Poems and Pictures ……… a special event ........ at the Royal Oak .........

I knew I would enjoy the launch of "Poems by Lindy and Pictures by Peter" at the Royal Oak today. 

They told me they had “invited Manchester’s top literary artists to come together for an afternoon of spoken word and poetry in celebration of their new book of poems and pictures but despite, working before on projects,  up till now, they have never collaborated on a book which has produced so much wow".

Adding "the idea of illustrating stories is not new and the very first illustrated books were published in 1461 by the cleric and printer, Albrecht Pfister, who was born around 1420 in Bamberg.

What’s unique to this book is the vivid imagination of Peter’s startling images set against the raw emotion created by Lindy’s poetry". 

And the event was a success with over 40 people attending with a host of poets who offered up a mix of the funny, the serious and the poignant.

Now I confess I never wrote down the names of all those who performed, but Peter and Lindy will put me straight and I hope will also come back with not only the names but the details of their books of verse.

Leaving me just to say looking around at the audience they like me had a good time and of course to say that "Poems by Lindy and Pictures by Peter"  is available  from www.pubbooks.co.uk  and Chorlton Bookshop.

And Lindy tells me "Thanks,  Andrew for attending our event and taking these great pictures. 

Other poets taking part were: Pauline Omoboye , Alice Spencer , Amanda Nicholson, Pinbadge, Melanie Neads, Steve Smythe , Lynn Walton - what a great mix of poets and poems and it was wonderful to see so many people there, including other local poets and members of our lively'. Chorlton Arts scene".

Location; The Royal Oak Function Room,

Pictures, the event, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

It’s what they do on Beech Road …. on a Tuesday in June

Nothing more exciting than a series of images of one day on a road in Chorlton.

Location; Beech Road

Pictures; what they do on Beech Road, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Dancing the light fandango ….. by a Spanish bandstand

And the title says the lot.

The purists will point that it is highly unlikely that anyone would be dancing a fandango by a bandstand.

After all as my Wikipedia tell me a “fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced”.*

And that very likely would knock over a few of the chairs around the bandstand and upset Mrs. Trellis of Cleckheaton. 

But as the dance  originated in Portugal and Spain and today’s bandstand image is from Tenerife, there is a sort of logic to the title and Tony’s picture.

According to one source on public parks, the bandstand owed much to the 19th century’s fascination with the Orient.  The basic design may have been copied from “the raised –platform kiosks seen in Turkey and across the Ottoman empire” but was overlaid with influences from Indian palaces and temples.**

The French had shown one of these Turkish stands off at the International Exhibition in Paris in 1855 and what followed was a succession of developments over here with the first unveiled at the Royal Horticultural Show in South Kensington and later moved out to parks in Southwark and Peckham where I came across them as a young boy in the 1950s.

And almost 70 years after I encountered my first bandstand Tony Goulding came across this one in Tenerife, and knowing my fascination for them took time out from his holiday to snap front and back.

‘Nuff said

Pictures, 2024, from the collection of Tony Goulding

*Bandstands, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Bandstands

**A Walk in the Park, Travis Elborough 2016, pages 155-56

Poems and pictures ……… at the Royal Oak ......... tomorrow .... midday

I am looking forward to the launch of "Poems by Lindy and Pictures by Peter" which they tell me “will be a memorable afternoon”.

They have “invited Manchester’s top literary artists to come together for an afternoon of spoken word and poetry in celebration of their new book of poems and pictures but despite, working  before on projects,  up till now, they have never collaborated on a book which has produced so much wow.

The idea of illustrating stories is not new and the very first illustrated books were published in 1461 by the cleric and printer, Albrecht Pfister, who was born around 1420 in Bamberg.

What’s unique to this book is the vivid imagination of Peter’s startling images set against the raw emotion created by Lindy’s poetry. 

And so there you have it, a "Sunday Lunchtime of  Spoken Word, Poetry, and the Book Launch", in The Royal Oak Function Room, Chorlton, 12.00 - 2.00pm, Sunday 30th June.

Dip in and out of the book as you wish and revisit the poems and pictures to discover new surprises every time.

Just remember, everything is not always what it seems”.

And with that promise .... clear the diary for that hour on that day, and remember the book is available  from  www.pubbooks.co.uk  and Chorlton Bookshop.

Location; The Royal Oak Function Room, Chorlton, 12.00 - 2.00pm, Sunday 30th June.

Illustration; Oligarch by Peter Topping, 2024

Standing in Tommy Ducks ……. the legend and its history ….... part 1

Now, Tommy Ducks remains a legendary place in the history of the city.

