Is anyone going to Blackpool this year?

[JR Russell]

I am headed to my first ever Magic Convention and was curious to see who else is headed to Blackpool and what can I expect to see there? Thanks

[Richard Kaufman]

You can expect huge crowds (3,500 people), LOTS of magic, tons of great stuff in the dealer room (like Genii, and I hope you'll stop by my stand and subscribe! :) ), and lots of junk food.

[Jacky Kahan]

I'll be there....
and hope to see you both overthere...

c u
jacky
www.magicbooks.be

[Q. Kumber]

I read today that the Gala Show is sold out and the only registrations left are for dealers/lectures and other shows. It is extrordinary that each year they get more and more registrations.

[Guest]

Yo can still get the SILVER CARD registration for the price 45.00 (80 USD).

http://www.blackpoolmagic.com/

I was in Blackpool 2 years ago and it was a very good experience. This is problaby the best magic convention in the world. And, the city itself is magical. I also made lot of friends at the convention. Im lucky, I live in sweden and can fly to Prestwick for only 60 dollar out and return with www.Ryanair.com and then go by bus or train to the city of Blackpool.
I had a very affordable guest house: only 82 for five nights incl breakfast. Very simple but very clean and friendly :)

[Guest]

Blackpool Magical?

Hmmmmmmmmm

[Guest]

Originally posted by Silk:
Blackpool Magical?

Hmmmmmmmmm

Yes, the city is like an illusion.
Tricksters everywhere.

[Richard Kaufman]

I'd like to find a nice American style hotel room in Blackpool. I've been told you're lucky to find a room with a private bathroom!
The general accomodation is best described as lower-class boarding house circa 1920. The little TV in my room had a coat hanger in place of an antenna.

[Ian Kendall]

Try the guest houses across the street from the Ruskin - you'll usually get a bathroom of sorts (or at least a loo and a dodgy shower). And a lot cheaper as well...

But since the rooms are merely somewhere to collapse I'm not usually that fussy. (Although trying to squeeze six and a half odd feet into one of the beds is a challenge).

Take care, Ian

[Richard Kaufman]

But I AM staying in one of the guest houses across from the Ruskin: The Georgian!

[Guest]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
But I AM staying in one of the guest houses across from the Ruskin: The Georgian!

Looks cousy:
http://www.thegeorgianhotel.co.uk/

[Richard Kaufman]

Cosy?!
hahahahahahaha
How can you spell D-U-M-P!

[Guest]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
Cosy?!
hahahahahahaha
How can you spell D-U-M-P!

Richard,

He was close - he spelled cosy c-o-u-s-y. Just replace the C with an L and there you have it...

Best, PSC

[Ian Kendall]

The wonders of the Blackpool accomodation are understandably lost on those fortunate enought not to have experienced them. For the uninitiated; the average guest house in Blackpool is a converted terraced house, where every concievable room has been split into three to maximise the number of beds for sale.

Now the beds are another matter. I spent eleven years of boarding school on horsehair matresses two inches thick, and they were comfortable compared to the Blackpool bunk. Usually three inches shorter than whoever is trying to sleep, the springs, if there were any to begin with, have long since relinquished their powers, and have been replaced by strange lumpy objects that are more often found in a Douglas Adams novel. It's the real reason noone goes to bed before 3AM, you need to be absolutely exhausted to get to sleep.

The rooms themselves are, as already mentioned, pertitioned areas of a normal sized room. It's not uncommon to have a bed with slightly less than a foot of space around it before you get to the wall, brown window with useless curtains/bizarre oversized doiley attached, and the porthole to the bathroom, which will usually consist of a loo, possiblby working shower and a basin that has two temperatures of water - just thawed ice and about to boil hot. From the same tap.

Soundproofing is a novel concept that has not yet reached Lancashire (and I mean that as no slight on the Lancs - it's a statement of fact) and the nightly chorus is much better than any TV you may or may not have in your room, bolted to the wall just by the ceiling with the remote control from the room two doors down. It's gripping stuff, until you hear the first fight when it gets quite disturbing.

I've found the best way to survive breakfast is not to have it, at least not in the hotel. Many places now will give you a discount for room only - take this and get some less lethal food closer to town.

