I shot these photographs exactly twenty years ago today, on August Bank Holiday Monday 1990. This is how the Manchester Pride that we either love or loathe started off (although the word ‘pride’ wasn’t used in the name until 2003). (more…)
I had something slightly unpleasant and stressful to do in Eccles today and I have the feeling I’ll be writing a whole lot more about it in the future.
The trains back to Manchester only run every hour. So afterwards I had time on my hands before the return journey and spent some it looking around the churchyard of The Parish Church of St.Mary the Virgin in Eccles town centre. (more…)
NOTE (9 August 2010): I’m sorry to report that in the last few days Manchester Libraries has made changes to the Local Image Collection website which has left hundreds of links on my pages not working. Read more…
Just over one hundred years ago the Manchester College of Technology had a lovely new building on the corner of Whitworth Street and Sackville Street. (more…)
This week I found a silent film that Stan Laurel made in 1923 called ‘The Soilers’. A camp cowboy appears regularly throughout the ten minute film. Here are two clips:
Stan grew up in and around theatres in Britain because his father was a theatre manager. Many of the characters and routines in the early days of the movies would have been inspired by variety acts in the music halls and no doubt this kind of character would have been part of that. But it’s unusual to get a glimpse on film from this period and for it play such a major part in the storyline.