There will be those who remember the underwear pined on the ceiling, along with the coffin that once took pride of place in the bar, and of course the ongoing debates about its name, and just how it came to be demolished on a night in February 1993.

I don’t remember the coffin, because by the time I was roaming the city centre pubs it had been removed by its owner to the Nag’s Head on Jackson’s Row, although to be accurate the coffin resided in the room to the left of the Lloyd Street entrance.

My friend Elaine who worked at Tommy’s, offered up the story of what happened to the coffin along with a press clipping from the Manchester Evening News and the story of how Mr. Ken Riggs who had run the pub through the 1970s took it with him when he left for the Nags’ Head leaving the new landlord, Mr. Ormod to substitute a headstone in its memory because “customers missed the coffin”.

All of which means that Tommy Ducks on East Street  had always been more than just a place to visit for a quiet drink.

Looking through the wealth of material on the pubs including the speculation on its name and its origins I decided to go back to basics, and trawl the historic records.

Once, numbers 8 and 10 East Street were part of a long row of terraced houses, which were there by 1848 and were built sometime between then and 1819.

From the 1840s through to 1864 what became Tommy Ducks was just a residential  property, consisting of just four rooms, with a cellar.

The 1860s Rate Books show that both the house and cellar were rented out s dwelling places.*

But during 1864 a James Robinson moved in and opened up a beer house, at which point both the rent and the rates doubled, from a rent of £9 to £18 and a new rate of £15 from just £8.

The Robinson’s tenure was short and mid way through 1867 the place was taken over by Thomas and Charlotte Duckworth, who were granted a license for selling beer under the title of the Princess Tavern.

They had already run beer shops across the city.  In 1861 they were on St James Street, off Charlotte Street, dispensing cheer and beer, and four years later were doing the same on Hancock Street which was off Rochdale Road.

And while I haven’t yet made a link, there was an Ellen Duckworth running a beer house at 20-22 Hancock Street in 1863.

The Duckworth’s remained at East Street into the early 1880s, although the business is listed in the name of Charlotte in 1878.

And that pretty much is it,  for the rest of the 19th century and through the next it continued to operate as a beer house rather than a pub and is listed as such as late as 1950, and there are images of it with the old Princess Tavern name alongside that of Tommy Ducks.**

During those two centuries, it was surrounded by industrial units, saw most of the rest of the terrace disappear, including the intriguing court, called Faulkner’s Square.

Leaving me just to invite anyone with memories of the pub to participate in a “SHORT LOCAL FILM OPPORTUNITY”, the organiser of which have written, 

“We are looking for interviewees on a project about the legacy of the Tommy Ducks pub, which used to stand opposite of the Midlands Hotel on what is now lower Mosley St. 

This legendary pub is remembered in countless stories, including those of its peculiar decor and unfortunate demolition. 

We are hoping to explore the mythology and memory of the pub through personal testimony/interview. 

If you have stories and memories to share, either via Zoom or face to face (in the outdoors) in a COVID risk-assessed and friendly environment, please email tilliequattrone@gmail.com.”

Location; Manchester

Picture; Elaine at Tommy Duck's courtesy of Elaine Archer, the pub in 1978/9, from the collection of Andy Robertson and East Street circa 1903 from Gould's Fire Insurance Maps, 1880-1903, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/   EasStreet in 1950, from the OS map of Manchester & Salord 1950

Painting; Tommy Ducks © 2011 Peter Topping

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

Next; more on the Duckworth family

Manchester Rate Books, 1860-1900, Census records, 1841-1911 and Directories, 1841-1911

**Tommy Ducks, 1972, m50660, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

Always look down …….. travels across Tenerife encountering the interesting

Over the years I have inducted into the Street Furniture Hall of Fame, the historic, the bizarre and the nondescript and today it is the turn of a humble access plate for Alumbrado Publico Funca.

Now not speaking Spanish I assumed Alumbrado was a place, but it turns out to be the word for lighting, leading me just to   offer up the full translation ….. Funca Public Lighting.

And that is almost that, other than to thank Tony Goulding who wins this weeks commendation for recording the plate while on holiday in Tenerife and sharing his puzzlement at his second image of a circular plate arising from the bare earth on top of a concrete lump.

Happily his final offering was both easy to discern and an amusing mix of Spanish and English …….. “Loro Parque  El must de Canarias” “Parrot Park, The must of the Canary Islands”

So I await the holiday snaps of green parrot's grey lizards and offerings from the souvenir shop along with the menu of suitably themed meals from the the restaurant at the end of the Park, which judging from their site is more extensive and exciting than the poster would suggest.

