ARE YOU
READY FOR
FREDDY ? The most famous man in Salford…ever!!!
An 11 page special plus an exclusive free poster for every reader by top artist, Matt Carroll.
£221,000,000
Pathfinder
scandal ! Issue 6 Winter 2007
FREE
The Salford Film Festival is Back !
The Mary Burns
Awards…
Who’s scooped the least sought after prizes in Salford this year ?
Exclusive
Sir Ben Kingsley on his Salford roots
Exclusive
Peter Hook
on Joy Division: The Documentary
From Salford to Walford to Salford … Stephen Lord stars at the Film Fest Full coverage of all the top screenings
Plus: highlights of all the Seasonal Happenings in the City…with attitude and love xxx
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www.salfordstar.com 3
Working Class Movement library
More information www.wcml.org.uk email;enquiries@wcml.org.uk. Tel:0161-736-3601 Working Class Movemnet Library 51 Crescent salford.
We are proud to safeguard the history of working people for future generations. The library is open to all and we welcome readers and researchers, whether at school, college or the university of life. Just give us a ring first to arrange to use the collection.
SALFORD COMMUNITY MEDIA PARTNERSHIP OFFICIAL LAUNCH at Salford Film Festival 25th November Salford Arts Theatre Off Liverpool St, 3-5pm
Over 19 ? Live in Salford ? Do you want to get into film, radio, photography or journalism ? Come to the SCMP launch and get a taste of what’s happening…
Can You Create ?
SCMP is looking for a fab new logo. Anything goes…
Design one and win £100 voucher (£50 voucher for runner up) Send entries to john.phillips@salford-pct.nhs.uk (no more than 500kb) Or by post to Langworthy Cornerstone, 451 Liverpool St, Salford M6 5QQ Closing date 14th December.
Or find out more from Linda on 0161 737 9918 Email Linda.robson@salford.gov.uk
SCMP is a partnership of all the top community media organisations in Salford
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INTRO
Season’s greetings, Salford… Hey, we’re still here with another massive 76 page spectacular thanks to all the brilliant donations we’ve had in towards our £25,000 Fighting Fund… Since last issue we’ve pulled in over £3000 from our collection boxes and donations which shows that the community really wants this mag to continue and is prepared to support it. Special thanks must go to the customers of K&S News on Langworthy Rd who stuffed the collection box with £182, and to customers of Corry’s Store on Weaste Lane who gave a fab £88. We’d also like to thank Manchester Evening News NUJ branch, the Centre for Democratic Policy Making, the Lipman-Miliband Trust and everyone else who donated – every penny goes straight into the print costs to get the mag out. If you’d like a Salford Star collection box in your shop, or wherever, just give us a bell on 07957 982960 and we’ll be round…And if you’d like to donate a cheque please make it out to `Salford Star’ and send it to Salford Star c/o RITA, 16 Sirius Place, Salford M7 1WN Meanwhile, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve got a new MySpace site which contains lots of updates and stuff – check it out at www.myspace.com/salfordstar1 We were also absolutely made up to get on the short list for this year’s Private Eye/Guardian sponsored Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism. We got a great night out in London, met Ian Hislop and lots of other top people and got a cheque for £1000 which has helped with the print costs of this issue. Finally we hope you enjoy this issue, and please support the Salford Film Festival – virtually all the screenings are free, it’s a community centred event and everyone’s fought really hard to get it back on this year. Enjoy the hols…We’re back (if we get enough support) in Feb 2008… With attitude and love xxx
Salford Star Main Distribution Points… CREST, Douglas Green, Whit Lane K & S News, Langworthy Rd Angel Café, Angel Healthy Living Centre, St Philips Place The Cornerstone, Liverpool St Lancastrian chippy , Bolton Rd, Irlam o’th’Height Monton News, Monton Rd Corry’s Store, Weast Lane Lynsey’s Store, Westcrown Ave, Ordsall M+S Supermarket/Off Licence 66-68 Edward Ave, Weaste M6 86A
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WIN A FREE MUSIC WEB SITE Have you got a band ? Do you need a web site ? Internet site developer, Cyphreinc, is currently running a competition to give the best unsigned bands in Salford a free personalised web site. Just e-mail competition@cyphreinc.co.uk for details or check the website at www.cyphreinc.co.uk/details.html
Salford Star c/o RITA 16 Sirius Place, Salford M7 1WN With financial help from
www.salfordstar.com 5
ARE YOU
READY FOR
FREDDY ?
CONTENTS...
The most famous man in Salford…ever!!!
An 11 page special plus an exclusive free poster for every reader by top artist, Matt Carroll.
£221,000,000
Pathfinder
scandal ! The Mary Burns
Awards…
Issue 6 Winter 2007
FREE
The Salford Film Festival is Back !
Who’s scooped the least sought after prizes in Salford this year ?
Exclusive
Sir Ben Kingsley on his Salford roots
Exclusive
Peter Hook on Joy Division: The Documentary
From Salford to Walford to Salford … Stephen Lord stars at the Film Fest Full coverage of all the top screenings
Yeah, it’s nearly Christmas and we’ve got a present for every Star
reader - it’s a free, exclusive limited edition poster by Salford’s top graphic artist, Matt Carroll of the Central Station design team that visually invented the Happy Mondays, Madchester and all
that. It’s on the centre spread and it’s a total collector’s you really ready for Freddy ???
Plus: highlights of all the Seasonal Happenings in the City…with attitude and love xxx
THE SALFORD FILM FESTIVAL IS BACK…
And we’ve got all the stars who are making it real in a gigantic 12 page special featuring Sir Ben Kingsley…
Peter Hook…Stephen Lord…a white bus, a rabbit story, a magic mine…and enough free flicks to freak your foibles… FOXY FASHION FOR FESTIVE FUN…Mocha Parades and Langworthy flaunts some foxy threads as designers take to the streets… It’s the anti-glossy, anti-glittering MARY BURNS AWARDS – only handed to those who have really made Salford something else… THE MOST FAMOUS MAN WHO EVER BREATHED IN SALFORD – yet very few know who he is or why Salford changed the world… He’s red…he’s Fred…he’s cred…
The £221,000,000 Pathfinder scandal exposed !!!... Plus:
Was Kersal Flats just blown up hype ? What’s going on in Lower Broughton ?
What’s going off in John Merry’s back pocket ?
And we’ve got highlights of Christmas happenings, Salford sounds, Salford art, Salford books, Salford’s looks and terse verse from terraced houses… Printed By: Caric Press Ltd Rickits Green, Lionheart Close, Bearwood, BOURNEMOUTH, Dorset BH11 9UB Tel : 01202 574577 www.caricpress.co.uk
item.
Are
FOXY FASHION… Salford based designer Ruth Sanderson is bringing burlesque fashion to the city with her label Vanity Afterthought. With it being Christmas we thought a bit of haute couture might be cool… What makes Vanity Aforethought different to other design labels?
So what sort of prices are we looking at?
Ruth: I’ve always been interested in 1940’s accessories such as fox stoles, but the accessories are traditionally made with fur and I’m completely anti fur so I wanted to come up with an alternative; I’ve been developing a fake fur technique called looping.
Ruth: The belts start from £50 because they take a long time and are so expensive to make. I make them to order but I don’t want them to be too expensive for people who want to wear them. I use for instance vintage belts, so if somebody’s got a belt they can bring it to me and we’ll work from there.
What kind of items does your collection include?
Who are your designs aimed at?
Ruth: I do fox stoles and bustles sewn onto jackets, and I make belts. I can make three belts in a day but the foxes take a lot longer and are a lot more expensive. They’re one off couture pieces, completely handmade. They’re really quite arty pieces rather than fashion and that’s how I’d like to view them. Accessories: 1. Looped and tufted stole - £700 (black on Laura, white on Kirsty) 2. handmade belt with vintage buckle - £50 3. Black magpies nest jacket (laura) Black bustle jacket (Kirsty) - jackets made to order / can also be hired Words: Sasha Brogden Photos: Steven Speed
Ruth: People who are into burlesque like Dita Von Teese. She’s my icon. People who are not frightened to wear something different, and because burlesque is bordering on that, it’s perfect. How did it feel modelling your designs today? Ruth: I really enjoyed it. I’ve never done a shoot like this before and I think it really suited my work. I do love the idea of people being able to dress glamorously in everyday life…
Models: Ruth Sanderson, Kirsty Matthews, Laura Baker. Ruth can be contacted at purpledungarees@yahoo.co.uk Mobile: 07743376505 www.myspace.com/ vanityaforethought
…
MOCHA PARADES Hype Hair, on Mocha Parade in Lower Broughton, is the exclusive outlet in Greater Manchester for scouse fashion designer Caroline Oates’ glam off the peg designer dresses. Sasha Brogden checks out the range… Models: Amanda Adams and Rachel Kent Styling: Faye Kelly Photos: Steven Speed
How does it work with your designs being in the back of a hairdressing shop? Caroline: It works quite well because girls are coming in to get their hair done and there isn’t really anywhere around here where they can get a dress made. So the girls come in, get their hair done and they take a look in the room in the back with my rail on it. They’ll go in there and try things on and come out with the dresses on and all the girls say `That looks nice on you’ or `That doesn’t’ or whatever… I come up here around once a week, change the rail round see what stock’s gone, take the orders off the girls and then come back up the following week with the orders for them. That’s how it works really.
AMANDA ADAMS Outfit 1: BLACK LACE BABYDOLL DRESS, £80 Outfit 2: Cream satin jumpsuit, £75
She calls out…`What’s it like having clothes in a hairdressers?’ Hayley of Hype Hair: It’s great because there’s a buzz about all the time. There’s always something going on even when it’s quiet. You get girls coming in looking at the dresses and it’s like a fashion show…‘Now what d’you think of that?’…`Oh yeah’ or `Oh no, that’s not your colour’…your style type thing. It’s good, there’s always something going on whether it’s to do with their hair or the dresses or anything. We just started off doing hair and beauty and got introduced to Caroline and it’s just gone on from there really, selling the dresses and incorporating jewellery as well. Can you describe the label ? Caroline: I design dresses for women of all ages who are going out on a special occasion, whether clubbing, or going round bars, or a party, a wedding…but my core customers are young working class girls, who work through the week, have a night out at the weekend and are excited about clothes. They wear high street clothes all week but then want something a bit different at the weekend and a bit more special. They want to look different and stand out in the crowd … I think it’s great that we’re having a shoot and keeping it down to earth with real people involved rather than getting models in…. these Salford girls have bought dresses off me and have got like a love of my label anyway so it makes it even more exciting… Caroline Oates at Hype Hair, 12 Mocha Parade, Salford M7 1QE 834 1313 Further details: www.Carolineoates.com cal.oates@btopenworld.com
RACHEL KENT Outfit 1: Coffee puffball dress, £85 Outfit 2: Maxi dress , £85 Outfit 3: Long sleeve floaty slashneck dress £75
S…
HATS OFF T BEN K You don’t get many real knights coming from Salford but Sir Ben Kingsley has gallantly supported the free community-centred Salford Film Festival since its inception four years ago. He’s also been instrumental in helping to save the Festival this year by writing a very public letter to the city’s `civic leaders’. Whilst a hectic filming schedule in Ireland means Sir Ben is unlikely to be able to attend, he’s filmed a special personal greeting which will be screening at all the events…and the Festival is paying tribute to Salford’s greatest actor by showing five of his films…
TO SIR KINGSLEY… BEN KINGSLEY…ON SALFORD In his own words…
I was born near Scarborough but crossed the Pennines when I was two…it sounds biblical but I did it in a car I’m sure…and I remember this amazing fog which I thought was absolutely beautiful. I went to Manchester Grammar School and there were days when the fog or smog was so thick that you could hardly travel…but it was so thick that it had a kind of strange beauty to it. That’s my romantic image…of driving through the fog, being guided, I think, by a friend of my father’s on a motorbike – we were in a car and he led us – can you imagine, it was that thick the visibility was about a meter. My father was a GP and his neighbour ran a printing business…but on the top floor was Lowry’s attic apartment. The neighbour destroyed a lot of Lowry’s paintings when he left – I think he was in arrears with his rent or something. But Lowry was a patient of my father’s for a short time and I wonder if the painting of the waiting room he did was, in fact, my dad’s waiting room. Salford was very industrial, I remember the skyline. We had a lovely old house which is now an old people’s home, and from the upper windows of my bedroom I could see a lot of chimney stacks and these massive beautiful mineshafts with cables and such and the skyline was very Lowryesque. It disappeared during my teens – I saw the chimneys go and the mines closing and it became a rather depressed. But I do have a very romantic image of the city. It was also quite wonderful to have some of my earliest work on Coronation Street. It was an extraordinary tv series, from its inception when I was in my late teens. And then in my early twenties, when I began to act, I was in two or three episodes. I used to deliver the post at Christmas around the actual streets that were portrayed in the opening credits. There was such an overload of post that students used to work for a couple of weeks and deliver letters as casual labour. I remember delivering around those terraced streets. But when I really felt that I had become, if not a Salfordian, but an honorary Salfordian, was when I joined Salford Players. Then I really had a bond with Salford. I was tremendously happy from the moment
I walked on stage in that converted church hall…My first professional audition was a mere six months away but those six months were very exciting. The Playhouse was run by professionals who who worked in the media, and it was a high quality amateur group. They did good plays and the standard was very high, and very competitive as well. Virtually every town in the north of England had its own brass band, dance company, theatre, choirs...It made the community different from what it is now, I feel. Those were my happiest years in Salford, the two years leading up to leaving…not because I was leaving but because I’d at last got the very best out of Salford that it could offer…this artistic group of people who were attached to the Salford Players.
But Lowry was a patient of my father’s for a short time and I wonder if the painting of the waiting room he did was, in fact, my dad’s waiting room. I think it’s wonderful that Salford Arts Theatre is still there and is going to be showing my films, I’d love to be there…I am on set in Belfast but I wish you every success with the festival. Fond wishes Ben Kingsley Ben Kingsley has a huge amount of films opening over the next few months…In The Last Legion, he plays a Celtic shaman who saves the last Roman emperor…In You Kill Me he plays an alcoholic hit man… In War, Inc he plays a Middle Eastern oil minister who is a target for a hitman…In Elegy he plays an elderly critic who falls for a younger woman…In Transsiberian he plays a Russian cop…, in The Wackness he plays a drug addled psychiatrist…And in Mike Myers’ Love Guru he plays a spiritual adviser. He’s currently making a movie about what were called `the troubles’ in Ireland.
Supported by
Without Lord Attenborough’s faith and persistence over the years, this film would not have been made. After twenty years of fund raising, researching and preparing John Briley’s wonderful script, Richard offered me the role on the strength of one screen test. I am in his debt forever.
free at the Salford Film Festival
Sir Ben Kingsley on his films showing
GANDHI
Gandi is showing 2:30pm Sunday 25th November at the old Salford Cinema (now the New Harvest Christian Fellowship) at the corner of The Crescent and Trinity Way. It will be preceded by a brief talk on the history of the cinema by Tony Flynn.
OLIVER TWIST My second film with the genius Roman Polanski. I am so happy you are showing this film. My characterisation is based upon a childhood memory of buying stamps for my collection from an eccentric man in an ancient part of Manchester called Withy Grove. Only the accent was changed!! Roman’s attention to detail and character is his shining gift and this film is evidence of that gift. Oliver Twist is showing at noon, Monday 26th November at Salford Arts Theatre, Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD
PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES Even I don’t have a copy of this film!! Written and directed by Nick Willing with whom I have worked twice since, and am planning a huge project. Sort of speaks for itself. A very intelligent, delicate touch he brings to everything. Photographing Fairies is showing at noon, Tuesday 27th November at Salford Arts Theatre, Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD
SEXY BEAST As soon as I started turning the pages of the Sexy Beast script I was electrified. Don Logan beckoned me from those pages with a terrifying persuasion. Jonathan Glazer’s first film. We had a great working relationship as soon as we met. Weapons of Mass Distraction is showing at noon, followed by Sexy Beast at 2:30pm Wednesday 28th November at Salford Arts Theatre, Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD All screenings are free but to reserve tickets phone Salford Film Festival Office on 0161 834 3537, or email info@salfordfilmfestival. org.uk. All details are correct at time of going to press but check for updates at www. salfordfilmfestival.org.uk
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IT’S NOT THE EN OF THE WORLD… From Salford to Walford, Stephen Lord is now starring in EastEnders…but the Langworthy lad is premiering his first steps into film making at the Salford Film Festival… Words: Stephen Kingston Photos: Steven Speed For once, Stephen Lord is lost for words. We’re opposite Chimney Pot Park, strolling through his old stomping ground around the back streets off Langworthy Road when he just stops. And looks around. Totally. Genuinely. Shocked. “It’s just…I mean…it’s hard to swallow…obviously…this was a vibrant community and now you’re looking at streets that you used to play in and everything’s boarded up with f*ckin’ metal…I mean, sign of the times and all that but…yeah…it is hard to swallow…I mean, the mad thing is that everybody in Salford knows this exists but the outside world…people who aren’t aware of this…this would be classed as f*ckin nowhere land…This is seriously barren…As a kid, to me this was posh…this was f*ckin’ posh.”
People who actually had a house… we used to think they were dead posh He tries to piece together the former area that’s now characterised by grassed spaces, tinned up terraces and a bombed out community. It’s so quiet, it’s eerie. There’s not even a loose dog around… “I went to Seedley school and these little terraced houses were just dead posh” Stephen repeats “I was from the flats, the little three storey flats, and all the kids who I used to hang around with were from our estate and Sutton flats, so people who actually had a house…one of my best mates, Jackie Pollock and her family were from here and we used to think they were dead posh, you know… “There was a belting pie shop on there…” Stephen recalls, pointing to nothing…and, shuddering in disbelief, listens to the recent history of ripped up community consultations and Salford Council demanding `wow factor’ housing, against the wishes of remaining residents still fighting to stave off the bulldozers. In the future the area is probably going to be an overpriced suburb for media city at the end of Langworthy Road…
his old neighbourhood and finds it flattened to make way for his new employers. Did Stephen ever think that might happen in his wildest dreams/nightmares ? “Never” he says quietly “Never…” Ironically, Stephen Lord is heading up this year’s Salford Film Festival with a real life comedy/drama premiere about a bloke who calls himself an `ecological property developer’ and even dances with squatters who have occupied the building he hopes to turn into class apartments in London. It’s Not The End Of The World is Stephen’s debut as a director and he’s presenting the feature with two other short films, Untitled and In Loving Memory Of… at Salford Arts Theatre, off Liverpool Street, almost around the corner from his family home. It’s a long way from EastEnders, Common As Muck and Real Men movies in which Stephen has made his acting name but he’s having a go at the tv and film industry on all fronts. “I know I can act” he says without any hint of an ego “but can I write and direct ? I’ve got to prove it. You’ve got to start somewhere and these films are, for me, no masterpieces. They’ve been a learning curve and about building up confidence, because I doubt myself as I’m sure everyone does. I had no experience in film making at all when I made In Loving Memory Of…. It was that thing of `Can I, little old me, have a go at it?’ So I got off my bollocks and had a go…”
To turn down quite a large amount of money was a big move but I had to do it.
