On Thursday 23 July 2015, 30 club members travelled to Morecambe for the day driven by Sean of Anthony’s Travel. As soon as we arrived we gathered around Eric Morecambe’s statue to see ‘if we could see the join’. Eric would have said ‘there’s no answer to that!’

Born John Eric Bartholomew, Eric was a comedian, actor, entertainer and singer. His double act with Ernie Wise lasted from 1941 until his death in 1984. A keen birdwatcher, Eric’s statue shows him wearing his binoculars. The RSPB named a hide after him at nearby Leighton Moss Nature Reserve in recognition of his support.

In contrast, Little Ern grew up in Leeds and at the age of 6 years appeared at the old Pavilion Theatre, in Morley a borough of Leeds. To commemorate this, a stone statue was commissioned after his death in March 1999 and was unveiled by Ernie’s widow Doreen.

The 7ft statue divided opinion amongst residents – One woman resident told BBC News: “We should have a statue of him. It’s something to cheer us up. I think [Morecambe and Wise] were great.”

Another man said: “It doesn’t even look like him. It looks as if he’s falling over and it’s frightening people.”

The man added: “A lot of people in Morley, including me, think it’s a complete waste of time and money.”

Eric might have said ‘the boy’s a fool…Tea Ern?’

It was very breezy and starting to rain during our visit but everyone was hopeful that the weather would clear up as we had never visited Morecambe before. Well, the weather did improve and the sun shone down but there wasn’t a ‘short fat hairy leg’ to be seen. By the time we had all gathered to board the coach home, everyone was saying how much they enjoyed themselves.

The journey home took longer than expected due to motorway traffic hold ups but it gave everyone an opportunity to talk about their exploits that day and to have a little snooze.

All in all it was a brilliant day out and we are looking forward to our next day trip, our Turkey & Tinsel holiday and of course our 2016 holiday in Babbacombe. So much to look forward to and enjoy and not forgetting our 18^th birthday party on Wednesday 12 August 2015.

Now, how did that song go – ‘bring me sunshine in your smile….’