My Home Town Blackpool and the Memorable Trams
BLACKPOOL
Having just arrived back in Hervey Bay after a visit to Blackpool I was reminded of how much we take for granted.Growing up in the 50,s & 60,s our giant FREE playground was the wonderful Promenade that fronts the few miles of beach and the Irish Sea.Along this route going from Star Gate in the South of Blackpool ( past the Pleasure Beach) to Fleetwood a few miles away situated on the mouth of the River Wyre and Fleetwood is known now worldwide where Fishermans Friends are produced even to this day (I,m sure most f you have sucked on a Fishermens Friend?) which in years past was a major fishing fishing port providing shelter and employment for Trawlers and the people who were utilized in all facets of the fishing industry (filleting their catch,freezing Ocean life,smoking Kippers,Ice factories <went round one of these as a school “treat”> are the magnificent trams that play a very important part in Blackpools Transport. In the Illumination Season from Sept to end of August trams are decorated with 1000,s of light bulbs and custom made trams have featured Rockets,Lifeboats,Space Ships and other splendid shapes.Annually,Blackpool displays these forms of transport to the public and creates lots of interest from around the world for enthusiasts.I have a lovely collection of photos supplied by a friend I have met on Facebook by the name of Jean Parker and the above cartoon supplied by Nick Moore (both from Blackpools Past page) Thanks to these helpful people
British Airways SHAME on You !!
| Flight | Tuesday, September 15, 2015 | British Airways BA15 | Confirmed | |
| 9:35 PM | Depart | Heathrow, London United Kingdom | LEISURE TRAVELLER | |
| 5:40 PM on Wednesday |
Arrive | Changi Intl Arpt, Singapore Singapore | Journey Time: 13:05 | |
Dear Sir,
On these above dates we booked at the end of May and as you can see all were confirmed.On the Day of travel we rocked up at Manchester Airport for our tickets only to be told our Singapore flight we would have to sit in separate rows on the next Heathrow flight.I am a 70 yr old pensioner with lots of medical issues that my wife Ann monitors ( I take 16 tablets a day =heart and asthma inhalents)) and she gives them to me at appropriate times ( she was previously in her younger life a nurse) Ticket person at Manchester advised to take it up at Heathrow (connecting flight) Once again ticket attendant said there was nothing she could do !! and advised we see the Information officer who again advised they couldn’t help.On boarding the Supervisor could see we were visibly stressed and checked our ticket (which was stamped COMPASSIONATE) and after lots of consultation put me and my very upset wife together (the Supervisor was fantastic) If our surnames were different I could understand the separation BUT with more than 2 months prior booking we were still separated !I know this may be not in breaking news category but I feel better just by letting someone know of our predicament It is a very long 13 hours being seperated(I have sent a letter of Complaint to British Airways and I suspect that has now been thrown in the trash!!) Shame on You British Airways !!!!
have a look at further stories here (not from me) http://britishairwayssucks.org/your-stories
British Airways – “Enjoy your flight, sir.”
Singapore the Final Destination
After almost 10 weeks away on holiday we are into the final throes with just a full day afore returning to Australian shores left in Singapore.This place is normally a great place to visit BUT as I write the air is filled with FIRE pollution drifting in from illegal forest fires in Malaysia and surrounding areas,the smog is thick and going out into open spaces could be hazardous to my health being asthmatic,however we did pay a visit to China Town in an attempt to cure Annie of her obsessive market visits .Didn,t work! we picked up a few “bargains” and headed back to our air conditioned hotel.The view from our window is great with the full view of the “Boat” Hotel peaking thru the thick smog,the hotel has a great laser beam show late at night but sadly it is difficult to photograph or video.The City is alive at this moment with the Formula One Race taking place this weekend (personally I find this type of sport very boring! but have a relative who can watch recordings ! as they say “each to their own”) We are using these few days to eleviate the “jet lag” we will no doubt experience,tiredness is already creeping in.Tomorrow we fly to Brisbane then onto our home in Hervey Bay,All in All excluding stops actually flight time is 22 hours and an aching bottom sums up what long distance flying can do !!
Comicon Finale Part 3 what a PARTY !
This event was nothing short of fantastic !and the five pound (10$) fee was well worth it as we had spent around 8 hrs enjoyine this very unique event held over ONE day with the venue fully booked and tickets sold out accomodating 12000 participants and fans ! I certainly enjoyed the fun and absolute friendliness that made the day complete.Entry was perhaps a little shabby by taking so long for people to enter the site although lots of fun was to be had in the enormously,lengthy que that circled the entire block twice,Odds are this event will be held in 2016 and sadly we wont be there.Inside the Winter Garden Complex are at the very least 3 ballrooms all packed with stalls all to do with comics etc and parades were held on all stages and we managed to visit all of them
We took over 300 photo,s at this event and the last 3 blogs show just a fraction of characters attending this marvellous show.We hope with a luck we may be able to visit again a few years down the track.My second childhood was restored at this event
Lou and his Comicon Pics Part 2
Escorted by my newly adopted granson & grandaughter (Lou & Ella) we finally managed to get into the Winter Gardens complex where Lou was getting impatient to take some photo,s using my camera.Although he took some nice pictures we let him loose with Annie,s smaller camera and all pics that don,t feature Lou (8) on the particular Blog are attributed to him (he took every one of them)
Next Blog will be the Final showing on our visit to Comicon
Last Blackpool Weekend and Comicon part 1
Wow ! what a fabulous Day at the Blackpool Winter Gardens to an event we booked months ago ( now fully booked) I have lived in this town and seen unbelievable crowds BUT the que to get into this venue was something I will probably never witness again !! The que by 10 am was at least a mile long and I was kept entertained by the sheer volume of people dressed up as their favourite Comic Character.By noon the crowd diminished rather than shrink,so,rather than walk the mile to join the que we reurned home and came back at 3 pm and wow it was SO exciting (that much so it ahs inspired me to commemorate the occasion by doing 3 consecutive blogs)
There was SO much to see and ALL participants were happy to be photographed ( altho it must have gotten rather boring as the day went on !)
