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A NEW BLACKPOOL FC FANZINE FOR A NEW ERA Issue 3 • DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 • £2 Inside this Issue… TANGERINE AND TARTAN JEWEL OF THE NORTH · YOU THINK THIS IS COLD?
EDITORIAL by Jane Stuart So, what’s in a fanzine? This is a medium for the fans to share their stories, photos, memories, art and creativity with fellow Seasiders. I have been blown away by the amazing content that the fanzine has drawn so far this season. We have had memories of seasons gone by, some fascinating memorabilia (more of which you can find inside this issue), cartoons, poetry and stories from the current world of football, both at home, nationally and internationally.
Issue 3 includes more of your photographs, including a look back at Bloomfield Road predevelopment, which will evoke some happy memories of years gone by. There’s a quiz on page 24 (no cheating!) - and details of a new, limited edition Blackpool FC book on page 9. SLO Steve Rowland shares with us a beautiful poem about our beloved town on pages 22 & 23. And how did an English Seasider come to follow Scotland home and away? And how does he fit this in around Blackpool matches? Find out on pages 10 & 11. We feature our friends at Brickstand on pages 7 & 23, sharing with you their Lego models of Bloomfield Road (pre- and post-redevelopment).
Do you think it’s been cold at Bloomfield Road in recent weeks? Peter Duerden (pp. 18-19) tells the fascinating story of the winter that was so cold that Blackpool didn’t play a match for three months - and the FA Cup descended into disarray.
Football memorabilia is a huge and fascinating market that I find myself being drawn into. I have never considered myself a collector - and yet I am still in possession of every programme, match ticket, shirt and fanzine I have ever acquired. I recently purchased a full back catalogue of Blackpool fanzines VFTT and AVFTT from a collector and hope to draw on them for inspiration for future issues. However I have been fortunate enough to have received such a great deal of quality content for the first three issues that I have hardly had room to include any of my own work! Please do keep your content coming: it’s hugely appreciated.
As well as editing ‘Now That’s What I Call Progress’, I also write a regular blog, which you can find at www.janestuart.co.uk, covering all of Blackpool’s matches (home and away) as well as reviewing local hostelries, eateries and events. The blog was born during my time as Match Secretary at Chasetown and has continued, now charting my adventures on my travels watching Blackpool all over the country (and internationally, with one of my trips to Latvia covered in ‘To Riga With Love’). Do drop in and subscribe to my blog so you can receive each new post via email as soon as it is published. The content is free, although you can provide a donation if you wish to.
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EDITORIAL by Jane Stuart
The full matchday experience can also be seen on Lee Charles TV on YouTube, where every match (home and away) is summarised in a video. Lee started providing Blackpool video content ahead of the homecoming in March, when he recorded the cleaning of the seats ahead of the Southend match. The channel has since grown into a superb medium of Blackpool content. If you are unable to get to a match and want to know what it was like to be there, you can tune in to Lee Charles TV and we will transport you there. What made the fanzone at Accrington such a fantastic experience? What was so magical about the fan experience at Doncaster? And what were the pies like at Gillingham? Watch the vlogs and read the blogs and you’ll find out! The videos are also free to watch and you can subscribe and receive a notification every time a new video is published.
This level of fan content has never been seen before at Blackpool and we hope you enjoy our work as much as we enjoy creating it for you.
Do you own a business that you would like to promote to fellow Seasiders? If so then please do get in touch at jane@janestuart.co.uk. This season is only the start of what we plan to produce for the Blackpool fans and we have some fantastic opportunities available for sponsors during the months ahead and going into next season.
Is there anything you would like to see more (or less) of in this fanzine? Please do let us know so we can work on providing this for you. Or, better still, write in yourself with content for Issue 4!
If you enjoy this fanzine, please do recommend it to your friends. You could even buy them a subscription for Christmas! It’s great to hear that so many of you pass on the fanzine for your friends and family to read - but why not treat them to a copy of their own?
For details of how to subscribe to ‘Now That’s What I Call Progress’ please email jane@janestuart.co.uk for hard copies or go to www.issuu.com/blackpooljane for the online version.
You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @progress1887.
Please do keep your amazing content coming. We have been receiving some brilliant feedback from readers and would like to continue to provide a top quality fanzine for your enjoyment. We need YOUR stories. Please email jane@janestuart.co.uk with anything you would like to share with your fellow Seasiders. The deadline for articles and adverts for Issue 4 will be 26th January 2020.
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