Every year I am reminded of a story I was told; an agent I worked through recalled the days when she was in Rep theatre (a touring company which lived in the guest houses of little Britain). One room she was booked into was decorated _entirely_ in Laura Ashley patterns (I'm not sure if you have Laura Ashley in the YooEss - it's very distinctive in a flowery sort of way). One evening Liz came back from the bar somewhat intoxicated, found her room and upon stumbling through the door realised that she couldn't see the bed, as it had blended in, chamelion like, with the wallpaper, carpet, curtains and table cloth. Only by walking forward a foot and tripping over the damn thing did she find it and managed to carry on.

Blackpool - the convention might be getting worse every year, it's crowded, noisey and expensive, but you wouldn't miss it for the world...

Take care, Ian

[Guest]

Its just a simple typo error.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
Cosy?!
hahahahahahaha
How can you spell D-U-M-P!

D-U-M-P! = Besserwisser

[Tom McDonagh]

The Hilton is sold out Saturday night. Sometimes they save rooms till the last minute for their Honors members. It's a modern business hotel. The Ruskin isn't a dump, although the rooms can be small. The room I had was so small you had to back in 'cause you coudn't turn around.
Cheers!
Tom

[Richard Kaufman]

I can never get a room at the Ruskin because they're always booked so long in advance.
I want a room that's walking distance from the convention center--don't want to have to fuss with a cab back and forth.
See you there!

[Q. Kumber]

I've stayed in the Ruskin and found it noisy and very small rooms. The Bed and Breakfast Hotels close to the convention centre are basic but efficient and comfortable.

After all, at a convention like Blackpool, the only time you're in your room is when you're asleep.

You can stay beside the convention centre for three nights Bed and Breakfast for the same price as one of the 'better but taxi fare away' hotels.

There's a great line up this year and I'll be sorry to miss some of the acts I wanted to see.

[Q. Kumber]

Blackpool has a small airport. The nearest international airport is Manchester. Trains go direct from Manchester Airport to Blackpool North (the nearest station to the convention centre).

Go to www.thetrainline.com for UK train schedules and pricing.

[Richard Kaufman]

Thanks, Quentin. I'm bypassing London altogether for the first time this year and flying straight in and out of Manchester.

[Guest]

Love the Camouflaged Bed anecdote, Ian.

Having stayed in many UK B&Bs, I can imagine the scene all too easily.

Dave

[Guest]

Anyone staying at the Gleneagle Hotel near Ruskin Hotel? Anyone has any idea how the it looks like? :confused:

Tony Ko
www.TonyKo.net

[Q. Kumber]

If you're travelling from outside the British Isles be warned we've been hit by a cold snap and there may be snow. Bring warm clothes!

[Guest]

A long shot. Is there anyone going to the Blackpool Convention on Friday tomorrow or Sat who could give me a lift. The guy who drives me to and from Brighton and Blackpool collapsed with exhaustion after a round of shows for school children. I have a cold and I don't fancy the terrible journey by train to and from Blackpool. Endless changes about a seven hour journey and cold platforms to wait on. Anyone with space who would like to give me a lift ... I will pay all the petrol for the round trip!
Many thanks, Martin
email: Martin@hanovercrescent.com

[Ian Kendall]

If you can make it to Edinburgh I've got a spare seat...

Good luck with your search!

Take care, Ian

[Guest]

Thanks Ian! That's kind of you. I think Edinburgh is further away than Blackpool! So I will rephrase my enquiry. Is there anyone going to Edinburgh so that I can get a lift from Ian?

I think that this year's Blackpool Convention is going to be a 'no go' for me and I will just have to survive on the memories of those 3499 other magicians who got there.

[Pete Biro]

My room was so small I had to put my clothes back into my suitcase to keep 'em from wrinkling. :D

[Guest]

Pete was very lucky. Last year my room was so small I had to leave my suitcase outside the door! The bar service in the lounge was great too. You ring a handbell and the barman gets out of bed, showers, dresses and comes up to serve you.
MB

[Guest]

The other year at Blackpool I returned to my hotel to find that the only bulb in the room had fused. Total darkness. So I went down to the reception, as the telephone had yet to reach said room, to report the failure.

The very senior lady on duty handed me a bulb. Ok, so I returned to the room to change it and found that the circuit breaker must have been triggered by the bulb's demise.

After reporting this, the same lady came to 'fix it'. This was achieved by poking the fuse box with the end of a mop still dripping with water!

I guess she must have been sick the day the did physics at school. Normally I would have offered to assist her. But self-preservation kicked in.

Blackpool: unintentional cabaret 24/7 with a side order of lard.