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-   -   Goin' To Blackpool! (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/goin-to-blackpool-536688/)

Scarlett Jun 15th, 2005 05:48 PM

LOL, flanner, Maria you bleedin toff :D

alya Jun 15th, 2005 06:07 PM

Blackpool, ah yes! memories of childhood. I always wanted to see the lights from one of the lit Trams but they always seemed to be booked for private parties and my Dad didn’t want to drive along the seafront, so, we always walked.

We visited regularly until I was 14 or so but I made sure I took my kids when they were old enough to stay awake for the stroll.

The problem is that when you visit as an adult you realize that while the lights stretch for miles they actually use the same set of lights for quite a while and it gets a tad boring.

Morecambe anyone?

Beatchick Jun 15th, 2005 06:11 PM

Mr. Connolly, me amour, wants to go to Blackpool. Something to do with Dr. Who, I think????

Maria_H Jun 15th, 2005 11:24 PM

"Toff", "cool and hip" - I don't come on here to be insulted LOL ;)

Jean, my Mum was up from Stockport (where I still live) for a short holiday, my Dad was Czech and stationed over here with the Free Czech forces. The rest, as they say, is history.

PalQ Jun 16th, 2005 06:04 AM

Blackpool B&Bs - I've never seen more B&Bs in one place than in Blackpool - tiny buildings each with their own private pub down below (for afterhours drinking) - i have often stopped here on my way north just for one night because i love the Blackpool scene - the trams, etc., and they're about twice as cheap as normal ones - 15 pounds very possible for lower end. but like most B&Bs in UK the older types are finding they must become en-suite (wc/douche in room) to survive so these basic B&Bs even here seem to be biting the dust! Dommage!

MissPrism Jun 16th, 2005 07:36 AM

If you go to the Zoo, make sure that you take a stick with a horse's head handle and give my love to Wallace

PalQ Jun 16th, 2005 07:42 AM

I've never got inland enough to go to the Blackpool Zoo - what's it like - i would suspect pitiful place for animals given what i know bout Blackpool. Another Zoo is Pleasure Beach, a human zoo that is called the most visited tourist sight in Britain outside of London? This amusement park features the Pepsi Max, not long ago billing itself as the world's highest roller-coaster.

PalQ Jun 16th, 2005 10:00 AM

BLACKPOOL TRAMS
Blackpool had the world's first permanent electric street tramway in 1885 - the line is 12 miles long, with boisterous trams trundling between Clevelys on the south thru Blackpool to Fleetwood on the north, all along the sea.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach - i were wrong even including London the Blackpool tourist office boasts: Britain's most popular tourist attraction is Pleasure Beach, with 7.2 annual visitors.

oldie Jun 16th, 2005 10:39 AM

I think that Miss P. is referring to the sad tale of Albert Ramsbottom who went to Blackpool Zoo with his stick with a horse's head handle. He poked a lion in the ear with it and was eaten.
I've a sort of feeling that the zoo no longer exists.

PalQ Jun 16th, 2005 10:41 AM

Is that a true story - sounds like it! ??? Incroyable!

Scarlett Jun 16th, 2005 11:40 AM

Maria H,
I just re- read the responses here and I see that mine after yours sounds like I was calling <u>you</u>, <i>cool and hip </i>..
While I bet you really are :)
I was not referring to you or any particular person, only a type of place or an atmosphere..please don't think I was being insulting..even if you are really a <font color="pink">Toff :D</font>

