Rescued?

Beach Hut view
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

So the episode of Duncan Bannatyne's Seaside Rescue filmed last year in Felixstowe finally hit our screens courtesy of Virgin 1 this week. Up against the first episode of Luther and amid the election overload I have no idea how many people managed to watch it, but there was a reasonable reaction on radio Suffolk the next morning. In the end I was pleasantly surprised by the result, not nearly as horrendous as it could have been.

Previous episodes in the series have tried to turn around the fortunes of struggling attractions elsewhere, many of which have really been on their last legs and in need of serious investment. And it was not made clear in any of the shows we have seen where the investment actually came from - Duncan himself, the production company, the owners of the sites or what. There was a bit of a hint in the suggestion that Charlie Manning repaint his main building, and he did refer on the show and post-broadcast to the cost of that being too great as well as being a bit difficult to acheive during the season.

For Felixstowe the show took a different direction, focusing on three different elements of our south sea front and helping with their image rather than the content or experience on offer. Some of the suggestions worked well, others were not taken up or just not practical but on the whole I think all three have seen a boost in trade. Certainly a lot of what was discussed is still in place eight months on.

I was disappointed that no mention was made of the other events that happen throughout the summer (including the two previous days mentioned in my earlier post) and there was not much discussion of the other parts of the town. I now the "story" of the show was the three businesses, but a bit of context would have been nice - especially if the aim as stated in a talk to various council people was to help put Felixstowe back on the holiday map.

And events are still going on. Sunday was the annual historic vehicle run (also mentioned before) which suffered from dreadful weather but still pulled a few people out. Then on Monday we had a fun run and the launch of a new coastal walk themed on our Martello Towers.

MrsB had to work, but I indulged in a walking tour of the south seafront (intended to be 45 minutes, it lasted over 90 and was fascinating) as well as a trip around Tower P from where the view above was snapped. More picks by clicking through to Flickr if you are so inclined.

My conclusion - Felixstowe is still doing OK!

Drumming up trade

Bannatyne 2
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

So, how do you get people to come and visit your town on a sunny bank holiday? We had an event every day over the weekend and only one of them was as a result of having a Dragon available.

Saturday was the annual Custom/American car run. There have been four or five of these now to my knowledge. Unlike the historic vehicle run in May (organised by the Ipswich Transport Museum and running for 30 years now) this is linked in with a commercial event - namely the NASC gathering at the Suffolk Showground/Trinity Park. But just as in May we get several hundred cars of varying interest passing the end of the road and gathering on the sea front. I enjoy the spectacle and had a nice walk along the entire length of the prom and back in the sunshice taking pictures and generally dreaming of a new car. And so do hundreds of others - the prom was heaving and many of the cars I would have liked to photograph were so surrounded by onlookers that I gave up.

Sunday was Art On The Prom - another comparatively recent happening but at the very least in its fourth or fifth year. I enjoyed that spectacle as well, walking half the prom and back gawping at the pictures, sculpture etc on display. MrsB even bought a painting this year (OK, a cheap one from a 9-year old artist, but it was still a sale). Again, the prom was thronged with bodies and some of the stalls were three or four deep in bodies. Again the sun shone, although it was a bit windy (leading to at least one girl experiencing a Marilyn Monroe moment as I passed - black lace if you must know).

Then Monday we had tv's Duncan Bannatyne and his Edwardian Extravaganza. This was part of a show he is filming for Virgin TV trying to inject life into flagging towns or something (I don't know the full details as yet - it is due to be shown next year). Working on the assumption that Felixstowe needs something extra to bring people in he treated us to a Land Train (well, it made the third walk along the prom in a row a bit easier!), a bathing beauty contest (co-judged with Zoe Salmon from Blue Peter - we missed that but did see her heading back to the hotel), a tug of war contest and a skiffle band (very Edwardian!) among other amusements. Not very Dragonish. For the third day we had lovely weather and people flocked to the sea.

But did we really need him? The two established events had just as many people out and about (if not more) and the beach hasn't exactly been quiet on other days I've ambled along either. I'll buy that anything to help the town is good, and the gift shops and food outlets were doing a roaring trade all three days, but I have a feeling they would have done just fine on Monday anyway. Maybe I'm being oversensitive and there is suffering in the town I don't know about, but I'd rather we were able to get on with it ourselves rather than relying on someone jetting in from his villa in the south of France for the day.

Now all I need to do is find the after sun - three days on the beach and my forehead is peeling nicely! Plus 10,000+ steps for three in a row as well. 4-weekly average has topped 9k for the first time.