Right at the Heart of Things – Part One: Shopping in 1980s Manchester

East of the M60 travels back in time, to an era of a fully toilet tiled shopping centre

In the last week, I have been trying to imagine and recollect the joys of a trip through pre-1996 Manchester city centre. Some regular readers of this blog may be too young to remember the UK’s third/second/first/first and second city devoid of TESCO Express stores. Nor a Manchester devoid of Starbucks outlets and branches of Betfred. Or a Manchester free of white, orange and brown double decker buses.

System One’s Economy Drive Continues: Cheaper Bus Travel Till April 2014

Price cut continues for Buscard tickets

Andrew Fender and Richard Soper seen promoting the joys of the Buscard in September 2013. (© 2013 Tangerine PR Ltd)

Great news for regular bus users in Greater Manchester: System One’s price cut on its Buscard tickets has been extended. The original promotion was set to finish on the 25 January this year. Owing to popular demand, it has been extended till the 26 April 2014.

Calling All Altrinchamians: Helping Hands Needed For Community Groups

Wilkinson’s Altrincham branch offers a helping hand to the local community.

One example of Wilkinson’s Helping Hands projects, only a few miles from Altrincham; the garden at the Crossacres Resource Centre. Photograph © 2014 Tangerine PR Ltd.

At the early part of this month, East of the M60 looked at Wilkinson’s Helping Hands scheme in Wythenshawe. This time, only a few miles west, the Worksop store chain is calling on people in Altrincham and surrounding area to suggest a local good cause.

Rebellious Mixtape #7: Nightlife on Old Street – The Official Soundtrack Album

Suggested soundtrack inspired by Ashton-under-Lyne’s pubs and clubs

The streets of Ashton-under-Lyne is far from busy on Fridays and Saturdays these days as many may well know. If you walk along Stamford Street these days, it is hard to imagine how many clubbers went from pub to club or vice versa. It is both hard to imagine and upsetting as to how things have transpired in the last decade. Modernisation of the Stamford Street West and Central area meant the loss of some iconic pubs. The King William IV is now a car park; today, seven checkouts and a bag-packing area are on the site of The Spread Eagle.

First Greater Manchester’s Southern Swoop Sealed

OFT clearance for acquisition of Finglands Coachways confirmed

In about three weeks time, the Volvo B9TLs you are likely to see on Finglands’ routes will be seen in FirstGroup’s Olympia livery.

How long did it take for the Office of Fair Trading to sort this out? A fair number of South Manchester’s bus users and many a bus enthusiast had a sneaky feeling that FirstGroup’s approach for Finglands would be successful. Today, this was confirmed by the OFT.

Lost Football Grounds of the Tameside Area

Alternative Title: Whatever Happened To The Mighty Onions?

The history of Tameside’s footballing sides past and present is worthy of a tome itself. Besides Mike Pavasovic’s books on his beloved Hyde F.C., there is little of great detail about the borough’s non-league sides. Stalybridge Celtic and Ashton United are chronicled in Gary James’ excellent ‘Manchester: A Football History’. The ‘Bridge is also covered in Dave Twydell’s ‘Rejected F.C.’ owing to its history as a Football League Third Division North club.

Eminently Chicken Town: Over 31 Takeaways Hath Oldham Town Centre

Feast of the M60 on the fast food variety which has taken Oldham by storm

A stylised map of takeaways within Oldham town centre, based on fieldwork.

Imagine any of these scenarios: it is a Friday and you’re in the centre of Oldham. As a special treat instead of your usual butties or chemist chain’s meal deal, you fancy something different for your dinner. Or, it is the very same Friday, only 12 to 15 hours later after a few scoops in one of Oldham’s finest hostelries. You could have plumped for a pie or a fish supper. Or chips. Or a totalitarian burger on High Street.

Normal Service Resumed: Classic Bus North West Licences Transferred

Oakwood Travel Services take over remaining services

Another chapter in the history of Classic Bus North West has opened, with the transfer of its licences to Oakwood Travel Services Ltd. In a pre-pack administration, a deal was struck saving 16 jobs and all remaining bus services.

Oldham and Tameside Bus Service Changes, Winter 2014: More Fine Tuning

Trams and traffic trigger changes

Fine Tuning: Minor retiming will affect some of Tameside’s bus services, possibly affected by the Metrolink.

In a earlier East of the M60 ‘…Service Changes’ post, we mentioned in great detail welcome improvements to the 180 and 184 services. In case you missed that post, the 180 service will operate every half hour on Monday to Saturday daytimes. The 184 service will be boosted by extra Sunday daytimes journeys and an improved peak hour service. In this case, vox populi was the victor thanks to consultation events in the Saddleworth area.

Town Centre Link Due for 27 January Opening

Union Street section on verge of opening

Seen here is 3071, on test outside Central station, Oldham on the 13 December 2013.

After a series of test runs, the Union Street section of Oldham’s Metrolink line will be open on the 27 January.