Book Publishing

Just to bring you up to date on a couple of projects.

I'm currently involved in putting together a book about Blackpool. Commissioned by a publishing company it will be a collection of old postcards with modern views taken from as near the same viewpoint as I can get.

There are several old postcard views of Blackpool on the pages of this blog but these will be ones that I haven't published before and hopefully a good many may not have been seen since they were sent through the post some hundred years ago!

There's no end of old postcards available of Blackpool two of which are shown below. These will not be in the book...

I love these old photos with a certain amount of artistic licence! This is a daylight shot as can be easily seen from the shadows of the railings etc. The festoons of lights on the upper Promenade are if in scale, around the size of footballs...

But here's the same photo with a bit more paint...

There just weren't enough light bulbs on that other one so the company artist has added a few more strings, some flag poles to dangle them from and for good measure a string of them around the grassed area where in reality they would have been broken within ten minutes or so...! I'm indebted to Chris Wynne of Shrewsbury for the kind loan of many postcards from his collection.

The book will contain around 90 photographs in 45 pairs and will probably be published somewhere in time for Christmas. Keep looking in for more news.

The other project is another book - this time a novel. I wrote this in the late 70s and early 80s but had put it on the back burner to be something of a retirement project.

However with ebooks bringing publishing within reach of everyone I've dusted it off and tightened up a few bits. The book is a fantasy take on the King Arthur and Merlin legends, the older of which contain much by way of elves and enchantments and lots to get the teeth into! Arthur in this book is a little removed from most people's idea of who Arthur was or may have been! It will be called King and King To Be.

I'm currrently waiting for cover art to be completed and then it will make an appearance, at first, for the Kindle and then hopefully... who knows?

As there have been a few literary John Burke authors - one writes history titles and another wrote film and TV scripts and adaptations amongst other genres, I shall have to adopt pen names. Non-fiction under the name John D. Burke and fiction as J.D. Burke.

Wish me luck!

Blackpool Houndshill Adelaide Street Entrance

A while ago I had a comment on one of my 1982 photos on Flickr.

It was taken in July 1982, at a time when the Houndshill shopping centre - I can't remember anyone calling it a "mall" then - was fairly new. This was the "rear" entrance, with the main entrance on Victoria Street.

Someone asked what shop occupied the Goldbergs site in 2012, so I went down yesterday to take a photo from the same viewpoint.

There has been considerable change. More than is immediately apparent.

The people approaching the doors of the centre in 1982 could instead have turned right and walked down a side street that would have brought them to the Argos store on Albert Road. There was an exit from the Houndshill multi-storey car park that utilised this road.

Because the road was narrow and heavily used by pedestrians, cars leaving the car park posed a risk and the exit was closed and the front of the shopping centre extended forward to block access to and from the side street.

Just inside the entrance now on the right hand side is a Costa coffee outlet and, behind that, the whole interior of the mall has been extended south to lead down into the new Debenhams store.

Return to Blackpool Town Index Page

Birthday Gig

On Saturday night we were playing a private booking for a birthday party in Thornton - a gig close to home for a change!

The birthday girl was very keen to secure our services and both she and the rest of the party-goers were enthusuastic in their applause during the night and their praise at the end of it.

We enjoyed ourselves too, giving Elvis's Burning Love its first public airing.

To book Creeping Bentgrass for your own party, event or club, email bispham2@hotmail.com or telephone on 01253 301324

On The Tram Tracks, May 1984

A few recently scanned tram photos from May 1984.

We'll start off with the spectacular 1904 Blackpool Dreadnought tram. Originally built when the trams were still powered by a conduit slot between the rails, these huge trams took large numbers of visitors up and down the Promenade with the entire end of the tram used as an entrance.

Balloon 720 heads up Lytham Road towards the sheds at the end of its shift.

1984 was the run-up to the tramway centenary in 1985. A number of trams were on loan to Blackpool being tested on the Blackpool tracks in 1984. Blackpool had also recently restored their 1953 Coronation tram, seen here in front of the landmark honeycombed front of Lewis's store.

