Photo-a-Day  (Monday, 1st July, 2024)

Always look forward to photos of Aspull Dennis particularly Now n Then, great reminder of our childhood days mate. The Cafe sign on the left was once Billy Croston's grocery shop, I worked as an order boy here in the late 1950s, lovely memories Dennis, thanks!

Dennis, did your gramma live next door to Aspull Secondary Modern or Doris Eckersley’s Chippie?
Or did she just live “next door”?
Just asking.

I wonder if the children from Aspull Secondary Modern realized how lucky they were, chips for lunch from Doris Eckersley's chippy!
None of them look fat, decent food and outdoor life - no need for diets!

The kids will be in their 60’s by now. I-hope they see this photo of a more care free time in their lives. I bet they spent all their dinner money in that’ chippy’.
Great photo Dennis as usual …I love Aspull even though I have never lived there.

Ps It looks like Cissie and Ada are keeping an eye on the Bash St kids.

Those were the days Dennis. No haircut and proper chips in newspaper.

I’m sure you will work it out for yourself Dek, just keep trying.

I agree with Veronica, and with Elizabeth, who always says how much she likes Aspull, though none of us have ever lived there. Peter and I regularly pass a chippy in Crosshills, on the way to Keighley, and it still has that style of sign and it always takes me back to childhood, queuing in our local chippy in Ince for a "six" of chips wrapped in a little bag made from a sheet of newspaper. Thankyou Dennis....I love the "before-and-after" photos.

Coincidence. George Seddon was a teacher at Aspull Secondary Modern in those days.

Did you ever visit that barbers shop near the chippy for a short back and sides Dennis ?

Nice one Dennis.
Have you noticed with all these 'Then and Now' photos, even discounting the 'Then' being in black and white the 'Now' always looks to have more trees and greenery.
I think the Chippy was the first thing I noticed, Irene do you remember the early 1950's when money was tight (which it always was) getting a 'apeth of crackling and pea wet?
For those that don't know, crackling was the left over bits of batter that fell off the battered fish.

Irene - Keighley and Worth Valley railway is good, but the breeze along that valley at Keighley in the winter is chilly.. to say the least.

Sign says FISH CHIPS when did we start calling them CHIPS and FISH
And why was there a barbers pole sticking out of next door.
Didn't ever see women's hairdressers in them days

Bi awe klop and no clipperty down the lane in o bit. Yon cloggers on Hallgate is shuttin.

You're right Irene,I do love Aspull although have never lived there,like yourself and Veronica.Great photos Dennis ! Do you remember Banks's chippy,off Pickup Street,Irene? X

Just missed my favourite pub for a get together Dennis in the 80ties and 90ties when Trevor and Anne were in charge (the Moorgate)

Colin, we always called bits of batter that fell off the fish "scratchings" in Ince but when we go to Yorkshire we have to remember to call them "scraps".
TD....our son gave us the gift of a day on the Keighley/Worth Valley Railway a few years ago and it was brilliant! Is it Rickard's Cloggers on Hallgate that is closing down? I am sorry to hear that as I have had many pairs of shoes mended there.....an old-fashioned shop with excellent service and workmanship.
Elizabeth, yes I do remember Bank's Chippy in Ince, just off Pickup Street....as well as having a chip-range they also sold tinned groceries. I remember the factory girls, with rollers in their hair covered by a headscarf, buying a bag of chips in their dinner hour and then "bopping" on the pavement outside in the sunshine to the music from someone's radio.

TD my granddaughter worked on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway as an Elf December 2022 I took her and picked her up several times as could not risk her driving in those treacherous icy conditions in her fiat 500 over the moors.

No T.D., I never went to that Barber’s shop, unfortunately for me my dad had learned to cut hair in the Army (at least that’s what he claimed) so he was unwilling to pay for haircutting.
When my brothers and I visited Grandma’s she had no trouble feeding us she just sent one of us next door for a BIG bag of chips (Ten pence old money) and another one to Arthur Winrows down the street for pies. Together they fed the four of us with a feast fit for a king for next to nothing.
Fresh bread, best butter, Doris’s chips and Arthur’s pies, you couldn’t ask for anything better.
Just thinking about those days puts a smile on my face even now after all these years.

Irene I lived in Aspull at Dukes Row,Crawford Steet and the now demolished School Close and would not mind moving back there mostly decent folk like Walt and Dennis etc.

I thought you would do Irene,I can remember the factory / mill girls as well,'bopping',practising for when they were dancing at th'Emp.! X

Yes Irene Rickards is closing its doors and is going up for sale.

The Elf Express wonderful for the kids at Christmas John (w)

Could wollop some of that fresh bread, best butter, Doris's chips and Arthur pies. Where all coming around your grans for tea Dennis and we'll fetch a bottle of Tizer to wash it down.

Tizer thee apetizer T.D.

I took some pictures in Rickards a few weeks ago and sent them in to P,A,D, but they were not used .
The guy in there was very friendly and willing to talk about the history of the business,
So sorry to hear that they are closing down.

I saw on the Ince and Scholes Nostalgia site that the shop is closing after many years. Very sad.

