One set of neighbours who attend the Smithy Close meal are also keen music lovers, and since 2007 they have been organising what they call Brindle Rocks. These are house gigs where various singer/songwriters will play their own music to entertain a few guests. Graham organises the musicians, and his partner Janet, and a few […]
I have never had many close friends. I count several people as true friends, but there are very few who are long-standing. In my experience, friendships grow and wane over time, but I don’t view this as a problem, just a fact. By definition, a friendship must be a two-way thing, and if I’m guilty […]
I consider home to be Brindle, where I have lived for the majority of my life. I lived with my parents in Whittle-le-Woods for 23 years, and then spent five years on the outskirts of Chorley before moving to Brindle in 1988. Occasionally, we have considered moving house, especially when our contemporaries were moving upmarket […]
My earliest memories of holidays with Mum & Dad are day trips on the train to Blackpool or Belle Vue, Manchester. I clearly remember the train journey to Blackpool, and would always be on the lookout for Blackpool Tower soon after the train left Preston station. I can’t remember travelling to Belle Vue – perhaps […]
Looking back on our wedding, everything appears very cheapskate, and I suppose it was, even by 1983 standards. This didn’t matter to us then, and still wouldn’t today. We are both naturally thrifty and we love a bargain and I know that we would both struggle being married to anyone who had a different financial […]
My first experience of girlfriends was at primary school. I became aware, aged about nine or ten, that the game of ‘kiss-catch’, which periodically became fashionable at school (to the dismay of the teachers) had taken on a subtly different feel, and suddenly I found myself wanting to be caught by the girls, but not […]
In 1985 when I was 26, I attended my first Open University summer school when computers were in their infancy. It was here that I used a computer programme to obtain careers advice. It was a novelty to answer a series of simple questions about my likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses and then have […]
My real interest lay in cycling touring, which for a teenager, wasn’t cool. Teenage cyclists around my age would join the BCF (British Cycling Federation) who allocated racing licences. Instead, I joined the RTTC (Road Time Trials Council) who provided similar third party insurance and allowed me to take part in time trials. In addition, […]
I bought my first Ordnance Survey map in about 1972. It was the old 1-inch series (with the red cover), and my house appeared in the bottom right corner of Sheet 94, the Preston map. I quickly realised that I also needed sheet 95 (Blackburn and Burnley), sheet 100 (Liverpool) and sheet 101 (Manchester) because […]
Although I am the youngest of five children, being five years younger than my nearest sibling meant that I often felt like an only child. Pauline was the nearest to me in age, but she clearly felt closer to Margaret who was just two years older than her. Frank and Tony had each other throughout […]