Suck on a Fishermans Friend,Fleetwood and Fish n Chips
Today I took a ride (freebie) ont the Blackpool Tram into Fleetwood passing the Fisherman Friend Lozenge Factory and it is HUGE !Tablets started life in 1865 as a liquid.Fleetwood is a (was) Fishing town that harboured lots of Trawlers until the 70,s ( as kids we used to catch the train to the Docks,sadly the railway ceased to be years ago and will be told in a future blog)My first Father in Law was a stoker on the Trawlers and my sister in laws dad and brother also worked on the boats) Back to Fishermans,most of the liquid was sold in bottles but were not suitable for trawlers and consequently made as a Lozenger and now available n over 150 countries and worth over 165 million pounds, selling 5 BILLION Lozenges a year !! employing around 300
As a great Trawling town dating back to the 1830,s the fishing industry went into decline in the 60,s and is no longer used for the Trawling industry.We caught a train from Blackpool to Fleetwood s kids in the 50,s (Railway has also gone now) The town is still lovely and the ferry will take passengers across the River Wyre to Knott End ( will be discussed in future Blogs) I tried the Fish n Chips at a favourite Cafe I have come to know on previous trips BUT the price ( Pensioners Special) was a wee bit steep at 7 quid ! (Fish/Chips/Tea/B&B) My childhood memories came flooding back as I walked up and down Fleetwood prom and as time passes,memories may be included in future Blogs.Life is better than I thought right now and I will say IF people want to throw Stones,please do,but, be prepared for them to be thrown back
Blackpool Sandhills and a Murder
Today I visited an old playground of mine at Southern end of Blackpool.It is difficult to apprehend the size of theses hills from photo,s I have taken,however, they go back a long way and are full of steep valleys as a young person hide n seek was a regular game and as we grew older a bit of a kiss and cuddle would be the order of the day from what we thought was away from public viewing.The flat beach leading from the hills is used for world class sand yacht racing and is fairly solid and goes for miles without bumps etc.Piers were common in the earlier years of Blackpool history and a dip in the Ocean (Irish Sea) was thought to be very therapeutic,sadly St Annes piers are in decline and the once mighty jetty has been permanently separated from the pier (illustrated) Whilst researching the Dunes history I came across a murder that was committed in 1919 and makes for an interesting read and I have plagiarized the below story
On Christmas Eve 1919, what the Lytham Times referred to as “The fashionably attired body of a beautiful woman” was found by John Edward Gillett who was walking on the shore on the Sandhills about two hundred yards north of the Manchester Convalescent Home off North Drive.
This was the body of Kathleen Elsie Breaks (see picture from the St Annes Express) of Bradford – the face and head werecovered in blood and there were signs of a struggle. Subsequent to the discovery of the body two children stumbled across a revolver in the dunes which contained four spent cartridges and two unused bullets. Although it was initially thought that the victims’ wounds were caused by stabbing further investigation showed that they were in fact gunshot wounds and one bullet was found in the body.
Frederick Rothwell Holt from Fairhaven, a former lieutenant in the Lytham Company of the 4th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, Territorials , was arrested late on Christmas Eve and charged with the murder by Acting Detective Inspector John Sherlock on Christmas Day. After the breakdown in Mrs Breaks marriage she had formed a relationship with Frederick Holt having
first met him as a member of a party visiting a Blackpool hydro where Holt was being treated for injuries sustained whilst serving in the Army.
The trial attracted a great deal of media attention locally, nationally and internationally. Holt was defended by the mercurial and occasionally brilliant Sir Edward Marshall Hall who had made a career out of cases such as this, indeed the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography claims that “few sensational cases seemed complete without him”. Sir Gordon Hewart, the Attorney-General at the time, acted for the crown.
The court proceedings lasted for five days and the court heard of the passionate letters exchanged between Holt and Mrs Breaks, the claims of Holt’s insanity and details of wills and life insurance policies. On 28th February 1920 a huge crowd assembled outside the Manchester Assize Court on in the hope of gaining
admittance to the final stages of the proceedings of the trial of Rex v Holt. Ultimately Holt was sentenced to death and a subsequent appeal failed.