A peek into the tramsheds on Rigby Road. On the left is a Glasgow tramcar with the Bolton tram behind it.

Return to Blackpool Tram and Bus Index Page

Billy Fury Weekend

Cor - and there it was, gone...! Another totally brilliant Billy Fury weekend.

We set up our gear at Sunley and ran through a couple of numbers. We had only gone on to warm up, but then the room filled and despite several offers to allow others up, the audience kept us working for an hour or so - slave drivers or what?!? We threw a bit of Abba and Take That into the proceedings in an attempt to get them to eject us but no...

Then one by one the other artists came to show us how it should be done and what a fabulous night! Phil Jennings told us over and over and over again my friend... A chap called Hetherington spun round three times in a quiet corner and in a flash returned as Johnny Storme. The feeling and emotion coming through Johnny's music never fail to move me - magical. Alan Wilcox made a very impressive debut. We had a great spot from Dean and Jane singing together, shiveringly good!

Johnny Storme

There were no bad performances of course. Dave Jay, Paul Wilcox, and the Grand Master Rob Dee, who asked if we'd finish the night.... What?!? You want us to go back on?!? Reluctantly we drag ourselves back up to the microphone. It may have looked as though we couldn't wait...

Anyway we are always immensely grateful for the reception we get from the Billy crowd - no matter what provocation we give, no one has ever thrown anything... A brilliant, even BILLYant, night full of friendship and good fun. Apologies to any singers I've missed, we loved you all.

Saturday. Sunley do a purty good breakfast! Then we dragged ouselves into Northampton so the girls could look round the shops and David and I went up and down the mall on the ground floor and then on the upper floor and then gave up and went to sit in a Costa with a bucket of coffee each and waited for the Misses Franny and Jeannie to come in laden with bags.

Then the main event of the weekend - Sunnyside. It is the pub where Billy Fury played his last gig before his untimely passing in 1983.

Dave Jay got the ball rolling with a cracking set and the time just flew by. Steve reprised his Secret Agent Man from Friday night - what a cracking song! We went and did our spot - Somebody Else's Girl, I Can Hear Music, The Young Ones (for Moya!), Tulsa, The Single Girl, Love Hurts, Lost Without You and You've Lost That Loving Feeling. Then the long hook came out from stage left and we were dragged off...

Thanks to all those who asked when we were going back on - no that was just the Friday night...! Gluttons for punishment some folks... Great to meet up again with a few day trippers - Snowy (all that hair and at such an advanced age - has the man no feelings for the follicly challenged?), Russ Dee came in his white coat - and left with it still white - I'm sure I couldn't have managed that... Laura and Emily, gorgeous as ever and a great great set, Roger Sea, Rob Dee... it's just such a wonderful event.

Rob Dee

Again a series of excellent performances, culminating in Johnny Red's tribute to Billy and all of us up to sing HTP and then it was all over. We packed up the gear, headed back to the Sunley and opened a bottle of bubbly in David and Miss Jeannie's room before Miss Franny and I slunk quietly back down to our room tripping up, banging against doors, giggling and setting fire alarms off etc... Hey rock and roll! Songs from our set available as videos at YouTube

Hall i' th' Wood

September 1983 and on one of our forays out to take photos of old and curious things we come across the half-timbered Tudor hall known as Hall i' th' Wood.

It can be described as 16th or 15th century - mostly the Tudor half-timbered part of the hall is from the early 1500s, making it 16th century, but some parts have been described as going back to 1483 or 1487 which would make it 15th century. You'd have thought the builders could have left a blue placque ready prepared wouldn't you?

I always think non-Lancashire folk have a weird idea of how the abbreviated form of the word "the" should be pronounced. There is no t sound in the phrase "going in t'shed". Instead the word "in" would end a little abruptly. The t sound is formed at the back of the throat rather than just behind the teeth. It's called a glottal stop.

Here it may be acceptable to say "thwood" but equally acceptable to say "Hall i' Wood with the throat closing slightly after the "i".

