Anyone Grow Up In Openshaw?

[Adsum]

Hi. Pinks,
Yes I knew Fred very well, I have even been to your old house. He was the boiler man at ICL when I worked there.  He was responsible for me being allowed to join Clayton Conservative club, where I have been a member for 38 years. (Your dad has a lot to answer for)  If my memory serves me right a relation of your dads, Ronnie Fish?  (It was  a long time ago and I have had a few drinks in that time.  ) was a member. Fred introduced me to him and they proposed and seconded my membership. The rest as they say, is history. Hic!
John.

[pinkhazel]

Morning John
Oh how nice is it that you knew my Dad?  ....The saying its a small world is so true!!...I  bet you lot got up to allsorts together!! ...I remember Ronnie..he was a very good friend of Dads...If its the same one, I think he lived in Connie or Dunston St...they always had a pint together in The Malcolm on Ashton Old Rd...and later The George...which was virtually next door!!....Did you ever hear my Dad sing?..he was amazing...my fave song he sang was Ol' Man River!! ...Mum & Dad used to go to the Dustmans Club most Sunday nights with all the old neighbours...and they'd all get up and do a turn...Good memories eh?....You Mentioned you came to our old house...remember all those awful brasses that covered the wall?...Dad was forever collecting them...and Mum would go mad...coz she ended up cleaning them all!!...Whats your second name...just wondered if I knew you or if I was too young.
Dad sadly died in 1997...and is still terribly missed....Thanks for getting in touch...its good to reminise!!

Hazel x

[Adsum]

Hi. Hazel,.
when I worked the night shift at ICL I would regularly sneak off to Freds little domain in the boiler house, where he would make me a cup of tea, and we would sit and gossip. I remember one particularly amusing incident from years ago which I had forgotten all about until now.
 
 One night at about 10 o clock I was fed up and wanted to go home. I phoned my wife and told her to leave it for about half an hour, then phone work and tell them that a pipe had burst at home and would I come home straight away? After I had put the phone down I met up with your dad in the corridor and he suggested that we go for a brew. We got chatting and I completely forgot about my phone call home and the time. When I emerged from the boiler house about an hour later I was met by frantic members of staff who had been searching everywhere for me, to tell me about the burst and to go home straight away!
 
When I arrived home my wife read me the riot act. she told me that the night manager had been offering to send a couple of men from work to mop up the mess and turn off the water when they couldn't find me. She had had to tell them that she never opened the door to strangers at night when I worked the night shift, and her brother was on his way over to help her. Needless to say I didn't try that again in a hurry. 
 
When I tell you that your dad would sometimes give me the thumbs up, you will know beyond any shadow of a doubt that we are talking about the same person.     
 
Take care.
John.

[JayShel]

Hya theer all you Elysian St [o RC vinnies too !]..I was a local.. There was a guy called Ronnie lived at the bottom end of Connie St.. he lived with his mum and was about 40yrs old in mid 1960's.. he drove a lovely car. COSMOPOLITAN which had a covered wheel on its boot... rather italian looking [the car, not Ronnie] think it was cream and pale green.
Barry Potter was in my class at Elysian st.. The name Tyree is familiar but dont definately remember them. i think some were older , some were younger than me so i dont recall any one 'tyree.' i remember a DAVE TYRER

[JayShel]

Barry and Ian Potter both went on to central Grammar from elysian st. Barry will be approaching 60 soon.. Ian is older , lived in blackpool 10yrs ago I heard he  married Alma Craven.. I dont think Barry ever got married..
Does anyone recall Raymond Jones who lived around hovis St.. or Roy and Stephen Goule
The Lignums
Paul Bowers
Janet Burrows [connie st]
Janice Roscoe..[meech st]
dale woolley [staton st]
I do recall Harry at the corner shop. he was a perv !!  HONESTLY......... The Caseys before him at the shop were nice 'especially their son Peter.. he wasn't 'tight' like his dad !!  hahaha.. all those women who used to 'mouth' something to Mrs casey and she would wrap up some bulky parcel in newspaper to avoid embarressment..... OH if they could come back now to see Tampax and Dr Whites on sale next to Bounty bars at Boots , they would die all over again !!!  well it WAS  half a century ago.. god we are old now  !!!but dont we seem young next to that lot ??    Happy days
 
Tommy Downs who lived in Range st 1961 0nwards [had lived in North st before 1960]

[Hovis St.]

Hiya JayShel,

I remember a few of the people that you mentioned. Barry & Ian Potter lived opposite us in Hovis St. and their parents (Irene & George)  took over the Corner shop later. I only remember them as kids as I was much older than them. The name Alma Craven rings a bell.

