Fallen Heretic

Schiller Mit Heppner - Dream of You

I went to school with and know about 4 or 5 pro footballers, but I was never into football so I never bothered. My dad knows some of the old players and curent managers, and my Grandads cousin used to play for Rangers. My best mate is from down Malvern way so Ive met a load of musician types through him (Nigel Kenedy, Chaos Engine, Tribute to Nothing, loads more). I met Lemmy Kilminster in a bar once. My brother-in-law runs and performs in an ABBA tribute band, and they were contacted by the BBC recently about a show, battle of the fantasy bands or something. So they may be kinda famous soon. I appeared on the programme Blue Peter when I was a kid, because I placed 3rd in one of their competitions. So I met Karen Keating (god rest her soul), Yevette Fielding(didnt stick around to chat), Mark Curry (an absolute ledgend, really he is) and the now infamous John Lesley. At the time my mum said he came across as an odd type who is up to no good. lol. Not the mention Goldie (the dog), and the Cats. lol. The Blue Peter garden is way smaller than it looks on TV. Surprisingly so. Ive met the magician Richard DeVere, (the guy from the Mystique show at PBB) through a woman I used to date. Not on the usual photo op i might add. Her ex-husband was a magician and she managed him, so she got to know many of the pros. I have some stories about some of them. lol.

Corkscrew and obviously oblivian have first drops, but the other gravity powered coasters gain speed through some other elements that are downhill. I like it actually. Might have something to do with the treeline height restrictions. Its difficult to build stright up and down at alton towers.

That vid just makes me wish I had the free time to go down this weekend. Although it being easter it will likely be absolutely packed anyway.

Rather oddly, right now Im watching Scrubs and they are singing an Erasure song in the operating theater. lol

lol. Ive met a few Polish lads on some building sites. They are surprisingly good at the whole building things business though. They are usualy ok, but a little harsh and no-nonsense at times. Much like Glasweigans then. lol. Ok, off topic, but a funny story nontheless. A friend of mine was on site, and a polish lad saw a big metal thing drop off a tipper. So he walked over, picked it up, and gave it a bit of a clean. "hmmmm", he thought, "this looks a bit WWII". So he promtly marched over to the site managers office, and plonked it on his desk for him to deal with appropriately. The site manager, of course, messed himself completely and called the bomb disposal people. They took one look and decided it was too dangerous to move. They conducted a controled explosion to make the device safe, completely destroying the site office in the process. Work is now suspended there till they clean up the mess. Well, it craked me up.

Thast exactly why you should be careful when reading things written by those over enthusiastic types. Valhallas drops are nowhere even close to near verticlal. Or insane. If they were, there would be restraints of some kind. If you can enjoy Big Dipper, you can enjoy Valhalla. Just maybe better leave it for a hot summer day when you will be glad of the soaking. And NEVER ride the flying machines while still wet. Its freezing being spindried on it. lol.

I would like to get my hands on one of those vauhall, sorry, opel corsas. Generally Corsas are pretty horrible cars, but these modified ones are awesome. They are mid engined for a start, with bike engines. Yummy. Looks an awesome show. Anything with fire and tyre is good.

Yep, I would agree that you should be careful when listening to the Pleasure Beach PR people. They have a habit of stretching the truth very far without technicaly lying. You will find many of their quotes for ride heights are taken from sea level. lol. And you should be even more careful when talking to the staff, they usualy know even less, or have it completely wrong. Chinese whispers and all that.

Evil, evil people.

You sure thats not just an old car with the covers off?

Agadoo is the song. Its by Black Lace. And yes, cheesy, amusing, kids party songs are the order of the day with them. Their songs were regulars at the school discos. lol. Yet, somehow, once its in your head, it never really leaves.

I like it. But I agree that I would rather have the search box on a bar along the top or on the right. My screen is a little smaller than the layout (Im on old onboard graphics so I cant increase it any more) so having the search box on the left means I have to scroll to see the right hand column. It looks like a big grey area of nothing on the left. EDIT: Damn, beaten to it several times. Yes, second version with the search up top is great.

"Smooth on the inside, crunchy on the outside. ARMADILLOS!" Bonus point to anyone who can tell me where that came from.

Kingdom - Lame Immortelle

80s electropop always seems to take me back to the school discos. That and Agadoo. lol.

Woo-hoo! The more rides we get up here, the better.

