Christmas in Chorlton, circa 1989 and a quest for a special toy

Raphael

Anyone with children born in the 1980s will remember the desperate hunt to collect the four Ninja Turtle figures.

I can’t remember which Christmas it was but the quest to find all four pretty much occupied the run up to the day.

The four and you had to try and collect all four were Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael and shops just couldn’t keep pace with the demand.

It was I suppose not unlike the stories my mum told about food rationing in the last war.

The rumour would circulate that one of the four was available from a certain toy shop and the race was on.

I remember there was an informal agreement that if you were out and you struck gold you bought as many as you could so that they could be shared out.

I am sure Quarmby's did their best but it was the big stores who offered the best chance of success.

Our eldest managed to get all four and in the way these things work all have now been lost.  But we do have a replica which came into the house a few Christmases ago for another of the lads.

It is Raphael who apparently was the bad boy of the team, being aggressive and sarcastic.

On a more pleasant note we still have mountains of Lego which once formed ships, castles, space rockets and pirate islands, now sadly reduced to their parts, kept in bin bags and waiting for something to happen.

But these were the toys of the 1980s and 90s when the boys were growing up.

Mud in 1974

Go back another decade and I could have picked space hoppers, scalextric, my little pony along with groups like the Bay City Rollers and Mud but I won’t.

Between them Mud and the Bay City Rollers divided the girls I taught and for a few years the school Christmas parties were dominated by alternating hit singles played out on an old record player  linked by a series of tired looking cables to the sound system which was already twenty years old and feeling its age.

These were the years when I had just become a responsible adult, had got married and was buying a house in Ashton Under-Lyne.

It would be a full ten years before I began pondering on wish lists and children’s toys.

That said I never quite lost my fascination for toys and in particular train sets, but that is for another time.

So given that I wandered into to that decade when my  sons were growing up I shall leave you with yet another image of Raphael and call a halt on all these Christmas postings.

Pictures; model of Raphael, Ninja Mutant Turtle from the collection of Josh Simpson, picture of Mud in 1974 from Wikipedia Commons, Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1974, Author, AVRO

A Christmas sometime between 1955 and 61

I don’t usually do nostalgia, but this week is an exception.

So for all those who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s here is a selection of the presents that came into our household each Christmas from 1952 till 1963.

They are not in any order and lean heavily on my own child hood experiences, but I bet they could be replicated by many who read this.

And for those whose childhoods came later there will be in another post, with images of Barbie Dolls, the Bay City Rollers and Mud annuals, along with scaletric, my little Pony and the Turtles, including all four sourced from the cellar.

Of course if I wanted to really revel in nostalgia I could invite contributions on the upstairs of Quarmby’s, the sparkling and  groaning shelves of Woolworths and that paradise for all ages which is Toys R Us.

I don’t recall doing the storehouse Father Christmas and think we avoided it when the lads came along, but I have always been a sucker for Christmas trees.

They have to be so big that you end up chopping a bit off the bottom, come from a forest somewhere and have a mismatch collection of decorations which are as much about past Christmases as they are about elegant design and appearance.

Only recently I gave up on the multi coloured tree lights and went with the wishes of our Josh that they should be all one colour.  And every year we still put the Christmas angel designed by Saul somewhere near the top.

That said there is always that debate when to buy the tree, too early and it runs the risk of losing its needles and too late and all that is left are those sad two foot specimens which have a bit missing in the middle.

But the event is as much about family traditions as anything so despite being 39 Ben will still get a Beano album in his stocking and Luca a selection of wine gums, fruit pastilles and the odd Kinder egg.

And because I grew up in the 50s and that pretty much has frozen in time the Christmas I like, we shall bring out the Monopoly board, insist that everyone tries a selection of the festive nuts, and gather to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

That said there will be the addition of those nice things to eat that Tina grew up with at home in Italy, at least three phone calls to Varese during the day and a visit from Ron and Carol.

All that and the Christmas football match which the boys and their friends play for half an hour on the Rec sometime after the presents and before the big meal.

It is a tradition which they have played for as long as I can remember, and over the years the event has pulled in friends, and anyone who is around the house on the day.

But mindful of my responsibilities I stay indoors, tending the fires, laying the table and reflecting on past family gatherings.

That said a few things have changed.  Back in the early 1950s we still attached candles to the tree, went out for a brisk walk up to Peckham Rye and ate directly after the Queen’s broadcast.

Not that it ever seemed to snow back then either.  But as they say be careful about what you wish for.  Back in the afternoon of Boxing Day in 1962 the snow fell across Peckham, New Cross and Eltham, and continued for months.

Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Christmas greetings from the beginning of the last century

Christmas greetings from the beginning of the last century







Picture; from the collection of Rita Bishop, courtesy of David Bishop

A Chorlton history story in the making .............

Now here is a bit of the present which will quickly become another little part of our history.

The books arrive, 2023

Today the crowd funded project to create a set of Christmas Carol books has been achieved, and the attractively designed book has arrived back from the printers.

Over the last few years there has been an evening of carols performed on the old village green beside the Christmas tree between the two pubs.

But according to Jules Gibb who is a founder member and organizer of the Christmas Carol group they have been relying on “ sad old scraps of paper and old booklets with Christmas Carols, which are getting tattier and tattier."

Singing on the Green, 2022

And so hence the book which will add a bit of class to what has become an increasingly popular Christmas event.

I could say more, but I covered the story earlier in the month, and so will just  record that the organizers have announced “On 16th December 2023 we successfully raised £200 with 22 supporters in 14 days”.*

And so, a new bit of history is in the making.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; carol singing on the green, 2022,  the carol book design, 2023, and the consignment of published books, courtesy of Peter Topping 

* Looking for the first carol singer in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2023/12/looking-for-first-carol-singer-in.html

Sending a wartime Chrsitmas card

Buying Christmas cards is a very personal thing.

I always get mine from Oxfam and then try to do that juggling act of picking ones I think people will like but which don’t cost an arm and a leg.

And because I like to get them I do have to send a lot out.

That said there will always be a few which don’t get to a post box and a couple which are too late to be dropped off by hand.   If I have done the sums that just leaves the odd four or five which are surplus but some how never survive to be used the following year.

This is usually because I forget where I have put them.

Now over the years the fashion in cards has changed a fair bit that said the classic winter scene seems always to be the one that is most popular with our friends.

All of which made me reflect on the style of cards sent during the two world wars.  These ranged from the traditional to the sentimental and the patriotic.

So here are a selection of cards sent between 1914 and 45.

The first and last come from the collection of Tuck and Sons, and the one in the middle was sent by one of my uncles to my dad in the December of 1918.

Pictures; Horray for the King, 1914 and I’m dreaming of a white Christmas 1942, from Tuck & Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/ and With Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas and a Victorious New Year, December 1918, from the collection of Andrew Simpson 

One hundred years of one house in Chorlton ....... part 149 …..the end of a Christmas tradition …….and a big thankyou Tony Adams

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since.*

Christmas is full of family traditions and ours is no different.

Many of the things we do date back beyond the children and are imports from how we celebrated Christmas as youngsters and even bits from our parents, and grandparents.

It makes for a seamless and slightly unique family Christmas.

But today one of those has happened for the last time, and that is the delivery of the trees from Tony Adams in the precinct.*

We have been getting our Christmas trees from him for nearly 40 years and have never been disappointed.

In the early years we went to him with the kids making the choice, and then when they had got to the stage of doing other things I went on my own.

But I must confess I was rubbish at choosing and over a decade ago I left it to Tony who has always done a better job.

Along the way we went from one to two.  

The first must be so big we have to cut a chunk off the bottom, and the second which began just as a token to mark the decoration of the dining room in 2009 has continued and has  also grown.

That said Tony always does a deal for “my teacher friend” and we get them at a wonderful price.

But the demolition of the Precinct means he is closing down and with that ends the tradition.

So, a thank you to Tony and his staff at his shop in the Precinct.  

Our kids have grown up enjoying the trees and that for me has been a part of what has made our Christmas.

Location; Chorlton Precinct, and our house

Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The Story of a House, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2023/11/one-hundred-years-of-one-house-in.html

**A. J. Adams, 15, Chorlton Place, Manchester, M21 9AQ

Looking for the first carol singer in Chorlton-cum-Hardy

As titles go it is a bit daft even for a history blog, and I guess ranks with Carol Singer bites dog and the carol singers who started singing in Easter.

Singing on the green, 2022

But it sets me off on a story which touches on Christmas in Chorlton across the centuries.

To which I could drag from the collection the picture of Mr. Whitaker and his two assistants outside his grocery shop on the corner of Beech Road and Chorlton Green in the run up to a Christmas long ago.  

Or alternatively a picture postcard of Beech Road on a summer’s day over printed with “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.

Instead, I will return to carol singing, and the practice of singing around the tree on the green.

Just when that started or revived is lost but someone will know.  

Chorlton Christmas Carols, 2023

Instead, I shall just reflect on an appeal to “Help buy some Chorlton Christmas Carol Booklets, for the Christmas Eve Carol Singing, on Chorlton Green".

