Going, going, gone ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Dad's old local will shut its doors forever on Friday. And the shopping mall in which I had my photographic studio has just issued eviction notices to every one of its tenants. I know nothing stays the same - and I understand the 'sensible' economic reasoning behind the decisions - but it was a shock for me to realise these places will soon be gone forever ..

The Bridgewater Hotel in Eccles was - I think - the first pub in which I ever had a drink. I know my Dad weaned me onto Guinness there (with the help of a little blackcurrant juice), and he was a big part of the darts team and a larger-than-life character known by many. When I called in at the end of November there were four people drinking there on what would have once been a busy Sunday afternoon. Very sad ..

The shopping mall will shut at the end of this month. I had my studio there for three years. The occupants, who have run successful shops and cafés for as many as twenty-seven years, will have to be out within 28 days. They each received an e-mail telling them the owner's plans and are, as you can imagine, still in shock ..

The Grammar school I went to has been a housing estate for years. The church in which I was confirmed was bulldozed to the ground late last year and the shopping centre in Eccles is about to bite the dust in a 're-development', too. Life goes on, as they say. Things can't stay the same forever. Hurrah for progress ..

What a shame ..

Watch for the signs..

Twelve for '13 is growing! I'm having another trawl through all the scans I made of my negatives. The reason? Well, it's starting to dawn on me just how many subtle memories are locked away in those little slithers of gelatine! Take this shot, for example. It's the pub in which I started my erstwhile drinking career, the Bridgewater Hotel, on the corner of Green Lane, in Patricroft. Thing is, check out the road sign. Bridgewater Hospital. Now I'm guessing I took the shot because it seems to be pointing at the pub (God knows, I was sick enough in there!) but the fact is the hospital got knocked down years ago, and that sign is just about the only memory I have of it ever existing! I've joined a Facebook group called 'Eccles born and bred' you see, and all these little signs (ho ho) matter a lot to the people in the group. For example, I put a shot up of the shop that used to be my favourite record shop in Eccles, and the amount of chat it generated was just fantastic, so I feel it's my duty, Your honour (Oops!) to bring all those memories to the fore. It just means I've gotta spend another kerzillion hours going through my scans again.
Oh, bugger...