EDDIEWONG

Blackpool is situated along the coast of the Irish Sea in Lancashire and the seaside resorts happen to be a major centre of tourism. Besides the amusement park, amusement centers and casinos, there is obviously the beach which stretches along the whole seafront, the nightclubs, the drag queen showbars, etc. And since Blackpool is the gay capital of the North, it pretty much sums up as to why the place is artistic.

When I was a kid, I used to go to Blackpool at least once a year. We used to go around this time of the year because of the illuminations (from Sep-Nov) – a series of lighted displays and collages arranged along the entire length of the sea front, seven miles in total. Because the illuminations are only available for a few months, this resulted in traffic snarl-ups as most people view the lights from cars and coaches which crawl nose-to-tail along the whole length of the sea front, particularly so at weekends and during school holidays. But that was decades ago. Dunno how long the illuminations run for now-a-days considering tourism has drop quite a bit. One thing I realised though, some of the illuminations are the same as the ones I saw when I was a kid.

Anyway, for this trip, we got to Blackpool rather late therefore we didn’t have time to drive the whole stretch of the seafront to see all of the illuminations (turns off at 12am). Instead we went to some amusement centers and stuff.

That tall ride you see is the Pepsi Max Big One – was the world’s fastest and tallest complete circuit rollercoaster between 1994 and 1996. Me and Tony went on it when it first opened. We screamed during the whole ride – made a complete fool of ourselves.

Blackpool Tower is the dominant landmark of the Blackpool skyline. It was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and stands at 158 m in height. Beneath the tower is a complex of leisure facilities, entertainment venues and restaurants, including the world famous Tower Ballroom and Tower Circus.

The illuminations that stretch the whole seafront.

These are old school. Seen ‘em before when I was like 8 yrs old.

Traveling in a car hence the blur.

A typical amusement center.

Dr. Vincent shows off his skills on the UFO catchers. And he did manage to grab one of those Hello Kitties!

Camel racing. I used to love this! Continuously try and roll the balls into the holes on the table/board for the camel to move a few steps. The more balls you can accurately roll into the hole, the more steps the camel takes.

Me challenging my family’s Next-Gens (nephews and nieces) in a thrilling race! That’s me in the red Ferrari. I came last! What shame…

The kids jamming it on Guitar Hero. You may wonder why the faces on these pics are so blurred. That is because I added a motion blur to them – my family’s Next-Gen kids are all really good looking therefore I don’t want anyone stalking them. Or worse yet, people hassling me for their info.

We’re all on the Extreme! That is me in the center (looking to my right). Due to old age, I could barely take it. I felt sick.

The Next-Gens trying to kill each other.

 
Photos taken on 2009.10.16