It is a crowd funding initiative and aims to do away with “the sad old scraps of paper and old booklets with Christmas Carols, which are getting tattier and tattier.

Christmas Eve, Beech Road waiting for the carol singers, 2022

Now that attendance to the Chorlton Christmas Carols on Chorlton Green is reaching 100 people, we thought we ought to have some new Carol Booklets.

They will be a 12 page A4 Booklet with favourite 18 carols. 

All of which will need funding to design and print them”.*

And that is that, other than to say next year I can write about that bit of history when people in Chorlton came together to raise a bit of money for a community event.

In the meantime Jules Gibb who is a founder member and organizer of the Christmas Carol group remembers, "for  years me and some of my friends went all over Manchester in search of that magical Christmas feeling you get on Christmas Eve, when the Carols come out and a sense of belonging just might be a bit possible.

What with the drive and parking, and crowds it never quite hit the spot. We enjoyed it but it was hard work.

One of the choirs I was leading at the time was Golden Voices; Manchester’s older people’s choir. 

Back then many of the members lived alone or in residential accommodation. Christmas Eve can be a tricky time. I was minded to do something that anyone could come to on their own.

And so in 2009 a few of the groups I sang with, The Lovenotes, the Distractions and Picturehouse Choir and friends, gathered on Chorlton Green, on Christmas Eve and sang carols.

Then we decamped to the pub and made a night of it.

The next year we did it again. And again. I remember looking over the assembled throng one year and realising I didn’t know half of them.

The People of Chorlton showed up, and for a moment we all belonged".

All of which makes the appeal to fund the carol book so important.

So far, they have raised £115 in the last few days so it’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; carol singing on the green, 2022, and the carol book design, 2023, courtesy of Peter Topping and Christmas Eve on Beech Road waiting for the carol singers, 2022, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Chorlton Christmas Carol, https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/chorlton-christmas-carols

One hundred years of one house in Chorlton ....... part 140 ….. 46 Christmases on Beech Road

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since.*

Christmas Eve, 2022

Now I have no idea how Joe and Mary Ann spent Christmas.

But I guess it involved a tree, a heap of those paper chain decorations, some presents, and a meal followed by that special Royal message.

Of course, they may not have tuned into the Christmas broadcasts, from King George V, George Vl and the late Queen but I suspect they did.

If so the first which was just 17 years after they moved into the house would have been in 1932 and listened to on the wireless, and so it would have been until the first TV broadcast in 1957, by which time I am confident they had a television.

Fast forward nineteen years and I was here in the company of Lois, Mike and John.  

It was my first Christmas in the house while the other three had been here since 1974.

We were all teachers but there was a distinct “student feel” to the way we celebrated the festival, not least because they all went home for the event, so our celebration was done a few days earlier, with the meal and presents and continued again a few days later with shared stories of the latest Morcombe and Wise show and the alcohol  excesses of Christmas Eve.

The tree with the lean, 2022

After which Christmas took on a new meaning as it became a festival shared with our kids, with home made decorations which mingled with the commercial ones, which still come out each year and cover the tree in an ad hoc set of physical memories.

We still put out stockings although our eldest is just short of 40 and the youngest a mere 27, but to these are added those for the grandchildren.

And like all Christmases the event has changed slightly with the years.  

So, 2022 was a buffet, with an absence of advent calendars.

But the short football game on the Rec was back after a break of two years, which is a tradition going back at least 25 years to when they were young and attracted friends who joined them.

Although with the passage of time the game has become shorter.

And for the first time in three years all the brothers and partners were together, triumphing over the Covid and immediate post covid Christmases.

Added to this the normal culinary extras from Italy were joined by a mix of Polish food and heap of other interesting starters.

The game circa 2014

That said the memories of Christmas Day in the garden are still vivid, and remnants of the decorations Tina used to replicate our front room and dining room still linger on the odd tree branch.

So, this year was almost back to normal, although like the Christmas card that misses the post, this was the second Christmas that the crackers never got pulled.

Last year they just got overlooked on the day and never made it to the table, and yesterday they were forgotten and remained in the study waiting for someone to bring them down.

The forgotten crackers

Leaving me to wonder about next year.

Location; Beech Road and Italy

 Pictures; Christmas Day past and present from the collections of Andrew Simpson and Balzano

 *The Story of a House, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house

One hundred years of one house in Chorlton …. part 118 ......... the Christmas of 2020

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since. *

This will be the last of the Christmas stories of the house for this year, which also included reflections on how Covid would bring about a very different event, and the nostalgic look back at the Christmas in 1958.