“F*ck-i-i-n’ ‘ell…”
The film, featuring tv actor Chris Hargreaves, only lasts about three minutes, sets up a whole series of possible sinister scenarios in the viewer’s head…And then stops. The second short film, Untitled, is set in Salford Lads Club, stars young Langworthy actor, Stephen Buckley, who made his debut in the BAFTA nominated Talking With Angels, premiered at the first Salford Film Festival. It’s basically about a kid training to be boxer but fighting his world and his own psyche.
The whole thing is very strange and very surreal. It could almost be the plot of a soap opera. Young lad from Langworthy dreams of becoming an actor…after many years gets a top role in EastEnders, the biggest show on the BBC…comes back to
“It was me re-visiting my roots” says Stephen, without elaborating. What he does talk about is It’s Not The End Of The World, a documentary that would make the fly on the wall itself buzz with disbelief. It’s about a real `ecological’ property developer called
ND ‌
Supported by
Mark Evans going through the motions of trying to make his fortune – hamming it up for the cameras, making hen-faced solicitors and agents look total prats, and getting down with the kids who have totally wrecked his potential golden goose property. It’s off its head. “It’s that feeling of Borat meets an inconvenient truth” Stephen laughs “Mark can be hysterical but he can also be so on the pulse that it makes it really interesting viewing. He’s a character and his life is fantastic. I’d like to make a whole series with him but we’ve got this ninety minute feature with a beginning, a middle and an end, and we’re premiering it in Salford.”
That’s all you need isn’t it? Someone to believe in you a little bit… That Stephen Lord is doing all this when he could be happily pocketing the cash from playing Jase Dyer in EastEnders and becoming a gossip column soap prick, speaks loads about his attitude, which he’s got in common with virtually all Salford’s actors. It’s about playing the game by your own rules, not being put in a box and keeping credibility. After getting noticed for playing Jono in the brilliant nineties binman comedy, Common As Muck, Stephen ended up in two series of the popular cop series City Central.
“I got offered a third series which I turned down” he recalls “To turn down quite a large amount of money was a big move but I had to do it. And that led to being pretty much out of work for a long time. Also, because I didn’t accept things there was a possibility that people thought `Oh he’s difficult…who is he to turn down gear?’ But for me it’s all about doing the right job.” He went to America for a bit, did some writing, came back and got parts in, amongst other things, Sea of Souls and Real Men, the controversial drama about child abuse. There was also a lead part in the feature film The Truth, co-starring Elaine Cassidy and Elizabeth McGovern, which had its world premiere at the last Salford Film Festival, and went on to be voted one of the top ten British movies last year. After that, bizarrely, he was off to Bulgaria with the `Muscles from Brussels’… “They do about four Van Damme features a year in Eastern Europe where he basically plays a character who wipes people out and saves the day. About 18 months ago I did a little cameo in one called `Til Death, and then Van Damme insisted on me playing the main bad guy when he did his next film.” The film is The Shepherd, it comes in early 2008 and Stephen plays a disturbed American soldier who deals in arms and wants to get rid of Van Damme because he’s interfering in his operation. But as soon as filming was finished, he was off to America to sort out an animation project he’s got on the front burner, called Getting On, which he’s done with Salford writer, Tony Flynn. “It’s about family life, we’ve made a taster with Elaine Cassidy, Chris Hargreaves and Paul Nicholls and I like to think it’s on the pulse” he enthuses “It’s something we’re looking at putting on tv at the end of 2009 if anyone’s got the balls to pick it up.” For the time being Stephen’s got a big storyline coming up in EastEnders, where his character, Jase, comes back from prison to get to know his son, Jay Brown. But his past returns to haunt him. “There’s going to be major shenanigans in Walford and Jase is at the centre of it all…he goes on a bit of a rollercoaster and it should be good viewing” Stephen says, adding that to be in EastEnders wasn’t in any of his plans.
“I’m driven by characters I know I can play and that are interesting for me to play” he explains “I hadn’t worked on tv for a bit and the timing felt right. He’s a great character, I’m working with some lovely people and hopefully viewers are enjoying it.”
I remember thinking `I don’t want to be no f*cking student’…and looking back it was like doing prison… Stephen Lord’s enjoying it too. He’s got success, after leaving school without any qualifications, not knowing what he wanted to do, and not getting any encouragement from teachers either way. He went to Eccles College to do English and Maths - “because I knew I had to get my head in gear” – and took drama as a side option. “I just loved putting my head in other people’s worlds” he recalls “And the drama teacher gave me confidence – he said I was good at something. That’s all you need isn’t it ? Someone to believe in you a little bit. I got a massive buzz off it and took it onto the next level.” The next level was acting in scenes in between courses at the local Jacobean banquet, and, from there, he auditioned for a course at Salford University… “I got a place but remember thinking `I don’t want to be no f*cking student’…and looking back it was like doing prison. But I did it, left with an `A’, started doing profit share theatre and got an agent” he says “For me it was `Can I earn a living at what I want to do?’. It was the same wages as what I’d get working in the post office and that was good enough for me.” Years later it’s the same questions. And now he’s making a good living.
“What more can I ask for ?” he says, as we continue to walk around the bombed out, tinned up, community destroyed streets opposite Langworthy’s new luxury Urban Splash development.
Supported by
Stephen Lord, along with fellow Langworthy actor Christopher Eccleston had to go looking out of Salford to make it but now with the BBC moving to the end of the road he believes that opportunities have got to be opened up for the next generation. “We’ve got to look after our kids, that’s the bottom line” he says “Hopefully, if local people can get work it will good for the community. And anything positive for Salford is, for me, great… “But” he adds “the BBC are going to have to get some serious alarms fitted – and if they don’t know what alarms to fit they should speak to the local people, they’ll tell ‘em.”
We’ve got to look after our kids, that’s the bottom line Stephen Lord will be presenting It’s Not The End of the World, Untitled and In Loving Memory Of…at 8pm on Sunday 25th November at Salford Arts Theatre, Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD. With specials guest Mark Evans. The event is free but to reserve tickets phone Salford Film Festival Office on 0161 834 3537, or email info@ salfordfilmfestival.org.uk. All details are correct at time of going to press but check for updates at www. salfordfilmfestival.org.uk
THE COMMUNITY’S FIL SALFORD FILM FESTIV The Salford Film Festival was conceived four years ago as free community-centred event highlighting the incredible movies that are being made by people who live here. These range from top quality feature films to short documentaries and low budget mini-features.
In the Film Festival’s first year the national media dubbed the city `Sollywood’ in recognition of the new film making explosion that was happening in virtually every neighbourhood. In Salford anyone can make a film and the Festival is about showcasing these back street, up front, full on features… At Salford Arts Theatre, on Sunday 25th November, starting at noon and running until 5:30pm, there’s a whole cavalcade of these top community films with award ceremonies, launches and special guest appearances… Here’s some highlights…
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REACH OUT - PROUD AND LOUD ARTS A five minute documentary taking you into the Proud and Loud disabled people’s youth club in Greenheys to show just what this top project is all about.
“It’s about trying to get other young disabled people from all over Salford to come to the club and join us because it’s really good” says Laura “The club helps you to do things you wouldn’t normally do and overcome all sorts of obstacles. We’ve got disabilities and we’re not afraid to show it – even though I’ve got a disability I’m still learning things every day about it. The club helps you to open your eyes to other people…” Making a special guest appearance in the film is Coronation Street’s Simon Gregson, whose brother-in-law is in the Proud and Loud club. “He came down to the club and met us all and he’s in the film at the end telling people to get involved” says Laura “It’s dead weird because one minute he’s there on the telly and then he’s here in front of you. We all have a moan and groan about being on camera…but we all love it really…”
The Fruits of Our Labour – Lower Kersal Young People’s Group The first public showcase for this dramatised history of the famous Lower Kersal Allotments, featuring Elvis, bombs and a 100 year old man.
Photo by Tony Miller
LMS AT VAL…
From Behind The Glass – Candella Films
Produced from a one week project with pupils at Walkden High School, the story centres on a writer sitting in a café witnessing events which will inspire her latest project…is it fact or fiction ?
FH20 – REEL Salford The first public showcase for REEL Salford’s debut film, made in Seedley to highlight the dangers of letting off water hydrants. Features sixty foot squirting water fountains and loads of local kids…
Various Films from the Clapperboard Youth Project The first public showcase for this series of films made by six secondary schools across Salford and supported by the Greater Manchester Fire Service (see review section)
BILLY’S STORY This is a chance for a wider audience to see the acclaimed 13 minute drama-doc about being homeless, written, directed and starring men from Salford’s SASH project. Billy is the hero, who has a bad relationship with his father, gets kicked out of the family house and ends up on the streets in all sorts of trouble. Until help arrives…
Judging Day – Seedley and Langworthy Trust/CRIS This 20 minute documentary follows the progress of Seedley and Langworthy’s entry into the In Bloom competition, and meets the characters behind the floristry. The neighbourhood usually storms the awards every year and has put its flowered up back allies on the map. The documentary was produced by first time film makers in the area who did a ten week NLDC funded course run by SALT and Creative Industries in Salford. “We first showcased the documentary at the Cornerstone in Langworthy and I was amazed that so many people liked our work, it felt unreal” says Catherine Wood “I’m a single parent living in the area and have never done anything like this before. It’s like a whole new world has opened up for me…”
“We were four people who knew nothing about camera and sound work, or editing or scripting, but we did the whole lot ourselves” says Lawrence Brien, behind the scenes guru of the project “When we first showed it people actually liked it, and came up to shake our hands. It gave me a big confidence boost. Now I’m hoping to get more into film making because I really enjoyed it.” Billy won its creators qualifications and Salford’s Adult Learner Award, while the film itself made a huge impact amongst its audience. “From people living in a hostel, to making a film, to winning an award…” Lawrence reflects “That’s some achievement…” All screenings are free but to reserve tickets phone Salford Film Festival Office on 0161 834 3537, or email info@salfordfilmfestival.org.uk. All details are correct at time of going to press but check for updates at www. salfordfilmfestival.org.uk
COAL’S SOUL R The Salford Film Festival’s big community premiere this year is The Tally, where the mines are magic and coal’s spirit comes alive in a haunting adventure…
Deep in an old mine, a group of lads and girls are cold, afraid and hopelessly lost in a maze
of tunnels. All around them leaking gas is setting off explosions as the pit begins to collapse. They’re trapped and they’ve got to get out…fast. An eerie miner appears and offers to help lead the way to safety…but didn’t this colliery shut years ago? Welcome to The Tally, an enchanting new film by REELmcr and Creative Industries in Salford, where a modern day Morris Dancing troupe go time tripping back to the era when coal meant more than a political football for Thatcher. It’s loosely based on the real life tragedy at Pretoria pit near Atherton, where 344 men and boys died just before Christmas in 1910 in Britain’s third worst ever mining disaster. The film was devised by young people from the ex coal mining community of Higher Folds, and they star in the movie together with a former miner. Tv celeb, Daniella Henry, soon to star in Torchwood, was the acting coach on the film. And it isn’t a million light years away from sci-fi. It’s got ghosts, it’s got special effects, it’s got danger and it’s got dancing…But most of all, it’s keeping history alive for a new non-mining generation. “I didn’t know anything about our history before I made this film” says Jessica Ashcroft, who plays Amy, one of the Morris Dancers, in The Tally “I’ve never been down a mine before and I loved it.” Her sentiments are echoed by David Madden, who plays one of the Morris Dancing competition judges. “Higher Folds doesn’t feel like a mining community any more, even though my granddad worked down the pits and told me some tales” he says “Making the film was really good and I’d like to do something like this again.” The Tally is REELmcr’s third world premiere at the Salford Film Festival. Previous community films have been made in Langworthy and Whit Lane but this year’s entry is set just over the border in Wigan. “Having supported the miners during the strike in the dark days of Thatcher’s Britain, I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to work on this film and meet these brave men” says REELmcr’s Jacqui Carroll “I still get choked up when I think about what happened to our mining industry and these young people need to understand where they are from…” Geographically, they might be from Higher Folds but film will have resonance in Salford too where the mining industry in places like Agecroft was once thriving. Apart from its soul of coal, the movie has also got lots of Salford connections. REEL Salford’s Rachel Morrison, who has her own FH2O film showing at the Fest, plays the miner’s widow in the film. “When I was asked to play the part with a Leigh accent, at first I was terrified as I’m a non-actress from Salford” she laughs “I spent a lot of time with the cast picking up their accent because I really wanted to do the script justice. “We filmed a scene at Wigan Pier that really captured the atmosphere of the coal mining disaster and I cried real tears as the scene was so moving” she adds “This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life and has shown me that no matter where you come from, a film project like this brings people together in a way that nothing else can.” The other major Salford connection is that the film was made jointly by Creative Industries in Salford, which has been working in the Higher Folds community for over two years, funded by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust… “This community has lived through some tough years with high unemployment and low aspirations” says Alison Surtees of CRIS “Hopefully our film has helped them to recognise their potential…Bring on the premiere and watch out Salford, there’s a contender for your Sollywood crown !”
The Tally premieres Monday 26th November 7:15pm at the Pie Factory, Broadway, Salford Quays with special guest Emmerdale’s Cleveland Campbell. Tickets are free. Phone REELmcr on 226 4487 or e-mail info@reelmcr.co.uk for reservations.
ROLE…
Supported by
DOC ‘N ROLL Fast on the heels of Control, the movie, comes the real thing – Joy Division: The Documentary, which gets its North West premiere at the Salford Film Festival.
Supported by
Here Joy Division/New Order legend, Peter Hook, writes exclusively about the doc… O ur American manager, Tom Atenscio, felt it was well overdue that
somebody told the real story about Joy Division. The truth, how we remember it. At the same time we also started talking about doing the film, Control. And I was like, `Yeah, yeah…two together, it’s typical… like buses – you wait 30 years then two come at once’. So it was a funny race between Anton Corbijn’s Control and this documentary, and to be honest we just sat back and let them get on with it. We did the documentary before Control so we hadn’t dwelt on the subject a lot, and it benefits from that as we came to it fresh, nobody had asked us about Joy Division for a few years in that depth. We didn’t know what was going to happen after Control so we were quite open. It was the strangest thing for me sitting there watching Bernard and Stephen talking about Joy Division and Ian’s illness. It gave me a bit of an insight to be honest, it was something that we hadn’t really addressed. We never talked about these things…we’d done the old bloke thing and just completely ignored it for 30 years, so it was quite odd for me to watch them. Control is a cinematic version of events, it doesn’t provide all the answers. But the thing about the documentary is that it’s our own words, the people who were there talking about it. The biggest insight, with all the mystery, is seeing Annik, Ian’s mistress. It’s the first interview that she’s ever done and it was really weird hearing that side of it because normally it’s only Debbie Curtis’ version of events. It’s quite absorbing. When I saw it I was like `Wow this is pretty good this’, I was quite surprised. I thought I’d be Joy Divisioned out and yet if I’m interested in it… The way the documentary is done, which actually captures Manchester and Salford in the 70s, is fantastic. They’ve loads of archive stuff and they’ve done it really well. It captures the period of time, I think. Tony Wilson was involved in shaping it - he was executive producer, and gave them a lot of footage of his own. It’s stuff that didn’t get in Control or 24 Hour Party People because that was all re-enacted, but this is real. Like that bit at the start of 24 Hour Party People when Tony crashes the hang glider - I thought that was ridiculous, that they’d made it up, and then lo and behold in the Joy Division documentary you’ve got Tony crashing the hang glider for real…Tom’s also managed to get all sorts of versions of songs and footage that even I hadn’t seen.
Jon Savage was involved with the documentary too, a very old friend and colleague. We did the interviews with him quite willingly and I don’t think any of us thought much of it - it was just like `Yeah, yeah, yeah’. Then, when we saw it after Control I realised that it was the perfect answer to it. I thought Anton did a fantastic job on Control, I never expected to be moved myself because I knew it all, had seen it all, and done it all… but he captured the emotions and the desperation. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it and it’s incredible that it’s got in the top 10 films. I’m hoping that the documentary will have the same affect. Unimaginatively titled Joy Division:The Documentary, it did really well when it was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival – it did four sell out nights just by word of mouth, so it really is on the crest of a wave this Joy Division thing, it absolutely amazes me.
We never talked about these things…we’d done the old bloke thing and just completely ignored it for 30 years Thirty years ? I didn’t think it would last two f*cking minutes…It seemed like a lifetime then, and it was only two or three years. Joy Division never made any money, so you were as skint at the end of Joy Division as you were when it started. It didn’t change your life at all in a physical sense. Obviously in a mental sense, but your circumstances didn’t change. And then when we started New Order we literally had to start again from the bottom. It was quite a weird period of my life really, a funny situation…
Peter Hook will be presenting Joy Division: The Documentary, with a Q&A session on Tuesday 27th November 8:00pm at Vue Cinema, Lowry Outlet Mall, Salford Quays Tickets £6.50 Box Office 08712 240 240 Further details at www.salfordfilmfestival.org
RETRO AT THE SALFO Ding..Ding… NEXT STOP… PENDLETON HIGH
Photo by Catherine Wood
Then there was the day that Arthur Lowe and Lindsay Anderson dropped into Shelagh Delaney’s old school to make a cult film…
Old Penfordians Joyce Consterdine and Jean Elliot
Some time in the early 1980s, Jean Elliott was sat in front of the late night telly when an old film came on ITV…and there she was on screen, singing All Things Bright and Beautiful, in her school uniform at Pendleton High School for Girls twenty years earlier.
“My husband was in bed upstairs and I ran up going `I’m on telly, I’m on telly’” Jean recalls “I’d never seen the film before and I didn’t have a video in those days so I couldn’t record it. I’ve been trying to get hold of it ever since.” The film was The White Bus, an incredibly rare cult movie by director Lindsay Anderson, starring Arthur Lowe and co-written by Shelagh Delaney. It’s a surreal fantasy about a northern girl who leaves London to come home to Salford, where she boards a white bus full of dignitaries on a bizarre tour of the city. On of the places it stops is Delaney’s old school, Pendleton High for Girls, where the then headmistress, Miss Pearson greets Arthur Lowe who plays the mayor. “They came into the hall and filmed the assembly that morning and I’m one of the pupils sat on one the rows singing All Things Bright and Beautiful” says Jean “I remember it happening, we were told to wear our best uniforms and everyone was really excited about the film crew coming.“ Now that The White Bus is screening at the Salford Film Festival, Jean is trying to get as many old `Penfordians’ as possible to see the now demolished school on screen in its former glory. “All that’s left of the school now is a driveway and gate opposite the entrance to Buile Hill Park on Eccles Old Road” she says “But to see the school again on screen will be great…And I’ll be watching myself singing All Things Bright and Beautiful…”
Supported by The White Bus and a documentary about
The Making of the White Bus is screening at Salford Arts Theatre on Wednesday November 28th from 8pm. Admission is free but to reserve tickets phone Salford Film Festival Office on 0161 834 3537, or email info@ salfordfilmfestival.org.uk.
