Blackpool Tower and Beach

A couple of today's photo uploads to my Flickr account.

I could almost have included this in the Vanished Blackpool series as these days it is rare to see the number of people on the beach that you see in this photo from around 1980.

Even by the 1980s the beach was still a favourite spot for tourists to park a deckchair and put up a wind break. The Council used to employ a number of staff every year to man stations all along the promenade, hiring out deckchairs and windbreaks by the day or half-day.

A path from the slade has to be kept free of deckchairs as this is the route down which the lifeboat will be brought in case of an emergency. Most of the ice cream koisks still relied on insulation and lots of ice rather than generators and refridgeration to keep their ice cream cold.

Moving into the Tower for a photo again taken in the very early 1980s, this shows the Tower Ballroom.

Phil Kelsall is playing the Wurlitzer, although the dance floor is empty as this was a Sunday night. Dancing was still not allowed on Sunday nights and instead the organist gave a recital of film music, popular classics and fun items.

When he played The Dam Busters March the Ballroom vibrated as the very loud sound effect of a Lancaster Bomber was played over the organ music!