In many ways it has brought me closer to Joe and Mary Ann than any of those I have written about the house at this time of year, and that I guess is because the Christmases they experienced during the last war broke the traditional way of doing things.

And 80 years on, that break has again been forced upon us.  

The plans to celebrate it with some of the family from Italy along with  our Saul and Julia who live in Warsaw , fell away when first travel restrictions looked likely and then by flight cancellations.

Then with days to go it became apparent that we would not be sitting at a table with the rest of the children three of whom were in schools and the NHS.

Like so many other families, the options were limited.

We could have gone for a walk, but instead opted to sit in the garden, suitably spaced apart, with hot food, and more than enough to drink.

Tina decorated the trees, ordered up extra blankets and a very different Christmas dinner followed.

But it was fun, with the bonus that we were able to spend time with our grandson.

And it snowed ….. not much but enough.

Leaving it a Christmas which did indeed break with tradition and made it a first, which I think deserves to be recorded as part of the story of the house.

To which I shall  just add that as I write this on December 30th a dozen or so Christmas cards arrived on the mat.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Christmas in the garden, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The story of a house, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house

Beech Road …… waiting for Christmas Eve

Friday December 25th just before 8am

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Pictures, Beech Road, on Christmas Eve, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The first tree of Christmas ..........

I have no doubt there will be others on display, but this was the first I saw.

Yesterday on Beech Road.

Location; Chorlton

Picture; The first tree of Christmas, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

It’s all in the tradition ......... 30 and a bit years of Christmas trees from A J Adams

Now the blog doesn’t do adverts, never has, never will, so this is less a trade promotion and more just a thank you to Tony and his staff in the precinct for the Christmas trees they have supplied us over three decades.

Once and it was a long time ago I would go down to the shop and carefully inspect the trees, but I was rubbish at choosing, and so now I just leave it to Tony who has not disappointed me.

The tree is part of the festive deal, and while we no longer go in for coloured lights, tinsel, or the Red Star on the top, the decorations are a mix of forty-one years of celebrating Christmas in Scott’s old house opposite the Rec.

There is no themed style, just an assortment of ornaments, some handmade, others bought by the kids, and a few salvaged from mum and dad’s.

Many of them are associated with a story and are just part of what makes our Christmas.

Tony’s two trees arrived this morning and tonight or first thing tomorrow we will put them up and the day after decorate them.

Why two?   Well it's a long story which is now pretty much lost in the mists of time, but doable because Tony looks after us.

So that is it.

Location; almost Christmas

Picture; the trees from A J Adams, 2017 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Shop fronts I have known …………… Beech Road

An occasional series recording the changing face of the art of dressing a shop for Christmas.

Now, the idea is obvious, but there is a bit of historical thought behind the project, given that the Christmas display is a transient one, soon to be replaced by the January sales and pretty quickly by Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs.

So, with that in mind, over the next few days, I shall indulge my love of Christmas and feature festive shop windows.

This one belongs to  épicerie Ludo on Beech Road.

Location; Chorlton

Picture; épicerie Ludo on Beech Road, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

On discovering the first festive tree of Christmas …. on Beech Road

Now I am old enough to remember the race to be the first correspondent to write into the Times, with that simple announcement that they “had heard the first cuckoo of spring”.

So, with that in mind, here is I think the first Christmas tree of Beech Road.

Silly I know.

Location; Beech Road

Picture; the first Christmas tree of Beech Road. 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

More Victorian Christmas Cards

From the collection of Tony Walker

Victorian Christmas Cards

From the collection of Tony Walker

One hundred years of one house in Chorlton part 37 Christmas

The house in 1974

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since.*

I don’t know how Joe and Mary Ann celebrated Christmas, but they were here from 1920 till Mary Anne died in 1974 so I guess they pretty much had it sorted.

Over the year’s traditions build up and these are as much part of the event as the tree, the dinner and the presents.

When John Mike and Lois lived here from 1974 till ’79 the pattern was determined by the fact that they went home for Christmas, Lois to Weston and Mike and John to Leeds.

So the big meal was held the day before, the gifts exchanged and a sort of second event happened a few days after they came back.

Christmas 1977

Lois cooked, Mike laid the table and John provided the music.  The meal was eaten in the dining room but back then there was no central heating.

John had ripped out the fire places and bricked up the space, which left us shivering in a big room until the antiquated electric fire and the flow of alcohol began to work.