ORD FILM FESTIVAL…
THE FIRST TIME AROUND… From 1967 until the early 1970s, the bulldozers were out in force in Salford as the city changed forever. Now footage of the era, showing a bygone way of life, is being screened in a unique showcase… It was the mid sixties when Mike Goodger was working in Salford University lecturing on `urban renewal’, and noticed on his way to work that the city was being flattened before his eyes. “Being an artist, if I hadn’t been filming it I would have been drawing and painting it” he says “At least I was using a modern method of recording it all. Nobody else was doing it.” He began to document the destruction to show his students, firstly with a still camera and later by teaching himself to use a new fangled film camera. “I didn’t have a clue how to use it at first, I just pointed it at something and shot some material” he remembers “I had no idea what I was going to do with the footage either. I just thought that it would be more interesting for students to see moving pictures rather than slides.” Eventually he teamed up with a journalist, Michael Dines, and the films began to take shape, with a commentary, a soundtrack, a beginning, a middle and an end. Two full films were made featuring mainly the clearance of Ordsall and its people, with a third unfinished but looking to the seventies’ future. “I met all sorts of people and used the words they spoke in the soundtrack” Mike recalls “I was walking down the street one morning and there was this woman standing by her door saying something like `You should come and film us lot having a bath…’ I said `Are you sure?’ And I went back and filmed bath time – in a tin tub. We stayed friends after that, their names were Jean and Arthur Prince, and the plan was to film them moving to their new property which I did a bit but then we ran out of money to finish the film.” The films he did finish have now become classics, which Mike suspected would happen at the time. “I hoped they would last, that’s why I went to so much trouble and anguish to get them right” he says “What amazes me is that some of the places they were putting up while I was filming have now been pulled down 30 years later.” So how does Mike feel now about the films? “I would say they are nostalgia tinged with sadness” he decides “They are certainly not happy films. A lecturer at the University was crying at the end of the second film because the Ordsall girls choir were singing a hymn on the soundtrack…it’s a very moving moment…”
The Changing Face of Salford films are showing at The Lowry, Sunday 25th November 5:30pm. The screenings are free but to reserve tickets phone Salford Film Festival Office on 0161 834 3537, or email info@salfordfilmfestival. org.uk. All details are correct at time of going to press but check for updates at www.salfordfilmfestival.org.uk
Salford Film Festiv More Highlights… NICO ICON – Ultraviolet Productions Stella Grundy’s brilliant portrayal of the legendary Nico’s time in Salford returns to the city for what’s being called an “extended remix”… From New York and the Andy Warhol sequences on film, Nico Icon veers over to Salford via live tracks from drawling yank Velvet Underground musos who, with a flick of the hair and tongue, turn Manc wasters. As the action progresses a cavalcade of local characters enter the scene, from Factory’s Alan Wise, whose spirit is portrayed to perfection, to an addled John Cale, to Terry Christian on radio who asks Nico why she’s here…`because of the drugs…’ she pouts. Part film, part play, part psyche stealing, zeitgeist capturing, squeezebox squeezing, guitar frenzying, pill popping, needle smacking, torch song dropping drama of the highest calibre, Nico Icon is not to be missed. It’s on for two nights only, book as soon as you can and don’t miss it… NICO ICON Extended Remix is showing Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th November at Islington Mill, James Street, M3 5HW. 8pm Admission is £7.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO LIAM LOVELLE – Looking Glass Films A first public showcase for this short, darkly comic offering from up and coming writer and director, Simon Powell. Beautifully filmed in Salford, the film features asperger’s syndrome sufferer, Liam, who’s devastated when his routine is wrecked as he gets fired from his hotel cleaning job. However, he meets stripy haired psychology student, Joanne, who lives across the corridor and his life takes a new turn. Liam Lovelle is quirky, well acted and has a top cameo by John Henshaw as a crap stage medium. The World According To Liam Lovelle is screening Tuesday 27th November, as part of the Salford Shots, Caught Short Two programme which runs from 5:30pm at Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD. Admission is free.
CHRISTINE PIPER – Peter Darnes/ Phil Knight A premiere of this feature film, portraying the passionate inner life of Christine Piper. Outwardly calm, but raging with desperation deep within, Christine’s life goes from restrained to wreckless.. Christine Piper screens on Tuesday November 27th 2:30pm at Salford Arts Theatre, Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD. Admission is free.
val
Supported by
MECHANICAL PINK - Rosalind Gildea Saturday night on the pull in a Manchester bar, and two women are trying to pick up wealthy blokes for major exploitation. It’s the game of modern moneyed life in the northern metropolis. Mechanical Pink is screening Tuesday 27th November, as part of the Salford Shots, Caught Short Two programme which runs from 5:30pm at Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD. Admission is free. Certificate 18
RABBIT STORIES – Sean Conway Fenton Fuller is a schizophrenic. When he was seven his mother bought him a pair of rabbits, King Fu and Ju-Jitsu. This short film is part mock-doc, part surreal fantasy…and lots of frenetic fun. Rabbit Stories screens on Monday 26th November as part of the Caught Short One: Northern Accents programme which runs from 5:30pm at Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD. Admission is free. Certificate 18
UNDER THE MUD – Hurricane Films Scousers arrive at the Salford Fest, courtesy of this acclaimed teenage scripted movie described by The Guardian as “the best feature film you’ll never see”. Young slacker, Magic has only a few hours to save his family, get the girl and change everyone’s lives forever… Under The Mud screens on Sunday November 25th at 5:30pm Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Ave, off Liverpool Street, M5 4AD. Admission is free.
To reserve tickets for all these films phone Salford Film Festival Office on 0161 834 3537, or email info@salfordfilmfestival.org. uk. All details are correct at time of going to press but check for updates at www. salfordfilmfestival.org.uk
THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY OPENS UP… In the afternoon of the 25th November at Salford Arts Theatre there’s going to be the launch of the Salford Community Media Partnership, which is about opening up things like radio, film making, photography and journalism to everyone in the city… For the first time ever in Salford, virtually every single community organisation that has anything to do with being creative or related to the media is joining up to help anyone who wants to work or train in the industry. Backed by the likes of REEL Salford, Salford City Radio, Ordsall Community Arts and the Salford Star, there’s going to be free courses, advice, training and support in a whole battery of media related skills, with the aim of giving people opportunities to get a career in the sector. It’s being put together by Creative Industries in Salford, Seedley and Langworthy Trust and the Cornerstone, and there’s already some funding from NLDC to kick the project off, with free courses starting in the New Year. It’s all tied in with the BBC and media city coming to town, and ensuring that Salford people are not just going to be given jobs sweeping up and doing security. Is it for real? Come to the launch, sign up and find out… For further details on Salford Community Partnership contact Linda Robson on 737 9918
A NEW CREATIVE ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR SALFORD During the Salford Film Festival a new online creative portal is being launched by Creative Industries in Salford (CRIS) at www.criis.org... Creative Industries in Salford has had a major involvement with virtually every community film being shown at the Festival, including The Geek, The Tally, Billy’s Story, Judging Day, The Phantom Stalker and More Than Just A Word…But CRIS doesn’t just do film and is there to support everyone in the city involved in doing anything creative. The re-launched website is going to be a kind of portal for everything vital going off in Salford. “It’s going to feature local stories, advice on how to get into projects and how to get supported doing creative stuff” says Alison Surtees from CRIS “It’s also going to have a creative directory featuring all the companies and people involved in the industry locally.” Check out the website at www.criis.org or contact CRIS on 01204 862 998
Are you ready for Freddy ?
Fred Engels is the most famous person who ever breathed in Salford – but who’s heard of him ? Fred wrote the Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx, and his words were used to inspire revolutions all over the world. In the communist countries that perverted his theories, he was like a god and they used to parade his image everywhere – on stamps, coins, banners and statues…But the image was always of this dusty, beardy old git. Yet when Fred came to Salford, age 22, he was on the ale every night, copping off with local girls and stirring up all sorts of trouble. He was the original angry young man, slagging off developers, the council, the capitalists and the conditions that working class people were living in…
…Hmmm, it seems Freddy Engels is so out, he’s in… A Real Salford Heritage special supplement made possible with the fantastic financial support of the Lipman-Miliband Trust. Includes free exclusive limited edition poster by Matt Carroll of Salford’s top graphic artist team, Central Station. Credits: Many of the Engels related images are from the collection at the Working Class Movement Library; The Russian letter to Eccles is from the Local History Library at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. We would like to thank both libraries for their time and help. Thanks also to Lawrence Cassidy, Tony Flynn, Ruth Frow and, of course, the Lipman-Miliband Trust. Photos of Engels House are by Kate Furnell. Graphics on this page are by Matt Carroll. Supplement layout by Steven Speed. Words by Stephen Kingston.
Everything you’ve ever needed to know about Fred Engels…
What do you want to be when you grow up sonny ? `I wanna change the world – and I mean it, right!’
“A class which bears all the disadvantages of the social order without enjoying its advantages…Who can demand that such a class respect this social order ?”
Born in Barmen, Germany, in 1820, young Fred was a major
trouble maker after he discovered politics, so his dad – a rich mill owner – packed him off to Salford when he was 22 to work for the family’s joint owned Ermen and Engels’ Victoria Mill in Weaste, which made sewing threads.
By this time Fred already spoke 25 languages, was a top horseman, swordsman, swimmer, skater, artist, journalist, composer and philosopher – well, there was no telly in those days. And he’d published loads of political articles, stirring it up in his home town and prompting his dad to write “I have a son at home who is like a scabby sheep in a flock…” En route to Salford, Fred stopped off in Cologne where he
Engels: The Condition of the Working Class in England 1844
met his future best mate, Karl
Marx.
Once back in Germany he got his sword out and took part in the revolutionary uprising against the Prussian army. It was after this, in 1848, that Fred and Karl Marx wrote The
Communist
Manifesto urging a worldwide socialist revolution.
With the authorities after him, Fred took refuge in Switzerland before
arriving back at his dad’s factory in 1850, exiled in Salford. He stayed for 19 years. This time, Fred was under surveillance from the
secret police, and had `official’ homes and `unofficial homes’ all over inner city Manchester where he lived with Mary under false names to confuse the cops. While Fred was in Salford and Manchester, Karl Marx used to come and visit him at least once every year. They would sit for hours
When Fred arrived in Salford in 1842, by day he worked at Victoria Mill in Weaste and in the company’s office in Deansgate (now Kendals’ perfume counter), and was an outwardly respectable business type. But at night he slummed it, spending all his time going around the working class areas observing the shocking conditions that working people were living in.
for hours in pubs all over town – possibly the Crescent and The Grapes in Salford, and the Gold Cup and Coach and Horses in
Fred had copped
Das Kapital, which showed exactly how capitalism worked – basically the economic exploitation of the working class by the ruling class.
off with a young Irish girl called
Mary Burns, who probably worked at his dad’s
mill, and she took him out at night in disguise so that he wouldn’t get his German bourgeois head
in.
kicked
After twenty months Fred went home and wrote The
Condition of the Working Class in England 1844 (published 1845). It was“dedicated
researching in Chetham’s Library – and then go drinking
Manchester.
The prime reason why Fred worked at his dad’s mill for 20 years was to get money to support Marx, so he could complete his masterwork,
Fred `slaved’ in Weaste until 1869 but most of what he was up to during his stay is open to speculation as he destroyed over 1500 letters between himself and Marx after his mate died, so as not to expose
their secret life in the north west. In 1870 Fred left Salford and Manchester for London, and world infamy. He died in 1895.
to the working classes of Great Britain” but wasn’t available in English until 1892. The explosive book described in intimate detail, street after street, the total squalor that working people were living in, based on what he’d seen in Salford and Manchester. Fred didn’t mess around - he called it “social murder” But he didn’t just write about the conditions of working people and his
hatred for the ruling class.
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles…” Marx and Engels: Communist Manifesto
“To get the most out of life you must
you must have the courage to taste the thrill of being young…” be active, you must live and
Fred Engels 1840
From Salford with Love how Salford gave revolution to the world…
Without Salford there would have been no Russian revolution, no Che Guevara, no Fidel Castro…and no John Lennon singing `We all wanna change the w-u-u-r-r-r-ld’…
Fred Engels came to work at his dad’s mill in Weaste
because he knew that the area was right at the cutting edge of everything. Salford and Manchester were the world’s first industrial cities, with all the associated social problems and political reactions – mass Chartist rallies, the Peterloo Massacre, the centre of trade unionism and in the year he arrived, mass strikes in the mills repressed by troops and
It was kicking off all over the place. If anywhere was ripe for revolution it the police.
was here…
Karl Marx was sat in London absolutely skint. He wouldn’t have been able to write the Communist Manifesto or Das Kapital without Engels subbing him all the time. Marx would have had to get a job stacking shelves in Netto or something. But the money that Engels sent him came from
the sweat of Salford’s workers paid for these history changing books to be written. the profits at his dad’s Victoria Mill –
Engels wouldn’t have been able to write the groundbreaking Conditions of the Working Class In England without being taken around those areas by Mary Burns. They say that if you can’t change your doorstep you can’t change the world.
Mary Burns showed Fred the social horror on her doorstep which led to him igniting the flame that inspired over fifty workers’ revolutions across the globe… “Marx could never have gained the mass circulation he did had it not been for Engels. It is, of course, one of the ironies of history that it was the success of the family business that enabled Engels to fund Marx. Perhaps the first example of a partnership with the private sector!” John Merry, Leader Salford City Council
“It was the workers in Ermen and Engels mill in Weaste who made the profits which enabled Frederick Engels to support Karl Marx while he researched in the British Library. The result, which became known as Scientific Socialism, had, and still has, world wide influence…” Ruth Frow, Founder Working Class Movement Library, Salford.
office to the private advantage of the official or his family.”
The Housing Question 1887 On Manchester and Salford…
a person may live in it for years, and go in and out daily without coming into contact with a working people’s quarter or even with workers, so long as he confides himself The town itself is peculiarly built, so that
to his business or pleasure walks…With conscious determination, the working people’s quarters are sharply separated from the sections of the city reserved for the middle class; or if this does not succeed, they are concealed with the cloak of charity…” The Condition of the Working Class In England
“If we cross the Irwell to Salford,
we find…one large working men’s quarter, penetrated by a single wide avenue…All Salford is built in courts or narrow lanes, so narrow, that they remind me of the narrowest I have ever seen, the little lanes of Genoa….The working men’s dwellings between Oldfield Road and Cross Lane…vie with the dwellings of the Old Town in filth and overcrowding. In this district I found a man, apparently about 60 years old, living in a cow stable...which had neither windows, floor, nor ceiling… and lived there, though the rain dripped through his rotten roof. This man was too old and weak for regular work, and supported himself by removing manure with a hand-cart; the dung heaps lay next door to his palace. The working people live, almost all of them, in wretched, damp, filthy cottages…the streets which surround them are usually in the most miserable and filthy condition, laid out without the slightest reference to ventilation, with reference soley to the profit secured by the contractor…”
The Condition of the Working Class in England 1844
WHAT FRED SAID “I once went into Manchester with a bourgeois and spoke to him of the bad, unwholesome method of building, the frightful conditions of the working people’s quarters… The man listened quietly and said when we parted `And yet there is a great deal of money to be made here; good morning sir’…
“I have never seen so demoralised a class as
Their sole happiness is derived from gaining a quick profit. They the English middle classes.
feel pain only if they suffer a financial loss. Every single human quality with which they are endowed is grossly debased by selfish
and love of gain…”
1845
greed
All the conditions of life are measured by money, and
what brings no money is nonsense, unpractical idealistic bosh !”
“Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletariat have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win…Working Men of All Countries, Unite!”
nepotism and jobbery – the exploitation of public
Marx and Engels: Communist Manifesto
“Urban authorities…almost everywhere in England are recognised centres of corruption of all kinds,
“Exploitation is the basic evil which the social
revolution
strives to abolish, by abolishing the capitalist mode of production…” 1887
ENGELS HOUSE Welcome to the only formal monument to Fred Engels in the whole of Salford – a ten storey towerblock in Eccles…
They’ve got massive statues of Fred Engels all over the world – from Germany to China, to Russia to Cuba…They’ve got libraries named after him…children named after him, even…Fred’s featured on postage stamps, coins and bank notes…And what do we do to commemorate probably the most famous person ever to breathe in Salford ? We name a towerblock in Eccles after him…
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LIVE IN ENGELS HOUSE ?
Not that Engels would have minded – he wasn’t into monuments and stuff. But given this is as good as an Engels monument gets in Salford, we thought we’d have a chat with the residents who live there to gauge their views… Words: Stephen Kingston Photos: Kate Furnell
E ngels House, off Trafford Road in Eccles, has no plaques on the wall commemorating the
infamous revolutionary. In fact the block has only got half the letters of its title on the wall… just `Engels’ because the `House’ bit of the white lettered sign has fallen off at some point and never been replaced. In 2004, 100% of homes here didn’t meet the Decent Housing Standard and now there’s a huge sign outside declaring a Hazard Reduction Scheme.
“I do feel proud to live here, and it makes you want to know a bit more about him” Steven Greenhall
The block itself is a style-junkie’s dream – minimalist to the extreme with spotless, Mondrian inspired floor and wall tiles, shining metal lift doors and awesome symmetrical staircases. It’s a classic of `modernist design’, as they used to called it. And similar to hundreds of high rise flats in what was the Eastern Bloc which perverted Engels’ theories and then worshipped him. Here, though, in his spiritual home a few miles from his former mill, few have ever heard of the man who literally changed the world. Outside Engels House we meet Steven Greenhall, who’s lived here for two years and says he’s always wondered who the flats were named after…`You should be proud, man’ we say `It’s Frederick Engels!’…blank looks…`Engels?...Karl Marx’s mate?...He changed the world?...And this is the only monument to him in the whole of Salford!’…”Poor man” Steven laughs, but adds “Now I’ve got a bit of information I do feel proud to live here, and it makes you want to know a bit more about him.”
“The Council are just a bunch of comedians...Engels, he would have sorted it!” Gordon Langlands
We venture inside and on the middle floor find Anne Manley in her very cosy flat. She’s lived here for seven years, has never heard of Fred Engels and has never really wondered where the name of the block came from. When we tell her that it’s the only monument to the man, she just shakes her head…”A bit of a shame really, isn’t it?”. Gordon Langlands has lived here for 12 years. He’s only too keen to invite us into his immaculately decorated flat…`Proud to live here?’ we ask…”I don’t know about that but I’m having problems with this” he says, pointing to the ceiling. Oh my god! It looks like it’s about to cave in at any minute. It’s all damp and there’s huge bubbles underneath the peeling paint. “It’s getting worse and worse now, and every time it rains, it comes through again, it’s been like this for over a year” he adds “I’ve reported it, had them out five times and I can get nothing done about it. The Council just seem to be deafing me on it, they’re just a bunch of comedians. But it’s getting beyond a joke now. Someone told me to move out but I’ve built this place up. This Engels, he would have sorted it!”
“They should have one of those blue plaques…Get the tourists here from Cuba!” Mike Barton
Hopefully, in Engels’ absence, the Council might decide to sort it. It’s shocking. Next we meet Jean who’s lived here a year and has never heard of Marx’s mate either…”It’s not a very good monument to him though is it?” she decides. “No-one’s ever mentioned him” says David Atkinson, who’s lived here for two years “There’s no plaque, nothing at all…and if he’s that famous it’s a bit disappointing and he should be recognised. They could at least have some information here that explains a bit more about him…” David says that he’s going to go on the net to find out more…Meanwhile, Mike Barton echoes the view…”they should have one of those blue plaques” he says “Get the tourists here from Cuba!”
“No-one’s ever mentioned him…There’s no plaque, nothing at all…and if he’s that famous it’s a bit disappointing…They could at least have some information here…” David Atkinson
It would be good to get the Council here first to fix Gordon’s rotting ceiling… but yeah, why not?
