The art of Christmas ………. part two

The second in the series featuring festive menus from Blackpool hotels covering the period from the late 1940s through to 1969.

They come from the collection of Suzanne Morehead who kindly passed them over to me a few years ago.

I have always planned to use them in a series but always missed the boat of featuring them at Christmas, and running the stories in April seemed a bit daft.

What I particularly like about them is the artwork, which is a style I remember so well from the period.

And to the social historian or the nosey there is an insight into what the hotels offered over the holiday.

So from 1958, Redman’s Park House Hotel began Christmas Day with “Breakfast between 8.30 am to 9.15”.

After which guests could participate in “Snooker, Billiards and Table Tennis Competitions”.

Luncheon was at 1 pm with “The Queen’s Christmas Day Broadcast on Television and Sound Radio” at 3, followed by an appearance of Father Christmas at 3,30.

At 4 there was “Afternoon Tea and the Children’s Party” with the Christmas Banquet from 7 pm.

The evening was rounded off with “Games, Sing song and the Delta Variety Show” between 8.30 pm to 12.0 midnight, finishing with two hours of “Dancing with the Band”.

Location; Blackpool, 1948-1969

Pictures; from various hotels, 1947-1969, from the collection of Suzanne Morehead

The art of Christmas ………. part one

I am back with how hotels have celebrated Christmas in the past.

And so with that in mind I thought I would visit a series of festive menus from Blackpool hotels covering the period from the late 1940s through to 1969.

They come from the collection of Suzanne Morehead who kindly passed them over to me a few years ago.

I have planned to use them in a series, but always missed the boat of featuring them at Christmas, and running the stories in April seemed a bit daft.

So here over the next few days are a selection.

What I particularly like about them is the artwork, which is a style I remember so well from when I was growing up.

And for the social historian or the nosey, there is an insight into what the hotels offered over the holiday.

So from 1958, Redman’s Park House Hotel began Christmas Day with “Breakfast between 8.30 am to 9.15”.

After which guests could participate in “Snooker, Billiards and Table Tennis Competitions”.

Luncheon was at 1 pm with “The Queen’s Christmas Day Broadcast on Television and Sound Radio” at 3. followed by an appearance of Father Christmas at 3,30.

At 4, there was “Afternoon Tea and the Children’s Party” with the Christmas Banquet from 7 pm.

The evening was rounded off with “Games, Sing song and the Delta Variety Show” between 8.30 pm to 12.0 midnight, finishing with two hours of “Dancing with the Band”.

Location; Blackpool, 1948-1969

Pictures; from various hotels, 1947-1969, from the collection of Suzanne Morehead

A century and a bit of family history .......... Affleck's to Cross Lane Salford

A little bit of history came my way recently.

Suzanne's aunt Mary

The history consists of a collection of letters, photographs and magazines.

The oldest is a letter dated 1895, and the most recent from 1961.

They belong to Suzanne who thought I might be interested in them, and of course I am.

We will all have these collections which have survived partly out of luck and also because they meant something special and deserved to be kept.

And what makes these ones that bit more special is that Suzanne could talk about them referring to letters she received after her marriage to the photograph of her grandmother which was taken at Affleck’s on 121 Oldham Street.

My favourite’s have to be a letter by Suzanne’s grandmother written in 1895, and the picture of Suzanne’s aunt Mary aged 15, standing outside the grocers shop on Cross Lane in Salford owned by Suzanne's parents.

What prompted Suzanne to share them was a conversation we had had about chief rents and particular the statement for the twelve houses on St Werburgh's which also included the collecting fee of £2.47.

It was quite common for one householder in a row of properties to be responsible for collecting a batch.

A fine bunch of party goers

When I lived in Ashton it fell to me knock on and ask for the princely sum of 30p from the adjoining four houses.

 Over time it became easier just to pay the £2 myself and dispense with the chore of going round to each neighbour.

And only last week someone told me they had been doing the same thing for years.

Letter home

It is all part of that shared history we all have and so I will return to the collection at a later date and dig deeper into what Suzanne has kindly given me.



Location; Manchester











Pictures; from the collection of Suzanne Moorehead

Affleck's to Cross Lane Salford ..... more from a unique collection of family history

Now as ever it is always the detail that fascinates me about other people’s family’s pictures.

At Mr Affleck's studion, date unknown

Recently my friend Suzanne passed over a collection of photographs and letters dating back into the 1890s and spanning roughly 70 years of her family’s past.

Aunt Mary, aged 18, 1943

There are also a large number of newspapers and magazines covering the death of the old King which today are in themselves an interesting comment on how the media covered the event.

Added to which there are all those adverts which I was going to say have period charm but won’t because most of them I not only recognise but were remember with great familiarity.

But for today it is just two pictures, which invite you to dig deep into their history.

The first is of Suzanne’s grandmother, which was taken in the studio of Affleck’s on 121 Oldham Street.

I will have been in a similar photographic studio when I was very young and while I have no memory of the event we do still have the pictures and in the background there are those studio props, be they the plant, the backdrop of some faraway place or in the cae of Suzanne’s grandmother, a balcony.

And that just leaves one of favourite’s which is of her aunt Mary aged 18 outside the family shop on Cross lane in Salford.

Location; Manchester & Salford


Pictures; from the collection of Suzanne Moorehead