Man Friend and I finished Blackpool and season two of Mad Men over the weekend. Anyone got any suggestions for what to watch next?

Joe Longthorne, one of the UK’s greatest singers and live entertainers, is currently involved with the publishing of his first-ever official autobiography.

Joe in concert earlier this year

It is being ‘ghosted’ by his friend and fellow singer/writer Chris Berry, who also comes from Hull originally. ‘This week saw Joe’s story reach 37,500 words,’ says Chris. ‘Having interviewed Joe continuously throughout the year I now have several dossiers of information about his life and it makes for a hugely entertaining read! I know all of his legions of fans will not want to miss this, his first time ever in putting down his life story. It is packed with emotional upheaval, the highs of reaching 12 million people a week through his TV shows, to the lows of being at death’s door, or penniless, or in a bad state of mentally. But Joe is nothing if not honest and the affrays, the bankruptcies, the court cases, his love life, in some cases his sex life, his cancer, his life saving operation – none of that is shirked here. Of course, for legal reasons, there are some who Joe cannot put into print the exact words he feels, as they might land him up in court again. Those people will know who they are when they come to certain parts of the book! Joe has – it seems – been right royally stuffed (that could even be another word, I’ll leave you to fill in your own word in place of stuffed) by a number of people over the years! Everyone who has ever come across Joe will want to read this book!’  Chris is well on the way to the target length of the book, which will be around 90,000 words and it will be published in March 2010 by Great Northern Books. Joe is currently undertaking his Autumn/Winter tour and this week will play Southport on Wednesday 25 November & Whitley Bay on Saturday 28 November.  

Chris Berry - ghost writer & performer

Chris is also playing live with both his melodic rock functions covers band FOG and his acoustic act with Mick Clarke – CMC, who are rumoured to be supporting Joe at some of his concerts in 2010.   www.chrisberrysingerandwriter.wordpress.com   www.myspace.com/chrisberrysinger   www.myspace.com/cmcacoustic   www.the-fog.talktalk.net    Email: chris@chrisberry.tv

Chris is also on Facebook & Twitter.

Blackpool is the venue for this year’s performance.  Talk about dragging the bottom of the barrel.  The town will be on high alert next week for the Royals and the celebs…well, I say celebs…I am using the term loosely.  Here’s the line-up. Guess who won’t be trying to gate-crash or blag free tickets.  Hopefully it will be a bonus for our company though.  We’re trying to get the contract to transport people to and from the venue,  and if we get something from it, I think I deserve a pat on the back for suggesting we get in touch with various people about it.  (That was sarcasm by the way).

Blackpool is a holiday resort on the Lancashire coast in the North West of England. Attracting some ten million visitors a year, the town is the most popular coastal resort in Europe. Historically, Blackpool owes much of its success to its proximity to the industrial towns of Lancashire with their large urban populations. Lancashire, and in particular Manchester, was the centre of the industrial revolution which took place in Britain during the nineteenth century. At this time Manchester was an extremely important manufacturing city; it was the focal point of the cotton trade being surrounded by mill towns such as Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, and Oldham with their spinning and weaving industries. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked from the countryside and from further afield such as Ireland to work in these factories and mills, and the population of Manchester and the nearby mill towns expanded rapidly. These developments took place around fifty or so miles from Blackpool – if only people could get there.

For hundreds of years, Blackpool was little more than a quiet seaside village. It was hard to reach being surrounded by bogs and forests. It wasn’t until 1781 that the first road was built into the town, which enabled people to arrive by stagecoach. Even then the resort wasn’t easily accessible because the journey was uncomfortable and time consuming: it could take a whole day to travel from Manchester and two days from Yorkshire. It should be noted as well that there was very little in terms of recreational facilities for visitors in Blackpool at this time. There was a short narrow grass promenade, a theatre, a bowling green and an area for archery. The main attraction was the sea shore: people walked or rode along the sands and swam in the sea. They even drank the seawater which apparently was a highly fashionable activity in those days.

What really changed everything was the arrival of railway in the Blackpool area. In 1840 a railway was constructed with the original objective of transporting passengers to Fleetwood a town lying to the North of Blackpool. Sir Peter Hesketh, the founder of Fleetwood proposed to build a seaport and holiday resort on his land there. The development of Fleetwood never came to full fruition, however, and the railway ran into financial difficulties. It was only rescued by passengers from the Lancashire mill towns, many of whom went on from Poulton station to Blackpool travelling by horse drawn forms of transport such as wagons. In 1846 a railway station was constructed in Blackpool itself enabling visitors to come directly into the resort. It was now fairly cheap and easy to get to Blackpool and people began arriving in ever increasing and unexpected numbers. They came not only from Lancashire but from all over the North of England. In 1863 another railway station was built in the centre of Blackpool to help cope with the thousands of people who wanted to get to the resort.

The huge numbers of people now coming to Blackpool provided the impetus for local business people and the municipal authorities to improve recreational facilities. In the next forty years Blackpool was transformed. Three piers were opened; Blackpool Tower was constructed, the Winter Gardens and Opera House were built, the Blackpool Illuminations began, the development of the Golden Mile was initiated, and ambitious plans were put in place to create a large amusement park – which would eventually become Blackpool Pleasure Beach, now the most popular holiday attraction in Britain.

