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.
New musical director Chris Weightman
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.