By John Dyer, Guest Contributor
(John Dyer is an American dual citizen who relocated permanently to the UK in retirement from public life in the US. He now lives in Lytham St. Annes on England's West Coast with a view of the Irish Sea.)
I arrived in Lancashire’s Fylde Peninsula the afternoon of 14 June 2010. The all pervasive sun filled the single car train with a gentle warm wash of light.
I looked out over the welcoming rural landscape. Like a homecoming after a long sojourn abroad, except this was the sojourn. I remember thinking to myself that but for my partner’s steady hand gently on my shoulder and her pointing out features and placing them in context, I would have thought myself rattling through rural Winters, California and on to the Sonoma Coast on a spring day. (Photo of birds along the estuary by John Dyer, 2011)
It was the first of many discoveries that challenged my preconceived expectations as to what my sojourn would bring. I had expected cold, clouds, and rain. Yet since I arrived nearly a year ago now, sunny days have predominated, even when the ambient air temperature was minus ... get ready for this those of you who like me lived in California or Florida ... minus 11 degrees C. That’s 12.2 degrees F for you who have not made the journey to metrics, a must if one lives in the UK or elsewhere in most of the rest of the world. I am still getting used to thinking of me as under 63 kilograms.
I had an early introduction to this surprise. The first night staying at a “holiday flat” my partner and I sat around drinking tea and chatting away, relying on the light to tell us when it was bed time. It was 10:30 pm when the sun finally set. It rose again the next morning with the dawn chorus sometime before 6 am.
Lancashire - A Long History
Lancashire has a long history. Formed in 1182, it reached fame first as the seat of the House of Lancaster, the Red Rose of the War of the Roses. A minor Lancastrian would go on to found the Tudor dynasty. Lancaster then was its focal point.
During the Industrial Era the seat of commerce shifted to nearby Preston. Today, Preston rather than Lancaster is the county seat.
(Photos left of Ashton Memorial, Lancaster and Lancaster Cathedral; right Interior of St. George's Cathedral, Preston by John Dyer, 2010 and 2011)
In post Industrial Britain the county struggles to reinvent itself. Home to the University of Lancaster, it is a community relatively open to Green Party political sway.
Preston also has a “Uni” - the University of Central Lancaster. Its greatest claim to fame is its Communications Department. I(whose graduates and or faculty have. . .. ? or include?) It's graduates have found their way into radio and television especially as news presenters throughout the country, but particularly in the North West.
Efforts to redevelop Lancashire have spluttered along indecisively even under Labour. Labour had sought to soften the impact of post Industrial Britain’s “North South divide” by shifting greater slices of the pie North. I see no evidence, however, that the strategy has borne fruit, at least in Lancashire.
Life for me often entails letting go of the preconceived to embrace the variance on which Life insists, even when it fulfills one’s dreams. I had dreamed of relocation to the UK for a long time. The ins and outs of that are probably more personal than useful here. But the dream always took the form of Looe or Fowey or Lerryn in Cornwall, a distance from Lancashire as great as Chico to San Diego. Then I met my partner. Her home base as an adult was (and is) Preston. So I adjusted - shifting my vision northward.
Lytham St. Annes "A typical English coastal community"
My new home is Lytham St. Annes, a “typical English coastal community.”
Typical except it has a world renowned golf course, the beach extends as much as a mile at low tide before one can dip one’s toes in the Irish Sea, it is really a merger of four communities, and a large proportion of its residents, like moi, are retirees. The four communities are St. Annes, Ansdell, Fairhaven, and Lytham.
Lytham St. Annes is a transient destination for many, lying along the coast of the Irish Sea and the Ribble River Estuary, between Blackpool and Preston. Its surrounds are farming country. Good products. I often buy local and fresh. By preference.
Blackpool was once Northern England’s playground. It still has three piers and many arcades and entertainment events. David Hasselhoff, “The Hoff” of "Night Rider" and "Baywatch" fame appears intent on calling it home, enjoying something of a mini revival of his career in the UK. It is, frankly, a little too “Baywatch” for me, but not everyone shares my tastes. An American events and entertainment company hopes to make Blackpool the Vegas of the UK. Best of luck.
Preston - A Pleasant Surprise
Preston presented a surprise to my partner and me. I like it. Fabulous Victorian and Georgian architecture, parks, treasures and a remarkably diverse culture intermingle. Moslem, Hindu, Christian and Jew. One of my great surprises (although I don’t know why) was the presence of a strong synagogue in St. Annes (more on St. Annes to come) and a vibrant Moslem presence on the streets of Preston.
