Pemberton Old ‘B’ Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club

Pemberton Old ‘B’ Band’s memorable Boarshurst debut 

In recorded music, particularly 45 RPM singles, the ‘B’ side is a source of curiosity to the listener. Some people (thanks to cinema and educational streaming) think of ‘B’ as inferior. Or the middle carriage of a Greenfield train. In music there are some exceptions. The Model, a double ‘A’ side is better known than Computer Love, the ‘A’ side of Kraftwerk’s UK Number One single from 1982. In brass banding, the ‘B’ bands can surpass the senior bands in their virtuosity and technique.

Advertisements

2018 World Cup of GM Bus Routes: An Urban Trek or a Rural Ride?

Game 4, Quarter Finals: 53 v. 184  

For our sixtieth fixture we have two, genuinely iconic routes, that are operated by the same company. Brace yourselves for another exciting quarter final.

2018 World Cup of GM Bus Routes: Two Pre-1974 Cross-Boundary Routes

Game 3, Quarter Finals: 192 v. 343  

For our fifty-ninth fixture we have a real crunch match, featuring two routes that would have been cross-boundary routes prior to 1974.

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

July’s window on the shop windows

• Poundworld in administration;
• New coffee shop coming to Hyde;
• All the usual comings and goings in the Tameside area.

Going: Poundworld’s retail empire, well represented in the Tameside area.

This month’s weather has been glorious for shopping. Especially open-air shopping centres and open markets. Sadly, the same couldn’t have been said of recent reports; particularly the demise of Poundworld and The House of Fraser’s rationalisation. In our borough, more the former.

2018 World Cup of GM Bus Routes: Busway Ad-Vantage or Desirable Vantage Point?

Game 2, Quarter Finals: V1 v. 481  

For our fifty-eighth fixture we look at two more Lancastrian routes, offering two sides of the Red Rose County.

2018 World Cup of GM Bus Routes: Two Scenic Lancastrian Routes

Game 1, Quarter Finals: X43 v. 1  

For our fifty-seventh fixture we look at two Lancastrian routes operated by two different Transdev subsidiaries.

Must-Listen Alternative Radio Stations: The Not So Perfect Ten

East of the M60 looks at ten must-listen-to alternatives to more familiar radio stations

A radio. A proper radio. The warm glow of a Philips 170A, photographed by Ronan Cantwell, 2011 (Creative Commons License: Attribution-Non Commercial-Some Rights Reserved).

In the last month, we have seen Key 103 change into The Hits Radio. Its transmission area has been extended from Greater Manchester and parts of Cheshire and Lancashire to become a national station. A national station with its headquarters in Manchester rather than London.

On 103.0 FM it is a ‘local’ station with Manchester-centric news, weather, and travel reports. The same music which can be heard in Stalybridge on the FM band, could also be heard in Stevenage on your DAB receiver. With nationwide adverts. A bit like London’s opt-out with LBC, a national station since 2014 (please note that LBC stood for London Broadcasting Company).

2018 World Cup of GM Bus Routes: Peak District Passages

Last 16, Match 8: 184 v. 237  

For the seventh match of our knockout stages, we look at two bus routes that tickle part of the Peak District National Park boundaries.

2018 World Cup of GM Bus Routes: Ringway or MediaCityUK?

Last 16, Match 7: 199 v. 53  

For the seventh match of our knockout stages, we look at two iconic bus routes. One serves an institution that is 80 years old this year. Another serves two notable football clubs and BBC Sport’s base in MediaCityUK.