The infrastructure of the town was vastly improved. A gasworks was built with gas street lighting, a water company was formed and a piped water supply was provided, electric street lighting was introduced, and work began on the tramway system. Some idea of the impact of tourism on the resort can be gauged from the fact that in the late nineteenth century Blackpool could accommodate around a quarter of a million visitors – over seven times the permanent population of 35,000 people. The success continued into the following century, with visitors staying in ever increasing numbers. At its peak, Blackpool was receiving around 19 million holiday makers a year – nearly half the population of England. Photographs of Blackpool in the period after the Second World War vividly illustrate the popularity of the resort, showing the entire length of the Promenade and beach crowded with people

In the early 1960’s Blackpool went into decline, as did all British holiday resorts. Just as cheap rail travel brought the crowds to Blackpool in its heyday so cheap air flights took them to the sunny beaches of the Mediterranean coast and their more dependable weather. However decline is a relative concept. Blackpool still attracts around ten million people every year and many supposedly flourishing resorts would consider themselves fortunate to have such large numbers of visitors.

Years ago, when I was young and gloomy, I travelled down to London to see Mark Rothko’s murals at the Tate. There was only one Tate in those days; the London one. And travelling down to London from Manchester was a big deal; this was a pilgrimage. This day had the same power as a Crystal Day in Liverpool or a Blackpool Day at the Pleasure Beach.

These huge and oppressive paintings appealed to me in the way that Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen and the Big Dipper appealed to me. A way that I am still unable to put into words and unwilling and unwanting to try. Instead, I will put them into paintings, music and rollercoasters. That’s the best I can do.

The murals can now be found in Tate Modern. John Banville writes perfectly about them and Rothko here.

They were commissioned for the swanky Four Seasons Restaurant in New York in the late 1950’s. and here’s what Rothko said at the time;

“I accepted this assignment as a challenge, with strictly malicious intentions. I hope to paint something that will ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room. If the restaurant would refuse to put up my murals, that would be the ultimate compliment. But they won’t. People can stand anything these days.”

The restaurant didn’t refuse, but Rothko did withdraw from the commission.

Shortly after giving the paintings to the Tate instead, Rothko cut deep into his arms and died “in a wine-dark sea of his own blood”.

So I was surprised, as I sat in the Radiology Department of Lewisham Hospital, waiting for a chest X-Ray, to find myself close to a Rothko.  Not one of his restaurant ones, but, I think, a miniature of Light Red Over Black, 1957.

I like it. The big one. And I think I have the constitution to contemplate it whilst also contemplating the response of my doctor, yesterday, to my question as to whether the hospital would tell me anything or not; If it’s gross, they’ll keep you in.

Thankfully it wasn’t gross. They didn’t keep me in. Just my asthma having fun. I’m not wheezy; just not really breathing. I’m on steroids now. I was hoping to become Hulk-like, but it seems a real possible side effect* is Moon Face. I’ll settle for that. Sounds like a new Batman villain.

Walking home… ha! At what speed does a walk begin? And what comes before that? It wasn’t a dawdle;  I kept a straight line and an even pace. But noticing me move would be like watching the London Eye spin …I fancied stopping off for a quick nap at Lewisham’s snazzzziest titled bed shop.

* Oh, and insomnia. Hence the late post.

As I have progressed through this journey of masculinity and guns, a few things have become apparent. It has always been my aim to dispel myths surrounding masculinity and I think I will continue to do this for many years to come. However what I was not anticipating –when I first got in touch with the Blackpool Rifle and Pistol club- was that I would also face another stereotype to challenge.  The normative views on guns, perpetuated through films and mass media and the direct association with them to murder death and destruction is at the forefront of my mind as I work through this project.

The club has many factors attained to it, and yes on certain nights I will see the stereotypical male shooting a stereotypical gun at a stereotypical target (shaped like a man) for a stereotypical self-gratification. However this is not what the club is really about. The club emanates a friendly atmosphere, and the majority of the members are competitive rifle shooters. Anyone who has experienced competitive shooting will know that it requires an immense amount of skill and concentration. The men must reduce there adrenaline levels and keep themselves calm at all times, nothing like the classic Hollywood depictions of shooting.

So without emasculating the men who shoot at this club, I wanted to approach the subject matter with a double-edged sword. On the one hand I want to show men, being men, without the need to play up to any stereotypes and on the other, men using a shooting club as social gathering without any negative connotations.

Here are a few of the images so far, obviously this is still a work in progress, but I think I am starting to make some.

StayBlackpool is the primary association for the holiday Accomodation sector in Blackpool. Last night I attended the Presidents Ball.

For pictures follow this link http://flowerdesignstannes.blogspot.com/2009/11/stay-blackpool-presidents-ball-at.html

Blackpool, 12^th August 2009.

Many cities in Britain have re-instated, or are in the process of re-instating their tramways. In Edinburgh, we found Princes Street dug up, while they laid the rails for the new tramway system … roughly where the old ones used to be.

Only one town never gave up its trams, and that’s the seaside resort of Blackpool, although whether they were retained for utility or just as a tourist attraction is hard to say. Shortly after my visit, I saw a TV interview with the late Keith Waterhouse, aboard a Blackpool tram in which he wondered if the trams, licensed for weddings, could also be used for funerals.