Your guide to Fred Engels in Salford… 1) Ermen and Engels Victoria Mill – the mill where Engels worked was at the bottom of Weaste Lane, and the M602 now smashes straight through the former site. Its chimney still stood until about 25 years ago when that too was demolished. There’s not a trace left of the world’s most famous mill which Engels part owned until 1869.
2) Engels Pubs writes…
Salford social historian, Tony Flynn
If one is to believe all the stories about Engels, most of his time was spent in the pub. The most widely published story is that he would call in The Crescent pub, on the Crescent, for a swift ‘un before returning home to his house in Chorlton on Medlock. However I doubt this story because his father’s mill was in Weaste, and surely that’s a long way to go for a pint? His most sensible route home would have been along Eccles New Road and Regent Road, a distance from The Crescent Pub. However, several books on Eccles history tell the story of The Grapes pub on Church Street which was licensed from 1770. It is reported several times that Engels visited this pub, and allegedly attempted to form a communist cell there. Eccles at this time was a hotbed of social unrest.
3) Kersal Moor – Fred was a keen horseman, riding with the Cheshire Hunt at times, but he apparently also used to go riding on Kersal Moor, which is commemorated in a mosaic on Prestwich Precinct.
4) Working Class Movement Library – the
Library, on the Crescent, has a collection of rare photos and slides of places of Engels interest. It also has copies of his books plus an incredible Engels scrapbook based on Roy Whitfield’s research for his Frederick Engels in Manchester book. Whitfield painstakingly tried to piece together the maze of pseudonyms and secret lodgings that Engels had in order to foil the secret police during his stay in Manchester. He also tried to unmask the mystery behind Mary Burns.
5) Local History Library at Salford Museum and Art Gallery – has copies of Engels books
and communist propaganda pamphlets featuring photos and portraits. It also has a typewritten letter in Russian, dated 1951, from the Soviet Central Committee of the Institute of Marx Engels Lenin to a Mr Butterworth in Eccles discussing the idea of putting a memorial plaque to Fred in a local factory.
6) Salford Council Planning Department – Engels’ descriptions of Greengate found in The Condition Of The Working Class In England 1844 are now being used in official council planning documents for the area’s multi-billion pound makeover…
“A town of eighty thousand inhabitants which, properly speaking, is one large working-mans’ quarter, penetrated by a single wide avenue (Chapel Street)…it is an old and unwholesome, dirty and ruinous locality… The narrower side lanes of Chapel Street, Greengate and Gravel Lane have certainly never been cleaned since they were built…”
7) Engels House – the towerblock named in Fred’s honour is off Trafford Road near Eccles town centre.
Other places of Engels interest: You can still sit in the alcove at Chetham’s Library in Manchester where Marx and Engels would research their work, and read the very same books that they poured over in the summer of 1845. There is also a blue plaque to Engels at the `Toblerones’ student halls off Oxford Road in Manchester, commemorating one of his official houses at Thorncliffe Grove. But anywhere that Engels lived has now been demolished. There’s not a brick left. It’s like he was never here…You can’t even buy a new copy of The Condition of the Working Class In England 1844 anywhere in Salford.
FRED ENGELS WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME… SOCIAL CLEANSING…
This is what Engels wrote about Salford, Manchester, London, Liverpool, Paris (etc) 120 years ago. He could have been writing it today… “The growth of the big modern cities gives the land in certain areas, particularly
in those which are centrally
situated, an artificial and colossally increasing value; the buildings erected on these areas depress this value instead of increasing it, because they no longer correspond to the changed
They are pulled down and replaced by others. This takes place above all with the workers’ houses which are situated centrally and
circumstances.
Literacy, Crime and Poverty - The Link 1842 – 32% of prisoners illiterate 2002 - 40% of prisoners illiterate
In Conditions of the Working Class In England, Engels used statistics from 1842 to prove the link between crime and poverty. He wrote that “taking the the average, out of 100 criminals, 32.35 could neither read nor write; 58.32 read and wrote imperfectly…” Engels explained that “contempt for the existing order is most conspicuous in its extreme form – that of offences against the law. If the influences demoralising to the working man act more powerfully than usual he becomes an offender…” He added: “The offences are, in the great majority of cases, against property,
man has, he does not steal…”
“…The result is that workers are forced out of the centre of towns towards the outskirts; that workers’ dwellings, and small dwellings in general, become rare and expensive and often altogether unobtainable. For under these circumstances the building industry, which is offered a much better field for speculation by more expensive houses, builds workers’ dwellings only by way of exception…They will provide new
1842 – 58% of prisoners semi literate 2002 - 60% of prisoners semi literate
and have, therefore, arisen from want in some form; for
whose rents…can never increase above a certain maximum.
what a
dwellings for hardly more than a quarter of the workers actually evicted by the building
operations…”
Engels goes on to write about this being in `the spirit’ of a bloke called Haussmann, a corrupt government official in 19th Century Paris, who built “long, straight and broad streets through the closely built workers’ quarters, particularly those which are centrally situated…erecting big luxurious buildings on both sides of them…to
a pure luxury city.” Engels added that these “evils” were usually done in the name of
“beautifying the town”…
“World’s first industrial In 2002, figures from a Social Exclusion Unit Report showed that 40% of convicted prisoners had “severe literacy problems” and 60% city to City beautiful!” “had problems with literacy”. Central Salford URC slogan 2007 The 2002 Report added that most prisoners come from “socially excluded backgrounds” - they are 13 times more likely to have been in care and 14 times more likely to have been unemployed than nonoffenders. More than half of all male prisoners and over two thirds of female prisoners have no qualifications…
“The reason why capitalists do not invest still more than they do in workers’ dwellings is that more expensive dwellings bring in still greater profits for their owners” Fred Engels 1887
“Beautiful, Vibrant, Prosperous Central Salford is rapidly becoming one of the most desirable locations for investors and developers in the North…” Central Salford advert
turn the city into
MARY BURNS
International people’s superstar and woman of mystery… There was Karl Marx…There was Frederick “She had, however, allowed him to set up her and her sister in a Engels…And there was Mary Burns…Mary Burns ? You don’t see her portrait being paraded around Cuba or revered on stamps and coins. But when it comes to Salford’s heritage she’s the number one woman…And she was proper working class…
No-one’s ever heard of Mary Burns. And no-one can ever see her. She’s a total mystery. There’s no record of her birth, nor any surviving photos, and those who are into this stuff have spent years trying to find out more about her. Without a great deal of success. What we do know is that she copped off with Fred Engels, lived with him for around twenty years, and without Mary Burns no-one would have found out about The Condition of the Working Class 1844 because she took him round and showed him the worst districts of Salford and Manchester for his research. They say that if you can’t change your doorstep you can’t change the world. Basically, Mary showed Engels her doorstep and inspired him to change the world. The only biographical reference to her was in books about Engels, one by Max Beer in 1935 who wrote that Engels “lived in free union with an Irish girl of the people, Mary Burns, who had worked in his father’s factory” and one by Edmund Wilson in 1941 who wrote…
little house in the suburb of Salford where the coal barges and chimneys of Manchester gave way to the woods and fields.
“Mary Burns was a fierce Irish patriot and she fed Engels’ revolutionary enthusiasm at the same time that she served him as a guide to the infernal abysses of the city.” Wilson gives no proof for all this, and Roy Whitfield in his book Frederick Engels in Manchester, written in 1988, argued that Mary was actually from the Deansgate area on the Manchester side of the border with Salford, but accepted that his work was well researched speculation. Whitfield did, however, prove where she was born from the 1861 Census return when she gave her age as 38 and her birthplace as Manchester. Given that no-one knows where she actually lived, if Mary had pulled Fred while working in his Weaste factory, she was most likely to have been from Salford. The only direct reference to Mary Burns that survives is a letter from Marx to Engels on learning of her death saying she was “very good natured” and “witty”, and a letter from Marx’s daughter, Eleanor, saying that she was “very pretty, witty and an altogether charming girl…but in later years drank to excess.” Sounds like she was, indeed, from Salford… Mary Burns died on January 7 1863. No-one has ever found her grave. After Mary died, Fred lived with her sister, Lizzie, and married her on her deathbed.
“He was having a love affair with an Irish girl named Mary Burns who worked in the factory of Ermen and Engels and had been promoted to run a new machine called a `self actor’. She seems to have been a woman of some independence of character as she is said to have refused his offer to relieve her of the necessity of working.
ENGELS TRIVIA... (as told to Karl Marx’s daughter Eleanor in 1869)
Favourite virtue: jollity Favourite virtue in a man: to
mind his own business Idea of happiness: a bottle of wine Aversion: affected stuck up women Hero: none Favourite flower: bluebell Motto: take it easy
Lower Kersal: Blown up Hype Dr Shane Sullivan now works and lives in Australia as a legal academic, but he was born and bred in the Kersal Flats, now mostly demolished. Here he tells the story of how Salford’s last huge regeneration project in the 1970’s went horribly wrong...and the lessons for the present.
T
he depiction of `communities in the sky’ in the old BBC drama Our Friends in The North was an accurate picture of the shortsighted and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to solve the post-war housing crisis in the North of England through the building of towerblocks. I am someone who experienced at first hand the bright glisten of the new future offered by these high rise communities, and the ultimate betrayal and degeneration of these experiments into social dumping grounds for those without a voice or a future...
particular it was prone to serious flooding, particularly in 1946, and this was to haunt the flats throughout their existence.
The net result of these enterprises was the waste of vast amounts of public money, the profiteering of private companies, and the squandering of thirty years of community life. In the midst of this, however, a friendly and vibrant community was briefly created and enjoyed in the area known as Lower Kersal Flats. It is perhaps pertinent to consider this strange concrete experiment when considering the current activities of the New Deal for Communities, and what it means for Kersal.
Whilst it is clear that the concept of these new communities in the sky soon began to fail, it is also true that a community began to be formed in the 1960s and 1970s. The level of affection and fondness for what was an ugly grey eyesore and a failed social experiment is something which never ceases to amaze me. This is perhaps best summed up by the large street celebrations of the 1977 Silver Jubilee.
Kersal (including the Moor and the Dale) has a long and rich history. Amongst many other firsts, it was the site of Kersal Links, one of the oldest golf courses in the world, opened in 1818 – and closed in 1960 with the building of the flats. It is perhaps fitting that an area at the forefront of many developments should be chosen as one of the largest experiments in the new communities in the sky. Many local residents were surprised by the choice of locations for this development because the local authorities had always classified the place as unsuitable for residential development. In
Despite this, work began in late 1958, was well under way by February 1959 and the flats were completed by 1961. This relatively small plot of land was to be home to 12 blocks containing approximately 740 little palaces in the sky. The bright shiny future of land saving, but not qualitycompromising living, was opened to the residents of Salford.
As the 1970s gave way to the harsh realities of the 1980s and Thatcherism, Lower Kersal Flats degenerated rapidly as an area. A policy of moving out families was in place from 1978 onwards. This was a recognition that the removal of hundreds of families from traditional housing into flats without gardens, adequate recreational and social facilities, and into a densely populated area had proven to be an abject social failure. This failure was easily measured in terms of crime rates, educational attainment, unemployment rates and the deterioration of the physical environment. In the 1980s Thatcherite governments cut off the central funding necessary to deal with such problems. Thus it was perhaps inevitable that this ugly concrete reminder of the failure of
local authorities, their housing policies, their squandering of vast sums of public money, and the large social cost, had to be removed. On the 14th October 1990 Kersal once again made history by being the scene of the world’s largest controlled explosion. Whilst by this time few were sad to see the back of these flats, the role of private enterprise and its failure should serve as a timely reminder to developments within the NDC. Instead of a straight forward demolition and either leaving the site fallow or building public housing, it was decided that Kersal Way would be an early example of a public-private partnership. This took the form of a Development Agreement for Kersal flats with Regalian Homes Estates Limited in which it was agreed that all but four of the flats would be demolished. The remaining flats would be renovated and modernized and sold as examples of modern apartment living, and the rest of the area would be used to build private homes for family living.
This relatively small plot of land was to be home to 12 blocks containing approximately 740 little palaces in the sky. In addition to the surrendering of profits to this private enterprise, Salford Council also agreed to provide some £5,152,000 in grants to the developer in December 1990. The Local Authority also bent over backwards to accommodate the developer by granting prohibition orders to prevent access to public land whilst the site was developed. Despite a makeover of two of the remaining flats (previously known as Shelley House and Spencer House), and a few new houses and numerous attempts to publicise the development (including an appearance on an early property programmed,House Style in 1991), the development was little short of a disaster. Thus the developer was permitted to rescind the development agreement because of market conditions. And two more blocks were demolished in 1999. The developer was also allowed to walk away from its obligations to maintain and repair Kersal Way as a viable highway. Anyone who has visited the spot recently will realize that it is in an horrendous condition, and in March 2002 a permanent order was granted to prevent driving on Kersal Way. The area is now left in a mess with a few new houses, and two renovated blocks trapped behind large fences. So what is the relevance of all this to contemporary developments in Kersal? The New Deal for Communities in Charlestown and Kersal continues unabated. There is a very real concern here that we are dealing with the same old problems but with a new PR man. Our Friends in the North portrayed the decision to build high rise flats as an exercise in corruption within local authorities. The latter being dominated by men who were making decisions involving the spending of vast sums of money and who were not qualified to do so. Hence they were open to undue influence, and perhaps even the corruption of big business.
On the 14th October 1990 Kersal once again made history by being the scene of the world’s largest controlled explosion The flats were erected to the great profit of those same interests. The research of Tanner, Shapely, Fielding and Walling (The Labour Party and the Politics of Housing in Manchester and Salford 1945-1987) indicate that some councils within Manchester and Salford were “councils dominated by a single party…ruled by ideological - and sometimes corrupt – cliques” but “whilst corruption existed in Salford … [there was] a subservient support for ‘modernising’ ideas which in retrospect did not suit the local communities.” Thus the flats went up at public cost both financially and socially, and they were removed at the same cost. The end result was the social dislocation of thousands of families into and out of Kersal Flats and the social ill-effects that come with it. The private profit in erecting the flats involved private interests reaching directly into the public purse and taking money out. This is an approach that would not be tolerated after 1990. Thus the demolition of the flats involved an indirect public money grab via a development partnership, public grants, and a profit based arrangement. A forerunner of the NDC projects.
This time the private interests are wearing a different suit and have a better PR man. So far, the results of the 2007 style NDC project are causing concern. The Kersal Heights development has surrendered land from a school site to private developers (Miller Homes) who are due to build (according to the NDC itself) 230 house for private sale. Of these, the NDC inform us, 28 houses will be affordable housing. This is less than 10% and is substantially below the minimum 20% target set by the Council’s own statement in Affordable Housing IN Salford. In addition to this low number of affordable housing the definition of affordable is open to manipulation (see past Salford Stars).
There is a very real concern here that we are dealing with the same old problems but with a new PR man. These issues are likely to continue in relation to the development of the streets surrounding Kersal Way which is due to begin in 2008. It is the same motives of private interest, and the slavish devotion to any development which might be characterized as “modernization” which threatens to repeat the mistakes of the high rise flat builders. The cost of construction will be heavily funded by the public purse, there will be inadequate public consultation, there will be large scale compulsory relocation of families, private interest will do very nicely out of it, and the average Salfordian will be paying the social and financial consequences for the next thirty years. On the whole Salford people are a canny bunch and do not need to be warned about old wolves in the clothes of a new sheep. Indeed, those who may be sceptical of my scepticism might wish to consider this…A recent issue of Salford Star revealed that Salford City Council’s own financial definition of an `affordable house’ is £57,600 - in 2007 the price of a one bedroom flat in the remaining two buildings of Kersal Flats its £70,000. Thus the residents of this area are even priced out of a one bedroom flat in what was one of the least desirable developments in the entire country. What are their chances of a house in the new developments?
It is the same motives of private interest, and the slavish devotion to any development which might be characterized as “modernization” which threatens to repeat the mistakes of the high rise flat builders… It is perhaps fitting to conclude with the Salfordian habit of finding humour in the face of adversity. According to the research of Christopher Collier, the high rise flats in Salford caused a 50mm annual increase in the amount of rain falling on Manchester. Even though we paid all the social and financial costs of failed flat developments at least we caused it to piss down on Manchester! There’s loads of stuff about Kersal Flats on Shane’s website, including actual news footage of the flats being demolished… http://lowerkersal.audiohosting.org/ If anyone has any photos/memories of the flats Shane would love to hear from you. Please send them to kersalflats@hotmail.co.uk or in hard copy to the Salford Star, c/o RITA 16 Sirius Place, Salford M71WN
“Salford has been torn down once before when the ‘streets in the sky’ were put up and we’ve seen they didn’t work. I did a drama Our Friends in the North which dealt with all that quite strongly” Christopher Eccleston Salford Star Issue 1
THE RESIDENTS REMEMBER… Former Kersal Flats resident, Mike Skeffington, chats to people who lived in the streets in the sky and finds there’s still passion for the towerblocks named after famous poets…Milton, Chaucer, Burns et al… 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the building of Kersal Flats. Arthur and Winnie Murphy moved to the 8th floor of Milton House in 1961 with nine children, and were among the first families to occupy the new properties.
Photo by Kate Furnell
Ex Kersal Flats residents Karen Kinsley, Julie Monro and Mike Skeffington
“We moved from Victoria Place, Hanky Park, into a three bedroom flat and it was really nice, the kids loved it” recalls Winnie “We had coal fires as there was no central heating then. The kids had plenty of room to play and you always knew where they were. We lived there for 18 years and it was a really good community.” Jack and Maureen Pavitt moved from the Islington area to Burns House in 1961 and brought up five children there. “I wasn’t sure whether we’d settle or not but I got used to it, it was a lovely place to live” says Maureen “I remember the wash houses at the bottom of the block where you got an hour a week to wash and an hour to dry. We had everything we needed and plenty of grass for the kids to run about on, as long as the caretaker, Joe Baker, didn’t catch them. There was a great community spirit.” When Jack and Maureen moved out in 1990 someone commented that `theirs was the only flat with the light still on’. But before that the national spotlight was turned onto the blocks when Coronation Street came to town. Kevin and Marlene Skeffington moved into Chaucer Court in 1977, and two years later their flat became the set for a scene in the soap. “A film crew arrived with Alf Roberts, Deirdre Barlow, her daughter, Tracy, and Emily Bishop” Kevin explains “I remember we had a large fish tank and the girl who played Tracy was so fascinated by it that it took some time to get her to concentrate on her part. We were paid £15 for our trouble. “We liked living on the flats” he adds “We had some good neighbours, views across the hills at the back and there was plenty of wildlife. We moved out in ’83 and have nice memories of the place.” Caretakers were a vital part of the community and some that spring to people’s minds include Dave Appleton (Appy), Norma Foster, Les Whitely, Joe Baker, and Chris Berney, who moved to Milton House in 1970 with his wife Mary and their three kids. They were the last residents to leave Kersal Flats in 1990. “A new community centre, the Castle, was opened on the site of the old park and Les Whitely and I ran the youth club there” Chris remembers “There was also a junior club, run by Ann, one of the local mums, and all sorts of other activities, something for everyone – I’m sure that many of the youths would have got into some kind of trouble if they didn’t have the club to go to. It closed in the late 80s which was a shame but it was great while it lasted.”
