I met my wife thanks to Cilla and Blind Date: Dorset remembers much loved ... - Bournemouth Echo
THE entertainment world is mourning Cilla Black, who came to Bournemouth as a young Merseybeat singer and returned to Dorset as a nationally loved entertainer. Friends including Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Paul McCartney have led the tributes to the 72-year-old entertainer, whose death was announced at the weekend. Cilla was becoming known for TV entertainment shows as much as her singing and in 1983, she brushed the teeth of a crocodile at Poole’s Aquarium for a TV series. In fact, I could write another book about the experiences of book signing. Cilla’s shows Blind Date and Surprise Surprise brought several local people to national attention. In January 1988, Pat Blissett, a 63-year-old lollipop lady at Stourfield Junior School, Southbourne , was astonished when a big white car pulled up near her and Cilla got out. Pat, of Carlisle Road, Iford, spent the day filming the spot for Surprise Surprise. In 1992, Surprise Surprise astonished 68-year-old Carmel Davey of Newtown by gathering her family from all corners of the globe for their first reunion since 1954. Cilla’s hit ITV series Blind Date – which she hosted for 18. Source: www.bournemouthecho.co.uk
