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Trip Report - Blackpool Bash 2010
The first coaster trip of the year is the clubs social event of the year, The legendary Blackpool Bash where members travelled from all over the UK in great weather and converged on the seaside town of Blackpool. Carnesky's Ghost Train had opened up especially for us so this weekend so a few of us started the weekend having a go. The Bash kicked off at 8PM in The Paradise Room when Andy opened the events with a few jokes followed by the tradition of getting Graham & Colleen on stage to take part in a dangerous stunt. This year Graham's hand was forced down onto a number of cups, underneath one of them was a sharp spike which he needed to avoid.
Alan was at hand with a first aid kit if Colleen chose the wrong cup for Graham! One by one the cups went and Graham survived without injury leaving the deadly cup to the end. Next up on stage was club member Rob Gaffney performing some of his magic tricks with the participation of clunmember Gareth Preece. This was followed by Bob Wooding who worked some great magic himself with a load of balloons making everything from The Pink Panther to a helicopter. The final act of the evening was comedian and actor Bobby Knutt who has starred in the UK's favourite soap's like Corrie and more recently Emmerdale Farm as Albert Dingle. During his act Matt decided to ring my phone which has a load ring tone and so Bobby couldn't resist making a few comments! This was a great finale to Friday's great lineup of talent. After the events there was time to chat with other members of the club before going back to our hotels for a few late night drinks and then off to bed in readiness for a day of riding coasters.
Up early on Saturday it was back to The Pleasure Beach. We were taken in the park via the side gate, some eager members had queued up at the main entrance expecting to get in first not realising we went into the park via the side gate before! We all went over to the Big One for our first ERS of the day, a dual ERS on The Big One & The Steeplechase. After the ERS's had finished members split up into their respective groups for some more riding. Lunch was provided in The Paradise Room where we could all view and purchase the clubs' latest merchandise including the new T-Shirt with the new club logo. We also took time to welcome all the first timers on the trip and took
a group photograph of them! Then it was back into the park for some more riding. Last year a lot of members got absolutely soaked in the new fountain attraction, one year on the public were not allowed in the fountain area during the shows, at least many members stayed dry! At 4PM The Grand National was closed to the public for our exclusive ride session. The park closed at 6PM giving us plenty of time to return to our hotels for a short time before the night time events and Coaster Crazy Show.
At 8PM everyone gathered in The Paradise Room for The Toga Party Themed Coaster Crazy Show. The show opened with Andy, Alan & Wendy dressed in Roman attire followed by Andy introducing the night ahead. Gary Williams was the first main act of the night performing "Shine" and this was followed by Ryan dressed up as one of the guys from the "Go Compare" advert, This led us into the first game of the night entitled Knockout where members came up onto stage and played the "Yes/No" game where they had to try and survive for a minute without saying "Yes" or "No" The top 3 winners were to progress to part 2 of the game later in the show. Next up was Libby Williams who performed "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend".
This was followed by our second game of the evening, the popular Kids Gopher Game where the kids are asked to retrieve an item from the audience. It's a version of musical chairs and the winner is the last one to sit down after the seats had been removed. The next act of the night was Kelly Cameron who performed "Oh What A Night" This was followed by the infamous Gong Show. David Bebbington was first up and survived. Dan Ould was next and hadn't prepared for his act and as a result forgot the words and he went straight "OFF!" Ashley Brown was next and then another short appearance, this time from Greg Spalding who dropped his only egg so it was OFF! with him. Ryan was next and he ended his act by chucking confetti into the audience. Brian Smith and his rock band were up next, not sure if they were playing music or attacking each other. The last act of the night was Nemesis Nick and to say it was awful was an understatement, because the audience was working Andy all night he made us all suffer and allowed Nick to complete his act. It was between Nemesis Nick and David Bebbington for the winner and David won, Next it was to see who the biggest loser was, this was between Dan & Brian and Brian won this title. Sarah "Nimmykins" Booker was next on stage performing "One Way Or Another" Next up was the last game of the show, Part 2 of Knockout where the 3 winners from Part 1 competed against each other, answering questions, get it wrong and get a load of coconuts,
get it right and give the coconuts to your opponents, the winner being the person that didn't drop any coconuts. Andy then thanked everyone and the show finished with Wendy Evans performing "Walk Like An Egyptian" They were joined by the rest of the Coaster Crazy Show's cast before the stage was lowered for an hour of dancing the night away. We were even treated to another performance from the famous Ukraine Krowd performing Danzing Lasha Tumbai. The night came to an end, another great nights entertainment all provided by members for members. After a short while we
all retired our hotels for some late night beverages before retiring for the night.Sunday started with an early breakfast in our hotel We all had to vacate our rooms before heading back to the Pleasure Beach where again we went into the park via the side gate and were taken to the Big Dipper for a combined ERS on the Big Dipper and a surprise coaster, most members thought this would have been on In Fusion but you know Andy, he always has something up his sleeve. It was an all wood ERS and the surprise coaster was the classic Roller Coaster, great choice. After the combined ERS the club events finished. Those that purchased a Sunday Wristband enjoyed a further day in the park. Some of us had a walk round Blackpool. We had a great weekend as usual and even the weather was great for us. Our next trip is a meet in the park event at Harbour Park in Littlehampton in May followed by the Summer Bash in June. See you all in a theme park soon.
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| Club Member Rob Gaffney's Magic | Bob Wooding's Balloon Show | Comedian & Actor Bobby Knutt | The Big One during our ERS | The Steeplechase during our ERS |
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| RCCGB First-Timers having a great time | Grand National ERS from the bridge just before the finish line | Grand National ERS at the lifthill | Grand National ERS | Andy, Alan & Wendy opening The Coaster Crazy Show |
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| Sarah "Nimmykins" Booker performing One Way Or Another | Wendy Evans performing Walk Like An Egyptian | Club Party | Big Dipper ERS | Roller Coaster ERS |
