We also heard of a previous occupant called Hartney John. Older residents also said it had been a doctor's surgery Other shops in Ashton included: Rose Wallwork’s hat shop inside the market; Bailey’s Hardware; Rowell’s furniture shop; Harrop’s the herbalist on Old Street near the Pit and Nelson (my Nanny used to buy belladonna for poultices from there); Shirley’s Hairdressers facing the War Memorial; Nellie Gorman the hairdresser (what a name- not very glamorous!); Mary Ellen Wild the pawnbroker. ‘Sew and Sew’s which was on Fletcher Street sold yards of cotton to make dirndl skirts which everybody wore in the late 50’s usually with a stiff net petticoat underneath.

I have memories of the youth clubs, rugger club and the Cheshire A.C. I also played Lacrosse at Ashton, as well as all the walking I did with my Dad over the Isle of Sky (Greenfield) and the Peak National Park Hayfield, it fact an old friend of mine stilll lives in Tunstell Lane Green Field. I've sent you a diagram of how they worked, hope it is of interest to you, a thing of the past but as my Uncle Willie used to say they were fully automatic shop on the corner of Katherine street and Warrington street which had a sloping scrubbed floor and my teens I still went to the wakes with my friends, but it wasn’t the rides that attracted me, it was theThe shop on Hovis street is still a shop! Well done the Potters for staring the legacy. (George, Eileen, Ian and Barrie) Gate St is all but gone. A new estate runs along Victoria St. Eric and I moved to New Zealand four years ago and so have left the severe wintry behind us, although South Island can experience a good deal of snow in the shorter winter here. OLD STREET and the CINEMAS- Old Street between Warrington St and the Library was the hub of Ashton's entertainment. In the 1950s and 1960s there were 3 cinemas within 100 yards of each other! The Gaumont was quite upmarket with plush seats and Saturday morning club for kids. The Pavilion was commonly known as the 'flea pit' but you could sneak into 'X' rated films when under-age and they had double seats upstairs for couples who hadn't come to watch the film! I don’t think we used to get stuff from him; rather we gave him stuff, and I don’t think he gave us a stone at that time, but some little toy like a pipe for blowing bubbles and stuff like that. I have a question about them though. I understand the rag part of the name, since they basically collected rags, but where did the bone part come in? Why Rag and Bone?

Round the corner on Oldham Rd was The Empire- it had a bar upstairs and was also used by local operatic groups to stage musicals. I saw "West Side Story" there. Not forgetting the Palais de Danse, usually known as " The Pally." I used to go roller skating there when I wasn't at the Saturday Morning Club at the Gaumont. Later on I went to see bands play there- I saw 'The Who" there in the early 60s. Ashton Palais was the location for the dance hall scenes in the film "Billy Liar' starring Tom Courtney and Julie Christie. The worst thing was having some vile tasting medicine every day, with regular weekly throat swabs to see if we were clear of the virus. I was born in the lake hospital in 1935, and for a very short time my parents and myself lived with my Once in school we had a sort of assembly and then the teachers would drag the loud noisy folding partition across the school to form smaller classrooms.I passed my bronze and silver medal tests but after that, Bob told my Mum that to continue towards gold was really more for those with talent! Subtle ...! I remember that we used to pay six shillings for a half-hour private lesson so it was probably a relief to my Mum to learn that I was no Alesha Dixon! Besides, I was doing 'O' levels then leaving Fairfild High School by then. I remember that soon afterwards, Bob moved his school of dancing from Openshaw to Droylsden. I am assuming that it was to the Droylsden class that you went. TheTop Twenty Club, was it? Incredible to think that Jimmy Savile was the regular dj there. I used to catch the number 19 (later the 169) bus to Ashton Old Road to go to that Alhambra Palace, as I lived in Droylsden, in Abbey Road, just off Springfield Road, off Greenside Lane. My bus fare, three halfpence, one way. i went to Elyshion st school i dont remember many boys or girls from there i think i wasnt very popular i did play a fairy in the school play though and still remember what i had to say till this day.

Just a short story about when my mother, brother and I had an unusual day out in the 1970’s. When the producers of a film set in wartime Lancashire were looking for a town in which to film they chose Stalybridge. Maybe you could take offence that the town hadn’t changed much in 35 years but we weren’t all that bothered. The film was called “Yanks” and starred Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Gere (Shame I was only 7 years old!) and we were chosen as “Extras”. I have to admit I know little of TV’s Coronation Street although my wife is a big fan. To live a life such as ‘David Platt’, as an example, you would have to be 300 years old! Not in any way a reflection of the Openshaw I grew up in years ago and especially not now. Ten businesses in one line of a street! Do me a favour. Most inner city mancs I know have the same opinion.Droylsden is known for its friendly residents, who offer a warm welcome to newcomers, making it an inviting place to call home. The town boasts a strong tradition of volunteering, with numerous community projects and initiatives powered by dedicated locals.