‘You could have the Hammond Sauce Works brass band playing on the lower deck’

he suggested ‘while the mourners scattered the ashes from the top deck!’

Here are trams ancient and modern; double-deckers and single deckers … including an open-topped single decker known as ‘The Boat’. Unfortunately, it was out of service when I visited, but I did manage a ride on an open-sided vintage model called ‘The Toast Rack’.

There’s a scaled-down ‘boat’ operating on the Seaton Tramway in Devon, which features minituarised and cut-down trams from all over the country and I believe that a Blackpool tram found its way to San Francisco, where they operate vintage trams from all over the world on the F Line.

How do you describe a tram ride, though? Rattly and noisy? A ‘step back into yesteryear’? Have a look at my video!

I called at the Lancashire stand at the World Travel Market the other day … mainly, to see if I could scrounge some ‘Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls’ … and they told me there’s to be celebrations to mark the 125^th Anniversary of the tramway from 23^rd-29^th September 2010. See

www.visitblackpool.com for further details.New article live at

http://www.giftedtravel.com/the-little-trains-of-crete

Following extensive research and massively long interview sessions with one of the UK’s favourite entertainers, Joe Longthorne, fellow singer – and renowned journalist/writer Chris Berry started the writing of Joe’s first ever official autobiography just 5 days ago! 

Joe Longthorne @ the book deal signing in October 2009

‘Joe’s story is one of those that just has to be told,’ says Chris. ‘He has so much heartache, so much pain in his life – and yet so many good times too. His tale is one immense a rollercoaster of a ride – so it’s quite appropriate he lives alongside one in Blackpool! And Joe has been telling it like it is throughout the time we have been talking. He certainly wants it to get across what he has done and been through. For his army of fans out there I know it will be essential reading, and I am sure that there are millions who used to watch his TV shows who will also thoroughly enjoy his story. In the first week of writing, after making copious amounts of notes and transcribing over 100 hours of interviews, Joe’s book currently numbers 22,246 words. There are some really funny elements in the book, as well as a great deal of tear-jerking moments too –  and I certainly hope the major TV interview programmes take the opportunity of interviewing Joe about the book. He thoroughly deserves to be back on TV on a regular basis and I can think of nothing better than An Audience with… programme to show everyone just how fantastic he is today.’  The first issue of JOE LONGTHORNE – THE OFFICIAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY with CHRIS BERRY will be available @ Joe’s Silver Heart Award evening – to be presented by the VARIETY CLUB of GREAT BRITAIN on 19 March. The book will be officially launched on the week commencing Monday29 March 2010, just three days prior to the start of Joe’s 2010 UK TOUR. It is rumoured that Chris may be appearing in some of Joe’s shows too, telling a little more about Joe’s story whilst also playing some of the songs with his own acoustic act CMC. Chris has his own CDs available too – currently an EASY LISTENING CD featuring 20 tracks & a CMC acoustic CD featuring Chris and his singing partner Mick Clarke.  Keep up to date with what’s happening with the book by returning to this website. You can also send Chris  a message either through this site or through any of the following ways.    www.chrisberrysingerandwriter.wordpress.com   www.myspace.com/chrisberrysinger    www.myspace.com/cmcacoustic   www.the-fog.talktalk.net     Email: chris@chrisberry.tv     Chris is also on Facebook & Twitter.    

Chris Berry writes every week in the Yorkshire Post and is lead singer with the well-respected functions/party melodic rock covers band FOG and the unique acoustic act CMC.

THE JOE LONGTHORNE OFFICIAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY is to be published by GREAT NORTHERN BOOKS.

Ok.. I couldn’t do just 5… it was friggin’ impossible!! I couldn’t leave one off without feeling bad…. Though there are 11 I can think of, properly favourite, so one was kicked. Who? I won’t say, cos I still feel bad…

(Literally ALL the eye of the tigers have embedding disabled… so looks like you’ll have to go to yt anyways… evil.. but I supplied the HD one above, so its easy to find lol.

Now, the only one I put in order is Tennant, cos he is my all time favourite, and that will NEVER change. Unless a taller awesome scottish guy comes along. Who’s a more accessable age lol. The rest are in no particular order.

From Tooth and Claw from series 2 of new Who.

1. David Tennant, 6′1″, 38, doesn’t look it… :swoon:

Because the man is pure brilliance. The voice, the body, the hair. Everything about him is AWESOME, but not completely perfect, ya know what I mean… he’s not…. conventionally conventional. There are flaws, but they just add to his character lol. I could listen to that voice saying anything… for hours… he’s just too lovely. And looks awesome in anything. ANYTHING.  Some say he looks elfen, delicate features or whatnot, which could mean I like pretty boys. So untrue. He does fit the pattern of innappropriately aged men lol. Though… he’s the one who started it… I was 15… he was 34. Casanova. All to blame hahahaha. He fits into the ‘tall, dark and handsome’ archetype though. TDH for short.

