Lessons from Queen of the South

I asked the barmaid at Blackpool’s award-winning micro-pub, the Number 10 Ale House, where she went for an evening out.

Jess’s eyes widened in surprise, before she said, “Where else, South Shore of course!”

The lively barmaid adores its diverse entertainment spots, while also being a loyal patron of local beauty and tattoo parlours.

How times change! When I returned to Blackpool in the 80s, the Gazette accommodated me above a Bond Street newsagent’s. Unfortunately, it was after the season finished and most of South Shore closed – for the locals’ own holidays in Spain. My first night in this then run-down area, I visited a pub in York Street. It was aptly named The Gauntlet, now also closed, but after a tired pie I left immediately – when a fight broke out.

More recently, we’ve enjoyed restaurants and café bars around Highfield Road, but Jess can’t get enough of South Shore’s bright lights. She exudes the holiday-coast spirit and believes in having fun.

“Forget ‘Dry January’,” she encouraged a moping customer last month. “it’s too cold and miserable as it is! New year resolutions are better left ‘til later.”

Thankfully, her appetite for life shows no sign of flagging. “I enjoyed a bacon barm for lunch” she confessed the other day, “but fancied a cake to finish. Unfortunately, they only had family-sized. Still, I only ate half of it.”

May kindly Jess long enjoy having her cake and eating it. With an all-year tan and matching sunny disposition, ready smile and vivacious style, she’s a cheery champion for this holiday coast.

What’s more, have you heard which town offers the freshest air in England? Yes, it’s official – South Shore, of course.

* Roy’s books are on Kindle or paperbacks at royedmonds-blackpool.com.