It was here at Hall i' th' Wood that Samuel Crompton invented the Spinning Mule that was used in countless Lancashire cotton mills. It allowed cotton thread to be produced in a quantity unheard of at the time. Large mill mules would have 1320 spindles and a mill might contain 60 such machines, each tended by just one man and two boys.

Return to Curiosities: Buildings and Infrastructure Index Page

Zoo Rhyme

The zebra are watching with interest
Cloaked in their black and white stripes

The parrots are excited and chatting
"I think there'll be trouble, oh cripes!"

The camels are watching but placid
Too much excitement can make their humps sag

And the cause of all this kerfuffle?
The lion's missus is having a nag...

Lighting Up Blackpool

I've reached the last quarter of 1983 in my scanning now. The famous Illuminations start every year on the Friday following August Bank Holiday Monday and end on the first Sunday in November.

One September night saw me down on the Promenade by the Pleasure Beach. A highlight of the Illuminations was always seeing illuminated trams going up and down the Promenade. There were more of them on the tracks in those days than there are now.

The Hovertram in 1983 carried advertisements for Oystons Estate Agents, but was far better known for its previous sponsor and still referred to as the "Shell" hovertram. It is seen here passing the amusements arcade by the northern entrance to the Pleasure Beach.

For several years during the 1980s lasers were used to create startling rods of light that swung across the sky from the piers and the Tower top. They were green in colour and could be seen quite spectacularly from the approach to Blackpool along the M55 motorway if you were driving in at night.

The Pleasure Beach Casino building has never been a casino. It was a name carried over from the building's predecessor, which likewise was more about restaurants and bars than gambling. The art deco circular building housed the White Tower Restaurant and for a while a grotto-style ride through which you travelled in a large suspended seat.

Balloon tram 708 stops to let passengers disembark. From the background you could be forgiven for thinking that this was taken along the Bispham cliffs, but at this time there were still a limited number of large tableaux on the Promenade south of the Pleasure Beach.

Return to Blackpool Illuminations Index Page

Whalley Abbey, Lancashire

August 1983. This time we are in Whalley to visit the remains of the abbey that once thrived here.

It was a Cistercian Abbey dating from the end of the 13th century. It was in 1296 that the monks of Stanlow Abbey on the River Mersey moved here. The Stanlow Abbey had been hit by floods and fires and a tower brought down by gales.

Whalley's abbey has an impressive gatehouse, said to be one of the most haunted buildings in England. The abbey church is not in quite as good condition, just foundations can be seen poking through the grass that has been cultivated where the floor of the church once was. There are more substantial remains of the other abbey buildings.

The building of the church and abbey took place from 1296 to 1440. Permission was granted in 1339 for a crenellated surrounding wall to be built around the grounds.

In 1537 it was closed as part of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. The last Abbot, John Paslew, was executed for High Treason, due to his activities in the Pilgrimage of Grace when the North of England rose up against the King's (or more properly Thomas Cromwell's) reforms. In addition the Northerners were angry at the way Queen Catherine of Aragon had been set aside and whilst few may have mourned the beheading of Queen Anne Boleyn on trumped up charges, the exectution of his second queen did Henry no favours with his northern subjects.

The lands of the Abbey were eventually bought back by the Diocese of Manchester in 1923, passing to the Diocese of Blackburn in 1926 and it was used as a centre for religious education there. More recently it has been used as a conference centre.

The monks' washing trough - ooh... luxury!

The octagonal chapter house stood here and there are still some of the original medieval floor tiles in situ.

Return to English Churches and Cathedrals Index

Knaresborough Pencil Sketch

I don't know why I don't do more of these. This is a sketch I did with coloured pencils at home in 1993 from a photograph taken ten years earlier.

It shows people enjoying the River Nidd at Knaresborough in Yorkshire, just down from the famous bridge in the background.

Normally sketching is just something I do on holiday. But it's a bit more personal than a photograph somehow.

A large version can be viewed at my Flickr account.

