Graham Whitaker's stunning Hybrid GoldWing at the 2009 BLP - photo by Nigel Mackintosh

The Organisers of the Blackpool Illuminations GoldWing Light Parade, now in its eight year, have found a new Venue, which is to be announced on the BLP Website shortly.

It became necessary to find a new home when Pontin’s Blackpool Holiday Centre, where the Event had been based in recent years, suddenly closed down towards the end of the 2009, even before the end of the Illuminations Season.

Sometimes Fate takes charge with beneficial effect and so it is with this new BLP Venue, which the Organisers believe will offer considerable overall improvements.  Details of the Venue will be announced on the BLP Website within the next week or two – they are being delayed purely because the venue is not ready to accept booking just yet because of its close season.

In retrospect it can be seen that it was time for a change from Pontin’s anyway but it would have been difficult to make a decision to break away from Pontin’s withoput being pushed into it because it had suited us really quite well.  Although it was far from perfect, Pontin’s did have advantages of size, economy and location and was at least acceptable to most if not all Wingers.  The Pontin’s chalets were small and the mattresses inclined to be lumpy but the food was plentiful and there was a choice of basic dishes.

But for the 2009 BLP there were dead  zones in the PA system of the Stardust Lounge (which in retrospect Pontin’s were not maintaining any longer) so that in one quarter of the room the volumes were too low to hear the Comic properly.  Then there was a disastrous misunderstanding (by Pontin’s staff who did the booking) about the Band, which wasn’t a Rolling Stones Tribute Band at all and wouldn’t play at anything less than deafening volumes, far too loud for most of us.

Mustering the Parade within the privacy of the Pointin’s Site worked well and was a big improvement on the Cenotaph area, where crowds became a real problem.  But as ill luck would have it Blackpool Police suffered a communications  problem.  The Inspector who was supposed to brief the Traffic Officers on duty forgot and went on leave so instead of seeing us smoothly through the Squires Gate traffic lights as promised, they weren’t expecting us at all and took the initiative to stop a few bikes to nit pick about coloured lighting and by doing so broke up the Parade into several sections.

Happily this did not completely spoil our fun and the Police apologised (and promised to be more helpful this year) but these difficulties in 2009 did give us plenty to work on – which we promptly set about doing.  There were some positives, notably the new Parade Route which, setting the inadvertent police interference aside, was a considerable improvement. Riding one way in daylight and back again in darness worked well and gave us a broader as well as bigger audience.  Then the bombshell from Pontin’s; we would have to find a completely new accommodation venue.  There was some hope that the  former Pontin’s Site would be taken over by another operator but this is not going to happen and it is already being demolished, apparently in preparation for housing development.

So after a careful re-think and a thorough search, so it couldn’t be hurried, a new BLP Venue has been arranged.  And as in many situations when you are forced to have a major rethink, the result has turned out to look very positive.

For example one of the most irritating problems with Pontin’s was that year after year, whatever we did, it always seemed to be hard work for Wingers to make a reservation; the phone line would ring endlessly without being answered, the computer system wouldn’t work, completely incorrect prices would be quoted (famously £999 was quoted as a single supplement when it should have been £12) etc etc etc.

The new BLP Venue, on trial for 2010 but likely to be adopted for future years too if it works as well as we anticipate.  It has a completely different type of booking system which should work much better.  A real person will answer the phone during office hours, make your booking and take your deposit (only £25) all in one go.  But the booking system it does need to be up and running, which it won’t be for another few days because of the close season.

Hence the Organisers have decided, very sensibly, to delay naming the Venue or announcing the telephone number until that date.  Hopefully the Organisers will be able to decide whether to use the same venue for 2011 during this year’s Event, in which case you should be able to book for the following year before you leave!

There are many other ways in which the proprietors of the new venue are being helpful to meet the Event’s specific needs and it’s all very promising indeed.  A few compromises are necessary of course; the completely perfect venue doesn’t exist, but it’s all looking very good indeed.

To find out when the Venue will be named, to get the bookings number as soon as it’s released and to keep up with other developments, you should visit the BLP Website regularly.  There is already some additional information about the new Venue’s facilities on that Website so it’s worth a visit now, even if you will have to wait a little longer to make your booking.

In a clear statement of welcoming intent the Organisers have made it clear that GoldWing riders and their families/friends from all clubs are welcome – and indeed that there is no need for membership of any club at all.  Everyone will be equally welcome and everyone will pay the same.

GoldWing Clubs (including GWOCGB Regions) are also invited to parade their badges and banners and to publicise their events.  The Blackpool Illuminations GoldWing Light Parade, the original and the best will, as always, be a genuinely friendly and non-political Event.

It’s going to be a Great Weekend!