From High Fidelity, 2000

• John Cusack, 6′3″, 43

Not only is he a brilliant actor, a joy to watch, he’s cute too. Not too cute, but cute. And lovely. And so funny. Serendipity is possibly my favourite Cusack flick. Though High Fidelity comes damn close. Then Grosse Point Blank and Being John Malkovich and Con Air. Theres more… but not now lol. He fits with the older man type. TDH.

My favourite photo of Misha to date. Though its hard to pick lol.

• Misha Collins, 6′0½”(exact same height as me…cutting it close lol), 35

He’s just… he’s yummy. First noticed when portraying Castiel in Supernatural in season 4. Just… so…awesome… so adorable as the ignorant/innocent… character. (Can’t say too much….spoilers n whatnot, my friend might read this.) But I tracked down the majority of his other stuff, and he’s just as yummy. Yummy with slightly naff hair and hick-accents and even russian, thought russian I’m not against lol. Can’t wait to meet him at the convention later this month, 2 weeks away! :woooooooooooooooooo!!!! I get to have a picture with him! Eeeeeeeeeeeee! (I’ve let the fangirl out. If you couldn’t tell. lol.) He fits into TDH too, but with gorgeous blue eyes instead of gorgeous brown. I don’t know quite what I’ll do when I meet him….. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Currently my favourite photo of Jensen I thinks....

• Jensen Ackles, 6′1″, 31, getting younger slowly lol.

All because of Supernatural. After I gave in and watched Supernatural late last year, I had to make a choice between Jared Padalecki, aka Sam, or Jensen Ackles, aka Dean. As you can see, I went for Dean, sure he’s 3 inches shorter than Sam, but Dean is… Dean…. just….Dean…slightly morally questionable and more bad boy than his younger brother, but not too bad boy, that’d be boring lol. You’d understand if you watched Supernatural and are either a girl or gay lol. Jensen wins over Jared, but the team of the two of them are soooooo cute. He’s of the TDH variety, but with slightly lighter coloured hair lol. He’s a bit younger than the majority of the list too haha. Only 11 years older. He’s engaged to his long term girlfriend Daneel Harris. I’ve only seen her playing total bitches in tv shows or movies, I dunno what she’s like in real life, she’s gotta be nice though, cos Jensen is weirdly shy sometimes apparantly lol. Unless he’s the bitch and she’s the butch LOL. That’d be hilarious if true.

The first image of JJ that made me take notice lol. Also the pic that prompted me to watch Fringe lol.

• Joshua Jackson, 6′2″, 31, CANADIAN!

JJ combines 3 of my favourite things. Tall, Canada and JJ Abrams. He’s in Fringe. Awesome new series from JJ Abrams. I notice lots of J’s in my list lol. More to come too. He fits TDH too. In a slightly pudgy faced way. But he’s awesome in all the stuff I’ve seen him in, in a cute, droll, sarcastic way. I started watching Dawson’s Creek because of this guy! Thats like… the lowest I’ve sunk to watch favourite actors… and I’m becoming strangely addicted… DAMN ME…. damn the fluffiness…. damn JJ being in it….

JDM. The Comedian to most guys out there, Denny to me.

• Jeffrey Dean Morgan,6′2″, 43

Another older guy. This time I’m blaming Grey’s Anatomy. JDM was Denny Duquette. My favourite guy in the show. Grey’s fans will know of him. Most of you lot won’t lol, some will I’m sure, cos Grey’s Anatomy will be a guilty pleasure, like Dean has ‘Dr Sexy MD’ in Supernatura lol. (A clever combo of House MD and McDreamy from Grey’s.) JDM is….pure sex. The voice is gorgeous. And the eyes…. there used to be a fansite called JDMSchool, but it went away… I don’t know why, but all I know is the creators of the site were far too scary, refered to him always as Daddy for his role in Supernatural as John Winchester, Dean+Sam’s daddy. Also, JDM is the sole reason I finally decided to watch Supernatural. Theres a clear path from one actor to another lol. He again, is TDH.

RDJ in an awesome car advert.

• Robert Downey Jr, 44, 5′ 8½”

Shortest of my whole list. First noted while watching Iron Man. Who didn’t? Seriously? The mans hot stuff. Not long after I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by order of one of my friends. But its when I came to uni the fangirling really took off. I bonded with two other girls over RDJ, to begin with lol. We had movie nights, I managed to procure a large amount of his filmography which we watched one by one lol. Charlie Bartletts one of my favourites. He makes up for his lack of height in awesomeness. I watched season 4 of Ally McBeal, got addicted, watched season 5, then started from 1 lol. Got the boxset for christmas. Fits the DH part, but not tall. Tall for some girls I’m sure, but not me lol. I should also mention, RDJ is the reason for the JDM phase, which lead to the Ackles, which lead to Misha. lol. A trail. What did I say?

From Love Actually, a movie I dont actually like lol.

