HOLIDAYMAKERS

In the summer many visitors come to Morecambe. They come from the Woollen towns of Yorkshire and the cotton towns of Lancashire. They arrive on the trains. Sometimes you can hear them singing as they arrive.

There are all kinds of things to watch and see in the summer. Early in the morning the sand artists smooth their patches out just below the piers. When they have made a rectangle of smooth sand they make a frame of stones around the edge. Then they make pictures by scratching them in the sand. They make pictures of sailing ships, great iron clad battle ships, of Queen Victoria and animals from far off lands. People look at the pictures from the pier and show their appreciation by throwing coins onto the sand.

There are many other entertainers too. Some play to audiences sat in deck chairs on the sand, you can often see them moving their pitches as the tide goes in and out. The performers often use red and white striped tents as dressing rooms. They put little folding stages in front of these.

My favourite performers are Mr Pauls and his Lovely Lasses. The lasses all wear Pierrot costumes and perform songs and gymnastic feats with made up mournful faces. Mr Pauls and his wife sing ballads to the crowd and then invite people to come up and have a go themselves. When they have a go Mr Pauls gives them a bag of Cadbury's chocolates Ð a great prize indeed! I am going to have a go one day.
Then there is Jimmy Sills, the only black man I have ever seen. His mother and father were slaves in America before they came here. He sits on his little stage telling funny stories and when he has finished each one he passes around a little red velvet bag for you to put money in. I am sad to admit I never have.
Sometimes it is possible to see through the shutters of the Pavillion in the park. They have amazing gymnasts in there from China and Japan, and people who sing and whistle. I like the gymnasts the best.

WARDS

But the best place of all is Wards. Wards is on the stone jetty where the railway station used to be. They buy old ships and break them up. They bring the old ships up to the jetty side and take all the furnishing and things from the inside and then break up the hull and the masts. They have a shop - inside you can buy all kinds of things from the ships, old mahogany cabinets with brass fittings, binnacles with compasses inside, and all kind of other things. I love to go inside and look and dream of all the far away places those things have seen.