We weren't able to go to church on Sunday morning as Ron had some sort of tummy bug. Thankfully he felt better in the afternoon so we went with Allan and Dot to Blackpool, a holiday town on the north-west coast. Sadly, with the advent of cheap airfares, so many people opt for overseas holidays that places like Blackpool have suffered. However, as neither Ron nor I had been there for over 50 years, we were looking forward to seeing what had changed. Apart from being a summer holiday area, Blackpool is famous for its tower and for its annual Illuminations.
Dot's granddaughter Sarah and her husband Jamie, have a large caravan (more a mobile home really) onsite at a big resort just south of Blackpool. We were very impressed by this resort, which has every facility you can imagine (onsite vans, log cabins, holiday bungalows, a hotel, leisure centre, children's centre, club, restaurants etc. etc.). The van we stayed in was very big and furnished just like a house with all mod cons, including an en suite and another, separate, bathroom. The security is superb and the whole complex is extremely well looked after. On Sunday evening, after dinner, we went for a drink at one of the clubs on site and then returned to watch the Olympics on TV.
On Monday we ventured into Blackpool, which, sadly was a bit seedy but people seemed to be enjoying themselves. We walked around looking at the sights, but didn't go to the fairground! The weather was a bit iffy - raining on and off (how unusual!!) so we had to keep nipping into cafes for a cuppa! Unfortunately we had both left our cameras in the caravan and so couldn't take any photos whilst we were in town.
We returned to the complex, had dinner and then decided to watch some more of the Olympics. We were glad to be inside because the heavens opened and there was an almost tropical downpour, for ages, and this continued throughout the night.
How good are Great Britain this time! Congratulations to them - no sour grapes from these Aussies! It shows what a bit of money can do - apparently a lot of the National Lottery money has been poured into sport since the debacle of the Atlanta games, and it really has paid dividends. We were sad that our Grant Hackett didn't fulfil his dream of three consecutive golds in the 1500 metres freestyle, but a silver medal is certainly not to be sneezed at.
This morning we left the complex and drove back to Allan and Dot's, stopping on the way at Southport another holiday resort south of Blackpool, and where my parents spent their honeymoon in 1942 (all three days of it). We had lunch in Southport and finally arrived back in St Helens mid-afternoon.
Today is Dot's daughter Janet's birthday and so a fair few of the family will be calling round tonight for a get together.