Holt was hanged at Strangeways Prison Manchester on 13th April 1920 by the public hangman John Ellis. A crowd of 1,000 assembled outside the jail many of whom appeared to sympathise with Holt. The Evening Chronicle of the day commented that, Judging by the expressions in the crowd , the sentiment of all that hushed throng was one of pity for the doomed man”. Commenting on Holt himself, the paper said that, “…….he walked calmly to his death ; he lived almost unperturbed the last few days of his life, eating and sleeping well…………………….he died making no confession of his guilt”
Radio,Food and Should I?
Today I got confirmation that I will be joining Radio Victoria Team to preent a radio show altho I haven,t actually got a starting date for training and hopefully it will b fairly soon and YES I,m excited simply because I love playing music to cheer people up.I have NO regrets leaving Australia as my life seems to be on track and I am enjoying life once again.I am also getting my cooking skills back and that is not to detract from my recent partners cooking ( she was a good cook) BUT I shall have to start cutting down as the weight is beginning to creep up (actually very quickly!!) I really like the flat I am currently in,however,its on the second floor with NO lift ( and yet the weight is piling on !) Carwise I am still torn whether to get a new one ( I probably will by weekend) More partying this weekend as my brother is 70 and his daughter has been married for 25 yrs !! I am on house sitting duty (with less stairs!) because they all off to Turkey next week.Pub wise and all is well I am currently involved in a fun club called the KIT Klub ( Keep In Touch) and we are setting up in the hope of getting lots of members to join us,it is an attempt for lonely pub goers to come and join us and talk about nothing ( I am personally meeting lots of new people and is a long way from the boredom I was experiencing in the lovely,picturesque Hervey Bay (I will not be returning back there but will occasionally return to my Australian Birthday Perth.Mondays,Tuesday and Wednesdays have become my alcohol free days ( so I can justify myself that I,m not an alcoholic!!) I
K.I.T Klub and No Alcohol Free Night
Peter has invented a club aptly named the KIT Klub (Keep In Touch) and asked me to be the Secretary ( I declined) a few people turned up at out headquarters namely the Queens Pub and all we have done all night is reminisce and laugh.There are so many interesting characters in the group and altho I have declared a NO Alcohol free few days the evening just flowed and before we knew it the Midnight closing time Bell wa rung ! Sandwiches were provided by the ladies Darts Team (very tasty too) I have been invited to join the Mens darts team but I don,t want commitment in my life BUT I will sign on and IF I am around and the team is a man down then that is acceptable.Cars are still on my agenda and will let the salesman have a few days ,who knows he may come up with a better offer! After chatting with some of the members we discovered some of us are almost related !! Sad note tonight tho avery good barmaid friend of mine died today,she was landlady of the old BAF Club I was Secretary of..RIP Sheila or Big T as we fondly nick named her xx
Bolton,Cars and a Great Day Out
10 of us met up Blackpool North Railway station and paid 14 quid each for return fare to Bolton.because of the laughs we had the trip seemed to take minutes (an hour) While the other went on the pub crawl I was picked up by the local car dealer who whisked me off to his showroom and I am showing great interst in an automatic Suziki Celerio as I want to travel around this great country of ours photographing ( thinking of doing metal detecting too) Dealer was great NOT pushy and I have now got to think of the offer he has made (I,m very interested) after the showing he dropped me off in the middle of Bolton where I met up with the rest and began my full day of boozing !! Bolton is also the home of Fred Dibnah ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dibnah) do have a look at his life as shown on the previous URL .I took my camera along and first of got one of the gang to take photo,s and we have not laughed so much for a long time,Needless to say the lad who took the pic also missed the train we were on and had to wait 2 hrs for the next one.For a change the Sun was out and it was great trudging into different pubs and meeting down to earth people.Lunch found us in the Pound Pie shop and we all bought a giant sausage roll and Meat n Pot pie for only a quid !! The company was great and all we did was laugh.Train back was also quick and most of us trudged back to our local for a few more! As the evening went on our group got larger and we have developed into a fun group all with their own individual personalities Took a couple more pics but had to give in by 11 pm (normal closing is 12) One of the bar flies kicked out and was consequently chucked out by the very large bouncer ! (who incidentally is avery nice man we have all come to know) Pub life is as I remembered it and I have fallen in with a great group..Power to the People
I would have taken more pub Pics (local) but the alcohol was affecting my balance !!!!