• Colin Firth, 6′ 1½”, 49

I can’t remember why I was watching Love Actually… but I do remember Colin Firth’s pretty face staring at me on the DVD case. So I’m blaming that. He may be a archetype for the posh british kinda guy, but least he’s not like Hugh Grant, bumbly british guy… bah…. Firth is…. yummy. He’s the oldest of my list, unless I start counting the semi-fangirlisms lol. He’s just… I dunno… I saw Pride n Predjudice when I was like 5-6, so it can’t be the Mr Darcy thing… He’s got a lovely voice to boot. I went on a Colin-kick a few months ago, got like 6 movies with him lol. Not all good ones. Last Legion is… bad…. very very naff… but he’s in it… so it makes up for it lol. I think late 30’s, early 40’s is optimum Firth age in movies lol. And yes, he’s very TDH. No blondes yet I hope you notice lol. Not sure why that is…

He's riding a unicorn fercryin' out loud! Worship the man!!!!

• Neil Patrick Harris, 6′1″, 36, didn’t know lol… was still thinking he was 34 lol.

Now, this guy… less mancandy, more pure win. He’s Barney! Barney Stinson is the pinocle of awesome. The pinocle of Legendary. And he’s not bad to look at lol. I prefer Ted though. (Josh Radnor) Both who I saw in How I met your mother. Later night fluffy comedy. Loved it. And Ted’s just so cute. But NPH has to be on this list cos he’s pure win. He’s in Starship Troopers! In Harold and Kumar go to White Castle(or Get the Munchies here in the UK lol)! And, he is Dr Horrible. He’s epic. I refuse to watch Dougie Houser though, would scare me and scar me lol. First blonde of the list lol.

So smexy.

• Nathan Fillion, 6′ 1½”, 38 Same age as Tennant.

Nathan Fillion. Capt Mal. Capt Hammer. And, most recently, Richard ‘Rick’ Castle in Castle lol. He’s tall. He’s Canadian. He’s got brown hair. And he’s got that crooked hot thing going on. Slightly rough around the edges rather, same as RDJ and JDM has I spose lol. Definately TDH. And Canadian! :woop: Not as good as Scottish, but better than Irish lol. First noted in Serenity. Then watched Firefly. I know, shoulda been the other way round, but if I didnt see the movie on ITV4 I probably never would have seen it at all lol. Love that movie.

So… what do these guys say about my taste in men? lol. Well, men over boys definately. 30 is a great age for guys. So’s 40, but when you’re not even 20 (yet, December) its not really feasable lol. I do prefer dark over blonde… but its not exactly important lol.

And do you see any Zac Efron-likes in this list? NO! Thats cos I have decent taste lol. Lowest I’ve sunk is Chad Michael Murray in One Tree Hill. (I didn’t mean to…. :sob:) And my youngest mancandy is Steven Strait. The perfect Jacob. He’s 23 I think. And tall enough. 6′2″ Mmmmm…… and yeah, 23, just IMDB’d him to double check lol.

And, because I just gotta, a few more pics I wanted to use, but didn’t. MANSPAM!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh the lols.

Cas and Dean. The winningest couple in Supernatural lol. Destiel ftw!!!!

Kinda reminds me of Liev Schreiber in this pic... which aint a bad thing if ya know what I mean. LOL

A pic with Anna Torv from Fringe.

Even with a blue mohawk and eyeliner, you still would. Don't deny it. He wears a kilt in the movie too. It's soooo good lol.

One of my favourite episodes, because he does his real accent, and shivers go up spines.

Even in a bowtie. And I hate bowties.

Dean on the Impala. Doesn’t get much hotter.

End of his epic Eye of the Tiger lip sync. I mean epic. Its so good. And he's so cute when he's smiley like that.

Doesnt happen enough in Supernatural. Dean smiling like that I mean lol.

From a pilot of a series called 'Reinventing the Wheelers', which I really wanna see.

I think lol’s are deserved here. Specially if you watch it over and over….which you shouldn’t lol… I must stop now…. ok now…. NOW!!!

Når man først kommer til Blackpool, skulle man tro at man var røget tilbage til 50-60′erne eller måske en gammel film. Med over 140.000 indbyggere er det en ret stor by, men når man er ude ved vandet, virker det slet ikke sådan. Hele strækningen langs vandet er fuld af bed & breakfast’er, spillesteder og forlystelsespark-agtige områder. Jeg har aldrig før set noget lignende i virkeligheden – helt anderledes end byerne ved Vesterhavet. Der er bygninger (og et sted en hel forlystelsespark) på broer, som når der er ebbe står på høje pæle langt over sandet og når der er flod hænger ud over vandet. Hvordan de kan få alting til at løbe rundt er mig et mysterium, men det har været sådan så længe nogen husker. Om efteråret har de hvert år “Illuminations”, en 10 km strækning over vejen langs vandet fuld af lys af alle mulige slags. Nogle af dem er sponsoreret af lokale virksomheder, mens andre virker til at være meget tilfældige og andre igen har temaer såsom Doctor Who.

Ikke det mest spændende sted på strækningen, men det var frysende koldt og umuligt at parkere tættere på nogle af de sejere lys.

Doctor Who illumination om dagen.

Vores bed & breakfast var et hyggeligt lille sted med nogle venlige ejere og dejlig morgenmad. Vi havde valgt at finde et sted i St. Annes (lille by der efterhånden er vokset sammen med Blackpool), så vi kunne være lige ved vandet uden også at være lige ved siden af nogle af de mere larmende steder.

