Oh b****r where’s me rosy coloured specs

[Doug]

Oh b****r where’s me rosy coloured specs

I was talking to a very close friend recently about Accyweb and some of the Threads about the town itself. This conversation brought back some of the reality of the place within my memories.

Circa 1968/69 the place was grim; the bloody place was dull, dank and stank. That was the reality of it whether we like it or not…Some will have other memories, but that was our town.

It was still in its dying days as an industrial/mill town back then. We loved it all the same, on nice sunny days, (and we had some belting summers) it didn’t look to bad, but with the close of winter (they could be Bad) came the smog and the rest of the s*** that we pump into the atmosphere, This over a hundred and odd years painted our building black and they where Black…

I remember going to the flicks on a Saturday morning on bus, we would go past the town hall, It was black as a miners b*****ks, all down Blackburn road the shops always busy but seldom prosperous, mostly locally (white) owned all of then brightly displaying there wears against the grimy blackness that encrusted the buildings, all of them. Parts of church along Blackburn Road where stained bluish purple in places, my dad always said it was the tide mark from the floods (any memories folks). It was a grim place

Most of our buildings at that time where our local stone, notwithstanding the strength of this material it filtered the atmosphere and sucked the grim and crap to itself and held it there for donkey’s years, we use to pick at it and try to flake it off.

I was home yesterday and driving down Blackburn Road, it’s a different place to what is was, It doesn’t really matter if it’s better are worse in this context, Its change, my Accrington has gone. Yes, some places, important places are still there, but the Accrington of my memories has gone forever.

I would like to think that we could preserve what’s left of our heritage for future generations, if we can’t, if we fail to do this the clues to what it once was will end up collecting dust and our town like us and our memories will disappear forever…..

Bloody hell that's a grim thought isn’t it.

[JohnW]

Ah, that's cheered us all up no end Doug!

[Doug]

I know. it's a b****r. I love the place it's part of my life and it's still in my blood, I know not that because of how I feel when I'm back.

[Wynonie Harris]

You can take the boy out of Accy (or Church/Ossy/Clayton) but you can't take the Accy (etc/etc/etc) out of the boy.

An old cliche, but the funny thing is, it's true!

[Doug]

How true, we should all remember our roots

It's what keeps us stood up.

[accyplus]

Dont worry Doug,just take a look around you nothing as really changed,
Baxenden still as its bashers,Ossy its gobbins,Blackburn as its rovers,
Clayton its harriers,Burnley its dingles,Gt Harwood its snuffies,Accy cant
hope to keep up with such distinguished nieghbours,or can it??.

[Acrylic-bob]

Funny you should mention the winters, Doug. I can remember that some years during the early sixties it never seemed to stop snowing. the snow was piled up in the gutters along Blackburn Road and was so high my dad had to lift me across it.

Talking about the black building also reminded me that when it had been snowing the following day the snow was covered with tiny particles of black soot. My god, what must we have been breathing in? The walls of Blythes works at the west end of Ossy are still blue in places. I dimly recall my grandma telling me it was caused by stuff called 'dolly blue', which is odd because 'dolly blue' was a blue dye made by Reckitt's near Lancaster and was added to rinsing water to give your whites an nice blue cast. Perhaps she was making it up as she went along to keep me quiet.

[Acrylic-bob]

Correction here. 'Dolly Blue', I have just discovered, was made in Backbarrow in Cumbria. Well, it's sort of near-ish to Lancaster.

[Alan Gilmartin]

Thanks Doug, could'nt have put it better myself, keep the memories coming, for those of us far, far away.

[Doug]

Alan, I don't want to put Accrington down. I want to be as truthful about what I remember. All the best.

[mez]

i remember my life as i grew up in accrington(church) i lived in both as a kid, snuffy arrod too, the thing that struck me most as i lived for 15yrs in anglesey n.wales, that they as well as us are clannish, i love accy i love our people they are friendly, truthfull, even though they might hurt you but most of all we know were we stand with each other & we will protect them no matter wot, man, woman, or child, i love accy thats why i moved back //////

[Alan Gilmartin]

Just a thought for the day. Here is a poem, I remember from years ago and gets more meaning as time goes by.

Lonely I wander through
scenes of my childhood...
Gone are the children and
gone are the old folk...
Daylight is fading....
time I was passing on...

[Doug]

Say's it all does that Alan.