BLACKPOOL 2007 REVIEW

Getting to Blackpool proved difficult to get to, the closing on the M55 did nothing to help any of us attending. My own journey was near epic. Having left my Cheshire home, the first leg was the M53 through the Kingsway Tunnel into Liverpool. It should have been a quick sprint along Edge Lane onto the M62 but roadworks meant a journey around the city onto the East Lanc’s road onto the M57, M62, M6 and finally M55. Well that was the plan!
 
Soon after joining the M6, bearing in mind I have traffic master fitted to the Range Rover, and there had been no prior warnings of the closure of the M55, warning signs did start to appear along the edge of the M6, but with little information as to why, where and what route to take as an alternative. With little else to loose, other than a full tank of fuel, I continued up the motorway until a diversion sign said to follow Preston for Blackpool. A-ha an easy route, you must be kidding! From Preston to Blackpool took me an hour, so poor was the diversion.
 
One at the prom, things did not improve. Firstly I am directed up onto the pedestrian area of the promenade by one of the yellow vested marshal released from whatever day care centre that happens to be having a clear out. Thankfully longstanding club associate Gary Mullineaux was on site to direct us to the correct location. That might had been the case had there not been another hundred or so of these yellow vested OAP’s who all have been taking traffic signalling classes from 70’s pop band the Village People. Asking anyone adorned in day-glow, resulted in a rendition on YMAC along with dialect  is ancient Lancastrian gibberish.
 
At least driving the length of the prom 4 times looking for our stand, gave me plenty of opportunity to view the other vehicles from the comfort of my own car.
 
Once the other GMG members has mastered both the dire diversions and the yellow vested morons, we soon found ourselves a space to pitch. We never did actually find out whether it was supposed to be the space we had reserved, but our cars all fitted and nobody said anything to us about it.
 
Is it just me, or have other’s noticed that if we do find a quiet spot to pitch our stand, it’s not long before we are under a noise assault of some form. On this occasion it was a freaky pop wannabe with a violin and a tan available from Ford known as electric orange. The guy was so poe faced, he looked like he was sucking a sweety that wasn’t necessarily in his mouth.
 
It was not long before I was back to my duties as chef (oh how I laugh) and serving up more delicious bacon butties and burgers from the catering unit.
The smell of the sizzling bacon drew many over to our stand as passers-by stood drooling.
 
Back to the import stuff, the vehicles. A bit of a poor turn out form all variations on this occasion. Even the hoards of bus spotters were few to be seen. Americans were all but a handful. Classic’s varied but most of the manufactures went without a car in attendance.
 
Thankfully there were lots of Granada’s from the various different clubs representing the North West. One or two privateers too. I’m pleased to say that pretty much all of the vehicle owner’s who we spoke to or approached us, seemed very enthusiastic and had interesting stories to go with their vehicles. Although the gold & purple V8 Scorpio was an acquired taste.
 
Notable vehicles included Brian’s pre-facelift Mk2, Dave’s Mk1 Coupe and finally Luiggi’s stunning MK2 2.0LX (apologies if I’ve spelt your name incorrectly).
 
As a personal view, I found the Totally Transport show to be lacking in transport, stalls, entertainment and coordination. The facilities were unable to cope with demands, leaving information areas bustling with lost souls, loo’s were filthy, blocked or broken. And Blackpool itself does not have much to offer these days either, unless you enjoy gift shops full of unwanted items, or you happen to be on a stag night and enjoy binge drinking.
 
I only hope that Ford Day which is located further North along the promenade, offers a little more. Last year the organisers gained a good reception, so hopefully this show may restore my faith in Blackpool as a venue.
 
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