Farewell to Chris’s Café: The Ashton Review of Shops Extra

Chris and Costa leave Ashton-under-Lyne after nearly 40 years

After 39 years of trading, Chris’s Café closed its door on the 04 August 2018. Situated on Bow Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, the café was a popular haunt with many shoppers. Its position opposite the open market was good for passing trade.

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On Reflection: Fifty Icons of London Weekend Television

50 reasons to celebrate LWT’s fiftieth birthday

If you are a child of the 1970s or 1980s (the latter like yours truly), an ITV weekend schedule without an LWT programme would have been unusual. For many, Play Your Cards Right on a Friday night, Blind Date on a Saturday, and Surprise Surprise! on a Sunday night, was appointment to view television.

Retail Comings and Goings in Tameside, August 2018: The Ashton Review of Shops

August’s window on the shop windows

• Bridge Beers’ Summertime Success;
• Poundworld’s demise confirmed;
• All the usual comings and goings in the Tameside area.

Changing Hands: The Commercial Hotel, Manchester Road, Mossley. Image by Mikey, 2012 (Creative Commons License: Attribution-Some Rights Reserved).

What will the previous month be remembered for in future years? England reaching the Semi Finals of the World Cup? The moorland fires which affected half of Tameside’s residents? The warm weather? The first and third points may have brought riches to our publicans but a fair number of pubs are changing hands or disappearing.

Building Bridges With Sentences: A Take on The ‘Persistent Scandal’

Why are 25% of primary school children starting school without stringing a sentence? Here’s another take on this subject.

In terms of economic prowess, the United Kingdom may be at Champions League or Europa League level. In terms of early years communication, English Football League Championship level with 25% of primary school children. This was seen as “a persistent scandal” by Education Secretary Damien Hinds at a Resolution Foundation lecture in Westminster.

Stagecoach Manchester’s Summer Sunday Fare Offer

Manchester to Ashton-under-Lyne, or Oldham to Hyde for just £2.00

With a maximum fare of £2.00 on Summer Sundays, on Stagecoach’s Manchester routes, the company’s special offer would give the trains a run for their money.

Fancy a nice Summer Sunday on the bus? If you live in South Manchester, parts of Tameside, Stockport, and Wigan, Stagecoach Manchester have a splendid offer for you.

Now You Know What I Did This Summer: Weston-super-Mare’s Bus Routes

A look at present-day bus operations in Weston-super-Mare

Virtual Monopoly: First Bristol, Bath and The West run most of Weston-super-Mare’s bus routes. Seen here is the decaying yet iconic Birnbeck Pier with an open-top bus on the 1 seafront service to Weston.

Thanks to the wonders of S.S. Great Britain, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the West Somerset Railway, yours truly returned to Weston-super-Mare. Which of course explains my recent absence of posts on East of the M60. 

Huddersfield and Ripponden Brass Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club

A jolly good summer show for Huddersfield and Ripponden Brass Band 

No traditional seaside holiday is complete without two things: a good fish and chip supper, or a decent summer show. A summer show with comedians, speciality acts, magicians, and singers. With a similar amount of variety to the listener was Huddersfield and Ripponden Brass Band’s programme. There was a neat variety of brass band marches, hymns, popular music, and film music. If you counted the raffle, last night’s speciality act and comedian.

Last Tiger in Paris: Greater Manchester’s Cross-Channel Links

Who remembers getting a coach from Manchester to Paris?

Cast your mind back to 1976. Many people associate the year with its long hot summer, hose pipe bans, and queueing outside stand pipes. For many readers of this blog, 2018 could have similar parallels to that year (weather and hose pipe bans alone). With the school holidays kicking in, why would you want to (or have wanted to in 1976) find the sun abroad?

42 years on, we think nothing of travelling abroad. Our soon-to-expire EU Membership has enabled us to travel to EU Member States at affordable prices. South of London St. Pancras station, getting a train to Paris is easier than catching a bus from Stalybridge to Marple (in 1976, no need to change buses thanks to the 389 route).

Oldham and Saddleworth Bus Service Changes, Summer 2018

More summertime tweaks

• Exactly what it says on the tin;
• MCT Travel gains 418 from M Travel;
• CityZap zapped.

The 409: one of a few First Greater Manchester services falling under the summertime timetables. This oldie, seen at Royton, was previously owned by First Bradford.

Once again the summertime changes are a quiet one for Oldham and Saddleworth bus passengers. Apart from the usual adjusted summer times, there has only been four notable service changes.