For here they tell me "Modern zoos are embassies for animals and the ideal showcase for bringing the natural world closer to people.

We have been conceived as a place for animal care, scientific study, and awareness of the global environmental crisis, we are one of the most active links in the current animal and environmental protection not only in the Canary Islands, but throughout the world".*

And for those who might want to take the adventure, tickets in J

Location Tenerife tickets in June and July run from €42 for adults to €30 for children.

Pictures; the Spanish additions to the Street Furniture Hall of Fame, 2024, from the collection of Tony Goulding

*Lor Parque https://www.loroparque.com/en/

A little bit of Tudor History in Well Hall on a summer's day in 1964

Well Hall Pleasaunce, August 1964

This is one of those photographs we all have in the collection.

It was taken in the summer of 1964 and there amongst the smiling children and their parents is one of my sisters.

And it is one of those odd things that I not only remember the event, but also my mother cutting the photograph out of the local paper and sending a copy to our grandmother.

The event was “Junior Showtime” one of a series of summer time events put on by Greenwich Council at Well Hall Pleasaunce.

The moat and Tudor Barn, 2013 © Scott McDonald 

I doubt that our Jill even remembers the show and I am pretty sure it will be almost impossible to track down the performers on that Saturday in the August of 1964 but it is a reminder of the extent to which local councils put on all sorts of cultural activities.

I still remember a magic summer of fun put on during that long six weeks holidays at my Junior school in south east London in the July of 1961.

And round about the same time the Manchester Corporation Parks Committee issued a “Guide to Leisure and Pleasure in the Open Air” with everything from the big events like the Manchester Show down to “Jerko the Clown, Versatile Children’s’ entertainer presenting Magic and Mirth in various parks.” 

Of course it was not all positive.  Many of the bandstands which for over fifty years had been places to listen to live music were slowly being left to rust and the attention of vandals while the paddling pools were closed and filled in.

The moat and Tudor Barn, 2013 © Scott McDonald

All of which takes me back to the Well Hall Pleasaunce on that warm summers day in 1964 and the Tudor barn which had been built by John and Margaret Roper in 1525.

She was the daughter of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor to Henry V111.

They had married in 1521 in Eltham and lived on a moated island to the south of the barn.

The barn was used for storage but may also have been occupied by servants because at the western end there there are two huge chimney and is all that is left of the buildings they would have known..

Maragret Roper 1539

Margaret and Thomas were the very embodiment of the Renaissance.

She was an accomplished writer and translator while he wrote a much praised biography of his father in law.

The Roper’s home was demolished in the 1730s and a new house called Well Hall House was built between the moat and Well Hall Road.

Its most famous occupant was the children’s author Edith Nesbit, who wrote The Railway Children, and lived here from 1899 until 1922.

After its demolition in the early 1930s Woolwich Council decided to use the renovated Barn as the centrepiece of a new park, the Well Hall Pleasaunce.

Well Hall House, date unknown

"The park was opened in 1933 and the Tudor Barn as a restaurant in 1936.

Although it was intended that a library should be situated there, this never happened and for many years after the War, the Barn was run by the council as a restaurant and upstairs an art gallery and function room for weddings and events.""**

And that brings me back to that summers day in 1964 and the concert area.

It was a popular venue where I attended a mix of blues and folk nights while Brian Norbury remembers “seeing the Strawbs there when Rick Wakeman was making one of his first appearances, about 1970.”

So a nice mix of personal memories a bit of Civic enterprise and a link with Tudor history.  Not bad for a small piece of south east London

Pictures, Well Hall Pleasuance, August 15 1964 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, the moat and Tudor Barn, 2013 ©Scott McDonaldcourtesy of Bernard Skinner, Estate Agents, http://www.bernardskinner.co.uk/ Maragret Roper, from a 1593 copy of a now lost painting by Hans Holbein,, Well Hall House, courtesy of the Edith Nesbit Society, http://www.edithnesbit.co.uk/wellhall.php#picture

* Leisure and Pleasure in the Open Air  Parks Committee, Manchester Corporation, 1963
** http://www.tudorbarneltham.com/

When Mr & Mrs Allendale sold apples at that shop on the corner of Wilbraham and Keppel

That shop having its makeover, June 2015

Never underestimate the power  of memory,

Recently I reflected on the changes to that shop on the corner of Wilbraham and Keppel Road.

But the occupants of the place during the last century were a bit hazy.

That is until I posted the story and then with the help of a shed full of people those long  lost businesses came flooding back.

