The Only Happy People Are On TV

According to the Sun 'newspaper' Blackpool has the lowest life expectancy for men in the whole country. On average a Blackpool male can expect to live just 74.5 years compared with 83.9 in Westminster. Women fare no better, 79.5 years in Blackpool but 87 in North London. The figures go on and on and don't make pleasant reading; 34% of children live in poverty, 37.8% of children are obese, 23% of households are without work. The he statistics describe a violent, unhealthy town. Hope seems to be the commodity in least supply and as you wander the streets the faces of people you see are often more in keeping with a bygone age.

Editing the shots of people was the most tricky because I took so many and found almost all of them fascinating. I rarely asked anyone for a photo and on the odd occasion when I did I either got poses, including removing hats and hoods (the things that made them interesting in the first place) or I was declined. Once this happened because I was wearing my Blackpool Council employee badge and he immediately didn't trust me nor the organisation he thought I represented.

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