Blackpools Wind Farm and some Facts
Blackpool Offshore Wind farm , supplies green energy to the UK, is set in the Irish Sea and part of it is being connected by a cable to shore at Cleveleys, which then goes underground to Thornton.Located approx 15km west of Barrow-in-Furness the first one was installed on 12 July 2010 and the growing farm can just be seen on the distant horizon. each one capable of generating 3.6MW of electricity and a staggering total of 367.2MW which would be enough to power 320,000 homes. The maximum height of the turbines is 150m from blade tip to sea level ,only 8m (24’) shorter than Blackpool Tower! The cable comes ashore buried under the beach in front of Thornton Gate, and then continues underground on a route to Hillhouse Industrial Estate where a new sub-station is situated to transfer the power into the National Grid.Today’s wind turbines are much more complicated machines than the traditional prairie windmill. A wind turbine has as many as 8,000 different components. It is establishes as one of the world’s biggest wind farms being clearly visible from the Fylde Coast and around 12 mile away.Costing approx £147,000 in 2007 the turbines will help power Blackpool’s world famous Illuminations and Sandcastle Water Park. I was fortunate enough to have my trusty camera on a very clear day to enable me to take some glorious photo’s ( except the one with a worker dangling on a blade !) I decided to do this particular blog because few locals know of the turbines existence or what they are capable of producing ! Most of the information was collected via searching the Internet although not a lot about the Blackpool’s Wind Farm
Homosexuals,Lesbians,Hetrosexuals,SSM and other stuff and I don,t give a toss
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalized homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces. Homosexual acts were decriminalized in Scotland by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, which took effect on 1 February 1981 and in Northern Ireland by the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982. I left school at the ripe old age 0f 15 yrs and 2 weeks Easter 1960 and very quickly adapted to the “Seniors” way of life,i.e,going into pubs had a steady girl friend ( who I eventually married) and GAY meant happy ,Songs had words like “Oh happy day, I will be Gay” sang by a band known as the Gaylords ! Eventually this word was hijacked and now it is used to describe homosexuals and lesbians .I frequented a pub known as the Railway and the entertainment value was awesome ! The singer was named Jimmy King and also a valued friend and yes you,ve guessed it,he was GAY !! Sadly in those far off days being gay was illegal and those particular people had some very horrible detrimental names hurled their way !! Wife no 2 was a semi professional singer and altho biased she was very good,we came across a lot of “gay” people in her line of duty and always respected our way of life as we did theirs .On one memorable occasion I was doing what comes natural in the urinals and a very good looking girl came in to the stalls,lifted her skirt up and started pee-ing !! HE was a drag artist and after having a great laugh we became good friends !! Another time we holidayed in Phuket and visited the local show , it was fabulous! great dresses,hair do’s and absolutely drop dead gorgeous ladies with hour glass figures to match, BUT NO !they are all men and wear the tag “Lady-boys” I couldn’t resist and had a few pics taken after the show.Currently living in Australia there was a big push for same sex marriage and a plebiscite was held for same sex marriage(SSM) and I voted for.I have a problem on why MILLIONS of dollars was spent on this and yet IF the same enthusiasm was put into health,pensioners,homeless etc it would be fantastic and I dont understand why the gay community keep pushing their agenda down our throats? The world has changed a lot since I were a nipper and what ever consenting adults get up to in their lives is entirely THEIR choice. As for young kids? let them have fun the same as we did ( I can,t remember having sex lessons t school? we learnt the hard way <pun intended> ) I recently read in the newspapers that a number of schools are already teaching children as young as five about gay relationships and gender dysphoria. I still have some very good gay pals BUT there are a very,very few I dislike (not because they are gay,but because of their personalities).Life goes on,live it to the best of your abilities ( and pocket) whether you be hetro or gay or transgender have fun… I have it from good sources that Blackpool is now the “GAY” capital of England….Peace to you all
Have a Laff to Start the New Year !
I normally do articles on where I have been or what I am currently up to BUT I saw an article in the Daily Mirror on reviews from the Travel organization known as Trip Advisers and they are so funny I couldn,t resist repeating some off the complaints handed in..Normal Blogging Service will be resumed soon as I stop laughing.If you are on your own? Laugh Out Loud!! I do !
HOT AND BOTHERED IN CENTRAL AMERICA: “You said the town was next to a volcano, but we went and there was no lava. I’m pretty sure it was just a mountain.”
NEW YORK’S NO ZOOTOPIA: “The animals at the zoo looked very sad and it made our children cry. Can’t they train them to smile?”
