Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 17. Something Cheap and Cheerful

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar looks at an advert for Fairhill Shopping Centre

Local adverts with the production values of a packet of Haribo Starmix is something we miss these days. At one time you used to have a static ten-second advert for a local car dealers or a newsagent’s shop. Instead of using their own voiceover artist, they would use the channel’s own continuity announcers. For example, an advertisement for Wood’s Music Shop in Huddersfield would have been voiced by Yorkshire Television’s John Crosse or Paul Lally. (Or if you’re lucky, Redvers Kyle).

Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 16. I Was Working as a Planner By a Cocktail Bar

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar looks at Coulthard Productions’ Sheffield: City on the Move

Cast your mind back to 1970. We had full employment; you could afford to go to university and get a grant towards materials and living costs; houses were more affordable and we had this strange thing you don’t see nowadays called Council Housing.

Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 15. Telly Savalas Looks at Aberdeen

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar goes to the granite city

If you liked the Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham film, you will be amazed to find that the Kojak did a series of these films. They were known as Quota Quickies and shown at cinemas before the main feature.

Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 14. And That’s No Bull

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar gets the Birmingham blues

Since time immemorial, the Bull Ring has played an important part in the history of Birmingham. Whether you like the spiffy three-tiered shopping or remember the 1960s version (with Europe’s biggest F.W. Woolworth store at the time), it has been a meeting place for generations of Birmingham folk.

Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 13. Hemel Hempstead, a New Town From Old

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar looks at the sensitive development of a commuter town near London

Take a plummy voice in a Cholmondley-Warner sense, then drag some late 1940s style filmography into the early 1960s. If you can get past the slightly stilted for ’60s filmography standards, this fascinating film looks at the development of Hemel Hempstead.

Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 12. East Kilbride: Town of Tomorrow

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar looks at a 1950s film on a Scottish town known as Polo Mint City

It is nice to find that England doesn’t have the monopoly on extraneous roundabouts in its New Towns. Some locals have dubbed the place ‘Polo Mint City’ due to its wealth of roundabouts.

Selling Runcorn By The Pound: 11. Welsh Development Agency

East of the M60’s 2021 Advent Calendar looks at a 1990s ad for the joys of moving to Wales

Fed up with daily grind in London? Check. Fed up with commuting from Surbiton to London? Check. Wish to boost employment prospects in Cwmbran and Ebbw Vale? Check. Obligatory piece of music by Welsh recording act? Check.

Book Review: British Football’s Greatest Grounds

Not only a coffee table book for groundhoppers; a must for any football fan

• Title: British Football’s Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues;
• Author: Mike Bayly;
• Photography: various contributors including David Bauckman, Paul Paxford, Colin McPherson, Andy Nunn, Stuart Tree, Ben Webster,
• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Limited (2020);
• Recommended Selling Price: £30.00 (hardback).

At this moment in time, you may be missing your football fix if you often go out to see your favourite team. Due to the lockdown, only Elite League football teams (National Leagues North and South upwards) can continue their season. In what is now known as The Trident Leagues (Northern Premier, Southern and Isthmian leagues), league football has been suspended till further notice. Likewise with its regional feeder leagues.

Exact Fare Policy Raises More Than £122k for NHS Charities Together

Stagecoach passengers thanked for supporting major donation to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal

• Over £122,000 raised by Stagecoach passengers for NHS charity with £19,271.72 raised by Stagecoach Greater Manchester passengers;
• Passengers thanked for their support in the exact fare scheme, though passengers still encouraged to use contactless payment wherever possible.

The Stagecoach Group has thanked its customers across the UK for helping to raise more than £122,000 for the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Appeal. As part of this total amount, Stagecoach Greater Manchester’s contribution was £19,271.72.

Rail Franchising, 1994 – 2020: An Honest Obituary

System exacerbated fragmented nature of National Rail network

Rail Franchising, a part of British railway policy since 1994, was laid to rest at the age of twenty-six. Its original aim was to raise standards across the rail network and improve on services launched by the outgoing British Railways Board. Today, it was announced by Transport Minister Grant Shapps that all franchised operations will be replaced by Emergency Recovery Management Agreements for six to eighteen month periods.