Lørdag stod vi tidligt op for tage til vores dansetime og formåede at være der lang tid i forvejen (hvilket var en god ting, det siges at der var omkring 750 mennesker), selvom vi flere gange farede vild i Blackpools ensrettede gader. Jeg kunne fortælle en hel masse om hvilke mennesker der var der, og hvor sejt det var at vi fik lov til at se Bruce Forsyth i virkeligheden, men jeg tvivler på at nogen danskere ville kende nogle af dem, så det springer jeg over. Til gengæld kan jeg fortælle at vi lærte nogle (meget svære når musikken kom på) cha cha cha trin og jeg at jeg nok ville have været bedre til noget lidt langsommere som vals. Til frokost fandt vi en café med navnet Toast, hvor vi fik noget af det bedste mad jeg længe har fået (hvilket siger en del, da maden hos Martin altid er lækker). Kan klart anbefales. Om aftenen så vi Strictly showet på en kæmpe skærm i operahuset, og de rigtige mennesker røg ud, så det var godt.

Søndag morgen, da vi havde checket ud, gik vi en tur på/langs stranden og prøvede da også et spil pinball på et af de der steder på broer over sandet. Meget retro. Derefter tog vi bilen til Blackpool og tilbragte nogle timer i et stort badeland. Martin fik mig hevet med på den her – det mest uhyggelige jeg nogensinde i mit liv har prøvet. Det gør jeg aldrig igen! Efter noget meget fastfood agtigt fastfood fandt vi tilbage til bilen og kørte nordpå. Inden for de første fem minutter endte vi på lidt af en omvej og fanget på den i timevis, men det var alligevel hyggeligt at køre under regnbuer gennem Nordengland, og vi kom sikkert hjem alligevel.

I løbet af ugen er der ikke sket det vilde. Vi har afleveret et projekt i Film & TV Production og har deadline for et par ting i Digital Media i næste uge. I Visual Creativity var vi på en kort tur til Edinburgh for at se nogle gallerier, men det var ikke videre interessant. Jeg oploader mine Digital Media ting engang i næste uge, når de er færdige.

Forresten kan vores Film & TV projekt ses her, dog med en lidt dårlige framerate end hvad man kunne ønske sig, og det er endda i høj kvalitet. Computere med ikke så hurtigt internet har muligvis fordel af at se den i standard kvalitet. For at vælge mellem de to, klik på henholdsvis “Vis standardvideo” eller “Vis video i høj kvalitet” i højre hjørne over filmen.

I’d translate this post but I just can’t be bothered. It basically said that Blackpool seems like something that’s been standing still for decades, except it’s actually still very much alive. There was a short paragraph about Dalek illuminations and a walk along the beach. Along with that there was some bragging about meeting Bruce Forsyth at the Strictly dance session I won tickets to the week before and that Toast is a café that can very much be recommended. It also mentioned that we went to one of the piers and tried one of the pinball machines which I found rather retro and that Martin got me dragged onto this at the Sandcastle Waterpark. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done ever. The last slightly interesting thing you might want to know is that we finished a project in Film & TV Production and it can be seen here.

Darren Pratley was the toast of Swansea after his match-winning double in the South Wales against Cardiff last weekend. The former Fulham midfielder showed why Swans boss Paul Sousa rates his so highly, opening his goalscoring account for the season with two clinical finishes and scoring 53 points in the Actim Championship Index in the process. The Londoner has only made seven appearances for the in-form Swans due to injury, but he looked to be getting back to his best as the Bluebirds’ wings were clipped by a Swansea side who are unbeaten in 10 Championship games. Pratley’s exploits ensured he moved up a whopping 112 places in the Actim Index and although he is way down in 194th place overall, the combative midfielder is certainly one to watch.

Blackpool defender Alex Baptiste was a major mover in the Actim Index as the Tangerines thrashed Scunthorpe 4-1 to move up to fifth in the Championship table. Boss Ian Holloway put his faith in Baptiste to be a rock at the heart of his defence and the big centre-half has not let him down.The former Mansfield man scored his third goal of the season against the Iron and bagged 45 points for the week to move up 21 places to 16th in the Index. As well as chipping in with a few goals, the 23-year-old has been solid at the back, winning 52 tackles and making 21 interceptions. Baptiste was joined in the Actim team of the week by team-mates Ian Evatt and Charlie Adam, who were also on the scoresheet against Nigel Adkins’ side.

Rob Hulse was Derby’s hero as they secured a much-needed victory against Coventry on Friday night and the striker matched Baptiste’s tally of 45 Actim points for the week. The former Sheffield United frontman produced two clinical finishes as the Rams came from behind to beat Chris Coleman’s side and it would be no surprise to see him shoot up the Actim Index. Hulse has been one of a host of Derby players in the treatment room this season, but he looked to be nearing full fitness against the Sky Blues and his 45-point haul was his biggest of the season. The other striker included in the Actim team of the week was Rory Fallon after his striker gave Plymouth a 2-1 win over Doncaster which moved them out of the bottom three. The former Swansea man moved up 64 places to 107th in the Index after registering 36 points for Paul Sturrock’s Pilgrims.

