Originally Posted by
SheepdogNo1:
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SheepdogNo1,
Thanks for a straight view. I knew it, all your preceding sentences were but appetisers leading up to your final verdict:
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http://www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk/hote...otel/bedrooms/
The Imperial on the seafront has 156 rooms. The foyer reminded me of the old Grand Hotel in Brighton before the bombing, where once Paganini used to play and Empress Eugenie used to live. Quiet Victorian charm untouched by modern cost accountants, made enchanting by dance gods and goddesses who came to stay for the Festival.
True, Blackpool town centre is not up to much, Lytham St Annes within a bus ride is better. Those who went to Blackpool Festival did not, however, wander around the town, they had too much fun in the ballroom.
Also true that the train connection to London with 2 changes is daunting, but 3,000 competing couples along with their supporters were undaunted, many having flown 15 hours into London.
Following credit crunch many a rich person is now poorer, and many more face the prospect of mass unemployment. But dance is not an exclusive domain of luxury, it is an inclusive party about good partnership and a warm heart.
This reminds me of the smiling Kristina who was a teenager in Siberia through the dismal years of Gorbachev and Yeltsin....
Quote:
“'When everything broke up all of a sudden, you were left with no sense of direction. They didn't replace our beliefs with anything. 'As a kid, it was confusing. Many people never found themselves. Some went back to religion. Some I knew at school, who I was friendly with, turned to drugs.' Her determination to make a success of herself meant that while others took heroin, she was never tempted. 'I never even drank or smoked, even though my parents did,' she says.
'I kept myself busy with dancing. Because I went straight from school to dance school, I wasn't wandering the streets.' When she was 15 and a couple of classmates died of heroin overdoses, she was at a crossroads. 'I was very lonely. I didn't have many choices but I realised I had to decide what I wanted to do and work hard as I didn't want to end up like one of them,' she says. So the talented ballet student developed a skill for ballroom dancing to try to escape her desperate situation. Meanwhile, crime soared as poverty cloaked the city.
'One winter, we lost our electricity supply, on and off, for weeks. We wore layers of jumpers and coats to keep warm.' With factories closing daily in the 600,000-strong city, her mother lost her job. The state had given them a two-bedroom flat and monthly benefits but it was still a struggle, Kristina says. 'The institution of marriage was no longer supported,' she says. 'My mum got really sick from the stress and she was in hospital for a long time. Relatives looked after me and I earned money for us both by teaching dance.' Job opportunities, she says, continued to decline. Her aunt, an 'amazing' paediatrician, lost her doctor's post and is now a hotel receptionist. 'I support her and my mother financially,' says Kristina. 'Unless you have some connection now, it is difficult to get work.'”
They cannot spend the merchandise money until they've received it! Next year might be a better option. This year will already be set in stone. Angela, have you thought to book the Ballroom for the months required? Opps........ Guess, it's back to old tv studio.
were from the UK, who understandably won no gold medals. Even among the audience Brits were hugely outnumbered by overseas enthusiasts. 
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