There used to be a a shop in Huddersfield called something like "Global International Mobile Phones And Repairs", which sounded all very grand, but was no more than a little chap in a broken down room with a counter made from a piece of wood balanced on two packing cases. Trades and industries that are … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 2. In The Limelight

We were in Slaithwaite yesterday visiting the excellent Slaithwaite Art Festival, and afterwards called in one of the many antique emporiums in the village. There I found on one of the stalls a fine collection of old Victorian photographs. I managed to limit myself to just £5's worth, and came away with five excellent examples … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 1 Pendlebury Wave

This is Fred and Hazel walking along the promenade in August 1932 (there are people out there who will recognise which promenade it is, and - in the great traditions of the internet - will tell me). George V has just opened Lambeth Bridge and Forrest Mars has just produced the first Mars Bar. Aldous … Continue reading 86 Years On The Prom

How this particular photograph found its way into my collection, I have no idea. I do, however, know who it is a photograph of, and that is George Grayham. We also know that George was an "old friend", as written on the back of the postcard sized print is "from an old friend, George Grayham". … Continue reading From Your Old Friend

Studio Postcard of Unknown Woman : The only clue to the identity of this woman is a dedication on the reverse, "From Mary". The uniform she is wearing suggests that she was a munitions worker in World War I - one of the almost 1,000,000 women who went into the factories of Britain to make … Continue reading Mary The Munitionette

I can't decide whether this couple posed for this photograph or whether they were actually asleep and a companion got his or her smartphone out and took a quick picture that would make a fine profile picture on Facetwit or the like. But this was the 1930s and it would take a year and a … Continue reading They Sailed Away