How Harriette Got Straightened Out and Harry Saw The Light(s).

September 24th: Time to go back to the caravan / camping store in Preston where we bought the awning (Harriette) and see what could be done about the bent poles. (See Chapter 11, Part One). Armed with 2 sheets of photos we went in without much hope, but we were pleased to see the lady salesperson who had advised us on our first visit. Not to go into too much detail, we came away with a refund for the item supplied which we hadn’t wanted – and a new set of poles! (That lady understands PR.) Of course, we spent another £50 while we were there, and we’ll go again, neither of which would have been the case if she’d been less sympathetic.

So then we decided to hit Blackpool! A bit disappointed to find that the Pleasure Beach was already closed when we arrived just after seven, but the illuminations came to life (or light) at exactly seven-thirty, and we decided to ‘do’ the lights by van, instead of the ‘usual’ tram ride.

 Not a bad plan, really, except that it’s very slow and the 1 hour of crawling at walking pace or less is hard work on the clutch and the left leg controlling it! But the lights are well seen, having the view down the centre of the display, rather than the side where the tramway is, and there’s plenty of time to take in the big tableaux at the Bispham end. Carol’s attempts to capture some shots on her phone camera weren’t entirely successful, but here are a few samples:

 

We completed the evening with the traditional Fish N Chips supper, but ate it in the van, not on the pavement. The drive home then took nearly two hours.