Dennis, I would love to see those photos of Rickard's. Do you think they might be shown if you sent them to "Album" rather than "photo-a-day"? If not, would it be possible for you to send them to my email? No offence whatsoever if you can't or if you would be uncomfortable with that, but I loved that shop.

Sod Rickards , I’d much prefer to see a photo of Fred Rose’s garage up on the A6 back in the 60s …

Don’t suppose there’s much chance of that happening any time soon though is there Dennis .

Don’t get me wrong .

I’m willing to pay … just name your price .

Irene, I could email those photos, but I don’t have your email.

‘If only’ - two words in the English language that express a longing. I would have loved a photo of the inside of the Clogger’s on Scholes next door to the Chemist. Whilst we’re at it a bottle of how it smelled. I can see him in my mind’s eye rising through the trapdoor in the semi darkness and nearly jumping out of my skin at the sight.
‘’ If only” the mind’s eye could capture that in reality!…He was christened ‘ Blinkhorn’ by my dad because he appeared in the blink of an eye through the trap door and the name stuck I thought it was his real name! That was the ‘Clogger’ to beat all Cloggers ne’er mind Rickard’s lovely shop as good as it was! ‘If only’ I had had the foresight….’If only ‘ I had possessed a camera…ah! “If only”…….

Oh eck! I posted where instead of we are.

No worries.

Rickard's have another shop. Their belts were made from one piece of solid leather. Quality worth paying for and made to last. Those cheap foreign ones are made from strips of leather glued together and don't keep your keks up for long. That's the advice from Pickard's, apart from Farnworth is where we are.

Irene, I have put a 4in1 picture of the Wigan shop on the album.

Tadeiusz Jastrok and Harry Parr employed Messrs Fred Rose Limited, haulage contractors, Westhoughton July 1956,
demolished concrete lampost in Bolton Road Chorley. Jastrok was driving.
Harry Parr lived on Gilbert St, around the corner from Jastrok who lived on Princess St in 1956.
Were they still working for Fred Rose's in the 60's Ozy ?

Seen it and commented, Dennis.....made my day! Thankyou.

I don’t recall the bloke with the Polish sounding name , but I remember Harry Parr .
I’m going back to about 1961 or 62 here mind , and I was just a lad at the time . I think Fred Rose folded around 1964 , and another haulage company , Deans from Manchester moved into the Blackrod site .

Where exactly was the site Ozy?

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact site after all these years Cyril as it’s all been built on , but if you come through Fingerpost heading up Scot lane and take the public footpath from Barker’s -de-lane farm , it brings you out on the A6 almost directly opposite where Fred Rose’s old yard used to be .
The Mercure hotel is 200 yards or so farther up on the same side heading towards Wingates .
I don’t know what function all the other new buildings perform , but I think they were built on the site in question .
That’s the best I can do unfortunately .
Walt from N.Yorks may be able to verify this .

Ozy I can tell you exactly where Fred Rose’s was turn into Marchwood Close off the
A6 and facing the gable on the end terraced house is a little car park for those 3 storey new houses, that little car park and those houses is exactly where the front of Fred Rose’s garage was,actually it was the old BRS garage and originally Fred Rose was based at the opposite end of the Blackrod bypass where Adlington hand car wash is now as my dad Jack Ball worked for Fred Rose along with Jack Pye and several others I think maybe Ken Rose the son was running the place.hopefully this answered your query Ozy

Yeah ! You’re right of course John . I remember it was opposite the public footpath leading to Barkers-de-lane , as I used to go down that route with the bike on my way back home .

I may have even met your old man , but I have no recollection of his name , nor that of Jack Pye , but I do remember coming into contact with Kenneth Rose on a number of occasions .
He’d appear in the office periodically , usually when I was fannying about cracking wheel nuts on the 8 leggers or washing Harry Parr’s Bedford CA Dormobile for the umpteenth bleed’n time .

There’s a photo of one of Rose’s Fodens , I think it is , somewhere on the transport section of WW album .

Flippin Nora - that's a happy blast from the past OZY. I too have washed a Bedford CA Dormobile. Mind you it was a tired example, but fun and with a column change gear stick. Trips out for the family could be exiting, including the times when the large offside sliding dor.. slorred off! Usually on a tight uphill bend. No worries with a quick stop to retrieve the door from the middle of the road and.. off again.

Rastrok the Fred Rose haulage driver lived on Regent St (not Princess St) Harry Parr of Gilbert St.
Seems the two streets are in the town of Hindley, but they don't live there now unfortunately. Travelling there to knock on doors and enquire about any photo of Fred Rose's Haulage had crossed my mind. There is not much free info on'tinternet these days. Fred West and his wife Rose pop up a lot. Nowt about Fred Rose's garage and little elsewhere, but if something very good or bad happened sometimes it crops up. My favourite source for interesting stories about how folk actually lived is below.
Careing is sharing... there is a subscription fee, but you can search for.. free.

Here is the link you are interested in, as requested OZY.

www.britishnewspaperarchives.co.uk

Enjoy.

Ozy my dad left Fred Rose’s in the fifties but Johnny Eastham or Jim Slater may have been there in your time and Brian from Park Road Comercials owned the place last before being demolished albet you knew him and Roy and Bob Sumner from Aspull.