Formby lookalike If members thought they were seeing double then they were. Formby lookalike Paul Casper astonished the gathering with an amazing portrayal. He became the most photographed person during the weekend as happy snappers queued to take his picture. Pavilion Theatre It was another highly successful gathering of the GFS in the picturesque Pavilion Theatre within the Winter Gardens complex. This is a large concert hall to fill but there were certainly enough in the audience for the afternoon session and for most of the evening, although many did drift off in the later part of the show. The weather in Blackpool was warm and sunny so to retain the people inside a concert hall for most of the day is an achievement to say the least. Dickie Speake makes a comeback Many new faces attended. Day guests are always welcome and quite a few came in to try things out and then decided to join the George Formby Society later in the weekend . It is also nice to see young people actively participating and young lady players are definitely on the increase. It was also grand to see former musical director and honorary member Dickie Speake back on stage playing the keyboard on the Saturday afternoon. New musical director The GFS is fortunate at this time to be able to call on the services of Dickie plus new musical director Chris Weightman together with the immense talent of Matthew Richards. These lads were ably backed up by Tony Thornton on bass and Dale Norman on drums. What would the concert be like without the live sound provided by these talented and dedicated people that work continuously to entertain us? On a personal note it was great to welcome one o f my favourite actors in John Henshaw who stars in many top notch TV comedies and dramas. He has recently featured in the classic Early Doors and also the recent production about politician John Prescott. GFS Shop Our GFS shop did some marvellous business once again and is bringing in the funds that will enable all to enjoy the historic September weekend when we finally unveil the George Formby statue in Wigan. It has to be said that whilst we must never forgot the generous donations from many kind people, without the GFS shop we would never have achieved our goal of being the main provider of the funds for the statue. The society and its members owe a debt of gratitude to Dennis and Pat Taylor who have worked so hard to make the shop the success it is. Let us also not forget the efforts of the ladies who, during the years, have helped Dennis and Pat to serve in the shop throughout the weekend. Entertaining memories A lovely interlude was the lady that sang With A Song In My Heart and The Lovelight In Your Eyes. She was Margaret Moran who attends the Sale Branch. Ray Bernard sang that wonderful song made famous by Val Doonican about children growing up, Mysterious People . And who can forget the antics of Derrick and Gillian Pearce, and Dale's Dollies? I'm told that the Autumn convention will be held in the Spanish Hall. This is a magnificent room and the proceedings are greatly helped by the bar in an adjacent room.