I went to school with Peter Case but not in the same class, he was a year younger than me. He was a good footballer and played for Openshaw Juniors, I played as well but was not very good. His Dad, Bert used to work for the Corporation at the top of Victoria St. and drove a horse and cart as well as working in the yard.

I knew Janice Roscoe as well, she lived in Hovis St. before Meech St. I knew her sister Jean more than Janice.

All the best........Alec.

[mandy settle]

Hi Again!

The only family I knew on Victoria St were the Blackshaws...can't remember the parents names..but they had 3 daughters...2 of them were called Tracey & Fiona...Other families in the area were the Dixons...the Shores...the Marsdens...the Watsons...the Parrys...the Seniors...I remember a piece of waste ground facing the houses on Victoria St...We called it the Piggy...and always had the local bonfire on there...Harry who owned the shop in Staton St always provided Treacle Toffee & lots of goodies for us kids!! ...perhaps you might remember The Potters who had the corner shop top of Hovis St?...Me & my friend used to drool over one of their sons! ...and Barry Potter played in a band with my brother David...I'll email my brother & see if he remembers you...he's a lot older than me...so you never know!!!

Cheerio for Now!!!

[mandy settle]

  Wow,  well I remember the piggy, and the Marsdens and the Seniors,  and Harry is my  uncle, he is still alive aged 93 and living in  Blackpool........oh and I do remember Barry Potter, Warren Blemings.  Johnny Riley,  The porters,  and some one we called cuppie, tall with blonde curly hair. I was only talking about the bonfires on the  piggy last week,  Health and safety  would have  a field day with that one .happy  memories x

[bluekez]

I went to Elysian St in the 1970's and remember your brother Mark vaguely.  Think our Jane knew him more, as they were always fighting. You would know our Sean Hazel,  as you would be the same age.  I see Sandra Atkinson occasionally now.  And we always had a better bonfire down at the wall on Greenside Street    (Assuming we had managed to knick enough wood back from the piggy lot haha

[xxdonnalouisexx]

Hello I grew up in openshaw I remember most of the names mentioned. I lived at 1 Coronation Street. My name is Donna parsons, my sisters were lynn, joanne and Sheila. I was in love with Brian Wilkinson... Lol he lived on Elysian street. One I my memories is the park. Playing tennis and going on the bowling green I loved it.  We used to make hide always on the piggy squeezing into the garages and kissing boys between them. It was great for hide and seek.
I went to Central high school for girls. Then we moved up to hatters key when I was 12 . I still sometimes drive down those street when I need to put a smile on my face.....
Playing two a balls on the wall outside and using elastic to create French skipping... So simple those days, so stress free.

[Jill]

Hey Pink Hazel - where can I found the photo you said you posted of your father's class ? - my dad would have been at Elysian at the same time - I went there too, I was born in '63 and lived at 50 Greenside St, Jill Worthington is my name and my father was Derrick Worthington, he passed away a couple of years ago and I am trying to find old childhood pics of him. My grand parents lived on Greenside St also, and my aunt Kath lived a couple of Streets up on Connie St. I used to go to the little corner shop a street up from me where a lady with goldish colored hair in a big pouffy style ran the place, Beattie may have been her name, I remember some names you mention, along with Lucy Blemings, a good friend then, and Nicola Black, Ian Hartley, Stuart Hartley also who were my cousins and lived a couple of doors down from me, also another lady called Elaine Whiteley I think, the Lockwoods, and of course the park where I played - I also remember running home every day when I first started school as I was scared stiff. I remember playing in the back alleys and going to Manchester shopping with my mom.
I loved reading this thread, it brings back memories.

[bodzy]

Hiya   I was born at 19 Elysian Street  Openshaw but moved away when I was only 6mth old , we moved down Cornwall st into Chapman street,where I went to St James school But that was long before your time as I left school in 1956, I did go back to Openshaw in the late 1980's lived on the Village opposite the Drop Forge then moved to Bruce Walk off Louisa Street Live in Clayton Now so not too far away   

[Angie6318]

Hi pinkhazel
 
I was born in 1963 and went to Elysian st srimary school, we actually lived on Elysian street facing an old factory trying to remember the name of it and only thing that springs to mind is Mather and Platts   ring any bells?
our name then was Shone.

[Angie6318]

oops me again sorry bout the mistake up there haden't noticed till posted
    we lived on south street not elysian street  im losing my marbles im sure of it lol

[maggi]

Had a pub in Higher Openshaw in the 80s