Hodder Bridge and the Crossing of an Army

August 1983 saw me dashing about the Lancashire countryside, avidly snapping away at anything that was falling down, had already fallen down, or had a story to tell.

At the time I had a series, John Burke's Curious Lancashire running every now and then in the bi-monthly magazine Lancashire Magazine.

This is the River Hodder, a tributary of the Ribble. The bridge has obviously seen better days but fits all of my criteria in that parts of it have fallen down, the rest of it looks (though I'm not sure it is) in imminent danger of falling down, and it most certainly has a story to tell.

Across this bridge marched an army. Not just any old army, but an army on their way to a battle. Not just any old battle, but a battle that would change the course of English history.

The army was led by Oliver Cromwell, a name that even today can divide the country. On that day in 1648 his men were on their way to Preston, where they would win a huge victory upon which hung the fate of the Civil War. Following the battle the Royalist cause collapsed. The Parliamentarians called for the King to be brought to trial and six months later he was beheaded at Westminster on such a low block that he was forced to lie prone on his stomach in humiliation.

Return to Curiosities: Bridges Index

On The Buses

I have never described myself, or even thought of myself as a bus enthusiast. But a few photos went through the scanner recently of a commercial vehicle rally in Blackpool from 1983.

These used to take place every year along the Middle Walk - and still may do these days for all I know. Though the last event I noticed seemed to have lots of modern buses and a drivers' competition and seemed by far more about today's bus companies than about nostalgia and older vehicles.

The above bus, NTF 466, is a 1952 Daimler CVG6 (someone will know what that means...) in the livery of Lancaster City Council. At the time and for a considerable number of years we used to see it regularly on the roads of the Fylde and Wyre districts as it was available for hire.

DGS 625 is a 1951 Leyland Tiger PS1 in the livery of Lonsdale Coaches and with a totally weird angled window across the corner of the half-cab...

Although these photos were taken almost 30 years ago and the vehicles were already over 30 years old themselves at that time, I had no problems at all in finding out the details about them, thanks to lots of interest in bus preservation. Simply by putting the registration number into Google, I found not only all these details but lots more besides.

Whilst I found scores of photos of these vehicles, some from the same event as here, I have to admit I don't get all that excited about knowing the chassis number...

But for the die-hards, here's a shot of a double decker with the bonnet up! NLE 882 is an AEC Regent III from around 1953, fleet No. RT 3775 with London Transport.

These were the real London double deckers and instantly recogniseable. Two at least achieved fame on the silver screen - one being driven to Athens by Cliff Richard in the film Summer Holiday and one being driven under a low bridge by Roger Moore in the James Bond film, Live and Let Die. I know who I'd rather drove me out of the two...

They are made of sterner stuff than the James Bond film would have you believe. Roger Moore, in his book about the filming of his first Bond film, recalls they had already cut the top and put it on runners so that it would immediately zip to the back of the bus and drop off, allowing the lower deck to drive on!

Return to Blackpool Attractions Index Page

Hawkshead and Hill Top 1983

This week a set of photos from the Lake District have been going through the scanner.

In August 1983 Fran and I took Gillian, then aged 6, and Fran's parents, Bob and Peggy, up to the Lakes and over the Windermere Ferry to Hawkshead.

It wasn't exactly a glorious English summer's day, but then again it wasn't actually raining so we counted ourselves lucky! We did feel as though we were ready for a spot of lunch once we had stretched our legs and the shot shows the family emerging from the Minstrels' Gallery tea room. This was a regular calling place when in Hawkshead.

By heck... blue-tinted specs! Why did we ever think they were cool? And they cover half my face for Heaven's sake!!!

Anyway, this is taken inside the cafe as the 29-year-old me sits behind my 'tache waiting to order our food. There is a minstrel's gallery but I never saw it with any minstrels in the vicinity and haven't got a photo of it either. Take my word for it, or go and have a look as I suspect (and hope) they won't have changed the place very much in the past 30 years.

Hawkshead is a nice place to visit anyway, with lots of narrow streets and alleys and old buildings, joined to each other on the first floor, so that you find little tunnels underneath like this.

