North-west frontier

Compared with the south-east this part of the country with its different culture, has always seemed like frontier territory. Blackpool isn't very similar to the coastal resorts near London; it's usually much too cold for swimming, which is perhaps why it became the country's centre for live comedy. By mid-September the beach, spectacular and shingle-free as it is, is almost a desert. A couple of souls are taking up the last of the rays---though what the seagull is doing, it won't say.

Since we were here last year, the Queen's death has been commemorated all over the country. This scene and those that follow are on the North Pier, with a description on image 4 of its construction in 1862.

An amble to the South Pier and beyond leads to the Pleasure Beach, which was founded in 1896, a few years after the Blackpool Tower. You can always tell when one of the trains is about to descend, from the excited screams of the passengers. Very nice but not recommended if you have a hangover!

The final picture shows the venerable but now derelict Post Office, which illustrates how much work is to be done on reviving town centres. I hope that by my return to Blackers, a constructive use is put to the building.Read more