Back in 1960 with the Allendale's

In the 1980s into the 90s it was the Cheese and Bacon shop which always seemed very busy and operated that old 19th century maxim of offer the customer a wonderful array of good food as they walk in through the door and display much more in the long window.

We went there and I was sad when it closed.

What I didn’t know was that during the 1940's for two decades it was Allendale's the fruit and veg shop.

Now it had been Pauline Kelly who told me about Allendale’s, and Sandra who found the 1960 picture on the digital archive.

And I bet it will bring back a host more stories.

More so because of the cast iron and glass veranda which occupied the Keppel Road side.

Underneath the veranda, 1960

It can’t think it was original to when the shops were built and must have come down in the late 1960's or 70's but what a wonderful addition it must have been allowing the Allendale’s to serve out on the street in all weathers and capturing passing trade.

Added to which it that pre slick marketing age no one thought that trays of fruit on upturned wooden boxes would deter interested customers.

And that is about it, until more stories come flooding in about the Allendale's, and the cheese and bacon shop which they did just minutes after this was posted.

Lesley Smith remembers that the Cheese & Bacon shop was run by a Mr and Mrs Carney whoretired to Wales.

So the stories aren't over yet.

Picture; the shop on a June day in 2015 from the collection of Andrew Simpson and in 1960 by A E Lander’s m18303, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

Well Hall House that fine 18th century pile which went in 1930

Well Hall House date unknown

Now I am fascinated by Well Hall House.

It was built in 1733, replacing the Tudor manor house and was demolished in 1930 and it is a place I have written about and will do so again later next month.

But in the meantime I could not resist posting this picture, which comes from the Edith Nesbit Society.

I don’t have a date but it is clearly late 19th century and may date from when Edith Nesbit lived there.

She is of course known for her children’s books some of which feature Eltham in their stories, but there is one in particular which describes in detail the house and its gardens.

This is the Red House which was written in 1902 just three years after she moved in to Well Hall House,

Which just leaves me to  finish with the picture again.

We are looking at the front of house from the large garden which separated the building from Well Hall Lane.

To our left was the ornamental garden and at the rear more gardens, the moat and three ponds.

The orginal estate had consisted of 33 acres but Edith and her husband took a lease on just 7.

Picture; courtesy of the Edith Nesbit Society, http://www.edithnesbit.co.uk/

The Manchester of soot lined buildings which oozed confidence

Now this is the Manchester of my youth.

I say youth but I was just turning 19 and many of the old Victorian and Edwardian buildings were still around.

They were soot covered and some had become very neglected but they oozed confidence and they were Manchester.

Of course Mr Hitler and Derek the Developer had done for many of them but there were still enough left to impress me when I walked the city streets in between lectures in the late 1960s and early ‘70.

It would be easy and a little cheap to mourn the passing of many of them which I suspect had been uncomfortable places to work when they were built.

And those modern developments do express that same mix of assertive self confidence and commercial drive.

This one on the corner of Princess Street and Mosley Street fascinates me.

I can’t now remember if it was still standing when I arrived and the site would later become the Peace Gardens before becoming the new home for the Cenotaph.

It was there by the late 19th century offering office space upstairs while the downstairs was occupied Alexander Thomson who were stationers, R.S Bayley who traded in cigars and on the corner Mr Sinclair who was a tobacconist in 1911.

Not much had changed by 1968 when our image was taken.  There was still the same range of small shops, and the one that caught my eye which was the “Wallpaper Shop”.

I doubt that such a shop would have much of a future in the city centre today.

And this last comment I have had to modify given the comment below from a someone who points out that there is a very impressive store on Deansgate.

The picture come to light through a new project which Neil Simpson tells me is “the Town Hall Photographer's Collection Digitisation Project, which currently is Volunteer led and Volunteer staffed is in the process of taking the 200,000 negatives in the collection dating from 1956 to 2007 and digitising them.

The plan is to gradually make the scanned images available online - initially on the Manchester Local Images Collection Website".

And that only leaves me o include one I tool earlier from the Art Gallery looking out almost on the same spot.

Now what ever I have already said about liking grimy Victorian and Edwardian buildings I have to say that what they have done on the corner of Princess Street and Mosley Street is just so much better, affording a fine view of the entrance to the Town Hall.

But that last comment will no doubt be challenged.

We shall see.

Location Manchester






Picture; of Princess Street, 1968, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and looking at almost the same spot in 2015 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Neil Simpson, Manchester Local Images Collection Website, https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/sets/7215766350511542

Chorlton Office, a pair of boots and a bus stop ................

