Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 13th February, 2016)

Nice nostalgic photo. Do we all know this couple???

You make a great couple Irene!
Those were the days.....

Now that would have been perfect for a Black and White shot. Absolutely perfect to recreate the 1940s era.
Neil this is not a criticism, the photos great, I just think this recreation of the 40s in made for B/W.

Good shot Neil, this would look good in sepia toned monochrome as well, as there is nothing "modern" in the shot.

WOW !!!

Lovely photo can't help thinking how effective it would have been in sepia or black/white! You must have been a very well to do couple in the 40s with that car!

GOOD photo its a pity it's taken on
double yellow lines they didn't need
lines then D.C.

A charming image of yesteryear ,a time before computers, texting,and video games.a time when people would actually speak to each other . Well done Irene and Peter .

Very good, what make of car is it?

Cars kept stopping as they thought we were filming....never thought I'd stop the traffic at my age!

Fabulous photo. I agree, it would look great in black and white. Is that your car?

Apart from the yellow lines John. I imagine there is a computer programme ( I am using our English) available that would convert colour to sepia/mono? Advice welcomed.

Thanks to Ray from Blackrod who kindly let me photograph the Austin

Yes nice photo and nice 1940s feel, but I wonder how many people could afford a car in the 1940s?, not many unless you were well-off. Not very realistic as regards to Wigan in the 1940s. To me Wigan is about working class, pits, Wigan Pier, weaving mills, etc, not Downton Abbey lol. I recall seeing an Austin 7 not long ago around Blackrod, could've been the same one. Can't be too many of them about in the Wigan area.

Fabulous!

I'd have gone sepia rather than black & white :)

GB, the car you saw around Blackrod probably WAS the one in the photo. There WOULD have been some "well-off" people in Wigan, (Lord Crawford for one), but probably very few, but women would have taken off their pinnies and put on a hat and gloves to go out, not, (as I've actually witnessed), wearing their pyjamas in the Co-op and the Post Office! They had a pride in their appearance, despite being poor. Thanks to everyone for lovely comments.

No not pinky/red image.
Black and White would have been perfect. Neil, if you'd have been more prepared you could have brushed road dirt/leafs over the yellow lines. It's all about planing.

It's a baby Austin 7.

Sepia for me. Fair to say not many Wiganers would own a car in the 1940's but the way this couple are dressed the gent could be a Bank Manager or a Doctor.Both of which would likely own a car.

Take your point Garry but there wasn't much time to plan with cars shooting past. Do you mean an Austin 7 Chummy? If so I don't think it is the Chummy . Tom Walsh knows how pally you need to be to sit side by side, even in this bigger version.

Lovely photo of a well turned out couple.
One of my uncles father owned a Rolls Royce in the late 40s. It would sometimes stand outside the shop on Darlington street.

I love the photo our Irene..you and Peter look very smart.

Hello Neil.

Keith, Peter's suit once belonged to Sir Peter Hilton, who was Lord Lieutenant of Derby, so it DID belong to the gentry! It was made-to- measure for Sir Peter and believe me it is a ton weight compared to modern suits! Thanks for your comment, and for Anne's and our Maureen's too.

No Neil, I never mentioned CHUMMY.I said Baby Austin 7.

lovely photo ,so smart

When I see you both on Bolton St Station Bury I will know you both straight away will have a natter with you both.Good Photo both look very smart.

Yes Garry but wasn't the small , or baby Austin 7 known as the Chummy? Anyone know?

Irene,tell us why you were stopping the traffic when you were younger. we would all like to know.

What a cracking picture. You and hubby Irene sure look the part.

I think it's a lovely photograph and very evocative of a bygone era. It's also great that people can actually be bothered to do this kind of thing.

Just a little story....The hat, fur, basket and handbag, (which you can't see on here), are all original. When I bought the hat, and went to pay for it, I casually remarked to Peter that I had some pheasants' feathers and some imitation cherries that would look nice on it, and the lady seller banged her fist on the counter and bellowed in a very Headmistressy voice, "DON'T put ANYTHING on that hat!" I was so startled I almost said, "No Miss, I won't, Miss, Honest, Miss"! When I got home I immediately got out the feathers and cherries and realised she was absolutely right....the hat has a "Paris" label inside and its style is in its simplicity. It should be at an angle that covers some of my face, (who said what a good idea?!), but it was windy and I couldn't keep it in the right position. It is very like the one worn by Miss Pierce in Foyle's War.

