Friday, July 5

Jim prepared an excellent British breakfast: eggs, bacon, mushrooms, and cooked tomatoes. He usually does this when we visit and we love it. After some nattering, we decided we should drive over to Blackpool. It was a beautiful day with the temperatures again in the 60's, blue skies, and gentle breezes. It just took a little over an hour to get there. We parked and walked down the boardwalk, just like we did about 20 years ago. But, then it was very hot; today it was just really nice and they have cleaned up the beach area. In search of a toilet, Jim led us into a very large, 5 level auditorium with an Eiffel tower-like structure on top of it. We discovered ballroom dancing couples practicing on the very large dance floor to the music of live Wurlitizer organ music. The huge room had a 7 story glass ceiling with very ornate carvings all around and surrounding balconies on all 5 levels.It was probably built in the 1920's.

 

We walked out to the end of the city pier for a coffee and listened to another Wurlitizer player. I even danced one piece with my wife. It was the highlight of her day.

 

On  our way out of town, Jim and Jill guided us to a favorite fish and chips restaurant. We all had the fish and mushy peas but only water to drink. The Banisters' habit is to eat separately from drinking. To return to Burnley, we decided to take the scenic way. So, we ran into Friday rush hour traffic. Later, when I said I would really like a bitter, Jill remembered a pub nearby that they had been to before in Ribchester. It was a full restaurant and inn. We sat outside to enjoy the gorgeous afternoon and Jim and I, we both agreed, it was the best bitter we had ever had.It was darker than usual and very tasty.

 

We ended our trip with a visit to the local Tesco grocery store. We picked up a few things we knew we could use at the timeshare in Scotland where we would be tomorrow. Back at the house,  we watched the Wimbledon semi-finals with Andy Murray beating Janiswicz.