Blackpool my Childhood Playground
As an 8 or 9 yr old me and my younger brother Brian used the Beach as our playground with other kids of course,there was no such thing as dangerous people in those PC carefree days,Crabs (tiny ones) and shrimps could easily be caught on the pier legs as well as the odd shrimp, Starfish were also aplenty (altho no sign of them today) Tides come right up to the sea wall to a depth of around 4 feet and as nippers we,d jump off the wall into the sea (of course kids don,t die do they?) and the tides would go out about a mile.Piers provided great metal structures we climb like monkeys on and we could free entangled fishing lines and re sell back to the pier fishermen ! We could roller skate for miles on our tin rattlers on the very even tarmac that span the 3 piers on the Irish Sea.I could write a book on our escapades but haven,t the time.Pictures 3 times on a Saturday were also the go in the good days and I end this Blog saying my misspent youth was of being poor but we had the best times
Blackpool Tower was our backup indoor playground and we made money by carrying holiday makers lugage to their deignated B&Bs yes indeed Happy Daze!!
Blackpool Illuminations 2015
Blackpool Illuminations is an annual Lights Festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 19 September that year, held each autumn in the English seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. Illuminated trawler tram at Blackpool .Also known locally as The Lights or The Illuminations, they run each year for sixty-six days,from late August until early November at a time when most other English seaside resorts‘ seasons are coming to an end. Dubbed as “the greatest free light show on earth”,they are 6 miles (10 km) long and use over one million bulbs. The display stretches along the Promenade from Starr Gate at the south end of the town to Bispham in the north. In 2013 the Illuminations were meant to shine from 30 August to 3 November.However on 14 March 2013 it was announced that they had been extended by a week shining until 10 November making it the first time ever the Illuminations will shine for 73 days.This continued in 2014 when the Illuminations shone from 29 August to 9 November. In 2015 the Illuminations will shine for 66 days from 4 September to 8 November
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I have fond memories of these lights from a very early age.Annie is delighted by them and will hopefully be a happy memory for her in years to come
The BIG ONE…..Coronation Street
Today was another “biggie” with a visit to TV s Coronation set that is being closed down at Xmas and has moved to another site and this is the last chance people will get to see the amazing set of Corrie that has been a family favourite for well over 50 yrs and seen all around the world,Ken Barlow played by William Roache since day one is the longest “soapie” star ever .It is definately worth a visit and our tour guide was brilliant so take a walk down the cobbled street you will NOT be disappointed ! Annie was ecstatic !! How can we ever forget Elsie Tanner.Ena Sharples,Rita,Len,Deidre (now deceased in real life at 60!) and many many more…After the walkabout we ventured into the Science of Manchester Museum and had a quick look on how the milling industry of yesteryear
We weree not disappointed Trains .Aeroplanes(full sized),Cotton weaving machines fascinated us for ages then time to drop my son of at Piccadily station and for us to head to our base in Blackpool a very interesting day had by us all
Marks Museum and its FREE !!
Today we met a new member of the family (Mark Yates) who has a shop on corner of Waterloo Rd and Blackpool Promenade ..BUT..it is a lot more than just a shop selling confectionary and souvenirs ! Downstairs,back shop is devoted to arcade machines from yesteryear and avery happy misspent youth I spent as a lad growing up in this wonderful town.One macine type caught my eye because it was money spinner for us lads in those days (before spending money was invented) when resilient kids found ways of making money !! On the Penny roll aball machine we could lift the wooden coin collecting box by 1/8 th of an inch enabling me (and others) to slide a hacksaw blade into it and slide pennies out (Hope there,s no Policeman from those days reading this ! Back to the Museum also in this section are original Space Invader sit down tables.dancing Marionettes and a variety of other amusement contraptions (these machines can still be used)
UPSTAIRS is a magnificent array of toy cars/soldiers/trams/camera,s working train sets (and trams) a great small reconstruction of Davros (go on look it up) when blown up looks so life like….Potteries from yesterday..a Waterloo Battle Field ( currently being modernised) Huge map of bygone Blackpool with an underground tram service I never knew existed>Phot,s I have taken do not do this Museum justice so for a better look http://www.markyatescollector.co.uk/ is a great reference to Marks work collected by his family for decades,If in Blackpool give him a call,say hello to chief of staff Nigel tell them Geoff mentioned it ( I promise you wont get thrown out) Thanks for the personal tour Mark…. PC ALERT !!!! Golliwogs on show !! Even a model of South Shore Open Air Baths !!Mark is the good lookin bloke on the left !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 