Picasa will do all the basic photo editing including sepia and black and white:
https://picasa.google.co.uk/

With regard to the yellow lines, I can remove them, if you wish, if you email me the original colour photo. My email address is riggsfn@yahoo.co.uk

The Austin baby 7 has the hard top, the Chummy had the fold-away just like the hood on a pram!

Jinski, I never said I was a traffic-stopper; it was meant as a joke. The people who stopped did so out of politeness as they thought we were filming. I was never a "traffic-stopper" even when I was young!

Neil,according to Google it WAS known as Chummy.

Thanks Neil (Rigby) but John Morris has done it for me...the camaraderie of Wigan World, very special.

Jimmy, not sure we will go to Bury this year; there used to be much more going on than in recent years, and we favoured Ramsbottom last year, as there were lots of shops, cafes etc. Bury 1940s event stays on the station and doesn't extend into the town and the stalls have dwindled in recent years, but if you see us at ANY 1940s events, do please come and say Hello. Thanks to all for lovely comments. x.

The hat is very similar to the one worn by Ingrid Bergman in the film " Casablanca" ! You would have spoiled it Irene by putting cherries on it. I went to Crich in Derbyshire to a 40s event. It was absolutely mesmerising! You just get so swept along with the atmosphere that you feel you are really there in the 40s. It took quite a while to come back down to earth I can tell you.

Agree with Thomas about when people actually spoke to each compared to today, I don't know whether texting or computers has anything to do with the decline, but generally people don't want to know each other. Lots of people are complete backstabbers, rude to each other and never say hello. Everyone, dosent matter if you're from a council estate or from a posh neighbourhood, people are a lot ruder and unfriendly. Everyone seems down in the dumps and miserable, which isn't surprising as look at the country, it's a mess, were being bled dry with more taxation, bankers stealing our money and crashing the economy, making the tiny few richer and poor poorer, more and more big brother laws and surveillance, more wars, privatisation of the NHS, etc. Whats the like?

Very good photograph.

Does it not seem strange to use a dead animal as a fashion accessory?
It is a cracking photo though.

One of the best Photos that has been on P a D.Class always shows. Eleven out of ten Neil for that , also the young couple, because first class models are not easy to find.

We have a great 40s weekend here in Sheringham...Norfolk. The 3 stations on the North Norfolk Railway are awash with the 1940s, even the town of Holt takes part....great stuff !

Helen (of Troy). You live in one of my favourite places -Norfolk! I go that way nearly every year. I must find out when there is a 40s event on!

Den,Monty, the fox fur, died long before I was born, and yes, in those days, it WAS considered a fashion accessory! I have a fur because I am portraying those times. If by leaving him behind in the wardrobe I could bring him back to life I would do so. If you could see him close up, he is a bit moth-eaten, (like me!), and is certainly not of the posh, expensive ones that were once sold in exclusive furriers! I know foxes have, in the past, been bred to be killed for their fur, but I rather suspect our Monty was pinching someone's chickens! Brian, the "young couple" are very flattered!

Great photo Neil!
Reminds me of Bonny and Clyde...the film I saw in the old Princess Cinema in 1967. Wheres Peter keeping his Tommy Gun?
I can imagine you two jitterbuggin'.

Vb, google "Rod's 1940s" and it gives you a month-by-month list of events all over the country. Also, the April Issue of "Best of British" magazine has a 1940s events diary for April and the rest of the year.

This seems to have created a lot of interest and discussion, for which I am glad. Thank you all for contributing. Brian B.....YOU'VE NO IDEA WHAT THE MODELS CHARGE! Irene stipulated 'Orchids and her weight in pies!'

This seems to have created a lot of interest and discussion, for which I am glad. Thank you all for contributing. Brian B.....YOU'VE NO IDEA WHAT THE MODELS CHARGE! Irene stipulated 'Orchids and her weight in pies!'