LOST IN SPAIN: “The street signs weren’t in English. I don’t understand how anyone can get around.”
NOT PLAIN SAILING: “I went on your cruise around the Med and the sea was so loud outside I couldn’t get any sleep.”
NAAN TOO PLEASED IN INDIA: “I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry and I don’t like spicy food at all.”
DOUBLE TROUBLE IN FRANCE: “My boyfriend and I asked for single beds in our room and you gave us a double. Now I am pregnant.”
FEELING SECOND BREAST IN SPAIN: “Women were sunbathing topless on the beach and my husband spent all day looking at them.”
IN DEEP WATER IN ITALY: “No one told us there would be fish in the sea – the children were surprised and upset.”
TAKEN FOR A RIDE IN TURKEY: “There was no sign telling you that you shouldn’t get on the hot air balloon ride if you’re afraid of heights.”
IT GOT OUT OF SAND IN THAILAND: “The beach was so sandy that sand got into my clothes and was hard to wash off my skin.”
TIME MACHINE IN CARIBBEAN: “It took nine hours for our flight to get from the UK to Antigua but the Americans at our resort said it took them just three.”
DOOM AND ROOM IN PORTUGAL: “Our one-bedroom apartment was much smaller than the two-bedroom one next door.”
TAKING THE BISCUIT IN BULGARIA: “The local store sold hardly any British food and did not stock my favourite brand of biscuits.”
LOST IN TRANSLATION EN ESPANA: “There were way too many foreigners and everyone spoke Spanish.”
KENYA TELL THE DIFFERENCE?: “We bought designer sunglasses from the market and later found out they were fake.”
GHASTLY GREECE: “We could not enjoy the tour as our guide was too ugly.”
GIVING IT LARGE IN SPAIN: “The beach had too many fat people. It was gross.”
My ABSOLUTE Favourite ….SIGHT-SEETHING IN KENYA: “The elephants we saw on our honeymoon were visibly aroused which made my wife upset and made me feel
inadequate.”
Thanks to the Daily Mirror & Trip Advisers for these Gems….
North Shore,the Cliffs and a Dead Boating Pool
There’s quite a rise from sea level to the main road of Blackpool seafront promenade which is known as the Cliffs – climbing from Gynn roundabout heading north to Bispham. Rocks were made from a secret mix of cement, poured over brick, clinker, smaller rocks and building rubble to create what was viewed to be a quite realistic rockery landscape. Today I took a nostalgic walk along the Rock Gardens on onto the Promenade below Blackpool’s artificial Cliffs towards the dying Boating Pool and once again nostalgic memories from my younger days came flooding back.In days gone by the Boating pool in the Summer was packed with Holiday makers utilizing the man made lake via Rowing Boats,Canoes and Motorboats .We would tie a sea mussel to a piece of string and catch small crabs ( all thrown back in) All that has gone now,water drained and a rubber tyre go cart arena was formed ( now in the progress of being dismantled ) Man made cliffs ( used cunningly as a support for the higher ground ) were our playground and me and my mates have spent many hours scaling these magnificent structures ,never ever thinking we could fall off them ! Altho the grassy slopes look worse for wear and also we are in the middle of a very cold winter they grass up very quickly in the Summer , we often “slid” down them never thinking how dangerous it was! Now the snowflake generation wrap their kids up in cotton wool deriving them of wonderful outdoor FREE playgrounds,sadly kids these days have their faces stuck in mobile phones and I,m sure future kids will evolve with 6 inch thumbs used for texting! We are to embark on a diet and will utilize these walkways ( Not I hasten to add scaling the cliffs!) in an effort to lose weight
Above the Cliffs where Trams run is a Rockery garden that now looks very sad (due to winter conditions maybe) but in days gone by people would flock to these gardens and simply admire the wonderful man made gardens . I did notice spacemen trying to land perhaps they have come to brighten up this wonderful area above and below?
