‘Bridge Bi-Mode Breakthrough

Class 769 bi-mode trains reach Stalybridge

At 1714, arriving three years and nine minutes late on Platform 5 at Stalybridge station was the 1531 train from Southport to Stalybridge. Though the journey itself seems far from headline-grabbing, the kind of rolling stock and its delay is even more so.

Instead of the usual Class 150 Sprinter unit, the 1531 was operated by 769 442. The four-car unit is one of eight Northern trains that are bi-mode units.

Stagecoach Manchester Celebrates Silver Jubilee With Special Livery

Special livery features long serving staff

Stagecoach Manchester is celebrating 25 years of serving communities and connecting people across Greater Manchester, with a special livery bus featuring 30 of its longest serving members of staff. The recently launched bus will be seen on routes mainly in the South Manchester area throughout 2021.

Twenty-Four Hours in Didsbury

My last day at Ewing School with the Middle Group

If you read the previous article entitled Seven Go Camping in Crowden, you might enjoy the latest Ewing School themed article. As the previous one took us back to the Dark Peak, this piece takes us back to a less forbidding part of the world. It is set in Didsbury and Cheadle, and covers my last twenty-four hours as a Ewing School pupil.

Seven Go Camping in Crowden

S.V’s night under the stars along with six others from Ewing School

As I write this entry, it is exactly thirty years since my last breakaway with a few fellows from Ewing School. In addition to the Middle Group’s annual holiday, yours truly with four other pupils (who left Ewing School the following month) had a weekend away in Crowden.

Lost Bus Routes of Greater Manchester V, The Ocarina of Bus Times: The Not So Perfect Ten

Ten more lost bus routes of Greater Manchester

When did we last do a Lost Bus Routes Not So Perfect Ten? The answer to that was eight years ago. Since then, Lost Bus Routes of Greater Manchester has spawned a fair number of spin-offs. These have focused on individual routes or a collection of routes in and around Greater Manchester.

The Other UK Singles Chart: 1. Independent Local Radio Music Charts

A beginners’ guide to chart tracking on ILR stations from 1974 to 2008

If you mention the UK singles chart, the first thing that springs to mind in the Official Charts Company’s countdown. This goes out every Friday on BBC Radio One. Before then, it used to go out on Sunday afternoons and, prior to October 1987, Tuesday lunchtimes.

An Awesome Alliterative Album: Rebellious Mixtape #12

Can you create a good album with songs by alliterative artistes? Rebellious Mixtape will be your music and your friend

Before social media became a thing, we used to stand out from the competition by using catchy names and jingles. ‘Murray’ would always rhyme with ‘hurry’ among Baby Boomers because of a 1950s advertising jingle.

Bus Regulation The Musical: The Review

How Ellie Harrison’s show brought us fifty years of Greater Manchester transport history on wheels

Baroness Castle of Blackburn (played by Summer Dean, left of centre) with the eight skaters.

• Bus Regulation The Musical.
• Manchester Art Gallery, 28 September 2019 (2pm and 3pm).
• Produced by Ellie Harrison.

I could think of several ways of spending half an hour of my leisure time. One is listening to the entire ‘B’ side of Foxtrot, Genesis’ 1972 LP which includes the magnificent Supper’s Ready. Another is sitting on a 216 bus or tram bound for Manchester city centre. By opting for the latter, I unearthed a little gem in Ellie Harrison’s production, Bus Regulation The Musical.

On The Road With Ewing School: Midweek Minibus Trips

A look at the weekly environmental excursions that were part and parcel of life at Ewing School in the 1980s

With the start of a fresh school year and an online reunion with a former fellow pupil, I too have ‘returned to school’ with this post.

Crosswits, Coffee and Biscuits: Daytime on ITV, Late 1980s Style

Who remembers when morning daytime TV on ITV meant Crosswits instead of people at their wits end?

The 07 September 1987 was a seminal date in Independent Television’s history. Before then, all ITV franchisees from 9.25 am carried schools programming. Instead of The Jeremy Kyle Show or This Morning, viewers tuning into Granada or Central (other franchise holders were available) were treated to How We Used to Live, Middle English, or Stop, Look, Listen.