Lights and ships...

“Booklover” from Huston send me the following question.

I never been to UK, but when I read about the illuminations it sounds crazy. Are they really that crazy? Why did you choose Blackpool?

Believe me, they are. My husband and I had a long weekend in Blackpool some years ago and let’s just say that Blackpool makes Las Vegas feel stylish and elegant. And like Las Vegas it has an Eiffel tower in miniature size.

Here you can see some pictures. The first one is the welcome sign at night, with the spaceship and the green aliens. Then we have a daytime photo with a strange display of farm animals. Believe me; they don’t look better at night.  The displays hang over the street, from the light posts, and then there are side areas with tableaux displaying different stories, and “other” things.

When Unexpected Journeys went to the editor, she told me to elaborate on the illumination passage since the “spaceship” made her lose focus. I can understand that, so I did.

Why did I choose Blackpool? It’s difficult to give an answer without spoilers, so this might sound cryptic. I needed a place where Greg could have lost control and do things out of the ordinary. It couldn’t be London or Oxford, since that was his home. It had to be a place where he normally wouldn’t go to and the settings had to be crazy. Since it had to be in the UK I thought about Blackpool, I don’t believe that you can find a more hilarious place in England. That’s why I choose Blackpool.

Tags: Unexpected JourneysQ&A