Cultural diversity has been an unexpected bonus. Among my favourite News Presenters (as they are called in the UK) are George Alaguire, Ranvir Singh and Krishnan Murthy. A woman named Enu of African heritage presents the weather. How the face of BBC has changed over the years!! Delightful surprise. Yet again, I am not sure why. (Photo of Muslim woman seated on bench by John Dyer, 2010)
Major Draw of St. Annes: the coffee
Our flat lies almost in the center of Lytham St. Annes, two and a quarter miles walk to Lytham Square, one mile walk to St. Annes Square. Fairhaven and Ansdell do not have squares per se. I can see the Irish Sea and the Royal Lytham Golf Course from my flat and I am only 100 meters from the dunes.
My partner and I orient around St. Annes during the week. People come from as far away as Scotland to visit St. Anne’s beach and shop its “charity shops.” Shopping charity shops is a hobby for some and an exercise in appropriate frugality for others. These shops sell “previously loved” clothing and brick brac at bargain prices. The proceeds go to the charity which operates them. But the major draw of St. Annes has to be Costa’s coffee. I know, a man of simple pleasures. (Costa's Coffee photo by John Dyer 2010)
I found shortly after my arrival that the permanent residents of St. Annes are jauntily affable.
Many weekends, maybe most, find us visiting Lytham. We walk the dunes and beach from our current location to Lytham Square, indulging our shared hobby of photography. (Photos of the dunes(left), women out shopping and the embrace (right) by John Dyer, 2011)
Visiting Lytham is a little like visiting Disneyland’s Main Street every weekend, except the crowds are (marginally) smaller. Its square is exceptionally pretty and its homes magical. (Photos of buildings in Lytham by John Dyer 2011)
The estuary is perhaps a topic in its own right, the transient and permanent home for all sorts of species of birds. Zest’s, the restaurant in which I formally proposed (for the official time), is in the center of Lytham.
I suppose I should not move on without mentioning that Lytham St. Annes is a relatively well heeled community. I have seen more Jags, Mercedez, Saabs, and even Rolls here than anywhere outside of Beverly Hills. BMWs seem to be for the upwardly mobile who have not quite made it yet by comparison. The community is the home of many well off retirees, a number of Blackpool entrepreneurs, managers from the nearby Wharton home of British Aerospace (including many Americans), and top footballers (who like NBA athletes command large incomes). There, covered.
Lytham has a number of claims to fame, including its local manor home, WWII reenactments, local presentation of PROMS on the green, and the St. George’s Festival. PROMS is the BBC sponsored and nationally popular presentation of the best of classical and modern music by the best of international stars. PROMS originated during the early 19th century as an enrichment programme for the masses. It is often presented outdoors and in Lytham is presented on a Green located next to the Estuary.
The St. George’s Day Festival is unique to Lytham. The town has adopted St. George’s Day as its cause, campaigning to make it a national holiday. St. George is of course the patron Saint of England. His flag is the national flag of England. It is a red cross on a white background. The more familiar Union Jack is a composite flag for the United Kingdom. composed of an artistically rendered consolidation of the flags of England, Wales, and Scotland. This year’s festival in Lytham was a rather brave but sad event in that it was not well attended. But we who attended were filled with a (blush) almost jingoistic pride.
(Photos of St. George's Day Festival above by John Dyer 2011)
One of the many lovely features of living in Lytham St. Annes is its neighborhood.
Nearby Preston
I am near Preston, as I mentioned, and my love of its lovely architecture and great diversity were perhaps my partner’s greatest surprise. One of my favourite ever restaurants is found in the newly redeveloped “old town” just off the central shopping area, between it and a luscious Victorian Park. The restaurant offers Near Eastern dishes. Yum! (Photos of mezes in "old town restaurant by John Dyer 2011)
Then there is the massive Town Hall and Art Gallery, the Church of St. George, the Parisian shopping center, the Orphanage, and Ashton Park. I think one cannot do Preston justice in a single article, so I will stop here.
Maybe some other time. (Photos Parisienne Shopping Center left and Interior Photos of Cathedral of St. George's by John Dyer, 2011.)
Clitheroe in the Pennines
Cllitheroe lies to the East of Preston, in the Pennines, technically a mountain chain (no smirking Denver) of high moorlands. Its great claims to fame include a still extant Norman Castle (I know, not very grand, but a real one) and the home of the 16th century witches who served as the inspiration for “the Wyrd sisters” of both Shakespeare and Pratchett. The real deal, they were eradicated after prosecutors proved eight murders, but Pratchett’s version at least are warmly and charmingly presented as quaint, savvy, sympathetic and engaging. (Photos above of Clitheroe Castle (left) and Pendle (Witches) Hill (right) by John Dyer, 2010.)
I will leave Lancaster and the Lake District to the future. Living in Lytham St. Annes has thus far lifted the transient surprise into a permanent unfolding adventure.