Julie Munro was born on the 6th floor of Keats Court in the summer of ’61 and lived there until 1982… “My parents had been on a waiting list and my mam said you were really someone to get a flat at that time” says Julie “My best memories are all that lovely green between the blocks and the hills, or `gollies’ as we called them, short for golf links. And standing in the warm wash houses, watching my mam. The worst memories are from when the place deteriorated later on…the fights outside the Castle, the lift getting stuck and smelling of urine…the big ugly steel doors they put on which made the place look really intimidating. “Looking back, the flats were socially isolating” Julie adds “There were no streets for neighbours to chat to each other or for the kids to play… but we did have a landing and many a game of hopscotch was chalked outside the front door. I wasn’t sorry to see the flats demolished, they really had become an eyesore” she concludes ”But I watched them go with a bit of sadness, as you would when your birthplace and so many memories disappear…” Until the towerblocks’ destruction in 1990, the flats were home to thousands of people who shared some happy and some not-so-happy times there. Kids grew up together, played football, hid in the old coal bunkers for a sly smoke. Whatever you may think of Kersal Flats, they hold a lot of fond memories for a lot of people…
SALFORD STAR IN THE COMMUNITY
Since the last issue our volunteers have been busy working in the community doing projects and appearing at shows and events.
In August our Cadishead friends were giving out copies of the Star at the Irlam and Cadishead Community Festival, in September we were invited to have a stall at the Broughton Trust Festival and Fun Day…and we also blagged a stall at the Council’s Democracy Day Garden Party outside the Town Hall… fun days were had by all… Meanwhile, the magazine featured in Lawrence Cassidy’s Re-tracing Salford exhibition at Salford Lads’ Club as part of Heritage Open Day, where pages from the Star were blown up and wrapped around huge pillars next to photos of the old Ordsall community.
Broughton Trust Festival and Fun Day
Amber Hampton winning a Salford Star sponsored prize
Re-tracing Salford exhibition
And in October, as part of the Oliver’s Youth Club/Mary Burns This Is Salford youth mag project we took a dozen young people down to The Lowry for the Clapperboard Awards Ceremony, where, as well as reviewing the films, they met and interviewed Michael Starke from Corrie, Ciaran Griffiths from Shameless and Lee Ottway from Hollyoaks. Read what they had to say about the Salford schools films on our reviews page and watch out for their magazine which is coming out soon. In October we also sponsored a Learner Prize at Salford College which celebrated achievements at the ace college during the last academic year…It was won by Amber Hampton from Little Hulton who got the special award to go with her National Diploma in Media. Amber told us that she wants to eventually become a tv producer… The Salford Star has also joined the Salford Community Media Partnership which launches during the Salford Film Festival (see feature) and we hope to get involved with providing media training for anyone who wants it through this new scheme…
Clapperboard Awards Ceremony
Re-tracing Salford project: Do you have memories of the terraced streets of Salford?
HAPPY CHRISTMAS SALFORD
If you want to contribute to this project, please email: lor_cd63@yahoo.com mob (07946) 176291
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Please call 0161 737 6699
Effortless and Faultless…
Shanty Town invite passers by into their rehearsal rooms to comment on their music… They’re getting well noticed through MySpace…And Salford Star’s new music editor, Hayley McGwynn, reckons they’re the best unsigned band in Salford.
I’m at a Shanty Town gig in Dry Bar in
Manchester and it’s amazing. I haven’t heard anyone like them for a long time. For a band that’s only been around since January their sound is so together you could be led to believe they’d been doing this for years. It’s all completely effortless, absolutely faultless. And I love it. So do the crowd whose shouts of `encore’ and `more’ are deafening… Adam and Simon Darby (guitar, drums), Paul (Edde) Edwards (vocals/guitar) and Rob Grubisic (bum, sorry, bass) form one of (if not the) best unsigned talent from Salford at the moment with lots of dates coming up around the country. It was never their “plan”, they say, to do loads of gigs…“Originally we were messing around with our set lists and things and we just wanted to get a few songs recorded and then maybe do a few gigs” says Adam “We recorded our four best songs and put them on MySpace and since then it’s been hectic.”
I ask them what their favourite part of being in a band is, and they all say “having a laugh”. And that’s what I like about these guys, they not arsed about what people say bands should be like, they just love the whole thing, going around playing music they love with their mates. They aren’t just doing it to get signed either, they have realistic goals. Shanty Town rehearse in an old shop - “It’s alright in summer but now it’s winter, it’s freezing, we have to practice with coats on” where apparently, passers by give feedback on the tunes they hear…“Some guy was stood outside a few weeks ago listening and we invited him in and he told us what he thought, had a beer with us, and it was a laugh…it happens all the time” The sound is described by the boys as refreshing, different and influenced by completely different artists. You can hear that in their music - as Adam says “there’s no one song everyone loves, or is someone’s favourite, we have something everyone will like”.
They don’t play on the fact that they’re from Salford like other bands from the area do, and share my opinion about the Salford music scene as well… “At the moment, no bands are pushing their weight behind it” says Edde “The last band from Salford I heard about was Hanky Park, and they seem to have dropped off a bit”. The next year or so might see that change as Shanty Town get back into the studio recording and arrange mini tours around Europe and small festivals. It promises to be exciting and we should be hearing a lot more from the guys, who make it impossible not to like them. They’re down to earth, friendly and they’re absolutely hilarious. Oh and the music’s pretty amazing as well…
Hear Shanty Town at http://www.myspace.com/asalfordshantytown See Shanty Town: 17th November Manchester Academy 13th December Sankeys Soap (Manchester) 29th December Night and Day (Manchester)
EMOTIONAL HERRING… It’s less than a year since Langworthy singer/songwriter John Herring decided to try his luck in the music biz. Now, Michael Roberts discovers, he’s got his first release out and is gigging all over the place…
E
mbracing the nationwide resurgence in acoustic showcase gigs saw Salford troubadour, John Herring, respond to the current demand for quality singer/ songwriters in February, when he made the decision to apply his energies to making music. Since then, a series of well-received performances across the North-West have underlined the wisdom behind his choice. Meanwhile, his debut iTunes EP, Unobtrusive, featuring photos of the Landslide on the cover, has been acclaimed by music fans and critics alike. Born and raised in Langworthy, John is emphatic when talking about his Salford upbringing: “I wouldn’t change it” states the ex-Clarendon High school pupil “I think I’ve learned more about life growing up in Salford than I would have done growing up anywhere else really. You learn how to survive. When you get to adulthood, you appreciate everything you get, everything you earn” Herring says he can only write from personal experience. So how have his experiences fed his songwriting…what goes into a John Herring song? “Lots of emotions” John answers, after a momentary pause for thought “I remember listening to Elbow’s Guy Garvey, and he talked about journeys and stuff like that. I always wish I could write like that, but I can’t. For me, it’s about feelings – feelings compared with what I can see” It’s those feelings that led to the decision to embark on a career in music, at the Summer Sunday festival in Leicester, of all places… “I met up with a couple of lads there who had a guitar with them” he recalls “My mate - he’s from Salford – said ‘oh, John can play a bit of guitar…..’. So I picked up the guitar, played a few of my tunes, and people seemed to get into it. It was quite a low time for me, I’d just split up with someone. I never make New Year’s resolutions, but it got to the end of the year, and I had two or three things that I wanted to do. I just decided I was gonna do music, and I was gonna put loads of effort into it”. From there, things have snowballed for the introspective balladeer, whose soulful, jazz-tinged songs have been greeted with positive feedback by those who have already seen him perform with alarming regularity since the turn of the year, including an appearance at Simple bar with James T Wilson and Nomad Jones, as part of Manchester’s Northern Quarter music festival. There’s also an upcoming gig at Manchester’s Night & Day café on November 21st: “That’s a definite milestone for me” smiles John There are opportunities aplenty to see John perform: he’s always gigging at the moment, and full details of his upcoming shows can be found at http://www.myspace.com/ johnherring74, along with some of his well-crafted songs
MARY BURNS Welcome to the MARYS, the most glittering occasion in Salford’s community calendar. Here we honour the most deserving individuals and organisations in the city for their stupid statements, dodgy dealings and iffy activities over the past 12 months. Please dress up in a monkey jacket or yer best frock while you read this and grab a glass of warm white wine. We would be grateful if you could applaud to yourself after each award is announced. Now, without further ado, let’s get on with the ceremony…
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S AWARDS
2007
THE `EVERYBODY LOVES US’ AWARD Goes to…
THE GEORGE BUSH `READ MY LIPS’ AWARD Goes to…
COUNCILLOR JOHN MERRY The first Mary of the evening goes to, who else, but the Leader of Salford City Council who told the Salford Star in an interview just before our first issue… “We’re not just going to put up nice big apartments that no-one can afford to buy… it’s not going to be a question of just doing lots of luxury accommodation.”
81%
of Errm…In the last two years all dwellings that have been built in Salford have been apartments. During that time a mere 628 houses have been built in the whole city, while 2731 flats have gone up.
88%
of all future housing Meanwhile, in Salford that had planning permission at the end of March this year was for flats - nearly 15,000 of them. Salford’s Director of Housing reckons that “the proportion of flats/apartments will continue to dominate new residential development within the City”…
CHARLESTOWN AND LOWER KERSAL NEW DEAL FOR COMMUNITIES This organisation is so, so wonderful – according to its own website. On there you will find results from the last MORI survey that “have shown a positive change to awareness and attitudes within residents in Charlestown and Lower Kersal”. It says that “Of those living in the area for less than two years, 32% were attracted to the area a `great deal’ or a `fair amount’ by improvements that have happened here recently.” What it doesn’t tell you is that the survey for this question was based on a massive sample of 36 people - which means that a mere 12 people were attracted to the area because of “improvements”, which have so far cost well over £30million. Meanwhile, in the same survey, with a bigger sample of over 100 longer term residents, 75% of those who think they’re going to move in the next two years won’t be staying in the area. The NDC also boasts that “those who felt that NDC has improved the area a `great deal’ or a `fair amount’ has dramatically increased from 22% in 2002 to 60% in 2006”. Funny then that 52% of people in the same survey felt that the area had either `not changed much’, `got slightly worse’ or `got much worse’. We could go on all night about how less people are impressed with the quality of life in the area, how 48% of people in the survey think it’s still unsafe to walk around alone or at night, and that in the so-called community led regeneration project only one in four residents `feel that they can influence decisions in the area’. But we won’t…
THE `YOU’RE TWISTIN’ MY MELON MAN’ MAD, MAD, MAD, MUSIC AWARD Goes to…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL Unfortunately Bez, one of Swinton’s most famous sons, can’t be here to present this award. But we’d like everyone to shake their maracas for the Council’s genius idea to sponsor the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra to the tune of £20million over the next eight years. No-one’s got anything against the BBC Phil, but £20million? At a time when the Council’s getting its violins out and giving away its houses, saying it can’t afford to bring them up to a Decent Standard? They sure know how to shock a city. Maybe it’s becouse the two top councillors in Salford are into classical music? Council Leader, John Merry, is on the board of the Halle, and Deputy Leader, David Lancaster says “I enjoy listening to music and in particular the Halle”. Who’s going to be first in the queue for free tickets?
THE FEED THE RICH AWARD (Part 1) Goes to…
Urban Splash Yes, the bookies closed the betting on this, weeks ago. We reckon over
£20,000,000 of public money
has gone into the Urban Splash upside down terraced housing development at Chimney Pot Park. The price of a house promised at the start was around £50,000. The average price of a terraced house on the development now is over £137,000 – in an area where the lower quartile income is under £14,000. We all know the story - public money/ private profit for developers – while the people who used to live on those streets got a pittance for their old homes.
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MARY BURNS THE `Of Course We’re Not Trying To Clear The Community Out Of Central Salford That’s Next To Manchester, The River, The University and the BBC Media City Site’ AWARD…
Goes to…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL (Social Engineering Dept) According to Salford City Council’s new statistics, during the last decade over
2500 homes have been demolished in Central Salford which is 60% of all 700 houses have disappeared in Langworthy, for instance.
demolitions in the city. Almost
These figures (up to end of March 2007) also show that, of nearly 17,000 dwellings with planning permission, four fifths are situated in Central Salford and the vast majority are not family homes but apartments. In Ordsall (which includes the Quays) there were only 31 houses that had planning permission, and 8387 one and two bedroom apartments. In Weaste and Seedley it was only 3 houses and 552 apartments. In Irwell Riverside it was 41 houses and 2116 apartments. Our own research has shown that less than 2% of all housing with planning permission in Central Salford is in any way affordable… Meanwhile, this year, in the New Deal For Communities £53million investment area of Charlestown and Lower Kersal a MORI poll was published, based on interviews with local residents. Amongst those who thought they would move in the next two years (probably ‘cos their homes are being demolished) only
15% said they were going to stay in the area
compared to 38% two years ago.
Now tell the community again how all this development is in our interest !
THE FEED THE RICH AWARD (Part 2) Goes to…
Peel Holdings There were so many developers in this category that the judging has been very difficult. Nominees included John Wilkinson, ASK, Countryside Properties, Miller Homes, LPC, KW Linfoot, Chapel Investment Holdings, Vale and Valley Properties, BH Three Ltd, the Higher Broughton Partnership and Urban Splash (again). But a late contender, Peel Holdings, has edged it, sneaking up on the outside…no, not with its racecourse development but with its mediacity:uk schemes… Firstly the developer - with assets valued at over £4.5billion - got off without providing any affordable housing in its application for a huge 300 apartment, 23 storey block on the Quays. Despite the 20% Affordable Housing Guidance, the Council’s planning officer did “not consider it appropriate to secure affordable housing” because, although Peel’s plans were submitted after adoption of the Guidance, “pre-application discussions” were going on before that date. Neither did the planning officer consider it necessary for Peel to pay the new increased SPD rate that Salford Council brought in last March, which covers a fee for things like infrastructure and
This saved Peel over a quarter of a million quid…Suppose the poor construction training.
luvs need every penny they can get…
THE `LET’S LOAN PUBLIC MONEY TO A BANK’ AWARD Goes to…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL Again, there was only one winner in this section. Salford City Council over the last two years has lent around
£868,000 of public money to the Higher Broughton
Partnership, which is putting together the well expensive Broughton Green development. What nobody can explain (and we’ve tried, even under the Freedom of Information Act) is why Salford Council is making loans to the Partnership which includes as one of its main partners, the
Royal Bank of Scotland.
Even the Audit Commission has had a go at Salford Council because the financial return on the development to the Royal Bank of Scotland “is high in relation to the risks borne”. They can say that again! And the Commission had another go at the Council for its accounts (2005/6; 2006/7) where it referred to over half a million quid’s worth of the Partnership’s payment as a “deferred charge” and not a “loan”. The Council wasn’t trying to hide anything was it ?
S AWARDS
2007
THE ‘WE WANT OUR PENNY AND OUR BUN’ AWARD Goes to…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL (greedy, snidey, Scroogey Dept) This Mary goes to the Council which wants it both ways. On one hand, the houses on Spike Island in Lower Broughton are said to be unpopular and not up to a decent standard. Which is supposedly why it’s now a `proposed development site’ for Countryside Properties (nothing to do with the fact that it’s right next to the River Irwell and Manc town centre, of course). On the other hand, James White first tried to buy his house on the Island from Salford Council around 18 months ago and was quoted £24,500 (with his 60% discount for living there for years). He went off to raise the money and went back to the Council this summer, only to be told he would have to pay £51,000 after his discount. The price had more than doubled in 18 months! “Seeing as there was a threat of them coming down I thought it was outrageous to put this price on them” says James. He took the case to the District Valuer who reduced the selling price but he was still asked to pay £44,000, almost double the original figure, which he hasn’t got. “I think it’s a disgrace” James adds “The Council is saying the houses are unpopular yet it’s profiting from the rise in house prices…” They want the pennies, the bun, the icing, the oven, the bakery…the lot…
THE AFFORDABLE HOUSE IN YER DREAMS AWARD
THE `OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH’ MEMORIAL AWARD Goes to…
Goes to…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL
Salford City Council Planning Officers
The top ‘90s BBC series, starring Salford’s own Christopher Eccleston, and centred around dodgy towerblock dealings between councils and private developers, has been honoured with this very special Mary…
This award is in recognition of the advice that planning officers have given to the Council’s planning committee over the past twelve months. Last December the Council introduced an Affordable Housing Strategy whereby in all new developments in the city with over 25 dwellings there had to be at least 20% affordable housing. In the prime real estate area of Central Salford, next to town, by the River Irwell and on the Quays (Broughton, Whit Lane, Ordsall, Langworthy etc), the actual figure for planning applications approved by the committee is less than 2% affordable housing. And in every case the planning officers have recommended that the committee approve the plans, via all sorts of loopholes…like arguing that multi-million pound luxury flat schemes would not be “commercially viable” with affordable housing etc (see past issues of the Star) There could only ever be one winner in this category – although the councillors
who actually sit on that planning committee and don’t question anything came a very close second…better luck next year…
Unfortunately Christopher is unable to be here in person to present the award but judges had no hesitation in choosing Salford City Council for its sterling work in the area around Salford Precinct, known as the Pendleton Area Action Plan. Yes, after two year’s worth of (kind of) consultations with the community, the majority of residents made it clear that they wanted family housing to be built. The Council report into Developing the Options concluded that “It is proposed to promote the provision of larger apartments, which could be suitable for families…” In other words, they planned to put families back in towerblocks …recognised historically as one of the biggest housing fiascos of all time. And what’s more, after the Council spent thousands of pounds on consultants and consultations and DVDs to every home in the area urging everyone to have a say in the Pendleton plan, it looks like the whole thing’s been ditched anyway. A Council Planning Report on October 31st stated “it is not considered necessary to continue with the production of the Area Action Plan”… So now they can just do what the developers tell them to do, no doubt… Ahem, our lawyers have asked us to point out that the presentation of this award in no way implies any dodgy dealings between private developers and Salford City Council or its employees…
MARY BURN THE `WE DON’T GIVE A FLYING FIG ABOUT WEASTE’ AWARD Goes To…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL Well, we could have a whole night’s ceremony just about Weaste but we haven’t got space so we’re cramming everything into one giant Mary… Firstly, Weaste, one of the most deprived wards in city, was declared a Renewal Area three years and then the Council promptly lost the report and all the figures it was based on. And they still haven’t found it. Then, at the end of October, the Council put its figures into the Government to get money for the next three years to do up housing and stuff in all the central Salford areas. It put in for over £18million for Higher Broughton, over £16million for Lower Broughton, over £9million for North Irwell and for Langworthy…And Weaste? £200,000 for three years. That’s less than £70,000 a year for the whole place…an area that’s got no community buildings, no youth clubs, no recreation centres and, er, half a library. And it’s got to share that money with Claremont. … Meanwhile, there’s the Weaste triangle, just off Eccles new Road, where, post bulldozers, only three streets are still standing (Smyrna Street, Cemetery Road and Kirkham Street). Most of the houses are damp and need loads doing to them but residents are suffering because the Council doesn’t seem bothered about telling anyone whether they’re staying up or coming down. “We need to know where we stand but we’re just being neglected” says Pat White from Smyrna Street “My kitchen and two back bedrooms are damp, all the back window frames are rotted. There’s children living in damp houses around here and the only place they can go and play is a bit of green that’s full of dog muck from the RSPCA users. We’ve been so overlooked it’s diabolical….” Nothing to do with the fact that there’s no Labour councillors down there, we hope…
THE `UNCLE’ JOE STALIN AWARD FOR OPEN AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT Goes to…
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL Salford Council wins this Mary for… well…everything really. It held a huge DEMOCRACY DAY with a public question and answer session in a tent on the town hall lawn – except no-one from the public had a chance to ask anything at the event. All the written questions were pre-chosen. The Council also wins this coveted award for holding a year long public consultation exercise in Seedley South, where the majority of residents opted to save their houses from demolition – only for the Council to ignore it and continue with their own plans to bulldoze 52 houses “to safeguard the considerable public and private investment made in adjacent streets” (that’ll be the Urban Splash houses then…). The decision was `called in’ and went to the Council’s Housing Scrutiny Committee which threw out the residents’ claims of unfairness. Well, it would do - the Scrutiny Committee which provides “checks” on the Council is made up mainly of ruling Labour councillors! The Council has totally stormed this award category…it’s removed minutes of meetings from its website…it’s blocked Freedom of Information requests with a battery of excuses…it’s pulled the Salford Star’s funding application to the community…it hasn’t answered awkward press questions…It could only get away with such practices in…Burma? Nah, Salford !
