BLACKPOOL 2 revisited
Now we have arrived in my home town the memories are flooding back !! Being 1 of 7 money was hard to come by and we had our little quirks that would make me and friends of the day a little pocket money. Saturdays we would rock up to Coach and Railway stations with our home made trolleys or old prams and greet incoming holidaymakers with a cheery Carry Your Bags Sir? (before cars inundated the town) We would load our trolleys with heavy suitcases and take them to the local B&Bs (this was on Saturdays only,which for some reason holidaymakers came and went on a Saturday) of course we all had paper rounds to well the coffers.In the amusement arcades a popular machine had a glass frontage ,handle at the side that fired a ball around the inside spiral and cost a penny to operate.With an old hacksaw blade we could manipulate the wooden box where the coins landed and scoop the pennies out !!) We also assisted in running Donkeys on the beach and occasionally secreted the odd sixpenny piece in our hidden pockets !! My young life seemed to be around the arcades and beach front and I am fortunate enough to have had a great growing up period !!
BLACKPOOL my Home town
We have reached our destination of my town In 1881 Blackpool was a booming resort with a population of 14,000 and a promenade complete with piers, fortune-tellers, public houses, tram and donkey rides, fish-and-chip shops, theatres.By 1901 the population of Blackpool was 47,000, by which time its place was cemented as “the archetypal British seaside resort”. By 1951 it had grown to 147,000 . The promenade has been re designed from North Pier to the Central Pier and in their wisdom the council has erected an outdoor stage! Having lived here thru my youth until I was 38 Blackpool is renowned for its storms !! Consequently the first concert (Elton John) was cancelled half way thru because of high winds !! In front of the stage a floor memorial to those who have entertained us over the decades Immortalised sayings of the day have been engraved into the ground.A picture was taken from Blckpool Tower top to give an idea of size,and it is a great idea (watching visitors reading them can be good fun too)
will probably take Blackpool blogs up to 3 episodes TOO much to enter for just one
My Nieces Hen Night Annie and me wish Jill and Annette the very best for the future and their upcoming wedding
Annie was invited to my niece Jills hen night and was gobsmacked with meeting so many of her new friends and relatives!Jill is my 3rd brothers daughter and had her night with the theme being the 70s.Annie has never been to a party of the like my family is good at.The girls dressed accordingly and most had a good boozy night !! We met Jills partner Annette earlier and we are pleased they are so happy together We certainly wish them very well for the future and can,t wait for the wedding !! That in itself will be a fantastic day with around 110 people attending !!It will be my great pleasure to do a blog on the eventful day August 3rd !!
Englands Football push in Europe & Annies conversion to a football Hooligan
My nephew has a wonderful pub in Preston Lancashire named the Wheat sheaf and it boasts wall to wall TVs for sport only.Annie has never witnessed the English hysteria when England are in a competition namely The European Cup (held in Ukraine) The pub is a wonderful experience of a traditional English style residence.Annie has turned into a fanatical fan and is up there with the best supporters (ie screaming & shouting in support of our national Team !!) If she keeps up this incredible fanatical hysteria I will seriously consider applying for British Citizenship England are yet to play in the quarter finals (played on Sunday the 24th) Depicted pictures are up to the qualifying rounds and IF the team actually reach the finals and win I will dedicate a blog to the team !!(not holding my breath !!) as this will be the first time ever of winning this particular competition !
Southport Lancashire England
Before I continue updates just a little on Southport where we stayed before going to my home town.We are cramming so much into our trip that doing my blog is getting harder to do and very time consuming.A little on Southport which a fantastic old town Southport lies on the Irish Sea coast of North West England and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary. The town is situated 16.5 miles (26.6 km) to the north of the city of Liverpool and 14.8 miles (23.8 km) southwest of the city of Preston.Although Southport in its present form was founded in 1793, there have been settlements in the area since the Domesday Book, and some parts of the town have names of Viking origin NEXT my HOME Town
Wellington,Usk,LLangollen and Southport
We have left Penzance and heading for my home town Blackpool with stops at Wellington,Lllangollen (Wales) and Southport Wellington is a small country town standing between the River Tone and the beautiful Blackdown Hills.Wellington Monument, built in honour of the Duke of Wellington, is a major landmark in the area and visible from many parts of the town.We sat next to people in the restaurant who are also living in Queensland.Usk in South Wales It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient crossing point. It developed as a small market town was a lovely little town and the old Cross Keys pub where we stayed served lovely meals in a mediaeval room.This time we met people from my old area in Western Australia,this world is getting smaller.Annie cant believe how narrow the streets are !! Next stop was Llangollen and the beautiful scenery that is breath taking The bridge at Llangollen was built in about 1345 by John Trevor, of nearby Trevor Hall, who later became Bishop of St Asaph. It was extended to cross the railway when this was built in the 1860s and was widened in the early 1960s. The upstream side has new masonry which blends in with the older structure.There has been SO much to see and I could spend lots of time travelling to Blackpool and blogging is becoming very time consuming.England begin their European Cup adventures soon and I will be inducting Annie into how to become a football fanatic !!
