Whoo hoo...just booked tickets for Oklahoma coming to the Blackpool Grand on 10th August. It's one of my favourite musicals

"West End star Marti Webb heads an all-round spectacular cast and her star quality seems to have rubbed off on the bright young talent around her. Mark Evans ticked all the right boxes as happy go-lucky-cowboy Curley. Vocally he was an absolute delight from the moment he opened the show with Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’. His love interest Laurey – played by Gemma Sutton – had an exquisite voice too. The sets, the costumes, and the fabulously choreographed dance routines – especially Laurey’s breathtaking ensemble dream scene, rival any West End show. Be sure not to miss it!" Daily Echo – Bournemouth

Blackpool Cycles For Hire
If you're feeling a little more energetic we'd like to let you know about a new service we can arrange: Blackpool Cycle Rentals. We are an accommodation partner with BCR and can arrange for your bicycles to be dropped off and stored with us. You can then take advantage of the new cycle lanes to Stanley Park and along the promenade to Cleveleys, Fleetwood and beyond. Blackpool is low lying and flat and cycling is the perfect way to see all the resort and surrounding areas. Click here for more information

Blackpool FC Fixture List
The fixtures are out - if your team is playing at Blackpool this coming season please check this page for the fixtures and then you can check availability. We'd love it if you cam to stay with us though we'd reserve the right to shout for the Seasiders!!!

Blackpool FC Fixtures here

We Have a Grand-Daughter!!
Dan and Carla had a baby GIRL!!! (Whooooo Hooooo!!!!!) on Thursday night. 8lb 3oz...so a bit of a whopper... All is well and as you can see she's a beauty. Another one for the Smith Clan Expect a few piccies later next week.

Canasta Scrapbook!!
I guess I should be keeping my personal stuff away from this page as most viewers here will want to know what's new at the hotel. OK...so I created a scrapbook where I can post more personal stuff for friends and family to mull over.
Canasta Scrapbook here

One of my first posts to it is about the Smoke Art I recently had a bash at. I got this new all singing all dancing camera and it can take some great shots (in the right hands) and I'm quite pleased at the results I'm getting.
Smoke Art page here

Lenny's First Day at School!!
Awww.....HE LOVED IT!!!!

Some piccies here.....

I have a new hobby...photography. It's a steep learning curve trying to understand what apertures, f-stops and ISO's are but I'm getting there and beginning to get some really nice shots. Guinea Pigs required!! If you are staying with us midweek and want a portrait doing...let me have a go....no charge....if I have the time it will be extra practice for me!!

Another Great Party
Happy New Year everybody!! Anyone got any piccies? Please email them to me

Christmas in the Lakes

Went to the Lake District again for Christmas...it was awesome this year as everywhere was covered in a foot of snow!!! (I'm sooo glad I didn't sell my 4x4!!) The family joined us on Xmas Eve and Xmas Day and....we had a GREAT time! (videos coming soon)

Pictures here

The Kids Go Toboganning video here (Broadband and Flash required)

Back from Thailand....awesome time

Urm....Mandy did seem to be "conversing with the animals" a bit...so much so that I was calling her "Doolittle" by the second week. And, yes, there are a lot of boats. I was captivated by the colours of them all. Anyway....it was definitely one of the best holidays we've had...

Mandy (aka Dr Doolittle) feeds a few tigers in this video (flash and broadband required)

and here are some of my favourite pictures... (Flash Macromedia required)

and here is a view from our balcony where we had breakfast every morning (flash and broadband required)

Whoo hoo...another season done
Just asked Dan to do the honours and turn the vacancy sign around for the last time this year - signifying no more vacancies for the rest of the year. We're completely full now until 1st November and then we close....off on our holidays on the 5th (countdown here)
So thanks to all our guests, old and new, for getting us through our 8th year and we hope to see you in 2010.
Now taking bookings.

Anybody booking for the weekend ending 10th October 2010 you get 10% discount. It does of course mean that you'll be with us at Ten to Ten on the 10th of the 10th ....twenty Ten Discount code: Cowboy Time

hmm....what about ten passed eight on the 20th October ...OK..we'll give you 20% discount for that one if you can explain the significance

Long Haul from Gatwick?

