Laurel and Hardy and the Sons of the Desert are at the heart of Bowler Dessert magazine and Bowler Dessert Online

The Comedy Carpet in Blackpool

There is a wonderful new attraction in Blackpool and it is FREE. The Comedy Carpet is located opposite the Blackpool Tower on the pavement adjacent to the sea. It consists of 160,000 individually cut letters that commemorate over 850 of the best comedians and writers in British Comedy. The layout resembles old fashioned bill posters and includes many of the famous catch phrases and gags associated with the heroes of comedy down through the ages. Everyone you can think of is here from the old Music Hall stars to modern television comedians. It is an amazing collection and it would take hours to read every entry. Fortunately there is a guide book available from the Tourist Information Office and this lists all the content in their various sections such as Radio, TV, Film, Catch-phrases etc. The carpet also includes some international stars and I was delighted to see that Laurel and Hardy are commemorated. Their names appear around the edge where all the artists are listed alphabetically and also included are three gags from their films. I also spotted Jimmy Finlayson's name - just before WC Fields. As far as I know this is the Jimmy Finlayson, although, unlike Laurel and Hardy, he never appeared in Blackpool - unless anyone can tell me differently. This is an excellent attraction and one which can't fail to bring a smile to your face reading the gags or remembering the artists commemorated. Roger Robinson