It’s Only Nineteen And A Quarter Miles To Rochdale

So why would anyone place a milepost on an obscure back road in Rastrick telling people that it was only nineteen and a quarter miles to Rochdale? Who would want to know that? You might want to know how many miles it was to Elland, but that piece of information has worn away. Further research … Continue reading It’s Only Nineteen And A Quarter Miles To Rochdale

Harry Moore At The Piano

Uncle Harry was the nearest you could get to a celebrity in our family. For a time in the early 1930s he "trod the boards", being part of a concert party that did the rounds of the seaside pier halls of Britain. He was never top of the bill, his job was to provide piano … Continue reading Harry Moore At The Piano

Where The Art Is

The French writer, Andre Gide, once said, "art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.” (well Google says he said it). Gide died in 1951 and therefore he missed out on smart phone apps. If he had lived on and managed to download a handful of … Continue reading Where The Art Is

Temporal Adrenalin

Most of us respond positively to a challenge. I don't mean serious, grown-up challenges such as dry rot in your floorboards or your wife running off with the milkman, but life-enhancing challenges such as climbing a mountain or collecting matchbox labels. For some people it is pedalling a bike backwards up a very steep hill … Continue reading Temporal Adrenalin

Strange Lockdown Hobbies No. 257 : A Tumbling We Will Go

My dear wife bought me a rock tumbler for my birthday. It's not just any rock tumbler, it's a National Geographic Variable Speed Professional Rock Tumbler! It is designed to stimulate my curiosity, occupy my stagnant mind, fill the empty hours of lockdown, and open my eyes to a world of beauty I had never … Continue reading Strange Lockdown Hobbies No. 257 : A Tumbling We Will Go

Halifax Found

Those of a certain age will remember the final scene in the original 1960s film Planet of the Apes. Charlton Heston is riding a horse across a post-apocalyptic planet when he finds a crumbling relic, and suddenly realises it is the remains of the Statue of Liberty. This strange new world is none other that … Continue reading Halifax Found

Sounds Familiar

BRIGHOUSE NEWS : SATURDAY JUNE 26 1880 With nothing much to do other than read old newspapers, I found this article in a copy of the local Brighouse News from exactly 140 years ago. It was a report by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Britton, on efforts being taken to combat the outbreak of scarlet … Continue reading Sounds Familiar

Kids These Days

Kids these days! They're surgically attached to their mobile phones. Never off them. You can't have a good old fashioned conversation with them any more, because they are glued to their phones. Now, when I was a lad ...... I received through the post today, a copy of Lilliput Magazine from October 1947 (has anyone … Continue reading Kids These Days