Special Day and Annie meets a lot of her new-found Pommie Rellies
Today was one of my nieces daughter Evie Christening.The week in Blackpool has been very wet !! BUT today the sun shone on this great day It was fantastic to meet up with lots of people of different background and cultures.The dancing was fantastic,the day was nice and Sunny and the setting and food was terrific.A cricket match was put on too and whilst the young were inside dancing and strutting their stuff we oldies sat and enjoyed a beer or two while sunning and watching the cricket !! Everyone pulled together Annie had a great day SO thanks to all involved
From Newbury to Penzance & Lands End
On our way to Penzance we stayed overnight at a lovely hotel in CHARD having a population of around 14,000 and, at an altitude of 121 metres, is the highest town in Somerset.In 1685 Chard was one of the towns in which Judge Jeffreys held some of the Bloody Assizes after the failure of the Monmouth Rebellion. Chard is the birthplace of aviation, as it was here in 1848 that the Victorian aeronautical pioneer John Stringfellow (1799-1883) first demonstrated that engine-powered flight was possible.The hotel has a great Chandelier feature and worth a stop over.We travelled next day to Penzance (only seeing cardboard pirates !!) The owner was a terrific host and cooked the most amazing English breakfast West Cornwall features an incomparable variety of wide sandy beaches, steep rocky cliffs and hidden little coves together with remote moors on granite headlands along with numerous small villages and towns The “jewel in the crown” of Mounts Bay is the island castle of St Michaels Mount while, further around the coast, lies the Minack Theatre set dramatically in the cliffs above the sea.We also headed towards Lands End but commercialism wins sadly,nevertheless the rocky coastline is a magnificent spectacle Again this part of the world is a must to see
Newbury West Berkshire home to Annies brother Paul & Family
I dont know this place too well so I have pinched a few lines from elsewhere. I DO know lots of villages and quaint pubs are about PLUS STONEHENGE is about 40 miles from where we are Did you know…
Stonehenge was constructed in three phases.It has been estimated that the three phases of the construction required more than thirty million hours of labour.Speculation on the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy.Age estimated at 3100 BC
Location Wiltshire, UK. Worship Lunar, SolarNewbury is a market town located in West Berkshire in England The Kennet and Avon Canal disects the town which has many historical buildings and places of interest including the Corn Exchange Theatre and the Museum by the Canal. The Newbury Racecourse is within 1 mile of the town centre and nearby are Highclere Castle, Donniington Castle, Snelsmore Countryside Park, the Ridgeway and the Downs Enjoy a canal trip aboard the Kennet Horse Boat Company horsedrawn and motorised day trip boats on the Kennet and Avon Canal. The Horsedrawn Barge operates from Kintbury.While staying in Newbury Annie took off with her family to Bath,an historic place that dates back to the Roman Empire.The hotel in Newbury (The Chequers was excellent) the pub next door provided brilliant evening meals (Bacon Arms) and the Beef homemade pie was the best I have had in an age.This concludes the Newbury experience and tomorrow we head for Lands End !
Harrods and Farewell to my Boy in London
Annie wanted to visit Harrods and get a few plastic bags to hand to friends BUT at £20 a pop for green signed plastic bags we didnt bother This place is FULL of lusciousness and altho lots of shoppers,people didnt seem to buy much !!WHO WOULD PAY $25000 FOR A WATCH THAT TELLS THE TIME AS GOOD AS MY $25 ONE? the pastries on display were very mouth watering but I could only afford to take pictures !! Nevertheless it was a unique experience walking around this very elegant and exquisite store This is our final day and we met up with one of my sons at the Sawyers Arms across the road from our hotel for a farewell meal and couple of beers…Next we move on to Newbury to meet Annies Brother and family
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 