Kevin Nolan still leads the way in the Actim Championship Index after playing his part in Newcastle’s 3-1 win over Peterborough. The former Bolton man is 31 points ahead of Cardiff midfielder Peter Whittingham after adding another 19 points to make his overall tally 335 points. Nolan has seven goals and three assists to his name this season and has completed 180 passes for the Championship leaders. QPR’s flying winger Wayne Routledge is a new addition to the top 10 in the Index, moving up five places to seventh. Routledge has more assists than any other player in the Championship, setting up eight goals for Jim Magilton’s side.

Newcastle’s Steve Harper remains the leading goalkeeper in the Actim Championship Index. The 34-year-old Magpies custodian has made 81 saves for Chris Hughton’s side and he moved up one place this week to 13th place. Scott Carson is the next highest keeper but the West Brom number one is 15 places and 21 points behind Harper. But it was Crystal Palace keeper Julian Speroni who made the team of the week after another impressive display in the 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. The Argentine was recently hailed by Palace boss Neil Warnock as the best keeper in the country and he was once against outstanding against Boro. Speroni is 58th in the Index and moved up 44 places this week after picking up 24 points against Gordon Strachan’s side.

Jay Simpson is a striker in form at the moment and the on-loan QPR man is making strides in the Championship Index. The Arsenal youngster has scored four goals in his last six games for Rangers and was on target in the 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday. Simpson escalated 26 places in the Index to 27th following his performance against the Owls and scored 31 points at Hillsborough. He has now notched seven goals for the Hoops and is developing into a key performer for the Londoners, who look to be a good bet for a play-off place.

View the latest Actim Index >

A Las Vegas-style wedding chapel is given planning approval to be developed on Blackpool’s seafront…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: 1950’s fashion. The blog is also related to: fashion accessories.

We started our descent back into England, favouring YHA hostels over camping. We stopped overnight in Kendal and didn’t even try one of the famed mint cakes. Luckily I was able to steal..err…utilise wifi from the cafe next door.

Against the insistence of many, we also went through Blackpool.

Rollercoaster...of looove

It was just as garish as people had described but worth a look. Tacky decorations line the streets and the piers are full of bleeping noises and flashing lights. We didn’t get to see it at night, I’m sure it would have been a pretty cool sight though.

A giant bean

One thing I don’t understand are the concrete steps. Is this the “beach” or is there actually sand somewhere?

Leave your bucket and spade at home

We stood a while and watched this odd little dog that was perched on top of a carriage. It wouldn’t let anyone else near.

Carriage guard

After our whirlwind visit of Blackpool we were back on the open road and on our way to Wales.

Blue skies and an open road

Bury hold a couple of unique distinctions, they are the team who recorded the largest winning margin in the FA Cup Final of 1903 and they are the only club who have scored over 1000 goals in each of the four divisions of the Football League. In a time where clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea dominate the football landscape it’s important to remember the clubs who are the glue of the football league.

The clubs who have scored more than 1000 in three different divisions are Notts County, Blackpool, Chesterfield, Bradford City, Huddersfield Town and Swansea City.

The full results do not include Division 3N or Division 3S, the figures are up to date to approximately the start of 2009

Blackpool is expected to record its most significant increase in visitors for a number of years, the council says…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: america’s recession. The blog is also related to: japan recession.

Sunday afternoon saw a few members of the FAB Collective, Pete, Sam, Jane, Pedro & moi, descend upon the sunny quaint seaside town of Blackpool for a nice photo walk. Did I say sunny? Sorry, I meant howling winds & driving rain the likes of which resembled a Perfect Storm. & did I say quaint? What I meant was the tackiest, most culturally deficit place on the face of the earth. But that was partly the reason why we were there.

What once was a pleasant holiday destination for people looking to get some sun, sea & sand without the expense of travelling abroad, is now a combination of boarded up shop fronts, vulgar comedians, strip clubs, abandoned piers & empty fairground rides. All-in-all an ideal venue for a bit of photography.

To give the place it’s due, once the weather began to break, the promenade, which is currently in the process of being redeveloped, was transformed by an amazing light. There was also some great little cafes hidden away, which served amazing combinations of hot chocolate & were ideal places to try & warm our numb fingers. The people I met were also incredibly friendly, although that may have been because they were trying to get me to either buy a necklace made of shells or play their obviously rigged game to win an oversized cuddly toy.

We didn’t hang around for too long after the sun went down due to a combination of freezing temperatures & a distinct lack of any tripods. The seafront does come alive at night though, with the illuminations creating a totally different atmosphere to the place. Still haven’t made it to the top of the tower yet but I’m heading back soon to go to Them Crooked Vultures gig at the Empress Ballroom. Very rock’n'roll.

Buying houses: what’s that about? Providing American stand-up comedians with the subject for a tediously inevitable rhetorical question? Middle-class angst alert! The baker and me have been trying to buy a house for a while: a humble little 2-bed Victorian terrace in Reigate, with an airy vibe (rising damp) and charming period features (a broken roof). Six months and a few thousand pounds later, we’ve downgraded our ambitions to the purchase of a secluded molecule of shit under a north-facing pebble in Blackpool. Well, not Blackpool – actually, the exact opposite of Blackpool; we’re trying to buy a flat in, erm, Guildford. I’ll probably write something about Guildford at some point; I don’t want to blow my bilious load just yet. Suffice to say I know, I know, I know.

