I got this post from Chris, who has a website called Trains to Beyond, which describes some of the very interestng rail journeys he has made. It’s well worth a look. He wrote to me regarding his father’s evacuation from Read more…

I got an email recently from Yvonne Rogers. Her great grandmother was Emily Jane Geddes, who had two brothers, both of whom lived at the Moravian settlement. One of the brothers was Sam Geddes, who was an Arts Master at Read more…

I lived the first 20-odd years of my life in a house that was about 100 yards from the South wall of B&S Massey, the dark red brick wall going up Ashton Old Road towards the canal bridge. I was Read more…

Openshaw Today   The recent fire at the Halfway House and its subsequent demolition prompts me to post some pictures that I took in 2016, which was my latest, probably last, visit to Openshaw. I had attended a school reunion Read more…

Singer Sewing Machine Old repayment book This very fragile book dates from 1912. It was part of my mother’s possessions when she died, and I came across it again recently when doing some clearing up. It’s a repayment book for Read more…

Washday A famous economist once said that the washing machine was a more important invention than the internet. His argument was that it, plus some other household appliances, freed women from the drudgery of housework, in particular freed them from Read more…

Cleaning the Streets Openshaw was a very working class district, but there was tremendous pride in the houses and streets. The houses were of poor quality and facilities, and, having been built in the 18th century, were getting old, and Read more…

Comics We used to thrive on comic books when I was young. When I was at primary school my favourite, and regular read, was the Knockout, and occasionally Film Fun and Radio Fun. Knockout was a strip cartoon magazine, the Read more…

The School I Went To My first school was Elysian Street Primary. I went there from 1941 to 1947, and my memories of it are patchy. I remember my first day. Harry Gibbons lived next door to me and was Read more…