Is there a greater British stereotype than an afternoon spent sipping tea, eating scones and enjoying a spot of ballroom dancing by the seaside? Probably not. A couple of weeks ago I finally had a long overdue meet-up with Lily, who blogs at JoliHouse. One of my favourite things about blogging is that you cross paths (virtually and physically) with so many lovely people. Lily is one of those people. And afternoon tea was the perfect opportunity to finally catch-up.
Too often I forget that my hometown can be pretty cool. Despite all the 'kiss me quick' hats, stag parties and pound shops. Sometimes you've just got to open your eyes and see the beauty within the place. Because when you think about it, with the tower, 3 piers and a theme park all on the seafront, Blackpool is actually an alright place to be.
We kick-started our day with a touristy walk along the comedy carpet. It had some questionable jokes. Some made us laugh out loud whilst others left us feeling perplexed or even a little bit grossed out. But it was a rare blue-sky day in Blackpool which means it was a golden blogger opportunity to snap some photos in the natural light. Looking up at the Tower, It was kind of weird to think that we would be having a classy afternoon tea in the giant steel structure. With the tower's beautiful Victorian architecture, it's iconic history runs deep through it's steel bones.
A sea of mahogany, oak and walnut, the Blackpool tower ballroom is a pretty grand place to have a spot of afternoon tea. I can't remember the last time I visited the Tower. When somewhere is your hometown you really do take all those touristy quirks for granted. With my hand on my heart, the tower ballroom really is a diamond in the rough.
We spent the afternoon laughing, sharing stories and stuffing our faces. If you ask me, it was a Saturday well spent. The afternoon tea was a little selection of sandwiches, scones complete with clotted cream and jam and some deliciously sweet fruit tarts to finish it off. All washed down with a pot of tea.
Sitting at the sidelines of the dancefloor, it was as though we'd taken a step back in time. Kicking back with a cup of tea we had ballroom dancers as our backdrop and a Wurlitzer as our soundtrack. We were truly amazed by the talent of the dancers. It's heartwarming that these couples just pop along to the ballroom and dance for fun. Some of them are competitive dancers and probably use these sessions to get some practice in, where as others are there merely for the fun of it. Either way, I was blown away by all of them. It's so sweet to watch and I genuinely fear that in 50 years time our generation's version of a ballroom dance will be choreographed twerking, slut-dropping and grinding...now that is a frightening thought.
We watched the dancers in amazement, proclaiming that they are definite #futuregoals. Watching the couples dancing melted my heart. When I'm in my 70s I definitely want to be rocking a Cinderella-esque ballgown and showing off what great shape I'm in whilst dancing away the day with my partner on a casual Saturday afternoon. Either that, or I want to be like my own Grandma...70 years old, bleach blonde hair, golden tan, swearing like a sailor and drinking like one too.
Honestly though, thinking about the future scares the living hell out of me. I have no idea where I'm going to be in 50 years. Gosh, I don't even know where I'm going to be in 2 weeks. For now, I'll just enjoy the present. Especially if that involves drinking tea in good company and watching in amazement as the older generation wow us with their spectacular dance moves.
After we'd drank tea and eaten sweet treats to our heart's content, we had a slow wander along the prom before Lily headed back to the station. We stumbled across a shirtless guy playing drums on the prom, with a fancy dress clad stag-party lad joining him on harmonica. Honestly, these sights are so common in this town that I barely bat an eyelash anymore. But to see their carefree spirit as they provide laughter and smiles to everyone that passes by is another one of those quirks that you've got to love about this town.
We spent the afternoon laughing, sharing stories and stuffing our faces. If you ask me, it was a Saturday well spent. The afternoon tea was a little selection of sandwiches, scones complete with clotted cream and jam and some deliciously sweet fruit tarts to finish it off. All washed down with a pot of tea.
Sitting at the sidelines of the dancefloor, it was as though we'd taken a step back in time. Kicking back with a cup of tea we had ballroom dancers as our backdrop and a Wurlitzer as our soundtrack. We were truly amazed by the talent of the dancers. It's heartwarming that these couples just pop along to the ballroom and dance for fun. Some of them are competitive dancers and probably use these sessions to get some practice in, where as others are there merely for the fun of it. Either way, I was blown away by all of them. It's so sweet to watch and I genuinely fear that in 50 years time our generation's version of a ballroom dance will be choreographed twerking, slut-dropping and grinding...now that is a frightening thought.
We watched the dancers in amazement, proclaiming that they are definite #futuregoals. Watching the couples dancing melted my heart. When I'm in my 70s I definitely want to be rocking a Cinderella-esque ballgown and showing off what great shape I'm in whilst dancing away the day with my partner on a casual Saturday afternoon. Either that, or I want to be like my own Grandma...70 years old, bleach blonde hair, golden tan, swearing like a sailor and drinking like one too.
Honestly though, thinking about the future scares the living hell out of me. I have no idea where I'm going to be in 50 years. Gosh, I don't even know where I'm going to be in 2 weeks. For now, I'll just enjoy the present. Especially if that involves drinking tea in good company and watching in amazement as the older generation wow us with their spectacular dance moves.
After we'd drank tea and eaten sweet treats to our heart's content, we had a slow wander along the prom before Lily headed back to the station. We stumbled across a shirtless guy playing drums on the prom, with a fancy dress clad stag-party lad joining him on harmonica. Honestly, these sights are so common in this town that I barely bat an eyelash anymore. But to see their carefree spirit as they provide laughter and smiles to everyone that passes by is another one of those quirks that you've got to love about this town.
lovely blog post! Ballroom dancing is so pleasant to watch, it's such a shame how times change and when they were younger it was the norm to take your love dancing instead of to some tacky club!
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