The Federation International of Volleyball brought the under 21 junior world beach championships to Blackpool this weekend. It being a gloriously sunny day I thought a nice tram ride along the promenade and a quick sit through a game or two would be a pleasant way for the family to spend the afternoon. None of us knew anything about volleyball – beach or otherwise so we weren’t sure what to expect or how complicated the rules might be – I need not have worried.
Continue reading "Polish Delight in Blackpool" »
Last night I was lucky enough to be one of the nearly 10,000 people in Bloomfield Road who watched a truly magnificent game of football, which for those dressed in tangerine, ended with the perfect result ( 2 – 1 to Blackpool if you’re interested).
Watching the away supporters I suddenly realised that far from taking the three hour journey home many of them were booked into local accommodation so they could make the most of the opportunity to spend some time in Blackpool and enjoy its other facilities and attractions.
Continue reading "Tangerine Delight" »
My brother was visiting us with his family from Northern Ireland this weekend so, like last week, we had another Sunday morning dilemma - four adults and five children ranging from one year old up to nine, what shall we do? Luckily it was Heritage Open Days weekend and there were lots of events taking place around the county so plenty of choice. We settled on the Towneley Heritage and Woodland Festival in Burnley.
As it was fine, we spent all our time outside in the park, although Towneley Hall, home to the Towneley family for over 500 years, was offering free entrance all weekend and is worth a paying visit. Every hour, against the backdrop of the hall, there was a re-enactment of the civil war along with musket fire although we weren’t able to watch the show as the bangs were too much for my youngest who complained, with her hands stuck theatrically over her ears, that it was “too woud!”
Continue reading "Woodland Wonder" »
With the weather being so great last week I thought it would be the perfect time to go along to Blackpool and watch the Irish leg of the World Fireworks Championships. My partner and I parked up at one of the central car parks and wandered into town. The whole resort was teeming with families and people enjoying the last of the day’s sunshine. As we headed over to North Pier (which is the best viewing place this year while the seafront building work is still going on by Central Pier), the sun was just beginning to set over the horizon and the most amazing red sky lit up the Prom.
Continue reading "The Big Bang (s)" »
An 18 mile Sunday Stroll.
Sunday morning, decision time – shall we go on the 18 mile Rossendale Round the Hills walk (beautiful scenery, good exercise, fresh air) or shan’t we (uphill climbs, mud, unpredictable weather)? What clinched it was the enthusiasm of our nine year old daughter who desperately wanted to give it a go for the first time, particularly as she could use it to raise money for the RSPCA.
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Start saving now and book early for next year's Oyster Festival at Guy's Thatched Hamlet...it's so worth it! I experienced it for the first time last week (4th September) and was truly impressed. Not just by the amazing food (which I'll get on to) but by the scale of the event. It was incredibly well organised though, with all these large-scale functions, I'm sure there was someone, somewhere, having kittens about something that had gone array – trust me nobody noticed! On entering the marquee, what I thought was an illusion (created by a wall of mirrors) actually turned out to be a further marquee attached to the one we arrived in - ample space for the 1,000 guests (100 tables of ten).
Continue reading "Oysters & 5,500 Pints of Guinness" »