Back from Blackpool
I used to quite like Blackpool. Before I realised that the curse of the political activist is to spend much of your life in the Winter Gardens, I actually visited the town of my own free will, on one of those drunken post-A-level excursions. It was fantastic - my pitful salary from stacking shelves in the library went about three times further than it did in south London, which bought a lot of tequila slammers.
But the last few years has seen that early enthusiasm diminish somewhat. The Winter Gardens is a magnificent venue, but one that really needs dim light and an absence of students / Lib Dems / Tories / Blairites to be appreciated to the fullest. And Blackpool itself is horrible: there’s nowhere to get anything decent to eat, and the first decent coffee shop opened just eight weeks ago, (yes it’s a Starbucks and no, I’m not telling you where it is - it was pleasingly queue-free throughout Lib Dem conference and I want it still to be when I have to suffer the T*ries the week after next). Two up sides: taxis and gin is cheap.
This was my first Lib Dem conference. A couple of Oxford councillors and one failed candidate thought the world was turning on its head when they saw me: thankfully I soon restored their equilibrium. I managed to avoid meeting Mr Harris, though it was a close run thing.
One thing I noticed about Lib Dems is how they all seem to like orange things - vast numbers of orange scarves, ties and t-shirts were in evidence. Not a good colour for most complexions, especially when combined with the faltering light of a Lancashire evening.
Off to Brighton tomorrow. Apparently we’re meeting for drinks. See you there.
It should be:
“Taxis and gin are cheap.”
One thing I noticed about Lib Dems is how they all seem to like orange things - vast numbers of orange scarves, ties and t-shirts were in evidence.
Thanks for that revelation, Antonia!!
Might it be because its a traditional liberal colour, I wonder? It’s just a wild guess…
Your comments that “Blackpool itself is horrible” are more than a little unfair. Sure, parts of it are slightly tacky, but then it caters for a mass market, and does so at incredibly good value prices as you acknowledge yourself in several places.
We notice the your grammar itself is horrible, at least in places, but at least you have taken the time and effort to create your blog, so we should not be too harsh in our criticism.
We actually found your blog because of somebody called Ruth Watson who also said that there was nowhere in Blackpool where you would want to eat. This is possibly because it gets invaded by stag-nighters, political party conferences, and the attendant baggage which comes with them, such as journalists. Many of these good people drink crass drinks such as Tequila slammers, and think Starbucks sells good coffee just because it’s expensive.
Next time you are here, try Senior’s, if you are not too biased to try fish and chips.