This is one of my favourite pictures of Chorlton in the 1960s which comes from  George Cieslik’s collection.

I do like those images of the not so distant past, when much of what you can see is almost like today, but not quite.

And this one is no exception.

There in the distance is the old cinema, and in front, the building which over the years has had many different uses, from doctors’ surgery to a café, an antique shop and more recently a DIY centre and discount store.

Back in the 1940s it was still a residential property and out of the blue a few years ago someone contacted me with the story of when they lived there.

The keen observer will spot that the church on the corner of Barlow Moor Road and Sandy Lane had yet to be demolished, while the parade of shops opposite the cinema had yet to lose their stone ornaments.

But for me it is the very little details that make this photograph so fascinating.

It starts with the building which is now the home of diving club but back then was still the Chorlton Office and looks little different from when it was opened in 1915 as part of the terminus for the Corporation trams.

And that raises the question of just when the cast iron and glass veranda was spirited away.

And then for me there are the tiny personal things, starting with the old bus stop sign, with the Corporation logo, which was still in use when I washed up in Manchester in 1969 and the boots the woman beside the lamp post is wearing. 

They will have had a zip up the front, were made of felt with rubber soles, and an imitation fur lining, and were the bees’ knees back in 1962.

Others of my generation will single different things out, from the Belisha Beacons to the Morris Minors, and some like me will remember how the cab of the white lorry looked so modern when compared to others on the road.

And that is, other than to thank George for another slice of 1960s Chorlton.

Location; Barlow Moor Road

Picture; Barlow Moor Road, circa 1962 from the collection of George Cieslik

A scurry of squirrels …. two restaurants ……. and the story from my friend Tony .... part 1

Now, this was a fine story in the making and one that challenges that simple observation that there is always a place for originality.

Arno's restaurants, undated

So, in April 2023, the restaurant Street Urchin opened at 72 Gt Ancoats Street, and one of its specials was “English Grey Squirrel”.

At the time I thought that was novel, but then I suspect that squirrels turn up on menus across the country and but Tony may just have come up with a squirrel restaurant that predates Street Urchin by 94 years and just a mile away on Brazennose Street. 

Brazennose Street, 1961

At which point as Tony did the research based on some family memories, I will just hand over to him.

“Hi Andrew, whilst reading the book, ‘Manchester Memories’ the author mentioned that he recalls a squirrel restaurant in Manchester, run by Arno Rolls, have you heard of it at all?  I looked on your site and there is no mention.  

The reason I was so interested was that after my dad left the army, where he qualified as a chef, he worked at the Roll’s Restaurant in Manchester, on Brazennose Street, until it closed around 1962/3. 

He then went into partnership with my uncle (my mum’s brother) and they bought a café in Rusholme on Wilmslow Road, called the Rusholme Snack Bar.  It seemed too much of a coincidence for it not to have been the same place, but my dad never mentioned cooking squirrels.  

I did some investigating and all I could find on Google was an advertising poster for "Roll’s Squirrel Restaurants" (no date) which had two eateries, one on Oxford Street and the other on Brazennose Street, so it was the same place.  

A quick thumb through my directories and I found that in 1929, the restaurant at 29-31 Oxford Street was listed as ‘Roll’s Squirrel Restaurant’, but the one on 46 Brazennose Street was just listed as ‘A Roll, Restaurant’.  

So presumably, by this time he certainly limited his squirrel dishes just at Oxford Street.  By 1954 (when my dad was employed there) he had no restaurant listed on Oxford Street and the Brazennose Street eatery had moved to 44, where it remained until closure, around 1962.  

I have one photo, taken from the Manchester Council image site, that shows the Roll’s in 1961.  

Chorlton squirrels, 2022

I don’t know too much about his time there, other than when it closed, they sold off a lot of catering equipment and dad brought home cutlery, and various kitchenware, some of it, quite fancy such as a silver-plated soup urn.  

He once took my sister to Manchester centre and called into the restaurant and from what she remembered, it was quite up market, catering for Town Hall staff.  

Would you be interested in adding this tale to your site?  I have attached the image site picture, the advert from Google and the cuttings from my directories.  

I also have about six photos from the inside of the restaurant with my dad and a few of the staff”.  

And of course I leapt at the opportunity to tell the story and am looking forward to those pictures. 

Leaving me just to thank Tony for the idea and the research and reiterate no squirrels ended up in a pie or a casserole in this story

Location; Brazennose Street and Oxford Road,

Pictures; advert courtesy of Tony, Brazenose Street south side, H. Milligan, 1961, 00455, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and two squirrels not in a restaurant, 2022, from the collection of Balzano