Gale Force Winds
Gale force winds and high seas were not enough to put off members from making the trip to Blackpool for the first convention of 2008. As usual there was an almost full house for the Saturday afternoon session but the attendance reduced for the evening concert, it seems that many members like to watch the film and then go off to sample other Blackpool attractions for the rest of the evening. The event once again took place in the splendid looking Pavilion Theatre, this venue appears to now be our permanent home within the Winter Gardens complex. Members and visitors were greeted on the door by new Subscription Secretary Andrew Gatherer who has taken over the role from Peter Pollard. Andrew along with Neil Forshaw, Tony Bunnell and Vivien Mawdsley were kept busy by a steady stream of members and potential members throughout both days of the event. Behind the counter of the GFS shop Pat Taylor and Kathryn Pollard were also kept busy selling the many and varied items available there. George Formby's niece Geraldine was presented with a ukulele that had been stored in our archives for some years, the instrument originally belonged and was played on stage by Geraldine's mother, George's sister Ethel. I cannot help but notice that the younger members of the GFS is on the increase and this of course is just what we need to ensure that the George Formby Society continues to flourish as we approach (in 2011) the 50th anniversary. Let me say that once again there were some first class performances throughout the weekend. Always impressive is the brilliant Martin Harrison but I personally was quite taken with the ever-improving performance of Dennis Maisey. Jon Shreeve made a welcome return to Blackpool and was quite brilliant, a fabulous player. For this convention the Society introduced a rule that restricted ukulele-selling members to offer a maximum of two instruments on the selling table. This move was greeted with unanimous favour by all interested parties. The attendance was less on the Sunday and it seems that many people just make the trip for the Saturday. Considering that the weather on Friday and Saturday was particularly bad I feel that the overall attendance was reasonable and in the Circle Foyer room we would (certainly on Saturday) have had a full house.
Riverdance on beach
With the gale force winds, a further
“attraction” to the usual Blackpool sights
was the addition of ‘Riverdance’ the
marooned ferry that found its way on to the
beach on January 31st 2008. Fortunately all
the crew and passengers were rescued there
was no casualties.
Local traders reporting that they were as
busy as they would normally be during the
Blackpool Illuminations. The boom lasted for
over ten weeks, with the refloating at one
time being scheduled to take place in the
week commencing 18 February, coinciding
with the half-term holiday. Large crowds
were expected to view the refloating.
The ship proved to be unrecoverable and
was eventually broken up for scrap.
Gale Force Winds
Gale force winds and high seas were not enough to put off members from making the trip to Blackpool for the first convention of 2008. As usual there was an almost full house for the Saturday afternoon session but the attendance reduced for the evening concert, it seems that many members like to watch the film and then go off to sample other Blackpool attractions for the rest of the evening. The event once again took place in the splendid looking Pavilion Theatre, this venue appears to now be our permanent home within the Winter Gardens complex. Members and visitors were greeted on the door by new Subscription Secretary Andrew Gatherer who has taken over the role from Peter Pollard. Andrew along with Neil Forshaw, Tony Bunnell and Vivien Mawdsley were kept busy by a steady stream of members and potential members throughout both days of the event. Behind the counter of the GFS shop Pat Taylor and Kathryn Pollard were also kept busy selling the many and varied items available there. George Formby's niece Geraldine was presented with a ukulele that had been stored in our archives for some years, the instrument originally belonged and was played on stage by Geraldine's mother, George's sister Ethel. I cannot help but notice that the younger members of the GFS is on the increase and this of course is just what we need to ensure that the George Formby Society continues to flourish as we approach (in 2011) the 50th anniversary. Let me say that once again there were some first class performances throughout the weekend. Always impressive is the brilliant Martin Harrison but I personally was quite taken with the ever-improving performance of Dennis Maisey. Jon Shreeve made a welcome return to Blackpool and was quite brilliant, a fabulous player. For this convention the Society introduced a rule that restricted ukulele-selling members to offer a maximum of two instruments on the selling table. This move was greeted with unanimous favour by all interested parties. The attendance was less on the Sunday and it seems that many people just make the trip for the Saturday. Considering that the weather on Friday and Saturday was particularly bad I feel that the overall attendance was reasonable and in the Circle Foyer room we would (certainly on Saturday) have had a full house.
Riverdance on beach
With the gale force winds, a further
“attraction” to the usual Blackpool sights
was the addition of ‘Riverdance’ the
marooned ferry that found its way on to the
beach on January 31st 2008. Fortunately all
the crew and passengers were rescued there
was no casualties.
Local traders reporting that they were as
busy as they would normally be during the
Blackpool Illuminations. The boom lasted for
over ten weeks, with the refloating at one
time being scheduled to take place in the
week commencing 18 February, coinciding
with the half-term holiday. Large crowds
were expected to view the refloating.
The ship proved to be unrecoverable and
was eventually broken up for scrap.
march 2008
