Blackpool

Blackpool - we did wonder why we were going when people laughed when we told them or said they had never been. Our suspicions were raised when looking at our books on walks there were none around the area and when a workmate rapped me the following song over the phone from the MacLadds

'One day after closing I was lying on me nest,
When Stez shouts "get yer bags on, come on outside."
So I grabbed me stripy tank-top, I 'ad beer stains on me vest,
An' I said "best get some cans in, it's a long ride."
Well, we drove along the M6, chuckin' cans at other folk,
An' stopped at all the services that took us.
...
We're going down Blackpool, alright,
We're going down Blackpool, fer a pint
We're going down Blackpool fer a fight
We're going to see the lights...'


but none the less the thought of seeing the Blackpool illuminations and the fact that we had already booked a hotel we decided to go. We rose early on Saturday morning but by Birmingham when I was fully awake I was bored - so instead of doing what the MacLadds did we decided to record all the names on trucks (oops lorries in England) and came up with quite a list in just over 2 hours- which anyone not interested can skim over - but I think we saw more in the two hours than we would in a week in New Zealand. So here goes ... there were lots of Eddie Stobart, Royal Mail, Iceland, Somerfield, Tesco, Sainsbury and one or two of Iron Mountain, BTS, ASDA, Primark, Co-operative Cockerill, Hunt Brothers Transport Ltd, RT Kedgewell, Richard Austin Dumfrey, Kingsmill, Heritage Express, SG Transport and Packaging, Wincanton, jet2.com, Bannister, JVW, John Raymond Transport, Hawkins, Fedex, MB Distribution, TK Marx and Hawkesbury, Jan de Rijk, Boughey, Richards Reliable road Services, Fowler Welch, Dreams, Horses, Lynch, Max Heritage Ltd, Stotts, Trota, R and R Limber, BOC deivery, Sawyers, Wabergs, Spearmans, Hotpoint, Total, CFT, McBernie Refrigerators, Tiles, Bakiwci, Focus, HR Kipling, Texaco, GRO Continental, David Malcolm, Shell, MWW and about 109 others which I can't be bothered typing in. With many of these also being left hand drive, you can see why we don't really enjoy motorway driving - that and the fact there were two very nasty accidents yesterday on the M6. Anyway, it was quite interesting that near Blackpool is a place called Leyland and near there is the British Commercial Vehicle Museum. After our games on the Saturday we couldn't resist visiting. Many of the museums we have been to have something for all. Harry was fascinated with seeing a prototype Commer engine - they made 18 and trialled them in trucks and just as they were getting ready to manufacture them big time Commer was sold to Chrysler. There was also a 1925 Tilling Stephens hybrid (TS7) bus that used a petrol engine to drive a generator which provided electricity for the electric motor to drive the vehicle. Harry says 'Hybrids are not new'. I always like the people aspect of the museums and was amused to see the rules for passengers as they climbed upon the omnibus. The Times described the early buses as 'lumbering, clumsy conveyances in which the public were packed like coal sacks and jolted through the streets'. Here are some of the laws written in the Times in 1836

1. Keep your feet off the seats.
2. Do not get into a snug corner yourself and then open the windows to admit a north wester upon the neck of your neighbour.
3. Have your money ready when you desire to alight. If your time is not valuable then that of others may be.
4. Do not impose on your conductor the necessity of find change he is not a banker.
5. Sit with your limbs straight and do not with your legs describe an angle of 45 degrees thereby occupying the room of two people.
6. Do not spit on the straw. You are not in a hogsty but in an omnibus travelling in a country which boasts of its refinement.
7. Refrain from affectation and conceited airs. Remember that you are riding a distance for sixpence, which if made in a hackney coach would cost as many shillings, and should your pride elevate you above plebian accommodations, your purse should enable you to command aristocratic indulgences.

and there were more .... We also saw the Popemobile built by Leyland for the Pope's visit in 1982 where he visited about 7 cities over a period of 5 days. Must have been exhausted by the end of it. It was built for security I think rather than comfort - so the crowds could look and wave while he sat high above the crowds in a safe environment. There was also a feature on advertising and considering we had seen so many trucks with names on their sides the interesting thing was that truck advertising came about after a public outcry on roadside bill boards. Shell came up with the ingenious method of advertising on the side of a truck. They had some brilliant ads all with the theme - this man or woman uses Shell, and had firefighters, actors, explorers, artists, charwoman etc on the sides of trucks. There were also the Leyland Ladies (the Leyland she's a lady was the theme) where every year a new calendar was produced with one Lady on its picture - not stars or well known ladies - they were mainly blondes over the years - which led to the belief that Leyland directors preferred blondes - which I get the impression they didn't agree with.