THE FRAZER `WE’RE ALL DOOOMED’ AWARD Goes to...
Salford City Council (Panic Dept) Well hidden documents from the Council show that the Council’s really worried about…well, just about everything, despite its `everything’s great IN Salford’ front… On the BBC move to Media City the doc says the risk is that the Council “may not be able to meet commitments due to uncertainty of funding” On the Council Housing sell off, or Stock Transfer as it likes to call it, the risk is that “the Council may not be able to meet… hidden costs” (hidden costs ? Didn’t mention those when the Council had the sell off ballot!) On the troubled Building Schools for the Future programme they’re worried “that the scheme may not be affordable and have a detrimental impact on Council finances” There’s pages and pages of this stuff… Ay, we’re a-a-a-ll do-o-o-o-o-o-omed IN Salford…
NS AWARDS
2007
THE `Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?’ AWARD Goes to…
OASIS UK Lots of contenders for this Mary too – like the whole Council Cabinet – but the clear winner is the Christian, Evangelical Alliance-connected foundation that is set to run the new `non-faith’ Academy in Salford Quays. Oasis founder and Baptist minister, Steve Chalke, told the Star last spring that within the Academy “faith isn’t an issue at all… our Christian faith is what motivates us and drives us forward, it’s not what we expect of anyone else…” Then we checked out job descriptions for the new Oasis Academy in Enfield where it stated that “It is vital…that our staff own our Christ-centred ethos and the values which flow from it” and “We are looking for a Principal…who owns Oasis’ Christian ethos…” Since our feature Oasis has now changed the wording in its publicity. But it wasn’t a very pure start for the God-fearing, gospel loving Chalke and his organisation which is set to take over the non-faith community school, Hope High in 2009… There’ll be more Marys for Oasis next year we’re sure !
THE `WHAT A GREAT SCHOOL! LET’S SHUT IT!’ AWARD
THE `WE’RE SO GREEN IT (REALLY IS) UNBELIEVABLE’ AWARD Goes to…
Goes To…
Peel Holdings
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL (Bulldozing Schools For the Future Dept)
There was only ever going to be one winner in this section…For trashing globally rare bogland on Chat Moss in search of peat profits…for employing hawks and falcons to drive out protected birdies on the Media City site…for the forthcoming Salford Forest Park (racetrack, hotel, `eco village’ and roads)…for the Port Salford freight terminal (lorries and roads)…For it’s vomit green track record, Peel Holdings richly deserves this Mary…
Which local education authority would take one of its best performing schools and shut it? Salford, of course! St George’s RC High School, in Little Hulton, gets great exam results, is over subscribed and has recently been designated a specialist Technology College. The local community overwhelmingly wants it to stay open, and even Salford Labour MP, Babara Keeley, is opposed to its closure, saying the school is “real asset to our community”. That hasn’t stopped the Council ploughing ahead with plans for its closure, trying to silence its staff along the way, and, in the words of St George’s Head Philip Harte, “blackmailing” other Catholic schools in the city, saying that they won’t get any investment unless St George’s shuts. Meanwhile, in East Salford it’s the primary schools at Charlestown and North Grecian Street which are being bulldozed and merged to make way for a new school in `New’ Broughton, nowhere near where many Charlestown parents live. •
the official consultation on St George’s runs until end Nov – get your objection in now !
THE SPECIAL AWARD FOR BEING HAZEL BLEARS Goes to…
HAZEL BLEARS No award ceremony in the city would be complete without a presentation to Hazel, the MP and Minister for whatever-short-termheadline-grabbing-crapthe-government-feelslike-shovelling-onto-thecommunity-because-`I’m-from-Salford-me’. Hazel works very hard in the community, turning up at events all over the city to have her photo taken…she doesn’t actually do much to help residents whose houses or schools are under threat but she is very good at spotting a photo opportunity. So we’ve invented a special category to end this ceremony just so that Hazel can have her photo in the Salford Star…to show how hard she works in the community having her photo taken etc etc…. Hazel Blears…this is your Mary!
Photo by Kate Furnell
SEASON’S BEATINGS…
In their home country they’ve been imprisoned, beaten and tortured…Now they’ve found refuge in Salford but they could be deported at any time over the holidays…
Booooooom ! It’s all over the news…footage of people covered
in blood, bits of cars and buildings everywhere…138 dead…300 injured as a bomb goes off in Pakistan as Bhutto returns to the country. On the Duchy estate in Salford three children sat watching telly are really scared. They could be deported there today…to the place where their dad has already been imprisoned for being active in politics, and their mum has been beaten and imprisoned for supporting him. The kids – Khadija,11, Hamza,10, and Hajira,8 - have been taken out of school to report with their parents, Bushra and Mohammed, to Dallas Court on the Quays. They could be put on the next plane to Pakistan. “I’m just a bit muddled up” says Hamza “There’s been a bomb and loads of people have died. I was only four when I came here. I would be a bit sad if I had to go and leave all my friends.” His sister, Khadija, is also well worried… “I don’t know what’s happening” she says “It’s a bit scary.” At the Dallas Court reporting centre they’re made to walk through scanners and wait for hours while their parents are interviewed, over and over again… Bushra first escaped Pakistan with the kids almost seven years ago and says her life is in huge danger if she goes back, not just from the authorities but from her husband’s family who think of her as a `fallen woman’, as she lived alone for five years before Mohammed joined her two years ago. “Because I’ve been living in the English culture they think I’m not
Muslim enough for them” she explains “And if they kill me there’s no punishment because they think they have a right to kill a lady who is not a good character…It’s still very life threatening for me over there, and the kids don’t know about my country because they were so small when they came here.” Outside Dallas Court, while the family wait and wait and wait to see what will happen, there’s frantic phone calls to solicitors… “Have you seen my children, they have totally changed, they’re so quiet” says Mohammed “They saw the news this morning with the bomb blast…they were crying…We don’t know if we are going to be deported today…We don’t know what’s happening…” Eventually Bushra appears from within the Centre. They are free to go home to Duchy but have signed travel papers. Which means that they could be taken at any time over Christmas. “Everybody told us that Salford was very, very bad” says Mohammed “but they are good people here, everyone’s polite and we have good neighbours.” “I don’t think about the future” says Bushra “To send us back now would be crazy because we’ve been here so long…and the kids…It’s horrible…” ...A few weeks later, and a state of emergency is declared in Pakistan, with troops out on the streets and elections suspended... The family’s fight to stay in Salford continues…
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WHAT A WEASTE….
Weaste Photo l-r Noreen Walker, Joan Rowlands, Linda Corry, Ruth Critchley, Linda Brassington, Ken McKelvey
When Salford Council announced it was giving £20million to the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra over the next eight years it wasn’t music to the ears of many people in Weaste who have been told there’s no money left to sort out their houses…
In the shadow of Salford Reds Willows ground on Weaste Lane,
Tony Lewis points to his house…”Not a lick of paint…nothing…They haven’t touched one house on my block…It’s been stated that there’s money, and it should have been spent on the houses but it hasn’t. So where has it got to? They just keep saying there’s no money… “The orchestra’s great” he adds “but if you’re living under a leaking roof what use is that to you?” Everyone gathered in our impromptu Weaste Lane People’s Orchestra agrees…`Disgusting’…`Diabolical’…`Obscene’…and everyone’s got ideas of where the money could be better spent…”Our pensioners”…”Our nurseries”…”Our pavements”…”Our houses”…
McKelvey “They’ve left three quarters of Weaste Lane untouched, so where’s the money and what’s it been used for? It’s as if they’re giving us the elbow…” Ruth Critchley has already had the elbow from her hairdressing business which closed down in Langworthy as the community’s houses were demolished. “There’s rumours that when the rugby club moves to Barton the Council is going to build houses on the land” she says “But if our houses haven’t been done up, is there a motive in this madness? Is there a chance of our houses coming down – because I’m not losing my business and my house – they can kiss my harp…”
“We were told at a meeting in June 2004 that there was £440,000 to do Weaste Lane, Tootal Road and Tootal Drive” explains Ken
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61
INSIDE THE
£221,000,000
PATHFINDER TROUGH…
There’s developers, investors’ agents, buy-to-let mortgage floggers, business interests… The MSPathfinder board is responsible for directing hundreds of millions of pounds of public money towards Manchester and Salford’s regeneration. Here we reveal how voting members on that board represent commercial companies which might be seen to have a vested interest in decisions being made… By Stephen Kingston
Six residents from Lower Broughton are sat in Pat White’s
front room asking why their houses are up for demolition… The houses aren’t unfit, they’ve recently had over £3.5 million spent on them. They’re not unpopular either, proven by a recent Salford Council report. And these residents, who have lived in Salford for most of their lives, don’t want to move. The `New Broughton’ housing project, they believe, is not in their interests. “I’d like to know” says Pat “how they can justify pulling property down when there’s nothing wrong with it…” The answer might lie with the people and organisations directing the money towards Lower Broughton’s makeover…The cost of pulling down houses like Pat’s, relocating the residents and preparing the site for developer, Countryside Properties, are being met by Manchester Salford Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, or MSP. To date, MSP has had £221million of public money to meet such costs and do up neighbourhoods in Salford and Manchester. And overseeing that work is a Partnership Body which is the equivalent of Pathfinder’s board of directors. The main role of the board is “to provide strategic direction for MSP” and “to scrutinise, challenge and make decisions on funding”…But many of the people sat on that board represent commercial companies that appear to be benefiting from where those public funds are being spent.
On the board sits Alan Cherry, Chairman of Countryside Properties. The developers are currently in the middle of a £500million scheme to build 3500 new homes and `regenerate’ Lower Broughton. The scheme is being supported by millions of pounds from Pathfinder. Also on the Pathfinder board is George Mills of MBLA Architects, which, amongst other things, has got the contract to do the 180 acre masterplan for Lower Broughton… Up the hill in Higher Broughton, £13million of Pathfinder money was poured into the area’s new housing initiative between 20032006. Most of those funds were spent on preparing a site for the Broughton Green development, and a company called DTZ was the sole selling agent for the new houses. Derek Nesbitt of DTZ also sits on the Pathfinder board. DTZ, according to its website, “acts for a wide range of investors” including “property developers” and “venture capitalists…all looking for access to the best opportunities the market has to offer… Property investors turn to DTZ because of our proven ability to help clients to optimise returns and minimise risk…”. Also on the Board is John Early, who worked for huge project management company AMEC, until he retired in August when the company’s `regeneration’ section was bought out by Morgan Sindall. AMEC is one of two private investment partners involved with the English Cities Fund which is about to develop over 36,000 sq m of commercial, retail and residential space along Chapel Street, around the corner from `New Broughton’. AMEC will be looking for a healthy profit return on its investment and Pat’s estate has been recognised in a Salford Council report as a “gateway into the wider regeneration area” Vice Chairman of the MSP board is Bryce Glover of Alliance and Leicester. He heads up a section of the Wholesale Bank, which has launched Buy to Let specialist mortgages to lend up to £3million for “new build flats and maisonettes”. The plan for `New Broughton’ is to build thousands of new flats. This time last year, Bryce told the Manchester Evening News that he joined the Pathfinder board to “put something back into this great city and its people”. Chairman of the board is Professor Michael Harloe, Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford. As well as picking up research contracts from Pathfinder for its SURF and Research, Foresight and Intelligence projects, the rapidly expanding University surrounds `New Broughton’ on three sides. Harloe, as we’ve stated in a previous issue, won’t let the local community anywhere near the University’s swimming pool and gym facilities.
North West Regional Development Agency – the “link between the needs of business and Government policies’ - is also represented on the board. The government agencies on the board are the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships with which it is about to be merged. English Partnerships are in bed with AMEC in the joint venture English Cities Fund. All these forces seemed to be ranged against Pat and her neighbours in Lower Broughton. So where is the accountability, the democracy in the Pathfinder process? What chance do Salford residents have of saving their homes or challenging decisions at this level – especially when many of the people on the board who are supposed to be scrutinising and challenging those decisions are the same people who stand to benefit from them? Local accountability for Pathfinder comes via two local councillors who sit on the board – from Manchester, Councillor Eddy Newman, and from Salford, Councillor Peter Connor. We tried to interview Councillor Connor to get his views about the accountability of the Pathfinder scheme. Given that he is Salford’s only elected representative in the £221million scheme did he think it was fair and transparent? Did he know that many private sector organisations sitting on the Pathfinder board could be seen to be benefiting from its decisions? What did he think of that? Unfortunately Councillor Connor wouldn’t speak to us, or even give us a quote through the Council’s press office. Instead we received a long e-mail from Salford’s unelected housing officer, Bob Osborne, which stated that Pathfinder has “regular reviews by the Audit Commission”…“a contractual agreement with central government to ensure resources are effectively applied”… that there is an “independent technical advisor who…reviews the progress of investment” and a “board…to scrutinise value for money and appropriateness of investment”. Councillor Connor is a director of Higher Broughton (GP) Ltd. Its principal business is `property redevelopment’. Councillor Connor hasn’t declared this directorship on Salford City Council’s Register of Interests.
…many of the people on the board who are supposed to be scrutinising and challenging decisions are the same people who stand to benefit from them… Manchester Salford Pathfinder has just applied to the Government for a further £159,000,000 for the next three years, which includes another £35,000,000 for Higher and Lower Broughton…
WHAT THE HELL IS IN LOWER BROUGH Why are popular houses, that are less than 30 years old and have recently had over £3.5million spent on them, being pulled down? F
acing the next phase of Countryside Properties’ brave `New Broughton’ world is the community living in smart houses near Mocha Parade. Their homes are the latest to come under the threat of the bulldozer. And they can’t understand it. There’s petitions circulating the streets, there’s talk of a fight to force a Countryside climb down…but mostly, there’s total bewilderment.
happy here.”
Today, half a dozen residents are gathered in Pat Kerr’s beautifully furnished front room in the quiet cul-de-sac of Hatton Avenue. And they’re all asking ‘Why?’
“I had someone down to visit me from London last week” adds Eileen Hunter “and she told me that these houses would go for hundreds of thousands of pounds up there…`It’s the location’ she said `They want you out’.
“I’d like to know how they can justify pulling property down when there’s nothing wrong with it” says Pat, who moved here four years ago, after they demolished her old house in Kempster Street about 100 yards away. She’s since spent a fortune on the new place, believing she was here for life.. “When we originally went to meetings we were told there would be `selective demolitions’ which we thought meant the old properties on Kempster Street, Earl Street and around there” she adds “Obviously I was wrong. Now I don’t believe a word they say.” The residents have been given all sorts of reasons why the houses must come down… “They’re telling us that it will cost too much money to bring them up to government standards but they’ve just spent a fortune on them” says Pat “I said `We’ve got double glazing’…the architect says `You’ve got to have triple glazing’…They said we’re in a flood plain…I said `But you’re going to build houses on here’….
“How they can justify pulling property down when there’s nothing wrong with it?”
Pat Kerr
“I went to a meeting last week” she adds “and the architect said it’s because we live in cul-de-sacs which don’t work – they want long roads…I’m sorry, but culde-sacs do work – children can play safely and we only get cars here that are visiting. I just can’t see the police saying they don’t want cul-de-sacs…” (We subsequently checked this out with Greater Manchester Police whose Head of Architectural Liaison, Mike Hodge said: “Cul-de-sacs, provided they are designed correctly, are as safe as any other type of development. In terms of children playing in the streets, they are safer than a through route…A correctly designed cul-de-sac, with one way in and the same way out does discourage the presence of anyone without a specific purpose, as it leaves the individual very exposed and open to challenge…”) “Why can’t they just leave us alone” says Pat “We’re
Everyone in the room knows why they won’t leave this community alone… “They’re pulling the houses down to get rid of us and to get posh people in” says Jean Archer who’s lived happily on Hatton Avenue for 20 years…
“I moved here two years ago when Earl Street came down” Eileen recalls “I’d lived there for 45 years, was offered very little money and they said if I didn’t take it they’d put a CPO on it. I came here, it’s a lovely warm comfortable house and I love everything about it - the neighbours, the location…there’s nothing it doesn’t provide for me as a 72 year old lady…I can walk to town. That’s why they want the land. And that’s why they want the people out, which is not really fair. I think the people who want to stay should stand up together and fight for their rights…” Eileen’s points are echoed by Clive Monahon, 72, who’s lived in Hatton Avenue since the houses were built in 1981…”It’s the location, everything’s laid on for you, so they’re grabbing the land back” he says “They came to visit me and I said `What you’re doing is little short of criminal’ – anybody in their right senses would never knock these houses down’...I said `Look through that window – can you get me a garden like that? Will I have a frontage like that?’…He said `Oh no’…I said `My wife’s disabled and her legs are deteriorating so I don’t want one of your new houses…but you don’t build bungalows so you’re more or less forcing me out of this area’… “I think that the Council and the developers are hand in hand – you can see it all over the country” Clive concludes “I think they’ve realised that they’ve made a boob when they built this estate – it’s too good for the likes of us…I should think that we represent the majority of people around here – anybody can see what they’re doing – they’re getting rid of ordinary working people to bring in what they call `the cream of society’...” In Pat’s immaculate front room, everyone agrees… “We’re on the boundary of Manchester, and I honestly think that soon we won’t be Salford 7, we’ll be Manchester 1 because we’re so close” she says “They want the Broughton people out and they want this land to bring paying people in…” How are they being allowed to do this? For some possible answers turn over the page…
S GOING ON HTON ?