Johnny, our first date was to see Bonny and Clyde! I was 15 and Peter was 17. We sat on the back row. Peter bought a box of Clarnico Peppermint Creams and ate the lot himself, never took his eyes off the screen and made me come out before the end because they all got shot! Neil....my weight in pies.....a dream come true!

I was 19 then Irene...I was off work so I would be sittin on me own at the matinee showin...Johnny No Mates :-(
I think there must have been a dozen in the cinema...all spaced out!
NB: I've been on P-A-D as Giovanni in the past!!

When they were children my wife, her sister and 4 adults would have day trips in a car just like that one. It was owned by a friend of theirs, Jack Ainscough, who was a plumber from Billinge Road

I can't tell you how glad I am to know you're okay, Giovanni! Maureen and Neil and myself have all wondered why we hadn't heard from you for a while; we had many a chuckle together on Photo-a-Day, AND got told off! When the advert for margarine, (Bertolli?) comes on TV, there is a signpost saying Giovanni, and I have often wondered when I saw it if we would hear from you again. x.

I quite like my new name Vb.....thanks for suggesting it.
Around the 16th of September is usually the 1940s in Sheringham...a great weekend for everybody. Even I don my glad rags!

Thank you Irene for your kind thoughts and my regards to Neil and Maureen...I have been busy redecorating, travelling and my daughter has had my first grandchild.
Giovanni was just a pen-name. Yes we did have a chuckle and may it continue!!

Hello Giovanni,I can't get used to calling you Johnny yet..but we'll see ..are you still painting?just to let you know since our conversations re different mediums I have got into Acrylics and enjoying it..like Irene says I too see 'Giovanni' in different situations and wondered where you'd got to..before I looked in again on P.A.D Irene through Neil let me know what name you now call yourself or maybe your real one...glad you haven't left us.x

One of the best photos so far, it has charm and sophistication captured by an excellent photographer.

Thanks for that both Helen (of Troy) and Irene. I had actually already looked the events up! When I go to those ' do's ' I like to go for the weekend-they are great. You feel like you can speak to complete strangers -it's bizarre really, like asking a 'yank 'if he's any gum -chum! Or even better nylons! By the way Helen I think your title suits you! Regards

Great photograph: incidentally, is 59 views a record?

No, david.b.....Peter and I were also p-a-d in Sept. 2011, but a lot of the comments were from me, I admit, thanking people for their interest and answering questions. There were 63 replies. But my answer to you makes it 60 on this one and I would like to thank everyone for their interest and kind comments; I just wish Wigan would hold a forties event.....we always have to travel to them. x.

It would be wonderful if Wigan could hold a 40s event. I can just imagine 'jitterbugging' in the park with a Glen Miller type band playing. If Haworth can hold one in such a small village -surely Wigan could. I can just imagine all the soldiers and airmen and civilians in 40s dress! Think of the trade as well for Wigan. I don't know why it hasn't been thought of before! Or has it been thought of and refused.

That would be a great idea Vb!
Now where's Dads de-mob suit? I can see it now...brown chalk stripe DB. He wore it for weddings, funerals bar-mitzvahs and Saturday night in the pub! And his RAF great coat kept me and my brother warm on cold nights whilst we ate our rations.
Maureen
Thanks for your comments..its a joy to be back!

Veronica , what a wonderful idea, when I next call at The Museum of Wigan Life, I will mention your suggestion . If it came to fruition it could give a big boost to Wigan !
Should an interest. be shown I will contact you ,Irene ,Peter and Neil to see if you would be interested in helping to promote the notion .Best regards,Tom.

I remember my dad's Army greatcoat Johnny in winter on my bed! I'll tell you a secret as well.- before my dad was demobbed he came home with army bankets wrapped round himself underneath that great coat and they lasted for years. His mother was terrified at him pinching them! His brother who was a marine brought a piano back to the house but she made him take it back -it must have come from the NAAF everything was being wound up!I don't suppose it matters now the Red Caps won't come now!!!! The risks they took because stuff was unavailable! As my dad used to say "you don't know you're born"!

I would be very interested Tom and I'm glad others like the idea.

Thanks Vb for that info...
Hard times but happy times..we made do or made things..Mam with her sewin and knittin and Dad who as an engineer made my first tricycle from scrap parts..and Dad was made up when we moved to a new estate...all that timber and bricks layin around!!