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Lions can live for up to 16 years in the wild, & 2Reinventing itself again
Blackpool is easily the biggest seaside resort in the UK. I've heard it said it has more hotel beds than in Spain, or Portugal or somewhere like that.
The resort has always relied on things other than sunshine to succeed. This is not surprising as most of the time the place is lashed by biting winds from the Irish sea !
Blackpool's hey day was way back between the ways and into the 1950's then the 'wake weeks' operated. Whole towns would 'up sticks' and decend en-mass to Blackpool. Each week would have been a different local town from the Lancashire industrial heartlands.
Like other resorts it was it hard by the loss of much of this trade and the explosion of holiday packages to sunnier places (i.e anywhere else on the planet apart from Blackpool)
Blackpool fought back with newer theme park rides, alcohol flowing freely, deafening clubs and more stag and hen parties than seems feasible in a civilised democracy.
Blackpool is now set to re-invent itself again as the British Las Vegas - stand by for major redevelopment.
One of my favourite Blackpool stories, which shows the clash of the old and the new is when Peter Mandelson ( a labour party politician) apparantly dropped into a fish and chip shop during a party conference. It is said that he asked for a helping of 'that rather excellent looking guaccamole over there'. The bemused woman behind the counter eventually realised he meant the mushy peas !
The latest wheeze appears to be a plan (nov 06) to build a walk through rainforest / jungle attraction, similar to the Eden project in Cornwall. I hope it comes off, the idea seems impressive.