“I think they’ve realised that they’ve made a boob when they built this estate – it’s too good for the likes of us…” Clive Monahon
So Why Are These Houses Coming Down ? Unpopular ? No! In 2003 the Council produced a report showing the high demand in the six streets around Hatton Ave, Tulip Walk and Jessamine Ave. Out of 103 houses, only one was empty and `re-lets’ were running at 100%. Unfit ? No! The Lower Broughton estate has recently had a £3.564million refurbishment. Next to Manchester? Not the right image? Yes! “The site commands a prominent position at the southern gateway into the wider regeneration area, and its image is one that will set the tone for the perception of all those travelling from Manchester City Centre into Lower Broughton…” Report of Salford Council Director of Housing July 2007
“People who want to stay should stand up together and fight for their rights…” Eileen Hunter
PAINTING THE PRECIN With paintings ranging from Salford Precinct to the banks of the Irwell, Eccles based artist Philip Westcott has captured a city in change over the last few decades. Zoe Savory checks his emotional canvas…
W
ith Salford preparing for the arrival of the BBC and the Council throwing around words such as ‘regeneration’, the face of our city is ever changing. Looking at Lowry’s paintings of matchstick men coming from the mill or queuing along cobble stone streets, it is difficult to recognise the cityscape we know today. Local artist, Philip Westcott, in his paintings of Salford during the 80s and 90s, successfully captured some of the dramatic changes taking place. He says, “I see my paintings as the history of the moment I captured the scene.” The Eccles based artist claims strong emotional ties with his surroundings. He attended Salford Grammar School, played football for the Old Salfordians and has been teaching within the city for over 30 years. “You could say Salford has been my life” says Westcott who, despite training at the City of Leeds College, retained a keen interest in our local environment. “They say it is always best to paint the scenes you know” he adds “and Salford is certainly inspirational at times. The people are full of character and fascinating to paint.” It is this which led him to his Salford Precinct scenes. “I enjoyed capturing people in modern backdrops and recording everyday life as I saw it at the time” he says “There were lots of benches opposite the Precinct and if you went back often enough, you would see the same characters, often from the nearby flats, who met to chat and pass the time of day.”
horizon today. Like many other Salfordians before him, including Lowry and Walter Greenwood, these houses had provided fantastic subject matter for Westcott, whose mother was born in Mode Wheel. On returning from college, he was moved to capture on canvas the drastic changes that were taking place in his surrounding landscape. “Salford has no centre anymore” muses the artist, sadly “There are lots of small towns grouped together with no real heart. Although they needed refurbishing, the rows of terraced houses linked communities. When they were pulled down, these communities were spread all over town.” Perturbed by such fragmentation, he has tended to move toward more modern backdrops in recent years. This loss of community and culture seems a continuous theme within the city today. Whilst Westcott is optimistic about the arrival of the BBC in Salford, seeing it as an exciting prospect, he acknowledges that Salford will have to pay a price. “This can already be seen in the housing development in the Langworthy area, where locals can’t always afford the new houses” he says “or at the Salford Art Gallery, which has suffered since the arrival of the Lowry Centre.”
These paintings reflect a strong sense of community and way of life that is slowly being eroded according to Westcott, who has noted the subsequent removal of these seating areas…”Nowadays, people do what they are supposed to do – shop.”
Despite this, like most local artists, Westcott has always kept the work of Lowry at the back of his mind. “Some of my work is just starting to reflect a past way of life, whereas Lowry’s is of a bygone time” he says, when asked if he detected a connection between his and the celebrated artist’s cityscapes. “I would, however, be extremely honoured if, in the future, people see my work and have the same emotional response as we do to Lowry’s now.”
He spotted a similar trend in the demolition of the terraced houses in central Salford, to make way for the rise of the flats which define our
Philip Westcott’s work is featured on www.artinthecity.co.uk/ and his paintings are for sale, prices ranging from £80-£1.000.
NCT
DIRTY OLD TOWN AND A CLASS ACT Incredibly, Class Act, the first ever biography of Salford legend Ewan MacColl is only just being published…
B
est known for songs like Dirty Old Town and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, there was a lot more to Ewan MacColl, which this book covers in intimate detail… In the thirties, as plain Jimmie Miller from Lower Broughton, he was battered by the police on the steps of Salford’s old Bexley Square Town Hall demonstrating against unemployment benefit cuts. He was also involved in the first workers theatre groups in Salford, taking radical drama to the mills, before being `discovered’ by the BBC singing outside Paramount cinema in Manchester. The book reveals that the Miller family, who had moved from Scotland to Salford, actually despised the place. Ewan’s father, Will, worked at Hodgkinson’s “death trap” foundary in Pendleton, his mum, Betsy, charred in Manchester’s officers and posh houses in Broughton, and young Jimmie went to Grecian Street School in ill-fitting clothes. “They moved from this comfortable cottage in quite a pleasant town in Scotland to the heart of what MacColl called `this gigantic slum’ which was very different” says Ben Harker, a lecturer at Salford University and the author of Class Act. “MacColl was always ambivalent about Salford” he adds “For him it was a place of great humiliation as he suffered terrible poverty but, as he said, his experiences here informed everything he ever did.” What MacColl did next, after leaving Salford is the main subject of the book – from his war years, to political struggles, to his songs and theatre, to his many romances…and it’s been produced with the full collaboration of MacColl’s last wife, Peggy Seeger. MacColl himself did write an autobiography which Harker calls “a masterpiece of evasion” so this book is the first proper account of his life and passions. Well worth reading. Class Act: The Cultural and Political Life of Ewan MacColl by Ben Harker (Pluto Press)
SPECIAL EWAN MACCOLL OFFER FOR SALFORD STAR READERS… Class Act sells normally for £15.99 but we’ve teamed up with Pluto Press to get all Salford Star readers a special one-off price of £12. Just call Pluto Press on 0208 348 2724 or visit the website www.plutobooks.com, find the book and quote MACCOLL in the purchase discount box.
Salford Star Exclusive…
Dirty Old Town The Missing Verse !!! Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old Town actually had a 4th verse which has never been published – it didn’t even make it into the biography, Class Act. So here for the first time, we present the 4th verse, courtesy of Ben Harker, who adds “It’s not very good that’s why it was never used !”
Moon of steel in the cloudy sky, Silver skin on the roofs of mills. Stars are sparks from the chimney stacks. Dirty old town, dirty old town. copyright Jean Newlove / The Estate of Ewan MacColl.
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GOBBING ON LIFE He might be Salford University’s `Professor of Pop’ but CP Lee has lived the dirty pop dream as frontman for cult 70s mockers Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. And now he’s written the book. Timothy Powell tries to make sense of the chaos…
I
t’s 1979 and you’re in the Palladium nightclub in Manhattan. Andy Warhol takes your photograph and asks if there’s anything you’d like. If you were me, you’d ask for quite a lot more than 15 minutes of fame. If you are CP Lee, you’d ask for, “some English muffins and tea”. The difference is, if you were CP Lee, you’d get them. You’d also get death threats after impersonating John Lennon in a radio ad just after his death, convince Elvis Costello’s record label that you were him for a day and produce the b-side of the first ever release on Factory records. When We Were Thin, CP Lee’s latest book, recounts all of the above and is his personal take on the band’s history and the music and madness of Manchester up until ‘Madchester’. It’s an almost impossibly gossip filled memoir, giving a brutally honest, but incredibly funny, account of the realities of touring the world in a “top of the second division” rock band.
punk was a state of mind, as soon as it became a fashion statement it was dead CP Lee is the irreverent founder member, co-vocalist and songwriter (although all credits were attributed to Norman Sleak) of Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, the Mancunian rock band who set out to destroy the “great lumbering seriousness” of music in the 70s. Their weapon of choice was parody, fuelled by “missionary zeal – we loathed the superstars”. Initially intending to burst the inflated egos of the prog rock monoliths (“fantastic! they’ve got a giant skull on stage and play a solo that lasts two years”), the Berts - as they are affectionately known - were in danger of becoming victims of their own success with the arrival of the “no nonsense” Punk of the Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks. However, this integrity was short-lived…“they turned out to be as shit as the prog rock people” says CP Lee “…punk was a state of mind, as soon as it became a fashion statement it was dead”. The Berts were able to capitalise from these successive betrayals with songs such as Gobbing On Life and Heads Down, No Nonsense, Mindless Boogie, their only flirtation with serious chart success. History, however, has perhaps been unkind to the Berts: this was a band that toured the world numerous times and were supported by Devo, the Stranglers and the Police. They even had their own stage rock musical, in which the fictional rock star Norman Sleak commits suicide on stage “everybody likes to see somebody kill themselves”. A born raconteur, CP Lee went on to writing TV comedy and stage plays after the band’s demise, before starting teaching Cultural Studies at the University of Salford where he’s remained for the last 15 years (he’d just been teaching a lecture on radical youth movements, “the angry bunch”, when we meet). Equally at home riffing on the tour van squalor of the Berts’ heyday, to his theories on local music history - “it’s to do with the working classes, cotton and blackness”- he is the author of two books on Bob Dylan and one on the area’s musical heritage: Shake Rattle & Rain.
He still plays in the Salford Sheiks – typically named in honour of the Salford Sheiks: 1920s musicians who couldn’t afford instruments, but wore Pierot outfits and played kazoos.
Oasis are one of the best comedy bands going I ask CP if he sees any equivalents to the Berts in the current music scene. “There’s no need” he laughs “people like Coldplay make a good enough job of sending themselves up. And Oasis are one of the best comedy bands going – they’ve got the attitude without knowing why”. When We Were Thin is out now £12 Hotun Press. The Salford Sheiks play next at the King’s Arms, Salford on 22nd December. Further details at: www.itsahotun.com/when_we_were_thin.htm
REVIEWS
RECORDING LIFE A
coustic duo, Damian Morgan and Mike Doyle, who list the Doves and former Smiths drummer, Mike Joyce, amongst their admirers, have released a download-only single, called The Dimming Of The Light. The lyrics cover the devastating affects of Alzheimer’s disease and all profits are going to the Alzheimer’s Society. “I wanted to express the frustration, anger and sadness that I have felt as a son, watching dementia rob my mum of her life” says Damian “The physical person is still there but everything that the person once was slowly fades away.” Mike Joyce adds: “My father died after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease and I hope Damian and Mike’s song helps raise awareness and lots of money for the Society.” The Dimming Of The Light is available from iTunes and all good download stores on the net, or via http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp ?title=1184404297&channel=1137862388
Innit: The Musical WELCOME TO SALFORD.
I
’ve seen quite a few theatre productions in my time, but none of them have been as moving or as honest as Innit:The Musical. Maybe it’s because the play was written in and about my home town, or maybe because it’s obviously written from fact and from the heart. Whatever it is, Micky Dacks, the man responsible for this piece, has already established himself as a bit of a cultural legend in the city. The opening sequence, with the song Welcome to Salford is EPIC. The lyrics are brilliant, the tune is catchy and the actors were obviously enjoying themselves. The play itself follows the trials and tribulations of a young lad called Ashley from Little Hulton, as he goes through a `coming of age’ sort of dilemma. After quitting his job and joining a gang of lads, Ashley ends up in prison. And because he isn’t a waster we feel genuinely sorry for him. The characters in the prison scenes are faultless, and make us think that Ashley really isn’t meant to be there. All the way through you’re mentally pleading with him to listen to the advice of his mum and girlfriend, and take the high road. This play shows the true heart of Salford. We aren’t bad. People just expect us to be. And it’s made me, at least, shed any pre-conceptions of `hoodies’. The musical has everything including a happy ending, and all in all, I’m sure everyone who has seen it will agree – it’s mint, innit? Hayley McGwynn
It’s Still Happy Mondays All Round… UNIONS FROM H SALFORD TO BURMA… Just before it all kicked off in
Burma recently, local trade union, Salford City Unison, co-staged a Universal: Burma music night to highlight the plight of a population that has been repressed, suppressed and oppressed by the military arses who run the place. Salford people, with a top tradition of supporting people in trouble around the world and on our doorstep, organised the night which featured monks from the Burmese Buddhist Centre in Lower Broughton and Myo Thein, an activist from the Burma Campaign UK who has been imprisoned and tortured in his homeland. Music was by Ian Britt, Battlescratch DJs and Tony Watt. Within two days of the event, Burma broke out in demonstrations by brave monks and working people and the country was making world headlines…
appy Mondays have three releases in time for Christmas, two classics and one current. Their brilliant debut album, Bummed, still as fresh as a newly trampled daisy, is now on CD with added singles, bonus tracks and re-mixes like the 12” versions of Wrote For Luck and Hallelujah. And another release sees a Collector’s Edition of Pills `n’ Thrills with all kinds of remixes, 12” versions and a promo video DVD with all the singles in glorious Shaunovision… Don’t forget too, that for anyone who loves Happy Mondays cover artwork, we’ve got a special collector’s item poster of Fred Engels on the centre spread of Salford Star by Central Station’s Matt Carroll…
Dysfunktional Unkle Another piece of musical genius from the legend that is Shaun William Ryder… After reading reviews of the Happy Mondays new material I was under the illusion that it wouldn’t be half as good as the original and best Mondays tunes. I am glad to say I was wrong. The single, Dysfunktional Unkle, has a unique sound only the Mondays could pull off. A slightly
SALFORD’S SCHOOLS ON FIRE… I
n October, short films produced by pupils from five Salford schools as part of the Clapperboard Youth Project were showcased at a glittering, celeb packed ceremony at The Lowry. The project was run in association with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and all the films had a fire/rescue related theme. Judges for the evening’s Awards included Paul Abbott and Christopher Eccleston. We took some Salford school kids, who are currently working on Oliver’s Youth Club magazine, to review some of the films. Here’s what they thought… Going Off Going Off (made by Buile Hill High School) was our best film, because it reminded us of all those people who have been run over, especially Amber Lok. The film was all about setting fires, calling the police and fire brigade, and then running off when they come. We liked all the other films too but this was our best. Elle Pennington and Charly Kavanagh Aged 10 and 11 Zac and Sam Fire Safety This film, by St. George’s High School, was my favourite. It was about Zac & Sam, who were supposed to prevent fire and teach people how to deal with fires, messing about and clicking the fire alarm. I chose it because it was funny. The other films weren’t as good. In my opinion Zac and Sam were the BEST and they acted with great confidence. Mirna Dawood age 14
more mature sound still caters for the original audience from back in the day, who will always love the Mondays, and the new audience of which I am a part. Although it is not a Mondays classic like Step On or Kinky Afro, I will be surprised if love for the Mondays doesn’t make it a success. Dysfunctional Unkle or not, Shaun Ryder is still the legend he was destined to be. Hayley McGwynn.
PARTY…PARTY…PARTY !!! Deep in Pendleton industrial estate there’s a loved up party with a difference going on twice a week. It only happens in Salford. And it’s sorted for tea and toast… Words: Stephen Kingston
It’s Thursday night in Pendleton and there’s a noisy,
Chris recalls a policeman who heard about the project being absolutely horrified and appalled when he learned that offenders were looking after vulnerable adults…”I’ll invite anyone in who wants to come and have a look because it works” he explains “Anyone can see that for themselves…”
Jacky has just arrived at the evening…”My favourite music is Westlife and Take That but I like this club” she says “…very nice people”.
He explains that community service work is designed to be physically or emotionally demanding – and that this `club’ is the emotionally demanding bit. Offenders taking part are well vetted, well supervised and have to be up for it.
Francis comes over, laughing and shaking everyone’s hand…”I like coming here too” he says “The toast is the best thing, and doing drawing… They look after me…” In the next room, Bev’s doing the bingo…`six and eight…68; all the fives…55; on its own, Kelly’s eye… number 1…’ Most players are sat in pairs, with one person eagerly helping the other to cover up the numbers as they’re called out….
“One year we had a Father Christmas with half an ear and tattoos…”
“We don’t care what they do as long as they assist the beneficiaries and interact with them” he says “And that they are well mannered, pleasant and respectful. They don’t get involved in personal care, it’s just tea and toast and a fun time. Everyone enjoys it.” John and Darren have been playing pool with club members and talking with them. John’s been doing his `time’ here for a year…
Earlier in the evening, Bev was buzzing about the club…“I love doing this, I really do” she said “After the bingo I’m going to be serving tea and coffee, and then I’m going to have a dance…I don’t feel like it’s been a punishment…”
“It’s brilliant” he says “We just have to get them drinks and biscuits and have a chat. They really enjoy it and it gets them out of the house and stuff. People are good here…”
Welcome to the Probation Club Evening Care Group where offenders are paying back their debt to society by having a laugh with some of our community’s most vulnerable people. While others are out during the day in the cold and wet, making up their `unpaid work hours’ by hacking down trees, cleaning up cemeteries and painting fences, these offenders make up their hours by being the life and soul of this twice a week party for adults with learning difficulties. It’s unique to Salford. And it’s enough to melt anyone’s heart.
Meanwhile, Darren is one of those who is going to come back and work voluntarily when his order is finished.
“I’ve seen some particularly big Salford lads lay on the floor with crayons, colouring in pictures with a woman who’s 4ft 6” and has Down’s Syndrome…” laughs probation’s unpaid work officer, Chris Oakley “…and I’ve been threatened, that if I tell anybody that they were colouring in…And these are true stories…One year we had a Father Christmas with half an ear and tattoos …all he wanted was a photo to show his partner because she wouldn’t believe that’s what he did for his community service… “We get offenders volunteering to come back after their punishment is over” he adds “You don’t get people saying that about prison…`Can I have an extra week please?’. And the beneficiaries who come to the group actually get upset when people finish their orders – they don’t see them as offenders, they see them as friends…”
“I was put in the workshop at first but then I was asked to come here” he says “It’s great, and there’s all different things they can do. It’s all about looking after disadvantaged people…”
Photos: Catherine Wood
happy vibe. Some people are playing pool, some are serving tea and toast, while others are just chatting. But wherever you look there’s lots of proper hugging going on. And hand shaking. And more hugging. Elvis Costello’s Oliver’s Army is booming away on the sound system…`But it’s no laughing party…When you’ve been on the mu-u-urder mile’…
…It would be criminal if this
party ever stops
Incredibly, the party has been running for 22 years, now has up to 45 adults with learning difficulties on board and organisers are looking to expand it into day time sessions. It’s one of those brilliant projects that happen without any fanfares and has grown as Salford Council has shut down other facilities to save money. Now, the project itself is in danger of closing due to government cutbacks. “We pay for everything here – the staff, the building and all the events but we won’t be in a position to do that for much longer” says Chris “We know we’ve got it right…which is why it would be criminal if nobody puts their hands in their pockets and allows it to continue. I find it obscene.” Apparently, Salford Council is looking into funding the project. But hasn’t confirmed anything. Which is a bit sad because these unpaid offenders are doing
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work that Social Services should really be doing anyway. The offenders seem to care more about the plight of the project. “I think it’s really sad that it might close down, if we weren’t here doing this who would be?” asks Bev, who is also coming back voluntarily now that her order is finished. “Some of these people don’t get out and to come here gives them a break, and it also gives a break to the people who look after them” she adds “Lots of people benefit, including myself, and I do think it will be sad if it finishes. At the end of the day it will be the beneficiaries who suffer most because they have a good time here. I’d cry if it finishes.” It would, indeed, be criminal if this party ever stops… If anyone wants to sponsor some sessions or have any materials which may be of some use please contact Chris Oakley on 736 6441
www.salfordstar.com
THE GHOSTS OF ! CHRISTMAS FUTURE…. It’s frightening…It’s shocking…It’s disgusting…cancer rates in Salford are 31%...yes 31%... above the national average. Now the community itself is trying to sort it out…
There’s no doubt about it – cancer is linked to poverty. It’s no coincidence
that the highest rates of the killer disease in Salford are in the most deprived areas of Broughton, Ordsall, Langworthy and Little Hulton. The cancer rates in these places are even higher than the 31% above national average that shames Salford. Now, people from the community are being asked to help cut those rates and save lives. For once, it isn’t just about repeating the usual messages of `stop smoking’, `eat healthy’ and `take more exercise’ (although that might help). It’s about trying to get everyone to recognise the symptoms as soon as possible and to go and see the doctor early to get checked out, particularly the over 50s. “We’re just people who live in the area and want to make sure that the community is informed” says Peter Ball from Broughton, who came to the scheme originally via the East Salford Community Committee. “I went along and thought `Hang on a minute, if people only knew…There’s a couple of my friends who have died from cancer and what I’m being told here could possibly have saved them’...” Pete explains “What we want to do is get the message across in a fun way… “I don’t want someone to come along with a power point presentation and long words and we don’t know what the hell they’re on about” he adds “We want to hold events and tap into other people’s events to get everyone thinking and to pester their doctor to make sure they’re free of it.“ There are three teams with a mix of volunteers and health professionals based in Langworthy, Little Hulton and Broughton/Irwell Riverside, and they are concentrating on the three biggest killers – breast cancer, bowel cancer and lung cancer. “We want people who live in the areas and know the community to be a part of the teams and get the message out” says Vicky Halliwell, of CHAP which is setting the project up. CHAP, based near Whit Lane, is a community owned organisation, separate from the NHS and the PCT, and can basically do anything it wants to promote this venture without getting bogged down in bureaucracy. They are up for any ideas.
