When people think of Blackpool they think about fish and chips, lounging about on the beach at the seaside, donkey rides and maybe slot machines. What many do not realise is the link the town has with those that love Sci Fi and that collect artefacts and publications to do with the subject.
Here in South Shore Blackpool there is Thunderbooks which trades as Star Trader and describe themselves as one of the United Kingdom’s longest-established online resources for cult television memorabilia [especially from Gerry Anderson's legendary productions], movies, comics and other collectibles.
Thunderbooks is at 332, Lytham Road, South Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1DW
The shop which fronts onto Lytham Rd just round the corner from Blackpool South Station and Moorbank House has been there since 1986 and is now seen as one of the Worlds best resources for sci fi comic collectors from classics such as Blakes 7, Dr Who and all the various Star Trek releases from the classic 60′s series to the Enterprise which was the last made by Paramount.
Also in South Shore we are lucky enough to have a Collectables Model Shop which is just around the corner nestling between the cafe’s and restaurants of Bond Street. This particular shop specialises in toy action figures from Sci Fi series such as Dr Who and Star Wars. It is certainly the only place in the world I have seen with a huge model of the Millennium Falcon in its front window. Seriously if there is a hard to obtain comic you are after too complete a collection or indeed a model of one of the Star Wars, Dr Who or Buffy the Vampire slayer characters amongst many others then one of these two outlets are probably worth a call. They also operate a mail order service for those that are not within easy reach of Blackpool.
I Collectables on Bond Street Blackpool may have the item you are looking for.
Venturing further afield from South Shore and located in a prime position on the promenade between Central Pier and Blackpool Tower lies the famous Dr Who exhibition.
Blackpool has been the home of Doctor Who before but can now boast the most extensive collection of Doctor Who programme exhibits ever.
The collection charts over four decades of this famous BBC science fiction drama series from it’s start in the 1960′s to present day. Many of the Doctor’s famous enemies appear in all their glory including the Cybermen, Daleks, the Yeti, Ice Warrior, Silurian, Davros and many more right up to the present day.
The Dr Who Exhition is Situated on the Promenade between Central Pier and Blackpool Tower
In the pedestrian precinct lodged between Blackpool Tower and Winter Gardens we have the Who Shop who describe themselves as the very best place to find the very best in fantasy, science fiction, TV and movie goodies featuring all your favourite names. Whether you’re into time travellers, superheroes, pirates or vampire hunters, you’ll find your favourite characters here.
Available on Amazon
The Who shop which is becoming to be seen as the UK authority on all merchandise Dr Who also from time to time has former Doctors on-site to publicise particular merchandise or indeed there own literary work. Last Saturday 15th May was such an event when Colin Baker was invited down to promote his new book Look Who’s Talking.
Alongside him at the book promotion was an aspiring young author new to the Sci Fi scene Ruth Wheeler. Ruth was promoting her own literary work ‘All Aliens Like Burgers’ .
This is Ruth’s first published work and is available on Amazon who describe the synopsis as:
Young, polite and intelligent Tom Bowler has barely ever ventured out of the small English town where he grew up. So when he applies for a job in a fast food restaurant at a local service station during his gap year he is rather surprised to discover that the vacancy is in fact based on Truxxe, a planetoid stationed between local galaxies Triangulum and Andromeda. He s surprised further still to find himself becoming friends with a purple alien and that he has strange feelings for his android supervisor, Miss Lola. Tom soon discovers that Truxxe has many hidden secrets – just what makes it so special? And why is its terrain so rich and varied that it can be used for fuelling such a diverse variety of intergalactic spacecraft? What are the Glorbian space pirate brothers Schlomm and Hannond plotting? And just what is it that they put in those burgers?
Ruth stayed at Moorbank House for the weekend she was here and managed to combine a little work with pleasure. It was a quirk of social networking and the world that is twitter that brought her here in the first place and we hope she enjoyed her stay.
Her book is available on Amazon here and should be an engrossing read for those interested in the subject.
All Aliens Like Burgers Available at Amazon