Pubs,Quiz Nights and Bingo
Just had confirmation from HM Customs my stuff from Australia is to arrive Tax Free !!hopefully by next weekend (Ive forgot what I packed exceptfor my Didgeridoo!) Because the prior tenents were reluctant to pay for Gas & Electricity pay as you go prepaid metees were installed.For me its inconvenient “topping” up every time Power is about to run out SO I rang British Gas (they do Electric too) and they stated my credit wasn,t accepted,apparently trust goes on the premises rather than the customer! I complained very heavily and explaining my Pensioner Status I was put on a Priority list (quarterly payments) and consequently within a few hours they altered the system,it obviously pays ( no pun intended) to complain,however, I must say people on the phone to the lad who installed my new meter were brilliant and a big thanks goes out to them for their help. Thursday nights are becoming very popular in my local,great people and full of fun. Teams are nilly willy and I have joined the ladies team (hehe) and to their credit they are brainier thn I will ever be (Its also a great laff cos I copy other contestants at times) after all this fun its BINGO time ( I don,t play yet) and our corner won 99 % of the cash prizes,seems I,m gud luck and they wanna hang me around their necks asa charm !! Tomorrow all being well we are all off to Bolton (more on that in my next Blog) Still got my eye on a car (Suziki)
Ahh the British and their wonderful ways
Keys coming out of my ears !! had copies made and left a set at me sis n laws and just now a knock on the door I,d left my car keys in our foyer. Weather is still rather inclement and nice hot,warm days are hard to come by.Think the ole Banger ( car) is about to come to the end of its life and now monies have been finalized time to upgrade,question is do I buy new or second hand? decisions decisions!Cars are so prolific in this country now being parked on either side of the road forming single lanes instead of 2! I love the way people park their cars and can actually park on the opposite of direction (very difficult to find parking spots in town) Shops are full of foods that dont seem to be available in Australia ! Lots of biscuit varieties and sweets ( lollies) of different flavours,tis like being in Heaven again.Knee is still a wee bit dickie climbing stairs ( at least I hope that what it is ?) I,m looking to be in Australia around October to get my financial state up to scratch.Time seems to be passing very quickly ( yes I know there is still 24 hrs in the day) Australian stuff arrives next week and hopefully will not have much trouble getting it upstairs (oh dear What have I said?) Still need my big Computer to re size pictures I will be putting on this blog and lots of stuff I have forgotten what tho?,be like Christmas when I start unpacking.Swearing seems to be fairly common over here and nobody seems to take offence and I have decided to keep my pub dates down to just the weekend.Sleep comes easily to me and I dream quite avidly fortunately they are very pleasant dreams ( I remember some of them too) Still awaiting Radio confirmation,hopefully yay or nay soon
Happy Days,Family and a Great Granson called Oscar
Today I caught a freebie bus to Clevelys and was surprised how busy this area was and yes I forgot my camera again!!Did a bit of food shopping and bought some kitchen Utensils ,and, upod arriving home my grandson Mark rang and asked if I,d like tomeet my very new Great Grandson and I got SO excited !!He collected me and took us to his lovely mothers house in Thornton and I have to say I was absolutely impress with the lovely large back garden ! Naturally it was decked out with a Hills Hoist ( Australian invention) and we spent some well missed quality time with Oscar.The weather was beautiful and the tea was flowing and Oscar delighted us all with his 3 yr old antics !! It was very pleasing to see that he wasn,t put off with this big,bearded long haired bloke and we got on famously.He is a very charming young man full of fun and mischief and naturally good looking !! Louie and Ella arrived home from school and Louie was delighted to show me his personally hand crafted cricket bat bought by is brother Mark,tried a few overs meself but got a dickie knee I suspect earned by climbing all those stairs to my new flat.I cant wait for my Australia crew coming over at Christmas to meet up with this lovely lot and we have already booked us all (8) to see Cinderella Pantomime at Christmas.It is days like this that make it all so very well worth while..I,m a happy chappie.NOW to slap some deep heat on me knee !!! Also ran into a Postman from yesteryear I worked with he was surprised I knew and he couldn’t remember me ( well he is older than me!) until I told him my name.Nice to see you n yer missus again Ken
Cars,Planes and Bucket Lists