Its nice and quiet midweek...
...and too be honest we like it like that - weekends are hectic enough. Anyway...gives me chance to work on a few more websites. Today Koh Samui hotels was born

Another shameless plug...
Just another domain I'm putting to work in my spare time and am listing it here to give it a "Google boost". Anybody need a hotel in Llandudno. Also Cheap London hotels continues to grow.

Illuminations Switch On
Hasn't it come round quick again!! The Lights get switched on tonight.
WHAT A LINE UP OF STARS!!!!
More info here

Paris Hotel Directory
Another hotel site goes live...anybody going to Paris check this one out

Paris Hotels

Blackpool Marathon 2010
Just took a booking for the Blackpool Marathon 2010 - which seems to be getting bigger and more popular each year. May as well do a page promoting it here....Blackpool Marathon 2010

Portugal Flights
Another domain I never did anything with goes live today. Portugal Flights.com is a one way landing page which pushes viewers through to wegolo....who in turn will search over 75 low cost airlines to get you the cheapest airfares.

Ireland Hotels
Just found an old domain that I've had for a few years and not done anything with...a few clicks here and a few clicks there...and www. Ireland Hotels .co.uk is born.

Hotel For Sale!
Don't panic...it may take 3 years to sell!!! AND of course we'll still be looking after guest 100% until the day we move out. We just fancy trying something completely different...before we get too old to be able to do that!!

Details here...

London Hotel.com
Not much to report at the Canasta - its been a slow start to the season and after major expense of the new fire alarm system we could have done with Blackpool being a little busier. BUT...advance bookings are really healthy.
Time for a bit of search engine plugging...I've been working on one of my other domains whilst its quiet - it was in dire need of a re-design...but its ready now. Anybody going to London to catch a show or just for a few chill out days...please check out one of my other business domains www. London Hotel .com

There's still a lot to add to it but the backbone is there now and its looking good...even if I do say so myself :)

Hotels in London

New Pics

Started taking some new 360 shots of the hotel. I REALLY need to practice internal shots as the exposure is all out of whack...and they're VERY grainy (Any photographers please give me some advice for a Nikon D80)

Virtual Tour Pics here..

Quick Trip to Paris

Swamps bought me a trip to Paris for my 50th Birthday. We've been many times and I loved it (so thanks for that Swamps). Saw all the sights but the best part was just lazing on the banks of the Seine with a bottle of Merlot in the afternoon. Night time was expensive...£26 for two vodka and Cokes!!!

Some of the best pics are here...

...and a 360 panoramic shot on the bank of the River Seine outside Notre Dame can be found here. It's a bit over exposed but you should be able to spot the drunk on the bench with the bottle of wine ...

Related: Visit Blackpool (Blackpool Tourism) have a great new promotional video here

Spend Spend Spend!!

Well..Swampy decided we needed new bedding for all the rooms....and her decision just cost me £5000 !!
BUT...it is nice!! We ordered 60 Duvet covers, 120 pillow cases and 120 sheets from King of Cotton. Their sales blurb goes like this: "Simple and stylish, this self stripe design (1cm. wide) will enhance the look of your rooms for years to come. Made from Luxury Egyptian cotton Percale with a superior high thread count of 600 Threads per square inch."
"Whoo Hoo!!" I shouted as I looked at the invoice, "600 threads per inch...I hope our guests appreciate it." And..as I took another glimpse of the invoice total....Ko Samui looked a long way away....I hope the exchange rate with the Baht improves.
They will look nice as we get around to changing all the bedding over the next few days...the down side is...I got to take new pictures of 30 bedrooms now!! So....thanks for that Swamps!!

Just Booked Our Holidays!!

Going back to Thailand in November.
The countdown is here...

Fanatical About Film?

We're giving away FREE ODEON TICKETS !!!
(restrictions apply)

TOWERING INFERNO

Yates Wine Lodge set alight by suspected arsonist
More Details here...