At Near Sawrey you can visit the home of children's author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. Called Hill Top this is now kept as a museum of her life and work.

Return to Lake District and Cumbria Index

The Fairy Steps

In August 1983 I found myself pushing through the undergrowth of a forest near a village called Beetham in north Lancashire. The path - or perhaps I should say the line of least resistance - led to the top of an outcrop of rock. There were three ways down.

One was by rope, ably being demonstrated by a group of youngsters, one of whom can just be seen top left. The second was by jumping and hoping you didn't break anything on landing... The third was by the extremely narrow way of a series of what seem to be natural steps leading down through a fissure in the rock.

Legend has it that the flight of steps was made by the fairy folk, who further will grant a wish to anyone who climbs the stairs successfully without touching the sides. Even in 1983 when I was built somewhat in the manner of a racing snake, this would have been a severe challenge. I somehow feel even trying it today might be somewhat more embarrassing... er... I think I've caught a button on a bit of rock...?

Return to Legends, Lore and Superstition Index Page

A Few Curiosities

I like to find things that are a little out of the ordinary (and haven't all that far to look, let's face it...) So a quick collection of a few bits that have been going through the scanner in the last week or two.

Starting close to home, this is a view of Carlin Rock which is about half a mile off the sea wall at Bispham where I live. Only visible at low tide and shrinking because of the wearing effect of two tides a day and probably sinking into the sand as well. Even further out to sea is Pennystone Rock. Only uncovered at extremely low tides, it's said the stone used to sit outside an old inn and that there was an iron ring set in it for tethering horses.

I think I blogged about the God Stone of Formby after a more recent visit in 2007, but this photo was taken in July 1983 when I first went looking for it after reading about it in the excellent King's England series of books by Arthur Mee in the volume about Lancashire. Lancashire was a slightly larger place in the days of those books! It can be found in the churchyard and is said to pre-date the church, being a pagan stone that locals carried their dead around 3 times. The early Christians carved steps and a cross and a circle representing Heaven to show that the way to Heaven was through the cross.

A slightly more modern relic, but a reminder of a way of life now vanished none-the-less. Sheds of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway at Haworth in Yorkshire. A couple of steam locomotives are in steam, ready for the day's work on this museum line.

And finally, a view across the River Wharf of Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, taken later on the same day as the Haworth photo in July 1983. The ruins of the abbey are impressive and the scenery of this beautiful spot makes them all the more so. The line of stepping stones had disappeared the last time I was there. I hope that was temporary and not a modern health & safety nonsense.

Return to Legends, Lore and Superstition Index Page

Fun in Bed

Miss Franny had been upstairs for quite a while and came down with a twinkle in her eye...

"We can have some fun in bed tonight!" she announced, bringing raised eyebrows and a smile to my face.

"Bring your crayons," she continued, "and we can colour in the duvet...!"

"Paradise Reborn" - The Billy Fury Way!

From Pierre Petrou, Head of Media, billyfury.com

Northampton moves halfway to paradise for fans of rock legend Billy Fury next month.

The Sunnyside family-friendly pub is to host the annual "biggest Billy Fury Show on Earth" in tribute to the Liverpool-born star who died almost 30 years ago after a history of heart trouble which had dogged his stardom.

Organised by the website, billyfury.com, the event takes place at the scene of Billy Fury's last public appearance in 1982, and it raises money for the Heart Fund at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

It is expected to attract over 200 Fury fans from all over the country and whilst the main show takes place on Saturday 17th March, many of Billy's fans have taken advantage of snapping up a weekend break.

Now in its seventh successful year, it comes at a time of renewed interest in Billy Fury, after a path was named after the singer, last July, close to where he recorded many of his biggest hits at Decca Studios in London.

An album of lost material was also released at the end of last year by the singer, who is the most successful artist of all time never to have had a UK number one.

Prices for the show are just £10.00 which currently includes over a dozen live acts, including Rob Dee, Dean & Jane Hubert, Creeping Bentgrass and Johnny Red.

