off at 3pm on Thursday, when family and friends were bundled into a 1950s-style coach and driven to Penarth for photos on the pier and the one-off film.
First screened on Christmas Day 30 years ago, the episode is set on an August Bank Holiday weekend and the coach trip quickly descends into chaotic scenes typical of Del Boy.
For the birthday celebrations, everyone dressed up as their favourite characters, with Jack taking centre stage as Del Boy.
The only rule was no women were allowed.
Andrew said: “Jack was quite insistent about that. He said, ‘The clue’s in the name dad’. So we headed back to the Memorial Hall in Rhiwbina after the film, where his mum and other family could join us to continue the celebrations.”
Back at the hall, guests were treated to a live set from Jack’s favouite band, The Verge.
Jack, who has Down’s Syndrome, is a high-functioning pupil at the Special Resource Base at Whitchurch High School.
His love for the classic show came about around five years ago, said his dad.
“He knows lots of the episodes by heart now and with the Gold channel, he just watches them on repeat,” Andrew said.
Jack had planned the event for months and even set up a Jolly Boys Outing WhatsApp Group especially for his big day.
Brother Sam, who got in the spirit of things by dressing up as Rodney, will celebrate his 18th in a more traditional way, with an 11-a-side football game and a Nando’s with his mates.
