75th Blackpool DanceSport Festival: May 26th - June 2nd, 2000

"DEAR DIARY"...Adventures in Blackpool!

Tuesday, May 23nd, 2000

We just received a message last night from Editor, Anthony Sharratt of DanceActive Magazine that they will be helping us with results and photo coverage of the Blackpool Championships. DanceActive is the world's first sports magazine dedicated to Dance and will also have a stand at Blackpool this year. Anthony has a digital camera so we hope to get some great photos!

For anyone who has not been to Blackpool (or will be visiting for the first time), it is a seaside resort with amusements and souvenir shops. Some call it "charming", others call it "tacky" but every year, thousands of people from all over the world come here to see the beauty and glamour of DanceSport inside the Winter Gardens Ballroom (where all the competitions are held), as well as the smaller "Tower Ballroom" at Blackpool Tower (where dancers go to enjoy themselves for an evening of fun social and old tyme dancing).

This is the competition's 75th year. Champions have come and gone, but the ballroom itself has not changed much over time. The first time we visited, it was -- and continues to be -- very magical, especially with the opportunity to see top level dancing from morning until the late evening. In subsequent years, it was more than enough to arrive around 8:00 pm in the evening -- except when we had friends to cheer on and/or were in the earlier rounds of intense competition. Some say you need a holiday after Blackpool just to recover,and the early rising for breakfast is much a part of that as the late nights. Definitely agree as some of us are definitely NOT "morning people".

The weather is supposed to be nice in Blackpool this week -- but we won't let the forecast fool us! Most years it has been very cool, but some years (e.g., 1996) was quite hot. It's always handy to have a jacket and a sweater along to keep out the sea breezes, and an umberella too!!

While we're talking about things to pack, one should remember to bring facecloths and a big bar of soap. These are things that we always have to remember, as being in North America we are used to the many ammenities found in hotels here. In England, facecloths are considered "personal" items, and therefore are not provided by most Bed & Breakfast places. Soap is generally provided, but just in the little bars. So if anyone likes to lather up, they had better take their favourite brand of soap! Also we will need electric converters, as well as hairdryers, shavers, etc that have dual voltage. England uses 240 volts (as opposed to 120 volts in North America).

Oh yes, our passports ... :-))

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Please note that the Blackpool 2000 Videos will be released August/September 2000. You can now preorder in advance of the official release date to witness the beauty, glamour and excitement of Blackpool!

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