Not particularly Preston – Page 2 – Made In Preston

Antiques Road Show filming at Blackpool

We read that the Antiques Road Show was filming in Blackpool Tower Ballroom today and decided to take a look. After a sunny week it was misty on the front with a cool breeze at 9am. We arrived just after it opened and were allowed free into the tower, a place I’d not visited for over 40yrs. The entrance didn’t look up to much but inside it is quite a building and the queue was already long, snaking through the aquarium and a dinosaur land.

We eventually got to the ornate ballroom which was full of more snaking queues, bright lights, camera’s and the familiar faces of the experts and Fiona Bruce. So first stop a reception stand to be given tickets to two tables; collectables and ceramics. My wife having found 2 items that pass as possibly worth asking about.

Once inside the ballroom the interest begins watching the ‘form’ and listening to what experts are saying as you pass as part of the queue. The camera crews carefully manage their shots by asking the queues to snake a bit closer to fill spaces and hide things and not move too fast. On the TV it comes over as spontaneous but each slot takes about 20 minutes and one man who wanted to leave was told to get back or he’d spoil continuity. The whole thing does have the geniality and general pleasantness of the TV show, the experts and Fiona are friendly and genuine and it’s a great experience.

My wifes broach that she literally found a few years ago and got restored wasn’t worth much but it was said to be 120yrs old. Eric Knowles looked at the childs cup that came from my own family and said it was 1830, much to my surprise although not worth much. All the experts were very approachable and gave information without hurry despite the length of the queues. There are some members of the public who seemed to be following the cameras, some who came to take photos. Some had large artworks and there were large items of furniture being brought out filmed and taken back. Fiona had brought her children. Pride of place on stage was the Wurlitzer and there was a large silver model of the tower. A good day out.

Salford Quays visit

How far out of Preston can I write about, probably not as far as Salford but here goes.

We had a day out there earlier this week, not a bad drive along the M602 and a couple of right turns. Has grown since we last went, a new Media City is springing up and looks smart. We parked in the Outlet car park and unfortunately needed more than 6 hours which is the point where the charge goes stratospheric despite it being half price for buying a cup of coffee it was £6.50. The Imperial War Museum was very good and there was a nice lunch. Then we had a guide explaining about L.S. Lowry in the Lowry Gallery.

Our main purpose was to see a stage version of ‘Brief Encounters’ by Kneehigh Productions at the Lyric Theatre. It was excellent with great use of props and well adapted. Driving home in the rush hour wasn’t too bad although getting off the M602 onto the M60 was queueing.

Visit to Blackpool and Green Party

Decided to look in at Blackpool today. The Green Party conference is there and we thought maybe we’d get some green ideas from some stalls. Their website wasn’t too encouraging as it said you needed a ticket but we thought there’d be some stalls around the entrance. You might have thought the Green Party would be hot on public transport but their website says rail services from London Kings Cross travel to Blackpool. When was the last time they got a train? Should it be Euston? A simple mistake but is it representative of their awareness?

We parked somewhere up north shore and walked into the centre. Mistake was to go along the front past North Pier as the road is fenced off almost up to Central Pier and we had to walk a long circular route to get back to the Winter Gardens. Getting into the Winter Gardens, which also has extensive roadworks outside, we were disappointed to find there were no green stalls and it was all inside a ticketed area. So we went into the new Houndshill and that is quite smart. It seems many shops have moved into there from other parts of the centre and so the area near the Winter Gardens now has a lot of discount shops except for Monsoon which stands out. If you want a mobile phone there are a lot of mobile phone shops very close together in Blackpool though.