The First Tram In Space

This is a view of a road I knew so well. I used to walk down from school and then take a short cut from Clover Hill Road to Well Head and then the Bus Station for the bus home. There won't have been tram lines there in my school days, but somehow the memories … Continue reading The First Tram In Space

The Distracting Pole

This image is from a picture postcard of Halifax which dates back, I think, to the 1930s. I've tidied it up a bit and got rid a a distracting tram pole, which makes the scene much more attractive. It might, however, result in the tram having difficulty proceeding any further along Commercial Street!

Snakes And Branches

This view of Elland is taken from an old picture postcard, published more than 120 years ago. Of course, Elland has changed; most of those mill chimneys have gone, and blocks of flats stand where back-to-back houses once clung to the hillside. The river remains, and those roads that either snake along the valley bottom … Continue reading Snakes And Branches

Having Fun At Hall End

It took me a few moments to fit the scene depicted in this 1908 postcard of Hall End, Halifax, into my late twentieth-century perceptions of the town. "Hall End" was not a description I was immediately familiar with, nor were the buildings in the center of the scene. The rather grand building which is center-left … Continue reading Having Fun At Hall End

Gipping Up The Hill

A Paper Portal To The Past

If there is one thing you would have needed in 1919, it is a bit of a tonic. The memories of the carnage on the fields of Flanders are still raw, and the influenza epidemic is now picking off many of the people who survived. So this old photographic postcard from exactly 100 years ago … Continue reading A Paper Portal To The Past

John Hodge And The Overdue Stove

This picture postcard of the Labour politician and Member of Parliament John Hodge dates from October 1911. He was 51 years old when he was elected as the MP for Manchester Gorton in the 1904 General Election which saw 29 members of the new Labour Party being returned to Parliament. It was a time when … Continue reading John Hodge And The Overdue Stove

Have Bed Ready

The postcard dates back to the first decade of the 20th century and shows the Winter Gardens and Pier in Great Yarmouth. As is so often the case, the message on the back of the card is far more interesting than the somewhat crude image on the front. "Dear Mother, Just a line hoping you … Continue reading Have Bed Ready