Many of those snapping up the weekend break are staying at the accommodation base, The Sunley Management Centre, (which is within walking distance from The Sunnyside).

Pierre Petrou, Head of Media for billyfury.com, said, "Billy still has a very loyal following of fans who like to meet up at this gig for a very special night, remembering the man who's music gave so much pleasure.

It's a night of some very talented singers with some amazing voices, capturing the music of the sixties with passion and fondness."

He added, "Billy is a true rock 'n' roll legend, who proved to the world that British pop stars could be just as exiting as their American counterparts and the weekend brings together fans and friends who can all share their common love of this legendary icon."

Billy Fury, who's hits included, "Halfway To Paradise", "Wondrous Place", "I'd Never Find Another You", "Jealousy", "It's Only Make Believe", and "Maybe Tomorrow" was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of all time, having more hits in the 1960's than the Beatles.

Born Ronald Wycherley, he worked as a tugboat-hand after leaving school in Liverpool and at the age of 18 was signed by music impresario Larry Parnes, (today's Simon Cowell), after giving a live 'audition' at a Marty Wilde concert.

He continued to score minor hits up until his death in 1983, just as he was planning a major comeback. His last public performance at The Sunnyside in 1982 makes this event rather poignant for his fans, who will be rocking the weekend away in Fury style!

For tickets and accommodation details, please email sales@peaksoft.co.uk or call 07941 219207 to check room and ticket availability at the Sunley.

Tickets for the main show on Saturday night are just £10.00.

Currently, the line up of live acts for the main show include;

Creeping Bentgrass
Rob Dee
Russ Dee
Michelle Gibson
Geoff Howlett
Dean & Jane Hubert
Dave Jay, (MC)
Laura & Emily
Dave Michael
Johnny Red
Paul Ritchie
Roger Sea
Snowy
Alan Wilcox
Dave Wilcox

Details of the event can be found by following the link on the front page of billyfury.com

The Sunnyside is in Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AG.

Proceeds from this event are donated to the Heart Fund at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

For further information, please contact Pierre Petrou, Head of Media, billyfury.com, via email billyfury@jealousy.co.uk

Do You Like Surveys? (Yes or No only please)

Reading the paper today - shows how lacksadaisical I'm feeling for a start...

Apparently the results of a survey done by a travel-related website "shows" that Britons are "rather confused" about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Apparently one in eight claim to have seen the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue destroyed around 900 years ago. Perhaps they were thinking of that big chap who tries to entice you into his cafe for a drink after watching you wave away his neighbours who are doing exactly the same...

One in twenty say they have been to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey. And I, folks, am one of them.

Admittedly it doesn't look much of a temple these days and the bulk of stone has been nicked from the site to build other things. The one standing column has been cobbled together from lots of bits, probably not all originally from the same pillar.

But it is undeniably there.

Three percent of people claim to have been to the Statue of Zeus at Olympia too. I am not one of those. But I have been to the site where it stood and there are again some rather large chunks left of the building that housed it.

So if I saw a survey question that said "Have you seen..." I would say no, but if I saw "Have you been to..." and it was about a relic where the remains can clearly be seen (in my view this is true of the Temple of Artemis but not of the statue) then I'd struggle to express it in terms of "yes" or "no". Have you been to Stonehenge? But that's a ruin too...

I suspect that a few of the people surveyed may have been less confused about where they had been and what they saw than were confused at the meaning of the questions - though I admit I haven't seen the survey so cannot say with any certaincy in this case.

Every time I receive a survey, almost regardless of where it comes from, there is inevitably at least one - and sometimes every - question that requires a yes/no answer that simply cannot be answered that way. It's a tactic used by some to ensure that survey results meet their own ends. People who are confused will either not answer or will forget the big "if" in their mind and select the most appropriate - which may not be appropriate at all - answer.

I am reminded of a schoolteacher who once told us about a man who had died from drinking water. He had drunk several buckets of it in fact, trying to win a bet.

So... drinking water... is it dangerous? Please answer "Yes" or "no" only...