The Genii Forum

Anyone know if this is going ahead this year?

And, if it is, is there anyone here planning to attend?

I was toying with the idea of taking a trip down for the day...

Andrew

It is happening, i will be there (probably stood under a massive sign with my name printed on it) so say hello!

I wouldn't go near it. A super spreader for sure.

Thanks for the link Spellbinder - I had checked the site earlier.
Apart from the dates there is little other information, one link takes me back to 2021.
Thought I would check with the Genii ‘hive mind’.

Andrew

Tarotist wrote:I wouldn't go near it. A super spreader for sure.

Unfortunately that’s always been the case with Blackpool, Mark - the reason just changes from one year to the next.

Andrew

There has never been a pandemic before. I think they are jumping the gun and asking for trouble. Of course they seem to be much stricter in Canada than they are both in the US and Britain where this virus is concerned.

I've never been to Blackpool but the town looks depressing, a rundown tourist trap that died in 1938.

I used to live in Blackpool for many years. It is not for everybody--you either hate it or you love it. I loved it and in fact although I have lived in many places Blackpool was easily the best of them all. One of my better decisions was to move from London to Blackpool! Ten times better than Vegas!

What's not to like in Blackpool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zZ6LfpGmRk

Yes, it is happening this year. There's a load of information on their Facebook page if you look there.

Thanks Ian.

And Tom, I’ll drop by to say hello (assuming I get across the border without being picked off by snipers).

Andrew

Bob Farmer wrote:I've never been to Blackpool but the town looks depressing, a rundown tourist trap that died in 1938.

Earlier, I’d say. It always depresses me, even more so in Winter when the convention is held. In the years we went we could not find decent accommodation. We changed every year to no avail.

That said, it remains a popular resort.

Covid notwithstanding, I think all magicians should attend at least once. Assuming, of course, they’re within striking distance. It is something of a mind-blower.

I understand the Winter Gardens have undergone a bit of a transformation over the past year or so.

Bob Farmer wrote:I've never been to Blackpool but the town looks depressing, a rundown tourist trap that died in 1938.

That's really unfair......it was on life support until at least the early 1950's.

As Mark has alluded to above, I do think it's a place that you will either love or hate. To be fair, there has been a lot of ongoing investment by Blackpool Council to improve the Town; Millions of quid have been/are continuing to be spent to either add attractions, or simply tidy up the Promenade and Town Centre. Unfortunately, walk just a short way from the prom and you will see a lot of decay to the older streets, particularly around the oldest area of Blackpool - Foxhall and along Central Drive.

It is what it is - a seaside resort on the Irish Sea. February is generally going to be cold anywhere in the UK; and you'll get the added heavy wind and rain along any of the North West Coast.

Personally, I adore the old world charm of Blackpool and it holds so many happy memories. I wouldn't actually mind living there! I adore coastal walks and places with history and character. There are many decent-priced hotels, good places to eat, a number of pubs and lots of entertainment venues with some very good acts.

However, would I go there for a magic convention? Not a chance in hell. I really can't think of anything much worse than being surrounded by magicians for days on end. That really would be my absolute nightmare.

I really liked the Blackpool boardwalk scenes in Funny Bones. Were those authentic?

After going to Blackpool for the last thirty years, it >always< reminds me of this Chris de Burgh lyric (from Fatal Hesitation);

The cafes are all deserted, the streets are wet again.
There's nothing quite like an out of season holiday town in the rain.

Blackpool is very different in the Summer. Like chalk and cheese. Off season the locals are counting their money or lack of it that they have made from the lower working class holiday makers with their awful Coronation Street accents. They don't actually like the punters and half the time they don't even pretend to. Off season they are delighted to see the back of them. It reminds me of what I used to say to them after they purchased svengali decks from me. I would snarl, "OK, I've got your money! You can clear off now!". They used to think I was joking. They had no idea I meant every word of it!

There are hordes and hordes of people visiting the town and it has the longest summer season of any resort in Britain. The season ends at the very end of October. I don't know about nowadays but it had world class entertainment of every kind including the Blackpool Tower Circus. Inexpensive resort but of course it has to be with all the tight fisted Yorkshire people who infest the town in the Summer. Glaswegians are the biggest spenders. Posh people do not come to Blackpool for a holiday and neither do foreign tourists. I remember once glancing down the promenade once looking at all the people eating their hot dogs, and watch them spitting in the street thinking, "Oh my God! Here I am working to the dregs of the earth who are all walking about with my money in their pockets!"

Blackpool ain't boring that's for sure! I once went to Vegas and was bored out of my mind. All there seemed to be there was casinos and magic shows. Blackpool may be "depressing" but at least it is far more exciting than Vegas will ever be.

I devoted two chapters of my most worthy memoirs "The Lives of a Showman" to Blackpool. The titles of the chapters were:
"The University of Evil" and "More Evil at the University". Blackpool was the university I was referring to. I learned all my wicked ways there from lots of people even more wicked than me.

This thread has made me homesick. I am tempted to return.

Tarotist wrote:I wouldn't go near it. A super spreader for sure.

It appears that my psychic prediction was correct. I just saw a post on facebook by several people complaining that nobody was wearing a mask at Blackpool and not only were people without vaccinations attending so were people who actually had Covic. One guy said he was on a train to Blackpool and was thinking of turning back because of all this. And now I read on Facebook that one of the acts has it! Which one I don't know.

It is a bloody fiasco either way.