Blackpool - 2012

England’s very own Las Vegas. Although, I’m pretty sure the famous Elvis song wasn’t ‘Viva Las Blackpool’. Anyway, I ventured to Blackpool recently for my annual birthday trip. We go to Blackpool every year, yet I’m still in love with the lights, the thrills and yes… even the sandy shoes at the end of the holiday. Something about Blackpool just sets off a spark within me. A firework feeling that ignites my very soul. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, or maybe I just love the feeling it gives me?

Once upon a time there was a clown called Mooky…

One thing I always do in Blackpool is go to the Tower Circus, and this occasion was no different. I always did find the circus thrilling. The tingling sensation which shot through me like fireworks as the bendy women would spin on the trapeze and flip around a pole with no effort at all. The ecstasy which flowed through the veins, filled me with excitement ever since my first circus trip when I was one. I barely understood what was going on at that age; but I loved it just the same. Funny how you can go off some things, but other things stay with you for a lifetime! There was a hilarious clown, Mooky, who the circus was based upon.

My mum hated clowns but she liked him - he obviously did something right. I guess, it was almost like a stand up routine, but as a clown. I know circus clowns are meant to be funny but he was like no other. Even my dad laughed, and he is a very hard to get a laugh out of; think Victorian man + grumpy caveman.

With every ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ from the crowd, I felt my smile increase. A widened grin. My heart palpitating so loud I could feel it in my head. My heart mimicked the drums from the orchestra... boom boom, boom boom. My breathing became heavier, I was so mesmerised with what was going on; I’d forget to breath... boom boom, boom boom.

So the next day, we went to the Pleasure Beach because… it was my birthday! *Insert strange dance here* The Pleasure Beach is just like any other theme park… but much more…

Blackpool. A juxtaposing mix of rides from Gothicism to Fairies and from to Dora The Explorer to Norse legends like Thor and Loki. I darted straight for the Rocket ride. If you have a fear of heights then I suggest that you don’t try this. The icy whispers of the wind echo through your ears and bite the tip of your nose. Flying high around the Pleasure Beach starts off the most magnificent adventure into the world of BPB. So with the excitement of being back at the theme park, me and my mum started feeling hungry.

My favourite place to eat at BPB was sadly shut down a number of years ago. Now, I’m not obsessed by food but that still pains me to this very day. I hate change, no… I loathe it. But that restaurant had two rides going straight through it and the stupid people decided to close it down because of stupid money reasons… not that I’m bitter.

We decided to try something different so we went to a pop up food place near a water fountain, where I heard that they did incredible water shows every hour. We got the food, we sat down and lone and behold the water show began. We were a comfortable length away from the show to ensure there would be no splashes of water that could hit us.

Unfortunately… this didn’t quite go to plan. As it was 12 o’clock it was the main show of the day. So, of course, the directors of the show (I presume that’s what they are called), decided it would be a great idea to make the fountains overload with water and shoot right over where my mother and I were sitting. There were others around but of course… we were the only ones to get drenched! I mean… come on. The hundreds of people around us and we were the one table that got wet? Like cruel irony in Romeo and Juliet, my love of the other shut down café, decided to give me one final blow by making me so wet that I got a cold at the end of the day. Perfect.

Now, if you prefer relaxing holidays instead of the adventurous theme parks and Tower experiences, then Blackpool can also cater for that. The sandy beach along the whole cost from Blackpool to Fylde makes the perfect spot to relax and soak up the sun (as much as the British weather will allow, of course). There really is no where better than Blackpool. Of course, I’m biased but then again, after 19 years, I still love it and I shall be hopefully going again in the next holidays I get. Sometimes I actually think I could advertise for Blackpool with the amount I talk about it.

The last day of the holiday snuck up on us, and slashed my happy mood like Jack did to his victims’ throats. Every year the same old gut wrenching pain, the same sadness of leaving my favourite place, the same sombre mood. My mother attempted to cheer me up by reminding me of the water fiasco but it didn’t work. I left Blackpool with a miserable teenage face and my phone in my hand. All I had left was the knowledge that I’d be back next year for another holiday to remember.

Little did I know that my mother had booked for us to go again before Christmas. But that’s another story…