Still not used to this weather,tis mid summer and I,m fffffffreezing ! ironically I dont miss the heat neither.Went viewing new motors today and its strange here in the UK coz automatics dont seem very popular quite the reverse in Australia.I have a very secong hand Suziki that happens to be auto and (touch wood) it rune great and economical on petrol,needless to say I havent venture more than 10 miles away!Today I learnt that my stuff from Australia will be here in about 10 days abd that should make me feel more at home.Seen a few movies with my nephew Darren and they are turning into a nice weekly outing.At this point I am still awaiting from Hospital Radio as they are very thorough at vetting new volunteers.Bucket list is up and running and hopefully will get to see the Northern Lights.Fights return to Perth seem very reasonble from here and I will be there after Bonfire Night !! (still a kid at heart) I am also fully cnnected to the Internet now courtesy Kirstie and will soon start adding photo,s once more.Pretty soon I am going to have to find out how the central heating works in this flat and I have just received heating allowance from the Govt,TV here full on and many stations to choose from BUT costs around 150quid a yr (will be free IF I reach 75!!) Being a good lad and cut me pub nights down to 3 now and once my equipment gets here I will find plenty to do (anybody want to buy some shorts ! Ive got lots and hardly wear them now) Made my first Spag Bol for tea and not a mess made (soon be able to invite people around for a meal now I,m getting me cooking skills on the move again .I am surprised at the amount of sleep I am getting and my Doona/Duvet is fantastic.Rubbish days are confusing here and rubbish is collected fortnightly ( the people in these flats are very friendly and use each others bins) Its on the cards I may get tomeet my Great Grandson soon fingers crossed
Trolls,J.P,s and the final Say
It is NOT my way to bring disputes in this or any forum,however I feel the need to put affairs into perspective.Recently bad things were put on FB about myself (statements I can not see).The perpetrator wrote nasty,s about my personal life and took them OFF after people had read them ( I can get access to them) SO my reply to your pathetic letter is ( I will not mention your name because of the respect I have for your mother) YOU were offered an Olive Branch to discuss our differences and you sent a nasty letter (even sent your mother a copy!) in return and therefore I reserve the right of reply Your very unBritish views are racist and I have been an Australian Citizen for over 35 yrs (where would YOU be if not for your British Father?) I never ever doubt the love between mother and daughter BUT you seem to have said enough bad things about your sister on FB ( a programme I,m sure you couldn’t live without) You also say I,m homophobic and I can assure you I am not ! altho your very candid views did get me and your mother thrown out of a 4×4 driving club of which I really enjoyed and I only ever wanted to do was get skills to do with 4×4.. I also advised you on putting derogatory stories on your beloved FB about your ex girl friends husband ( you are quite the expert at putting bad statements on FB and then deleting them after awhile) You also state you are respectful? Last time I saw you leaving MY house you were shouting very obscene language towards me (and yes I did raise my voice and emphatically deny swearing ) Face Book is obviously a way of life for you and I know you have written nasty things about myself ( you don,t know me) and I believe you be manipulative,nasty and a vicious person considering your position as a Justice of the Peace.You traveled 1000,s of kms across Australia with 2 animals without assistance (very commendable) and got around India on your own for 3 weeks and drive a car that dwarves a tank! and yet you have a disability parking sticker? (mmmmm) You claim carers money too? As for my disrespect for your mother? That never happened and our marital disagreements are between me & your mother ( NOT me.your mother and YOU) One good thing out of all this is that you will no longer be a part of my family (altho I have the greatest respect for your brother and some of your uncles) I am what I am.Your mother knew what I,m like before we were married and is NO concern of yours. In conclusion I wish your mother the very best in life.hope she becomes the grandmother she so richly deserves and finds someone who can give her the love to make her very happy..I am aware of nasties you write then after a while delete.DO NOT involve me on that forum again and yes you are absolutely right ” I do not like you” Your mum will always be in my mind and yes we have to move on lasting thoughts of your mother? Dancing in the Rain and please let her do her own thing when she meets someone new. I am very Happy with my new life.Stop hiding behind your disability
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 