Tag: 1998

The Steady Growth of Melrose Investments

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Melrose Investments was established in 1998 by Chris Chadwick in Marsh Mill Village, Thornton Cleveleys. His brother Andy was also very successful while running Chadwicks Timber, which was sold in 2005 to Saint-Gobain, a global construction materials leader, and now trades under the name of Jewson. Melrose Investments has a very successful track record of developing and investing in property across the North West of England for over 25 years. From their early beginnings as a residential developer, they are now concentrated on residential and commercial investment. Their commercial offices and retail outlets are situated within their award winning Marsh… Read more »

Opening of Fylde Country Life Museum at Farmer Parrs

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The Fylde Country Life Heritage Centre is set out in 10,000 square feet of farm buildings. There are twenty-six major exhibits set out in realistic scenes of shops, rooms and buildings. They cover living, working and leisure. A cottage, blacksmith, clogger, office, dairy, lineshafting, and World Wars 1 and 2 are only part of the wide range of displays. Most of the collection has been restored to working condition by members of the Fylde Country Life Preservation Society. The museum is only part of what makes Farmer Parrs a fabulous day out. They also have the wonderful Tractor Shed Bistro,… Read more »

Blackpool’s Second Odeon Cinema Opens on Rigby Road

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Blackpool’s first Odeon Cinema building on Dickson Road (shown below) is now Grade Il Listed. It was the largest on the Oscar Deutsch circuit (at the time) with 3088 seats. It was officially opened by the Mayor of Blackpool, Alderman WR Duckworth MP, on 6 May 1939. Principal guests at the opening ceremony were greeted by screen star Conrad Veidt and entertainer George Formby. The first film shown was ‘Three Smart Girls Grow Up’ starring Deanna Durbin. A Conacher organ, previously installed in the Ritz Cinema Southend-on-Sea, was unveiled in 1946 by Al Bollington, ‘Tripled’ in 1975 the Odeon closed… Read more »

Clive Tyldesley Joins ITV as Senior Sports Commentator

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Clive Tyldesley (born 21 August 1954) is a renowned English sports commentator, best known for his long tenure as ITV’s senior football commentator from 1998 to 2020. Over the course of his career, he covered five World Cups, five European Championships, 17 UEFA Champions League finals, and nine FA Cup finals, making him one of the most recognisable voices in British sports broadcasting. Tyldesley currently serves as the lead commentator for CBS Sports’ live UEFA Champions League coverage in the United States and also contributes to Amazon Prime’s Premier League broadcasts. In 2021, he published his first book, Not for… Read more »

Ricky Tomlinson Becomes a Royle

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Eric ‘Ricky’ Tomlinson, born on 26 September 1939 in Burleigh House, Bispham, Blackpool, is an actor, comedian, and musician, best known for his television roles, including Bobby Grant in Brookside (1982–1988), DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker (1993–2006), and Jim Royle in the iconic sitcom The Royle Family (1998–2012). Despite his roots in Blackpool, he has lived in Liverpool for most of his life. Tomlinson’s early life saw him evacuated to Blackpool at the outbreak of World War II due to fears that Liverpool would be bombed. He attended Walton Technical College in Liverpool after passing an exam at the age… Read more »

Jodie Prenger – A Blackpool Treasure

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Jodie Christine Prenger was born in Blackpool on 12 June 1979, and grew up in the town, the daughter of a Dutch father and an English mother with Irish heritage. She has one sibling, a brother named Marko. Jodie attended Elmslie Girls’ School in Blackpool before continuing her education at Blackpool and the Fylde College. Her love for performing quickly led her to pursue a career in entertainment, starting locally and becoming a familiar face on the cabaret circuit in Northern England, particularly in her hometown and along the Fylde Coast. Beyond her stage work, she also took on the… Read more »