So, we arrived in Blackpool (the only place in England to have trams running commercially now according to the museum). It isn't a 'WOW' city - in fact we looked at each other and wondered what we had come to. Imagine 3 miles of fairground, with piers and the promenade covered in merry go rounds, roller coaster (the tallest and fastest one in Europe), indoor rollercoaster water slide (the longest in the world), ferris wheel and pokey machines, crowds wandering up and down the street with trams, horse and carts, buses and lots of cars. That is Blackpool. Everywhere you went there were charges to go into the amusement areas - even the tower (518 feet of entertainment - that's about four storeys) was out of bounds unless you wanted to pay £16 for the priveledge of also seeing adventurelands, jungle jims, giant incas and playing on swinging, sliding and climbing frames. So, wandered along the Blackpool Piers - the North being a Grade II listed building and the most traditional one housing an old fashioned carousel and theatres and then wandered the other two which were far more modern with more fair ground fun. You can imagine which one we preferred and even managed to find a seat looking over the sea to have a coffee. The Art Deco Winter Gardens was probably the best bit of the city - renovated back to the 1950's where you could buy tickets for the opera house and wander the ticket offices and bar rooms. Besides that, people waited in queues for restaurant tables at 3.00 in the afternoon and others queued for icecreams, hotdogs and other fair type food. We had fish and chips on the beach before heading off to the Hot Ice show. Ice skating is a pleasure to watch as it is so graceful, and with a few costumes and good choreography a good story can be told - we enjoyed it. Question: Is it sexual discrimination when men get charged less (or nothing) to go to a public toilet where a woman is charged more at the same place?



So, we spent more time wandering along the beach rather than in the township. We arrived at high tide with the waves crashing against the promenade (new in places, and being built in others to stop flooding of near by properties). It was fascinating standing there watching the waves, with salt flying through the air - just like home. Then three hours later it was hard to believe the tide had gone out probably 100 metres and the sand was golden and flat and we took a long walk under the board walk (well under the pier actually but that didn't stop us singing just like the Drifters did).

Under the Boardwalk, Out of the sun. Under the Boardwalk Man, we'll be having some fun.Under the Boardwalk, People walkin' above.Under the Boardwalk ...

and that is all we knew of that well known song.

On Sunday we didn't stay around but drove north up the promenade to Fleetwood and then south to Lytham St Annes - both interesting places and home to the factory that makes the Fisherman's Friend sweets. Fleetwood has an estuary where ships travel to Ireland and is home to a fishing industry. Many plaques and statues depicting the fishing era and stating 'The Real Price of Fish is the Lives of Men'. Given the number of life saving clubs with large boats along the coast there appears to be an element of truth to that. And then we moved south down to Lytham St Annes, which was again a pleasant seaside village with a pier (and only a few fairground attractions). There Caramello sat on a rock with his friend Aus (Sharon sent me Aus from Austria but he hasn't done as much travelling as Caramello). We also sampled some mint cake which on the cover has the comment that Sir Edmund Hillary and Sirdar Tensing carried it to the top of Mt Everest on 29th May 1953 where someone in the exhibition wrote 'we sat on the snow and looked at the country far below us...we nibbled Kendal Mind Cake...it was easily the most popular item on our high altitude ration - our only criticism was that we did not have enough of it'.

We went to Blackpool for the lights - or the Blackpool illuminations. The lights have been a part of Blackpool's attraction since 1879 when they were originally described as 'Artificial Sunlight' - I imagine they have changed significantly since those earlier days.



And last but not least some very interesting stories from the Daily Times and Guardian this week.

1. Medical trainers have found that the disco hit from Saturday Night Fever sets the right pace for heart resuscitation - it is the Bee Gees 'Staying Alive'. This song has 103 beats per minute - three more than the 100 chest compressions recommended. Queen's 'Another One bites the Dust' also has the right number of beats but I suspect the name isn't as appropriate.
2. Travellers complained that spoons tinkling in their saucers was so annoying that National Express has replaced cups and saucers with mugs - still china ones - but they have been subjected to high-speed and tilt testing as the trains go 125 miles per hour. Passengers in standard class drink their tea from cardboard cups and obviously never had the problem.
3. The Guardian did an article on children living in Britain - they found one from almost every country (except San Marino, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Paulau). I wonder how many nationalities live in New Zealand?