A Bit of Culture in Prague!

Always wanted to go to Prague so flew over on Thursday for a short stay. Its a wonderful city - the architecture is beautiful. Mandy's not into concerts, castles and culture so I was Wilhelm Nein Maten (that's Czech for Billy No Mates). I went to 3 concerts...Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue, Vivaldi's Four Seasons and a bit of Mozart which were all fantastic and the highlight of my trip. (I included Rhapsody in Blue on the pictures page..you may need to allow the ActiveX control to play it)

The food was fantastic...plenty of pheasant and duck...my faves!! The Czech wine aint half bad either...had a bottle or three from the vineyard attached to Prague Castle - delish!!

Took my new camera and had fun trying to get to grips with all the buttons!!
So....in case you're interested...here are the pictures

...and here are some panoramic shots

Ouch ....my head!

Another great party - thanks EVERYBODY for coming and Swamps and I would like to wish you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. There's a 5 page comic here that just about sums it up ADULTS ONLY!!

REMINDER (copied in the guestbook) - send me your pics and videos asap please!!!

Pics are here...
and the videos will be coming real soon
Here's one of Jimmy (Chubby) and Lynne (Petula Clarke)
and Colin taking us out of 2008 with Broonie bringing us into 2009!

Just Back from a Week in the Lakes
Swamps and I went with Andy, Gail, Bomber and Mr Bojangles and stayed at a cottage in the middle of nowhere (well it was about 8 miles from Keswick). It was BLISS!!! We had a great chilling out time, plenty of urm...Xmas spirit...and even went for a hike on Xmas Day around Tarn Hows (BEAUTIFUL!!)
Thanks Andy and Gail for joining us...we really enjoyed it and would love to do it again next year

A few piccies here....
A very shaky video here....
..and just messing about here...
...the trailer for Swampy's new movie can be seen here

Decorators in...
The decorators are in doing the dining room....not a lot to do so I thought I'd do some work on Mandy's forthcoming movie. You can see the trailer for it at www.swampduck.com
[turn your volume up real high!!]

Pottering about...again
Hotel Reception Desk website was in dire need of a makeover..so thats what I've been doing this week. Looks much better. Its nothing to do with the Canasta...just a little sideline I have...fingers in pies and all that

Hotel Reception Desk software site here

Pottering about...
Well..we're having a nice time just chilling out and doing ...not much...apart from decorating the dining room...spring cleaning the rooms.

Also busy redesigning some of my other sites. May as well list them here to help Google find them
Local florist site - fresh flowers delivered next day...thats at www.bunch.co.uk

David, one of my staff at www.bestdesigns.co.uk made a neat little script that produces a page for every county and town in England. [Note to self...need to add Scotland and Wales next]

Pics and vids here (for those that like to see what we're up to)

It's COOL to stay at the Canasta!!!
Just spent five grand installing air conditioning in the sun lounge....so our Karaoke Nights are guaranteed to be the COOLEST in town!!! (sorry...couldn't resist)

Jenny (Gary's girlfriend) did the Walk For Life last weekend. 13 miles of it!!!
Piccy here

Saturday was our anniversary...37 years. Not married (...thats only 29 years) ...since the day I asked her to go out with me. I was 12...I cornered her on Clevedon Road (not far from here)...and said "Will you go out with my brother?". She said, "No....but I'll go out with you!!" ...and that was that. So thanks Swamps for 37 years.....and I'll look forward to getting old and crinkly with you!!! Thanks to everybody who shared our fun over the weekend - and especially BIG THANKS to Andy (the nutter) and Tom Tom G100 !!!

Top firework companies from around the globe will be invited to stage pyrotechnical displays, bringing an International flavour to Central Promenade during the opening weeks of Blackpool’s World Famous Illuminations season.
To out-shine their opponents, entrants must demonstrate cutting edge pyro-musical design with a display that represents the style or traditions of their country. Each competing company will launch fireworks particular to their homeland and showcase their own pyrotechnical expertise, to win the public vote.
Build up will commence around 7.30pm Fireworks from approximately 8.30pm All displays subject to suitable weather conditions

Piccies here (weather permitting)

Here are some "Stigisms"

A great night was had by all...