Walkabout and the Blackpool Colannades in the Sunny Cloudless Day
A New Year ahead
Well thats my overseas family returned to Australia,me son returned to London and theres now a void BUT things are definitely on the up in the coming months.My lot have had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and even brought a tear to my eye! I am settling in my new Flat and it is very comfortable ( bloody freezing tho!) not missing the heat but will return to Australia in March with a wonderful list of things to do culminating in seeing my niece appear in a starring role in We Will Rock You also starring Normie Rowe an Australian iconic pop singer from the 60,s ( he also served in Viet Nam) I “may” be seeking to travel whilst in Oz and if not will definitely do a British Summer tour.Having visited The Lake District,Trough of Bowland,Southport going up the Blackpool Tower and various other places over the Festive Season with my family I have itchy feet once more.In a few short weeks I will achieve the single status once again and will have NO relatives in Hervey Bay or Queensland and looking forward to some challenges in the coming year.I still have lots of family in Western Australia and soon to become a Grand Father once again in March to baby girl Athena ( I am so excited by the birth too) Daughter and Family have now flown out of UK on their way home via Disney Land in Paris HOWEVER a suitcase was left behind at Heathrow and fortunately my London based son managed to get it back ! Still in the Domino Team and playing badly!! Life style has changed dramatically here in Blackpool, pub 3 or 4 nights a week bedtimes beyond midnight and getting around 9 or 10 hrs sleep spoiled only by toileting in the night !! So keep the beer taps filled Australia see you again in March
2018
Its 2018 and I,m ready for take off !! 2017 started off rather badly with the sad selling of our home in Hervey Bay Queensland and the end of my partnership ! From April my life moved to a better place and I am currently renting a flat in my hometown of Blackpool. Having made great friends in my now local pub and visited various shows plus buying a new car as described in earlier blogs. I have traveled around visiting places such as Windermere,Trough of Bowland,Manchester,Preston all around the Fylde Coast and a great boozy day out with pals in the town centre of Bolton.My life is certainly not boring and hopefully the trend will continue into 2018,with a planned visit to Perth Australia in March for Grankids birthdays PLUS a visit to my all time fav show We Will Rock You starring my niece Gemma (tickets already booked) I have travel plans in the pipeline and having loved living in HB I am convinced my latter years will be happily spent in Blackpool having been to 3 funerals and seen 3 of my good pals suffer strokes ! as made me realise how lucky I am .Weather wise I am loving the diversity of hot,cold,wet,windy days and the natural beauty of the countryside is to marvel at ( I need to be 20 yrs younger) Having moved to a ground flat from a second storey apartment ( oxygen very thin up there!) was a brilliant move.Social life is a lot better than HB ( I had some great pals there ) I have met some lovely people and hopefully that trend will continue Christmas and New Year has been the best I can remember surrounded by lots of family that has come together from around the worldFrom me and my wonderful family Happy New Year ( without exception) to ALL I know
Almost 2018
Saturday before Christmas Eve we went to the Queens and the Singing Butcher was performing ( not my favourite) me and son Michael stayed and had a few pints..Next day was Christmas Eve and the Evening went very well with a Party at my brothers house where we drank copious amounts of alcohol and devoured lots of Christmas Fare.Kids had a ball joining in all the games that were brilliantly organized by my lovely niece Jenine.Nephew Darren was also fantastic as he drove all the drunken people to their respective homes ( me included) Christmas Day was magical with family friend Maureen picking both Michael and myself up at 8.30 am and take to Jenines to watch all the kids (big and small) open their Father Christmas delivered presents bring a large lump to my throat !,family from all around the globe as well as local siblings gathered at Jenine & Darrens for an excellent Christmas Dinner.Australian family ( daughter,son in law and 3 grandsons were over awed with excitement) Games came later and a snowball fight was organized BUT great fun.Younger party goers spent the late evening in the Jacuzzi entertained by Wheatsheaf Pub landlord Brian wearing the briefest of Budgie Smugglers! Taxi home and on Boxing Day Bubble & Squeak at my nieces and then home absolutely knackered @ so much that I missed out on Karaoke Night in my local pub ! I literally fell into my very welcome Pitt around midnight.Wednesday we went for a drive into the Trough of Bowland high in the Pennines ,the surrounding countryside,babbling brooks,streams,rainbows and a very wet windy was magical,we also had brunch in a country pub (very tasty)Alcohol free day as was Boxing Day.Thursday we went off to the wonderful Lake District and Paul was amazed at the traffic jam in a country lane with barely enough room for one car! Brilliant guidance by his co-pilot helped him out of some scary moments thru the mud !Windermere was absolutely heaving with people and not a single parking space to be found! Surrounded by fantastic snow covered mountain tops we drove on to Ambleside and had Fish n Chips ( I swear it was the BEST Haddock I have ever tasted!) eaten outside in the freezing (but very sunny day) cold.We decided because it was so busy to call it a day and return home,Michael and myself went to my local for a few and ended the lovely day early (midnight) .Saturday we were heading for Lllandudno but due to very inclement weather opted to go to Southport and were,nt disappointed .After a bracing (very bracing) walk on the pier we all went in a lovely warm pub for a meal.I have always had a soft spot for Southport.Arriving home I had the grankids for a couple of hours whilst mum n dad went shopping and they bought me a Boom Box and Microwave ( and yes altho very grateful I told them off for spending HOLIDAY money!) Once again now at home I fell asleep watching telly and will have another alcohol free evening…Next up New Years Eve and farewells
