An unscheduled holiday - day 1 and a quarter

---

Today is a sort of 'slow news day' which probably sums up most days in Lytham St Annes (LSA). Breakfast turned out to be surprisingly good with plenty of choices on the menu. I started with Banana and Maple Syrup porridge and followed it up with the full English - bacon (two rashers) fried eggs (two) black pudding, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread. All washed down with orange juice and tea. A jolly good start to the day which meant I didn't need topping up until late in the afternoon.

Free car parking is at a premium in LSA. I had parked on the visitors car park across the road from my hotel, which is free between 6pm and 9am, but that meant I either had to pay from 9am or move it. I elected to move it and drove the couple of miles down the road to Fairhaven and at the somewhat early hour of 9.10am was walking (slowly) around Fairhaven Lake and reading about the Lytham St Annes Spitfire, half the cost of which was raised by the twin boroughs in 1941. The one on display is not the one they bought though, that was lost in the sea in 1942. This is a replica and they are quite a lot bigger than you imagine, having really only seen them close to from a distance at airshows. The downside to this is of course that it's jolly cold at this time of year with an arctic breeze coming off the sea, so 45 minutes later I was back in my car and heading for St Annes.

One thing I realised almost as soon as I got to Lytham yesterday, was that I'd forgotten to bring my camera with me. I packed the charger but forgot the camera! And that was nagging at me. I seriously considered popping back home to collect it, a two-hour round trip of some 95 miles, but after debating it at length with myself, I decided against it. There is a camera function on my tablet, but that stopped working some months ago and try as I might, removing and reinstalling it, it would not work. No problem you are all shouting - just use the camera on your phone! Yes, but I'm a bit of a Luddite. My phone makes calls, does texts and very little else!

So, you will just get a verbal picture here, any photos which do appear will have been downloaded either from the net or from my Flickr photostream.

I only spent a short time in St Annes before heading back to Lytham and a slow walk around the town, spending at least some time in each of the many charity shops there before spotting what looked to be an inviting pub. I was not disappointed and was soon luxuriating in the warmth of the surroundings and quaffing a pint of Christmas Ale, called 'Blitzen'. After that it was back to the hotel for a nap before deciding where to go for an evening meal. In the event, I decided that I'd done enough walking for the day and patronised the hotel restaurant/bar. That was a genteel enough affair, except for one chap who insisted on bringing his donkey sized German Shepherd to each table to make conversation. As it turned out, he must have decided that I was an unsociable type as he gave me a wide berth. The very thought!

---