Bygone Manc

The shadowy, twilight world of the homosexual was already a cliche and mainstream joke on TV by the late 1970s

In the midst of the hysteria surrounding the TV series “It’s A Sin”, many articles have been published about what gay life was like in the 1980s. Supposedly…  In those days many of us gay men were out and proud and we didn’t seem to face much homophobia personally. If we did, we tended to The shadowy, twilight world of the homosexual was already a cliche and mainstream joke on TV by the late 1970s

The LGBT Foundation’s misleading “researchers’ guide” to LGBT history, funded by the Heritage Lottery

Manchester’s LGBT Foundation published its document “Unlocking A Hidden History – A Researchers’ Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Historical Sources In Manchester”, back in 2013. You can see it here (PDF). It was funded by the Heritage Lottery. Over recent years the Heritage Lottery Fund has given out around a quarter of a The LGBT Foundation’s misleading “researchers’ guide” to LGBT history, funded by the Heritage Lottery

Canal Street in the 1880s: Ginger Liz, Cockney Jim and Dirty Alf

In the 1880s the Manchester Evening News published a series of articles which were then gathered together in a book called “Criminal Manchester.” One chapter is “Canal Street: Ginger Liz and Cockney Alf.” You can download a PDF of the whole book here, courtesy of Chetham’s Library. And here’s Chapter X about Canal Street: CRIMINAL Canal Street in the 1880s: Ginger Liz, Cockney Jim and Dirty Alf

Another fire on Oldham Street (video)

Two 15-year-old girls have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a fire in an Oldham Street shop yesterday. A fire-fighter died and another was injured as eight crews tackled the blaze. It broke out in the storeroom of Paul’s Hair and Beauty World near the Piccadilly end of the street. This is the third Another fire on Oldham Street (video)

Fire on Oldham Street, Dobbin’s drapers and general outfitters

Another small part of Manchester’s heritage went up in flames on 11th April when a former department store caught fire on Oldham Street. Fire fighters had been tackling the blaze for several hours when I shot these pictures just after 8pm. The street was closed off and people had been evacuated from neighbouring buildings.

The end of the Oxford Road Show (video)

How the BBC’s studios nearly ended up opposite Platt Fields Park in Rusholme Here in Manchester, New Broadcasting House is being demolished. But back in the mid-1950’s, when the BBC decided to build new northern regional headquarters, this famous location on Oxford Road wasn’t the first choice. At the beginning of 1956 the BBC was The end of the Oxford Road Show (video)