Piccies here

Pictures on his own website!!

Details here

Click here for the piccies...

and the snippets from the cutting room floor can be seen here (videos)

Click here for booking your Blackpool Tower Circus Tickets

Pictures here

Video here

Full Details here

We had a GREAT time in Thailand again. This year we went to Phuket for 16 nights. A WILD time was had by all !!

Kim Amess in Uptown Girl [Broadband required]
Kim...£50 and I'll delete it !!!

Here's a snippet of Terry's Phuket Golf Academy

...and another of Terry, Eddie and I smashing three balls down the fairway

All our pics here......
We know some of you like to look at these....

and
Trev & Joy's pics here...

Not forgetting Lady Daniels of Strathdon....

Piccies can be viewed here

Fancied something different to the normal Italian and Chinese last night and paid a visit to Kwizeen. We've been a couple of times and always had a top notch meal but last night I was especially impressed so we'll be recommending this restaurant to our guests in the future who want something a little bit different to steak and chips. Last night I had Lytham Wood Pigeon, Birchwood Strawberries and Pepper Sauce as a starter - it was REALLY REALLY nice. The Lancashire Tea Smoked Goosnargh Duck Breast in Liquorice Sauce as a main meal was also delicious and something a little different. You can view the full menu here. We think it's a great Bistro offering something a little bit different.
www.kwizeen.co.uk

After 6 years of those Mighty Big Breakfasts regular guests and friends will know that they've taken their toll on my tum (Mandy: ...and your bum's a bit big too!)
So...I decided to get myself a personal trainer and start working out a bit. The upshot is I'm losing weight and feel MUCH BETTER!! Julie has helped me so much I'm building her a website - you can view its progress here

I hope I keep the training up ....the exercise really does make me feel better

Shameless plug to help search engines find the site:-
Blackpool and Fylde Personal Fitness Trainer

Ouch.....my head still hurts!!
Phew...what a weekend. Gail and Andy came down again to celebrate her 40th. Friends, Colin and Anne, Lee n Gill, Ces n Cath, Allan and Pauline, Mr Pastry, Maggie and the boys, Phil and Colleen, Jimmy and Dianne, Eddie & Lisa, Kim & Hils, Paul & Jeanette and many more came also to ensure it went off with a BANG!!!
Thanks everybody for making it a GREAT WEEKEND!!!
Piccies here

We've joined forces with Ticketmaster and can now offer tickets for all the shows at the Blackpool Opera House. There's some great shows this season including:- Roy Chubby Brown, One Night of Queen, G4, Hits Reloaded, One Night of Elvis, The Meat Loaf Trilogy, Summertime Special, Russell Brand, Blondie, Cannon and Ball's Comedy Bonanza, Chicago, Jimmy Carr and many more....

More info and links here...

Advance bookings are phenomenal this year (which is strange as the early part of the season is REALLY quiet...) ....so BOOK EARLY for high season!!!

Sat twiddling my thumbs...waiting for Easter when it all starts to get busy for the season I thought I'd put together a page for our Extra Terrestrial guests.
If you are from another planet (and occasionally we get guests who we think are!!) then please click here for directions

I know...I'm sad...but I'm running out of ideas for extra pages...

Thanks for all the pressies guys!!!
Loved the wine - thanks Terry and Lesley and Trev and Joy and Eddie and Lisa!!
and look at the one Andy and Gail got me!!!!

Just back from a great two days with Andy, Terry and Davey in Burntisland. On the Tuesday we played GLENEAGLES Centenary Course.....it was awesome!!!!!!!!

Well ...we had to test it out prior to the Ryder Cup being played there in 2014. Terry pointed out to the greenkeeper that "the Par 3's would need toughening up a bit but apart from that it was a good test" (urm..without actually hitting a green)

Andy won the new trophy - he played the round of his life - I was so envious!!! So...well done Big Yin!! It was nice to meet Davey and hope he can make it for Gails Bash in May.

Pictures and video here...