Formby lives!

On Saturday morning, I took a high-speed Virgin 'tilting' train (it tilts into the corners to improve its aerodynamic flow) to Stockport, changed to a regular choo-choo and went on to Blackpool for the George Formby festival. I didn't see Old Trafford as I passed through Manchester, but I did get a good view of the Reebok Stadium (home of the Premier League's Bolton Wanderers). Blackpool's a funny place - a peculiar mix of dilapidated Victorian splendour and seaside-town tackiness. The Illuminations along the promenade were disappointing, but I did happen to find the Dr Who Monster Museum, which houses a lot of original props and costumes from the classic sci-fi show. I spent most of my time inside the magnificent Winter Gardens - an elaborate Victorian exhibition centre consisting of bars, ballrooms and theatres. The Formby fest was absolutely incredible. After joining the GF Society, I went into the Spanish Hall and the first thing I saw was a 'thrash', where anyone who wants to gets up and plays en masse. The standard of uke playing blew me away as most of the members (including a 10-year-old girl!) had pretty much mastered Formby's famous 'split stroke'. The members are some of the nicest people you could ever meet and I was lucky enough to be invited back to a hotel (thanks Laura) where some of them were staying and ended up jamming until 2:30am! On Sunday, they even let me play on stage at the Winter Gardens. I did 'Five Foot Two' and 'Our Sergeant Major'. One of the coolest things was meeting Dennis Taylor, a former GFS bigwig who actually featured my grandfather on his web site (check it out here: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dennis.taylor/Page_034_richard_maingot.htm). One of the best weekends I've ever had.