BLACKPOOL'S ENTERTAINMENT HERITAGE AND THE CRITCHLOW COLLECTION

That this House celebrates Blackpool's acquisition of a unique collection of over 20,000 items of entertainment and theatre memorabilia covering the town's history from the 1860s to 1990s and collected by the late Cyril Critchlow, working magician and champion of that heritage; welcomes the collection's official opening in Blackpool's Central Library by legendary comedian Ken Dodd; pays tribute to the generosity of Cyril's family for donating the collection and to Blackpool Council for acquiring it and to all those involved with the project, particularly local history librarian Tony Sharkey and Professor Vanessa Toulmin of Sheffield University's National Fairground Archive; and further welcomes all the work being done to celebrate Blackpool's heritage, including that of Carl Carrington at Blackpool Council, Elaine Smith at the Civic Trust and all their colleagues as the town prepares to celebrate that heritage on the new Tower Headland being built with support from the Government's Sea Changes programme.