Picture of me holding tiny milk bottle provided with me cuppa reminded me of my very distant youth when at skule.We were issued with those for morning break ! Happy Daze and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
What a difference a Christmas makes within 12 months
This time last year will probably be my last in Australia,last years wasn’t a particular good one to remember and Ive just gone back over my Blog history and there is NO mention of Christmas/New Year 2016 ! HOWEVER this years is already beginning to look brilliant,family from Australia and London have arrived and its been nothing but laughs all the way ! Being an expert on all that is Blackpool I gave them a conducted tour of the Prom and Piers even tho we couldn’t see more that 2 feet in front of us because of the thick fog and for a brief moment I thought the Tower had been stolen !! Kids loved being in the amusement arcades where me and my younger brother spent much of our very happy youth (misspent youth) Did a whirlwind tour of Blackpool shops.In the afternoon I attended a funeral of a good friend of mine from yesteryear who was a top dart player in the 70s also ranked 16 th in the WORLD ( keep practising Jack cos I,m on my way eventually) The Wake was great and the non religious service is exactly what I want ! I also met up with a couple of postman pals from the 70s and we reminisced about our postie days and ironically we ALL passed our driving tests thanks to the Post Office ! Night time was a complete contrast to the days other events.We went to a PANTOMIME !! Cinderella to be precise and NINE of my family enjoyed the brilliantly performed entertainment and it was lovely to see lots of kids aged from 2 to 90 in attendance all shouting “he,s Behind You” or “Oh No it isn,t” and other phrases.It was a truly heart warming experience with my Australian and London kids/Grankids having never been to a Pantomime ( me and my younger brother were brought up in a world of music,magic,movies,shows ) and were all having a ball. Me and my youngest son went on to the pub for a few ( the others were tired out caused by all the excitement) and retired around 12.30 am !! All this latest Blog happened in ONE day and at NO time did we feel the cold ..Life is definitely great right now with LOTS more to come over the Christmas period
Photography is strictly forbidden during shows,however,I managed to get a quickie snap before the show.Not being Phone/Camera smart this the best I could do
Early 2017 Review
This review is early because I will be off the Net for a few days and will be extremely busy over the Christmas period with my lovely family. Early in 2017 my partner and I decided to go our own ways for various reasons and being a young 72 yr old I am not quite ready for the settling down life just yet,being an atheist ( thank god) I want to do so much more.Hervey Bay is a lovely spot,sadly I was getting bored and missing out with my friends ( details I won,t go into) and felt isolated. We sold our lovely house that had so much work put into into it and my beloved tools are no more having sold them BUT most of all I miss my treasured Chesterfield Settee !! In the early months I stayed with my daughter in Perth for a couple of weeks and traveled onto Blackpool UK from there and stayed at my brothers until I found a lovely flat (sadly on the second floor and NO lift) fortunately I have now found a lovely ground floor flat in an area I like.My niece Jenine has been instrumental in my move and I don,t know how I would have managed with out her. My nephew organized a cheap automatic car for me for £200 and I traded that in later for a new Kia motor having being given £2000 ! for the old one under the British scrappage scheme (such luck) I have used a local pub The Queens as my regular drinking venue having made lots of friends of both genders. Saturday Karaoke is a favourite attraction for me PLUS at weekends there is always a good band on.Thursdays is Bingo & Quiz night and thoroughly entertaining !! Friday is now a biggie and I have joined and played a few games now for the Domino team (and met lots more pals along the trips away) Occasionally we travel to my nephews pub in Preston and guaranteed great nights.Blackpool is renowned for its entertainment value throughout the world and I have been to a few already this year and saw one of my favourites from the 60,s LIVE none other that Marty Wilde (Teenager in Love + lots more hits of yesteryear) Sadly 3 of my pals have suffered Strokes and 3 deaths involving people I know and love.My ties with Australia will remain strong and while I can I will visit Perth twice a year. Christmas is but days away and family from around the globe are gathering here in Blackpool for which promises to be a real cracker !! Merry Christmas to everyone and Peace be with you all ( without exception) More to come after the Festive Season…xxxx
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 