I read a book once (I think it was Steven Shapin’s Social History of Truth, but I might be wrong) which had a bit about how trust is the cornerstone of any properly functioning society: in fact, it’s what our scientific knowledge of everything is based on. If I remember rightly, one of the arguments was that for us to successfully interact with the world around us, we have to put faith in what other people tell us. Whether it’s that a mechanic has fixed the brakes on our car, or that the car is actually a car and not a giant cake running on liquorice, we have to use what we’ve been told about the world to make assumptions and get things done.

A rather lovely implication is that we need other people to survive. Togetherness defines our humanity. We need to have some faith that other human beings have the capacity for honest decency in order for everything to function. Of course, you always need to assess the credentials of your information source: only an idiot would trust anything I ever say, for example.

But when you buy a house, the opposite is true. Assume other people are acting decently at your peril. In all likelihood, they’re not. House purchasing is like driving – it’s one of those few situations in life where it seems acceptable, and almost expected, that people will act like dementedly selfish fuck knuckles.

Imagine: you go into a grocers and buy, say, a big juicy-looking watermelon. You know it’s a watermelon – it says so on the sign, and also, it looks like a watermelon. You get it home; mmm, watermelon you’re thinking. Hubba-hubba. I like watermelon. Then you crack it open. Disappointment awaits. Instead of that nice juicy pink flesh bit, the inside is made of hypodermic needles and some grit. Not quite what you were expecting; understandably, you’re a bit irritated. Still, you take it back to the shop and the grocer kindly agrees to swap it for another one, apologising for the inconvenience in the meantime.

Now, say the watermelon is a house. The following is more likely: you see a nice watermelon on the internet and ring up to say you’re interested in buying it. They ask you what your financial predicament is. You lie and tell them it’s tight – you’ll struggle to pay the full price of the watermelon, but you’d like to see it anyway. The fruit and vegetable specialist drives you to the grocers. Once there, you’re shown a small rotting turnip. This is the only thing they have left. You tell the fruit and veg specialist that it isn’t quite what you were looking for. They tell you that the turnip is actually a watermelon and, anyway, it’s a good price for the area. You say you’re not sure. They tell you that with things the way they are, it’s either this or you starve. You cave in. You tell them you’ll take it, but for less than the advertised price. The fruit and veg specialist tells you this is out of the question: the price of turnips will only increase over the next year because there’s a national turnip shortage (even though turnips are actually selling for less and less). You cave in. You say you’ll pay the full price for the turnip. Then they tell you that somebody else has expressed interest in the turnip. You’ll need to pay over the asking price, otherwise you’ll miss out. You cave in. Whatever it takes, you just want the turnip. They say you can have the turnip. On one condition: you have to get a turnip specialist to assess the quality of the turnip. You pay the turnip specialist, who tells you the turnip is riddled with aphids. But you should still buy the turnip. You buy the turnip. It gives you food poisoning and you die.

On the plus side, your children get to keep what’s left of the turnip. They put it on the internet. The fruit and veg specialist rings up – some people are interested in buying a watermelon…

Buying houses. What’s that about? Grrrr. Sometimes I think we’d be better off handing over our life savings to the KLF*.

*The K Foundation allegedly burned a million quid on 23rd August 1994 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid). Remember? No? I think I need some more contemporary cultural reference points!

Joe Longthorne in concert and all over the UK in November & December

The research has been completed, the book deal has been signed, the book cover is under way. It’s all full steam ahead for a March release of Joe Longthorne’s first ever OFFICIAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY, written by his good friend, journalist, novelist, writer and also singer in his own right Chris Berry.

 ’It’s a tremendously exciting time,’ says Joe. ‘This is my first ever proper opportunity to tell my story – the highs, the lows, the tragedy, the humour. The great times – that I’m having now – and some of those bad, bad times. It will tell it like it is – apart from what the solicitors tell me I can’t say!!’ Chris has been working closely with Joe since April, following the story he wrote about Joe which appeared in the Yorkshire Post earlier this year. ‘Joe’s life has been a real rollercoaster ride. This really, truly is one of those books that everyone – true fans and general public alike – will not want to put down once they’ve started. Joe is a tremendous personality, as well as being a wonderful entertainer and a great man who has suffered more than most. But his career is currently on an upturn once again and this book should see him firmly back in the public eye – and hopefully back on TV, where I feel AN AUDIENCE WITH JOE LONGTHORNE would work very well. He is supported by many of the best known names in TV, Film, Music and Sport, even Politics. But for me the hard work starts now! Whilst Joe embarks on his pre-Christmas tour I will be putting together the book, which we hand over to the publishers on 14 January.’  Chris is also an accomplished singer who plays in 2 acts – FOG – a hugely popular and sought after melodic rock functions covers band, and an equally impressive acoustic act – CMC – which plays acoustic versions of hit songs throughout the pop years from the 50s to 2000s. Chris writes every week in the Yorkshire Post also.

www.chrisberrysingerandwriter.wordpress.com   www.myspace.com/chrisberrysinger     www.myspace.com/cmcacoustic  www.the-fog.talktalk.net      Chris is also on Facebook & Twitter    Email: chris@chrisberry.tv