Blackpool

I am sitting in my hotel room here in Blackpool England listening to the wind howl off of the Irish Sea while the rain pelts away at my window. To clear things up I am actually in a much more posh town located just outside of Blackpool called St. Annes. However for the sake of this entry we will pretend that i am in Blackpool proper. Imagine if you can the jersey shoreline in its heyday around 1920 to 1950. Flourishing through tourism, complete with sprawling boardwalk, large scale hotels, and of course casinos. Now think about the cities that occupied the area like Atlantic City, or Asbury park. If you have been to these cities in the last 30 years like i have you know that they are depressed, vacant, almost ghost like towns that look as if they have somewhat been forgotten about , yet still cling to life.
If you have this image in your mind at the moment, then you are squarely in the centre of Blackpool England.
Once a thriving tourist mecca with its heyday between 1900 and 1950, it is now in my eyes merely a ghost of its past. Clinging on to a breath of modernism with rollercoasters and such, but desperate for the glory it once had. The boardwalk is sprawling and filled with all sorts of shops, from fish and chips to amusements. Apparently they are open during the summer season and must do some business in order to stay around an wait out yet another summer and the flock of tourists. It is however rather depressing to be here in Blackpool in the first week of December when all but a few seem to have left for the winter.
I guess an interesting item to note is that the reason i am here is for the Royal Variety Christmas program in the UK. An annual festive program put on for the royals and intended to entertain many a British household. That being said for tonights performance the Queen is actually going to be in attendance. This is most interesting because the shops and lights that have been turned off or closed up for the past three months all seem to be turning on and opening up for this one day in December when the Queen of England comes to visit and listen to some of her favorite artists perform. Artists that include, Mylie Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, and of course Mika.
Its really one of those moments where i find myself wondering, what the hell is going on....

till next time...