MissPrism Jun 16th, 2005 12:19 PM

Here is the sad story about the demise of Albert Ramsbottom

ALBERT AND THE LION

There's a famous seaside place called Blackpool
That's noted for fresh air and fun
And Mr. and Mrs. Ramsbottom
Went there with young Albert, their son.
A fine little lad were young Albert,
All dressed in his best, quite a swell.
He'd a stick with an 'orse's 'ead 'andle;
The finest that Woolworth's could sell.
They didn't think much to the ocean,
The waves they were piddlin' and small.
There were no wrecks and nobody drownded,
'Fact, nothin' to laugh at at all!
So, seeking for further amusement,
They paid, and went into the zoo,
Where they'd lions and tigers and camels
And cold ale and sandwiches, too.
There were one great big lion called Wallace
Whose nose was all covered with scars;
He lay in a som-no-lent posture
With the side of 'is face on the bars.
Now Albert 'ad 'eard about lions-
'Ow they was ferocious and wild;
To see lion lyin' so peaceful
Just didn't seem right to the child.
So straightway the brave little feller,
Not showin' a morsel of fear,
Took 'is stick with the 'orse's 'ead 'andle
And stuck it in Wallace's ear.
You could see that the lion din't like it,
For givin' a kind of a roll,
'E pulled Albert inside the cage with 'im
And swallered the little lad - 'ole!
Now Mother 'ad seen this occurrence,
And not knowin' what to do next,
She 'ollered &quot;Yon lion's et Albert!&quot;
An' Father said &quot;Ee, I am vexed.&quot;
They complained to an animal keeper
Who said &quot;My, wot a nasty mis'ap;
Are you sure it's your boy 'e's eaten?&quot;
Pa said, &quot;Am I sure? There's 'is cap!&quot;
The manager 'ad to be sent for;
'E came and 'e said &quot;Wot's to-do?&quot;
Ma said &quot;Yon lion's et Albert,
And 'im in 'is Sunday clothes, too!&quot;
Father said &quot;Right's right, young feller-
I think it's a shame and a sin
To 'ave our son et by a lion
And after we paid to come in.&quot;
The manager wanted no trouble;
He took out his purse right away,
Sayin' &quot;'Ow much to settle the matter?&quot;
Pa said &quot;Wot do you usually pay?&quot;
But Mother 'ad turned a bit awkward
When she saw where 'er Albert 'ad gone.
She said &quot;No, someone's got to be summonsed!&quot;
So that was decided upon.
And off they all went to p'lice station
In front of a Magistrate chap;
They told what 'ad 'appened to Albert
And proved it by showing 'is cap.
The Magistrate gave 'is opinion
That no one was really to blame,
And 'e said that 'e 'oped the Ramsbottoms
Would 'ave further sons to their name.
At that Mother got proper blazin':
&quot;And thank you, sir, kindly,&quot; said she-
&quot;Wot, spend all our lives raisin' children
To feed ruddy lions? Not me!&quot;

PalQ Jun 16th, 2005 12:47 PM

Europe's Number 1 Resort! that's what the Blackpool tourist office folks call the town. Europe's number ONE!

Stan_the_man Jun 16th, 2005 01:05 PM

Blackpool was a favourite holiday destination when we were growing up as kids. Once a year my dad's work would send its employees and their families off on a day trip to Blackpool. Reading the e-mails brings back many memories of Blackpool and it doesn't sound like its changed that much in the last 40 years. Forty years later, living on the Candian prairie with my own kids-now grown up- I wish I could wind the clock back to those good old days!

Alec Jun 16th, 2005 03:54 PM

I live in Blackpool and love it. My house is about 3 minutes from North Shore - the quieter and in my view nicer part of town. One trouble Blackpool has is it receives a lot of negative publicity - some of which justified, most of it written by people who have never visited the resort or have only been once, had a bad experience (you can have that anywhere) and condemned the whole town. The truth is, it still receives more visitors than any other seaside resort in Britain, and if all the negative publicity were true, the whole town would be boarded up by now. Tacky tourism affects only a small part of the town - the coastal strip barely 100 yds wide and 1/2 mile long. The rest of the town has some beautiful open spaces - Stanley Park (where I played a round of golf this week - one of the finest public courses), the Zoo, Model Village, the boating lake. A lot of money is being spent to modernise the resort - a new central corridor and southern approach in particular. Townships of Clevelys, Bispham, Lytham, St Annes are charming places with friendly locals and worth anyone's afternoon, with fine golf at the latter two thrown in. Also little known to outsiders are villages in Over Wyre, and on a fine day, the view across Morecambe Bay from Knott End towards the Lakes is as breathtaking as any. Blackpool for many is stil a place for traditional entertainment - the piers, the prom, the tram, the tower, circus, theatres, Pleasure Beach - but don't forget there are other areas just waiting to be discovered which have been appreciated and cherished by locals for years. With good transport links (even an airport with daily flights to London, Dublin, IOM and Girona), value for money and friendly, unstressed people - we like it here!

Jean Jun 16th, 2005 04:52 PM

Miss Prism, you'll leave everyone sad if you don't tell about the young man from the Prudential and Albert's reappearance. Or shall I?

allanc Jun 16th, 2005 07:20 PM

Bring back some Blackpool Rock (candy stick) if they still sell it.

LoveItaly Jun 16th, 2005 07:30 PM

What a fun thread!! A stupid question. Is Blackpool in Cornwall??
Sorry for not knowing.

And the rest of the story about little Albert please.

Scarlett Jun 16th, 2005 07:49 PM

Alec, I'll take it, I'll take it!!

Scarlett Jun 16th, 2005 07:52 PM

Sorry, LoveItaly, I got swept away by Alecs description :)
Not Cornwall .. it is in NorthWest England, in Lancashire .


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