Before all we Baby Boomers Shuffle Off

[MoreJoe]

Just take a few moments to catalogue the things we remember and the changes we have witnessed.
For instance I remember when the streets of Accrington were clear and uncluttered. Over the years we have seen the shift from very few people owning cars to everyone seeming to own one and parking it right at their front door.
I also remember the coming of TV when the TV antenna was a very rare and exotic sight. The appearance of an antenna attached to a chimney pot showed us where the well to do and technically adventurous lived.
As the great TV wave broke over Accrington my friends and I used to spot whether it was an "H" or and "X" and wonder what the difference was. The next wave of that was ITV with its stubby little antenna and shocking programs that were too wild for the stuffy old BBC.
So my friends what shifts in our social fabric have you witnessed?
And how do you remember their impact on you and your family?
-Joe

[dotti34]

MoreJoe, as I live a long way from Accrington and the UK I can’t say what is different there these days but I would think some things have changed in the same way as they have here.

For instance:

Phone boxes…these are now almost extinct as it is assumed (incorrectly) that everyone has a mobile phone.
Driverless vehicles…I have had a ride on a driverless bus. Interesting but I could have walked faster.
Food….so many different nationalities here now and they have introduced many varieties of food.
Technology… too much to mention, mind boggling….

……and what the heck is Artificial Intelligence???

[Margaret Pilkington]

Accrington used to be a vibrant town. It had a great market and people would come from neighbouring towns to buy what was sold. It was a place of bustle.Saturday afternnon in town showed the shops to be busy.
Woolworths across from the Market hall...you could buy anything in there and the upper floor had a toy stall that used to have local children spending their sixpence spending money.
That is if you were lucky enough to get spending money.
Ladies would buy their cosmetics and perfumes there....Evening in Paris in a little midnight blue bottle with a pointy silver top. Californian Poppy in a yellow box with red poppies all over it....Phul-Nana...this was an exotic scent and they also sold mouth fresheners of the same scent.

Veever in Peel Street...the smell of ground coffee seemed to waft out of the door...though I did not know anyone who used ground coffee...anyone that I knew drank Nescafe and it was sold in tiny two ounce tins.

Wardleworths in Little Blackburn Rd....if you were lucky enough to win a school prize then this is where you would browse the books to buy with your book token.
I loved that shop and often went in when I had nothing to spend...just to look and hold the new books. I loved the smell of them.

I could go on and on....about how ladies dressed up with their best dress in summer and their best coat and a hat in winter...but this would become like a blog of mine....and there might be others who want to contribute(but why am I doubtful about that?)

Alas now all gone.
Pretty soon there will be no shops in Accrington....it has become a bit like this forum..lost and a bit lonely.
I am really glad to have lived in the era where it was bright and bustling

[Mark2009]

I get really sad at the state of Accrington, I suppose there isnt just one reason for all this, but moving the bus station so far away from anywhere has got to be a big contributer.
There is talk of 23 ? million coming to the town, but this will be a drop in the ocean to try and revitalise Accy. I hate to say it but Blackburn is much more attractive to shoppers.

[Mark2009]

What was the shop called at the corner of Blackburn RD and St James st. They sold cheese , bacon, cooked meats etc and also had asmall cafe that sold excellent bowls of soup. (not carrot and coriander to be seen)

[Margaret Pilkington]

Mark that would be Redmans...yes the cafe was a good place to get a hot drink or a snack

[MoreJoe]

We were an industrial "Blue Collar" type of town.
Very few "White Collar" type workers.
And yet there were about six thriving tailors shops where you could buy your next "Best Suit". Dress codes may have changed but more for easy comfort than any style and grace.

[Mark2009]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Mark that would be Redmans...yes the cafe was a good place to get a hot drink or a snack

Thanks for that Margaret. I have a vague thought that they may have also had a stall in the market hall ?

[Mark2009]

Originally Posted by MoreJoe

We were an industrial "Blue Collar" type of town.
Very few "White Collar" type workers.
And yet there were about six thriving tailors shops where you could buy your next "Best Suit". Dress codes may have changed but more for easy comfort than any style and grace.

I remember my dad having a made to measure suit. The tailor used to come to our house for fittings.

[cashman]

i used to love Redmans cafe twas one of my favorites.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I used to get taken to Redmans cafe after a visit to the dentists….I used to get one of the special mugs with Horlicks in it. A toasted currant tea cake too.
I really wanted fizzy pop, but Grandma said ‘no’.

I am not sure if Redmans had a stall in the market…Johnny Nolan had a stall that sold all the kind of things Redmans sold.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Mark2009

I get really sad at the state of Accrington, I suppose there isnt just one reason for all this, but moving the bus station so far away from anywhere has got to be a big contributer.
There is talk of 23 ? million coming to the town, but this will be a drop in the ocean to try and revitalise Accy. I hate to say it but Blackburn is much more attractive to shoppers.

Moving the bus station was definitely a pivotal point. It destroyed the market in a stroke…reduced the footfall to the Market hall too.
Over the years the council have done little to ensure that there is something to come into Accrington for.

Boots the Chemist closed yesterday, Steals closed a few weeks ago and on a Market day there were only three stalls operating….a single fruit and veg stall….a stall that sells odds and sods and the Egg stall.

Other than that there were only three of the enclosed units operating….the cheese stall, Greg’s Bacon and a single wet fish stall.

Why is this?
Yes of course the shopping habits have changed and more people buy online, but when you look at the customers drifting round the market they are mainly of an older generation.
Many of whom want to see what they are buying…perhaps do not trust online grocery shopping.
It cannot be cost effective to have stalls empty….surely it would make economic sense to let out stalls at a much reduced rent…that is if the council want to keep the market…but something tells me they would be glad to see it gone.

They have high falutin ideas about making the market hall into a food court.
With all different varieties of food.
Will this work? Well, I don’t think it will’ because you can bet your neck that it will be open only during daytime hours.
Don’t we have fast food outlets aplenty?….and some of these have folded….Papa John’s springs to mind and StrEAT food too.

If we want a vibrant town centre we have to look at the places where they have vibrant centres and look at their models.
Other than that, we can kiss goodbye to what Accrington is.

[lol1944]

Just a thankyou for so many reminders of Accie, born there1944.

[ferret man]

Reading your last post Margaret, I think the third line could have been, the council has done every thing in it's power to ensure there is nothing to come to Accrington for.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes, I think you are right…and that swanky bus station that they hoped would bring people in, well it doesn’t.
It takes them away to towns that have more than fake shops and ‘to let’ signs over what used to be going concerns.