Well done - glad to hear you've got your a/c back again.
Am planning a trip to Blackpool in September to pick-up a friend who lives nearby. The reason for the trip is that I got talking to this guy at a business conference, and he is ever so keen to start learning to fly, but unsure where to start. He lives between Barton and Blackpool, but his preference would be Blackpool as apparently easier traffic-wise from Blackburn. So I said I'll fly up and meet him at Blackpool, go for a local flight (lakes maybe) and then when we return we can take the time to look in on local flight school(s) and see what he thinks of them.
I am a bit concerned from what you've said that there seems to be a history of failures at Blackpool, and I'd hate to see my friend lose out. Are you comfortable to make a recommendation? Is tehre a school you would suggest? Alternatively, if not comfortable to recommend any at Blackpool, would you say that he might be better off dealing with traffic and flying from Barton instead?
Many thanks,