Never underestimate the ability of 20 something’s to become as silly as children.  Paper hats and crackers were required, the conversation usually bordered on the inane and we had a brilliant time.

That said once my lads began to come along Christmas entered a new phase.  Your first Christmas with a new born is different and from 1984 as the family grew so did new traditions, ones which continue even now despite all four of the lads being grown up.

It begins with the issuing of wish lists, rumbles on with the decision on what to cook on the day and becomes intense when we debate when to get the tree.

Christmas 2011

Too early and it runs the risk of losing its needles and too late and all that is left are those sad two foot specimens which have a bit missing in the middle.

They have to be so big that you end up chopping a bit off the bottom, come from a forest somewhere and have a mismatch collection of decorations which are as much about past Christmases as they are about elegant design and appearance.

Only recently did I give up on the multi coloured tree lights and went with the wishes of our Josh that they should be all one colour.

And every year we still put the Christmas angel designed by Saul somewhere near the top.

For the last few years we have bought two, the giant one for the front room and a second smaller one for the dining room.

Now this I know is sheer indulgence but we are always well looked after by Adams in the precinct who has provided us with trees since 1984.

And the choosing of the tree is as much a part of the tradition as the rest of what we do.  I have and still am accompanied by as many of the family who are round on the day, we stand earnestly looking at the selection debating the merits of each and finally strike the deal with Tony.

Christmas 2011

The rest of it unfolds as you would expect.  Ben at 29 still gets a Beano annual and Luca some Kinder egss in his stocking.

And the stockings of all four must always been in the same spot each year.

And because I grew up in the 50s and that pretty much has frozen in time the Christmas I like, we bring out the Monopoly board, insist that everyone tries a selection of the festive nuts, and gather to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

That said there will be the addition of those nice things to eat that Tina grew up with at home in Italy, at least three phone calls to Varese during the day and a visit from Ron and Carol.

All that and the Christmas football match which the boys and their friends play for half an hour on the Rec sometime after the presents and before the big meal.

It is a tradition which they have played for as long as I can remember, and over the years the event has pulled in friends, and anyone who is around the house on the day.

Dan Dare from Eagle Annual nu Six, Christmas 1956

I doubt that it is the Christmas that Joe and Mary Ann would recognise but it is now one that in some form or other has settled on the house for nearly 40 years, which allows me to think it is as much part of the history of the place as any other.

Pictures; from the collections of Andrew Simpson and Lois Sparshot

*The story of a house, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house

All you ever wanted to know about Chorlton and Christmas but never knew you who to ask ...... booked for two nights at the Post Box Cafe

Well it began as a Christmas Talk and was so popular we have decided to run a second night.

This is the Christmas talk at the Post Box Cafe.  The first will be on Thursday December 12th at 7.30 pm.

Originally it was for just one night and was strictly about Christmas and Chorlton but ever one to present new and exciting opportunities there will be much more.

We will start with Christmas but in an effort to make sure the big day is not compromised before it happens; we are looking forward to some of the other festivals and holidays that you could have enjoyed as the year played out sometime in the 19th century.

Nor is that all because I have asked my old friend Mike Billington to come along and sing some traditional songs associated with the different seasons.

So there you have it, some Christmas stories and songs along with a little bit more featuring everything from Easter, Pace Egging, bull and badger baiting, and Harvest time, it’s just got the lot.

Tickets include the usual excellent pretalk dinner at 6 pm and the talk at 7.30.

Now I know the first night on December 12th is all but booked up so we will be running it again the following night on the 13th.

Yes I know that's Friday 13th but superstitions do have to be challenged or at least revisited.

And so to our seasonal postcard.

We are looking up Beech Road, towards Barlow Moor Road.  Away in the distance and now hidden by shops and a fast food outlet is the house Lime Bank.

To our right on the corner of what is now Beaumont Road is the farm behind the hedge, and jutting out on our left are the set of cottages which were only demolished in the early years of the 20th century.

And for anyone really keen on touching our history, I shall just say that if you look closely something of that old history is still there.

That said the card is really a bit of a fraud, for while it says a Christmas greeting from Beech Road you could have bought it at any time during the year minus the seasonal greeting.

Card manufacturers were ruthlessly commercially orientated and this particular image had been sold  all the year round from the beginning of the last century.  So what you got for Christmas was just a cheap seasonal addition.

Now that is not what we have in mind, but if you want to know more you will have to come along.

Picture; from the collection of Rita Bishop

* All you ever wanted to know about Chorlton & Christmas but never knew who to ask and a little bit more, Post Box Cafe, 7.30,  881 4853, www.thepostboxchorlton.co.uk