I like the new look. The heading are fine as far as Im concerned. It has the same tone that is carried all the way through the forums. Besides, coolness is a great word.

Looking on the pleasure beach site, they say they tested the first train yesterday. There is a fuzzy little photo there.

I was hoping never to hear that damn song again. lol. When I heard the UK eurovision entry (by scooch) it reminded me of fast food rockers. Evil, bad, wrong music. Yet somehow, oddly appropriate. lol. Love the Nemesis footage. Especialy when you can see the water ripple up as the train roars over it.

I think the ropers are just after a quiet life. Remember Alton Towers wasnt a theme park when they moved there, so I guess in some way they have a right to feel like their peace has been violated. I can see their point of view to a degree. However, I dont think they realise that what they are asking for just isnt possible without seriously damaging the parks business. That could mean tussauds reducing staff at the park, thus a loss of local jobs. Im sure the community would thank them for that (sarcasm). For those saying things about their pottery factory, its woth noting that the pottery factory isnt at their house. Churchill China is a rather huge, stock market floated company, which the ropers have significant shares in (and he is chairman) but they dont own it outright. Its not like they have it in their back Garden. Yes, I did do a bit of research on that. lol. Mr Roper is 60-something now. Maybe in a few years they will both be deaf, and it wont matter anymore. lol. Imagine if Alton Towers has to close down. I can see a mass, coaster enthusiast hippy-style sit in round the Ropers property. Or on it, if your happy to risk getting arrested. lol.

I remember this. Man the memories just come flooding back. I remember it in the family bar in the White Tower (is it now the Paradise Room or is that the floor below?). It was at the back, opposite the old monorail station and next to those little coin-op trikes. I used to ride it there, and the trikes, and take a trip round the monorial while my parents took a break and had a drink. The model railway in the corner of beaver creek used to be up in that bar as well, only it all worked and was in good condition back then. I remember the scramble bike on the rollers as well.

Valhalla only has one backwards drop, and its a tiddler. Really gentle, its short and not steep at all. And you really only travel backwards for the little hill. I used to recomend getting a giant body-condom thing, but thats was always on the basis that I could use it for log flume as well. But thats gone now, so Im not sure I shouldnt just let myself be soaked in future. lol. I do recommend Valhalla though. It has its critics but Im a big fan of dark rides and I love it.

Wet, windy, and about to get wilder. I havent been outside to see what the temperature is like. lol.

I used to be a coasterphobe (I wonder what the correct term is) and Blackpool Pleasure Beach pretty much cured me. And now Im on here. Go figure. lol. I had been terrified ever since my mum made me go on Zipper Dipper when I really didnt want to. I was very young and it scared the life out of me. Pleasure beach is actually a really good park to help with getting over fear of coasters. Here is how I did it... I started with rides on avelanche. Nice fast turns pushing you into the seat but no dropping. Then I moved to rollercoaster. I recomend for first time if your nervous that you ride it as early as you can, before the ride has run in and sped up. This should get you used to the shaking and vibrations that come with woodies, and ease you into the dropping sensation. From there, I tried Big dipper. Its a bigger drop, faster, and has lots of anticipation before the first drop. This is somthing I like and its good to learn to appreciate it. Building anticipation for a drop just makes it better when it comes. Its a combination of wanting to go over, and being nervous of it. This is where you will learn about airtime, and that it can be a good thing. After that, I went to the Big One. Now I know its tall and scarey looking, but believe me, it only looks that way, it really isnt. The first drop is good, but the rest of the ride just feels like driving up and down hills in an open top car. The only real feeling of dropping is with the first one. Pretty much all you will get from this is getting over a fear of heights if you have one like me. Then I tried steeplechase. Its not dangerous at all really, although if you have big hips, this ride can hurt them. It does teach you to get enjoyment from the psychological fear, but still know your safe. Then I did the grand national. By this time, you should be raring to give it a go. A seat in the back will change your appreciation of airtime to a love of airtime. After a few rides, you will even be starting to go hands free. Then I rode the revolution. This is a nice inversion, a nice launch, and an awesome fast drop that has your stomach in your mouth Last, and what I think is truely the scariest ride fo the park (maybe until Infusuion is ready) is the Mouse. The key to having fun is to try and relax and go with it, rather than tense up and fight against it. Its helpful to stick a few gentle things in between the bigger rides. A ride round the monorail or express work well. As does the derby racer. Well, thats how I did it anyway.