“This isn’t just the usual health promotion with a few leaflets” adds CHAP’s Chris Dabbs “We’re not telling people to stop smoking, we’re telling people that if you see the symptoms, don’t wait, go and see your GP – the longer you wait, the more risk you’re putting yourself in. And why would you want to do that? These health services are here and are free, and the people of Salford are not getting as much from them as they should.” At the moment the teams are part of something called the Healthy Communities Collaborative but they’re up for a more friendly name… “We want people to come and join us” says Pete “To become part of these new groups and say `I helped to cut the cancer rate in my city’…” To get involved in the groups, to tell the groups about an event you’re holding or for more information contact Vicky Halliwell at CHAP on 743 0088 Here’s some of the symptoms, although they don’t mean you’ve got it… Lung cancer: coughing up blood; out of breath for no reason, weight loss; tiredness; chest/shoulder pains; voice loss with no sore throat Bowel cancer: for more than 6 weeks - extreme tiredness; bleeding from bottom with no reason; bloating/abdominal pain; change in poo/pooing habits Breast cancer: for men and women – changes in shape/ size/feel of breast; redness of skin; lump in breast or armpit
Vicky Halliwell and Peter Ball of the Healthy Communities Collaborative www.salfordstar.com
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LETTERS PAGE KIDS WITH BARE FEET By Harry Livesey
Don’t kill Salford put it prematurely to death dont let it die why for it is the city of my birth many have aspired from some of worth our world a better place for Salford has given well to the human race Salford pride across the globe Salford ancestory we wont hide my Salford birth little houses cobbled streets,Ordsall park, kids with bare feet no fields of barley or growing wheat a working docks before our eyes ship canal mode wheel locks dockers hardened working ships hob nail boots smelly socks docks now Salford Quays fancy shops knickers and frocks though we still have mode wheel locks so in the tv & media who see and mock my Salford it’s a real city don’t pity just be honest with its name show Salfordians from where they really came democracy for all is the real aim.
Cheeky Little Bleeder
by Mike Grady
I am the bubbling ground of Weaste I am the son of Salford’s deceased I am a wee-the-bed with a freshly skinned head And an eighth of weed from stolen lead I am a silver sleeved fiend The dreamer and the dream I am the last malt loaf Six rounds of toast And half a tub of margarine I am a wet casey and the devil’s game I am dirty lego with yellow stains I am the second cock And a gang’s ring leader Me Gran says I’m nowt but a cheeky little bleeder
MY FRIENDLY OLD SALFORD By Jim Connor
This is a song written by Jim and featured in the video Bygone Salford – unfortunately we haven’t got space to print the proper music notes on the song sheet but if anyone wants a copy please get in touch and we’ll send one to you… There’s city so fine that I call it mine, it means so much to me For I’m inclined to like its kind of hospitality There is nowhere I can compare, no way that I could start ‘Cos it’s the place I’ll always hold the closest to my heart It’s my friendly old Salford, it’s my home town Where the people are the kind that are very hard to find And they’ll never let you down So if you are a stranger don’t have a care For in friendly old Salford They’ll make you welcome there For in friendly old Salford They’ll make you welcome there… They remember the days and the back street ways of Hanky Park with pride Those corner pubs and fire-side tubs and trams they used to ride But that’s all changed and now, hey gaze at diff’rent scenery There are shops and stores and high rise floors and lots of greenery CHORUS…It’s my friendly old Salford… There’s a market with stalls, there are bingo halls, there are discos, brass bands too And what could please more than the Quays, a landscape dream come true? There’s not a place in this wide world that’s really quite the same And that is why it’s known so well and it’s got its famous name… CHORUS…It’s my friendly old Salford… Dear Lads I suppose you saw the news about dear Mr Merry and his merry men giving £20million to the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra over the next eight years ? I’m really incensed but he’ll probably just tell us what a marvellous city we live in, as he usually does. I saw Nigel Pivaro’s programme on tv about the regeneration and thought it was really good. It may let more people realise just what is happening in the area. Your magazine is fantastic. Linda Calderwood Monton
INDUSTRY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL !!
Balfour Beatty Utilities (Gas) (BBUL) have returned to schools in search of the skills that pupils of 14+ age group used to acquire from apprenticeship schemes run by local firms. Such is the dearth of these skills in young people, that, backed by a government initiative, BBUL approached my school, St George’s, in February 2001 to look for likely candidates. There was a tremendous amount of interest and eventually 13 pupils were offered a place on the scheme – none of them refused and some of the others were very disappointed. Since then BBUL and the school have ‘cemented’ the partnership and all parties are optimistic that the students will achieve the Level 2 City and Guilds Qualification Young Apprenticeship Scheme this year. However, in spite of all the hard work and enthusiasm from both the school and BBUL, this government backed scheme is under threat. It is under threat from an authority which professes to, but does not understand the slogan `Every Child Matters’. Perhaps Salford Council would like to explain why, with the evidence plainly before them, they still want to close St. George’s R.C. High School, destroy a thriving and productive partnership with industry and negate the work of many committed people, thus depriving students of this wonderful opportunity. Please direct all enquiries to Mrs. J. Baker, Director of Children’s Services or to any member of the controlling cabinet, which has sanctioned this criminal decision. N.E. Richmond. Dear Star Thanks very much for sending me a copy of the Star – what a fantastic paper! I’d heard tell, but never actually seen it – largely I imagine because I don’t live in Salford – but hey – your paper makes me wish I did ! Brilliant piece on Happy Mondays – and amazing to see a piece on Drop Dead Gorgeous, I thought I was the only person who watched it. And the article on Rhetta... that picture says it all (the piece is great as well). Well done to the team. A really wonderful read – and thanks again for the copy. Best wishes Julia Brosnan
60 www.salfordstar.com 68 www.salfordstar.com
The Council Have Demolished Salford By Pam Barber (sing to the tune of Matchstick Men and Matchstick Cats and Dogs‌)
Graphics by Michael Cuddy
www.salfordstar.com www.salfordstar.com
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Jim Arnison author, journalist and activist sadly died on the 19th August 2007. He was the author of Decades, a book about community activism in Salford, and will be greatly missed by the working class movement in the city. Jim Arnison middle on a protest march Dear Salford Star, Thank you very much for your recent help with my insurance claim, which Norwich Union had refused to pay out on. The insurance was bought through Salford City Council on the tenant scheme, and I was getting nowhere with either the Council or Norwich Union until I contacted the Salford Star. Two phone calls from you and they have decided to pay up, I still can’t believe they changed their mind. Thank you once again and keep up the good work. Mrs Jean Field Kersal. Dear Salford Star Just a word to you all – what a wonderful magazine you all produce, it’s the best read I have had for some time – straight to the point articles on what’s going on around us. Thanks for my say on the impending demolition on Athole Street – I hope somebody listens. Keep this mag coming, good job done… Yours sincerely (Marjorie) Madge Rushton
Hi Thanks for giving us a great write up! We’re really pleased and we’ve already had someone phone up to ask about joining the workforce as a result of seeing the article. You might also be interested to know that Anna, who you interviewed and featured in the article, has now got a paid job at Mitsubishi in Salford. Thanks for your help and best wishes for the future. Kind regards Sarah Clipsham FST SMaRT Service Centre Hi All Just been looking through the Salford Star, you are blowing my mind. I wish Wigan had the Wigan Star. Keep up the good work. Edward Houlton Cllr C A P Wigan
Hello In your last issue you asked whether your description of local councill ors etc as `dickheads’ is offensive, and I would say that, if you are applying it to my brother in law, Andy Salmon who represents Langworthy for Labour the you most definitely are. He’s a decent bloke who is very well informed on local issues and might even be happy to discuss any issues you have with him. I like your magazine and the style of it, and the attitude to some extent, but also think you are being too negative on a few things. For instance, the arrival of the BBC can mean work for local tradesmen as well as the ongoing cleaners and other staff. I just wish your magazine could be a lot more aspirational rather than, in my view, being backwards looking to a time that may not have existed in the romanti cised version you hold, perhaps. If a blend of the old and new can be reached, then for me that’s the best way forward. Anyway, I wish you all the best of luck for the future but please don’t generalise too much in your attacks on the Council – that’s all I’m asking. Yours Graham Robinson Ordsall Reply: Hi Graham Thanks for that – just a couple of things… Firstly, when we called the Council `dickheads’ we didn’t mean to include everyone who works there, nor all Labour councillors - most staff (and some councillors) work incredibly hard and do a fantastic job. Indeed lots of them have told us they love the mag but daren’t go public on it…We just meant those who were responsible for the mess in Higher Broughton, and slammed by the Audit Commission. Cllr Andy Salmon is probably a very decent bloke but I’m sure the residents of Seedley South who are fighting to save their houses would have liked some support off him – the problem is that very, very few Labour councillors will ever vote against the Labour leadership when it comes to big decisions. Also, this magazine is not against the BBC move to Salford – we’re just doing what a community magazine should be doing, and holding the move up to account – making sure that the jobs aren’t just for `cleaners’ and car park attendants. All the magazine’s opinions are guided by what people in the community are telling us – we’re here to give a voice and print what other publications won’t print because of vested interests and stuff. I really don’t think anyone’s looking backwards (except to learn from history), people are too worried about the present. At least two thirds of the Salford Star is positive stuff about what’s happening in the city now (bands, fashion, films, community projects etc) – and the other third ? Well, read the features and tell us we should stop doing them… Glad you like the mag, and hope this clears a few things up… Cheers Stephen Kingston (Editor)
memorials free or if If you want to us to print your baby photos , wedding snaps or us at Salford Star, c/o you want to send a letter, e-mail or txt to Salford Star contact r.com or txt 07957 982960 RITA, 16 Sirius Place, Salford M71WN e-mail info@salfordsta
A Mary
Burns
A Mary Burns CHRISTMAS SPECIAL…
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL… IT’S VERY MERRY FOR SUM… Yes, this year Councillor John Merry, the Leader of Salford City Council, has picked up the huge total of…
£48,868
(That we know about…)
This breaks down as £36,552 allowances and expenses from the Council PLUS: £8316 from the North West Development Agency for two days a month on the board – that’s £346.50 a day – I can do that…giz a job ! PLUS: £4000 a year (plus expenses) for sitting on the board of the Learning and Skills Council. He ain’t going to be short of a silver sixpence to put in his pudding… “This is work I do in addition to being Leader of the Council but for which Salford undoubtedly benefits” says John “It is fully declared…These appointments are made in my personal capacity by the Secretary of State…” Err…up to a point…The appointments are declared on the official Register of Interests but not the amount of dosh they put in John’s back pocket…like, over twelve grand. And if we want to be really picky (why not, it’s Christmas), on the Register for this year John says he’s a full time Councillor and Leader of Salford City Council – nothing about working on the side in a “personal capacity” – can council tax payers get a refund then or what???
…AND WHAT PRESSIES HAVE THE COUNCILLORS HAD ??? Well, according to official records, Cllr Merry and most of his Cabinet have had no gifts or hospitality at all in the last six months, even though they are required to declare them – can this be true ? In yer dreams… “Every month the Leader is required, as are all members, to declare any gifts or hospitality” said a Council spokesperson “Councillor Merry is up to date in his submissions, but there has been a delay in these forms being formally processed by the Council…the records need to be updated as a matter of urgency…” So we don’t know what goodies they’ve been given. Only three Cabinet members are on the gifts record…Sad Councillor Antrobus got the short straw, going all the way to Blackfriars Road to see the Ladies World Real Tennis Championship at a value of ten quid…Councillor Hinds went all the way to Swinton Rugby Club to watch a free match with a value of twenty quid…And Councillor Lancaster went twice to Salford Rugby Club and got tickets for The Lowry with a total value of a hundred quid. What, no trips to China? No booze ups in London at Awards ceremonies? Can’t wait to see the up-to-date register…
If you’ve got anything Mary Burns should know about email maryburns@salfordstar.com
The Daisy Chain Your healthier life! Anywhere in Salford: ü ü
Health Trainers – helping you to plan a healthier life. Smoke-Free Homes – reduce second-hand smoke at home.
In Charlestown and Lower Kersal: ü ü
Carers’ Support – support for informal carers Re-Energise – healthy living through exercise and nutrition
Interested? Then contact Community Health Action Partnership on 0161 743 0088.
K & S NEWS Newspapers Magazines Greetings Cards Mobile Phone Top-Up Gas & Electric Top-Up Fresh Bread and Milk Opening Times Mon-Fri 6.00 am - 6.00 pm Sat 6.00 am - 4.30 pm Sun 6.00 am - 1.00 pm 171 Langworthy Road, Salford 0161 736 3218
Stunning balloon arrangements and flowers for every occasion INTERFLORA REGISTERED
For assistance please call or ring: 295 Bolton Road, Irlams O’th Height, Salford, M67GU 0161 736 3618 or 0161 745 9191 barrie.newton@ntlworld.com www.daisychain1.co.uk
Could you be a volunteer mentor for offenders or those at risk of offending in Salford? Salford Foundation is currently looking for Volunteers for a new project. We need volunteer mentors for Salford offenders, or those at risk of offending. Meetings with your mentee will take place fortnightly at a mutually agreed venue for approx 1 hour. No experience required as we offer free training, CRB checks and continual support.
If you are interested please contact the Jackie Payg or Michelle Buckley on 0161 787 8686 or email michellebuckley@salfordfoundation.org.uk.
TOGETHER WOMEN PROJECT
Are you concerned about Mental Health issues? Ever thought of becoming a volunteer trustee? Mind in Salford is a registered charity providing advocacy to people experiencing mental distress. We have recently emerged from a period of change and are looking to recruit new trustees to help us shape and build services for people experiencing mental distress in the Salford area. We’re looking for people who can take an active hands on involvement in our future. If you’re enthusiastic, have some time and skills to offer and would like to know more, contact us. You can get an infopack by writing to Mind in Salford, The Angel, 1 St Philips Place, Salford, M3 6FA or by calling 0161 8393030.
HAPPENING IN SALFORD TING TING…PARTY TIME ! There’s a massive buzz going around at the mo about Salford duo, The Ting Tings who headline Sallywood Babylon, the closing party for the Salford Film Festival… Radio 1’s Jo Wiley and Huw Stephens have been raving about The Ting Tings as “perfect…brilliant pop”. Their track, That’s Not My Name, has had almost 90,000 downloads on MySpace. They’ve already done New York and Glastonbury, and they’re about to head off to cred French Music Fest, Les Transmusicales. The Ting Tings - Jules and Katie are happening, big style … …and now they’re doing Islington Mill in Salford. Catch them now… The Ting Tings headline Sallywood Babylon, with The Detour and Steve Manford on the decks. Wed 28 November 8pm-2am Islington Mill, James Street, M3 5HW £5/£4 Further details www.salfordfilmfestival.org.uk 834 3537 Map at www.islingtonmill.com/map Hear The Ting Tings www.myspace.com/thetingtings
CHRISTMAS IN SALFORD Sun 2 December A Christmas Celebration Tudor music and Christmas crafts. 4.00pm Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, Salford M5 872 0251 Sun 2 December Mandley Park tree dressing Create giant decorations to hang in the tree tops. 1.00 - 3.00pm www.salford.gov.uk/countryparks Fri 7 to Sun 16 December Christmas Craft Fair Lowry Outlet Mall Fri 7 December to Sun 6 January 2008 Dick Whittington Chesney Hawkes and Darren Day £14 - £24 08700666849 www.thelowry.com
Sun 9 December Ordsall Hall decorations Make Christmas decorations at the hall. 1pm - 4pm Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, Salford M5 872 0251
Wed 12 December A Christmas Miscellany. 2.00pm £1.50 Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, Salford M5 872 0251
Sun 16 December Santa’s Letter Day Buile Hill Park Eccles Old Rd 11.00am - 3.00pm www.salford.gov.uk/countryparks
Sun 9 December Christmas Carols Monton Voices Salford Museum and Art gallery 778 0800
Sat 15 December Earthwatchers: Christmas Party Make a Yule log for Christmas 2.00 – 4.00pm Blackleach Country Park, Hilltop Road, off Bolton Road, Walkden 790 7746 www.salford.gov.uk/countryparks
Sun 16 December Christmas Crafts Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane M5 1-4pm 872 0251
Sun 9 December Salford Symphony Orchestra Christmas programme. 7.30pm £6 Salford Choral Society Christmas Concert Peel Building, University of Salford 737 4126 Mon 10 December Australian Christmas Carols A musical talk by Brian Tipler £1.00 10.15am Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, Salford M5 872 0251 Tuesday 11 December Ordsall Acapella Singers Christmas Concert 7pm, Ordsall Hall Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane M5 872 0251
Bridgewater Building Company Seasons Greetings Building and joinery contractors specialising in extensions phone 0797 352 5598
BRIDGEWATER6.indd 1
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Sun 16 December Santa Dash Salford Quays Entrance fee £10 includes free Santa suit. Free for spectators, 848 8601 tic@salford.gov.uk Sun 16 December Santa’s Letter Day for young children at the park hall. 11am - 3m Buile Hill Park www.visitsalford.info/events Thur 20 December Christmas Community Garden festive arts and crafts activities 2.30 - 4.30pm Ordsall Park Thur 20 December Salford Choral Society Christmas Concert 7.30pm £6 adults, £4 children St Philips Church, St Philips Place off Chapel Street, M3 881 4318 Thur 20 December Ordsall Park Christmas community garden 2.30 - 4.30pm festive arts and crafts activities. Sat 22nd December Jack and the Beanstalk 7.30pm £6 Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Avenue, off Liverpool St M5 4AD 737 2188 Sat 29 – Sun 30 December /Sat 5 – Sun 6 Jan 2008 A-Tishoo! A Christmas Cold Children’s drama with puppets The Lowry www.thelowry.com Fri 11 – Sat 19 Jan 2008 The Snowman The Lowry £14-£24 www.thelowry.com
KIDS AND FAMILY FUN Sun 18 November Local History Fair Salford Museum and Art Gallery 11.00am – 4.00pm free 778 0800 www.salford.gov.uk/museums Wed 28 November Model Boat Club 7.00 - 9.00pm Blackleach County Park. 790 7746
Sat 1 December Frankyln Lower Kersal Social Club Stamford Rd, off Littleton Rd M7 3SD 792 4356
Thur 27 & Fri 28 December The Tudor Games Drop-in 10am – 4pm Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, M5 872 0251
Fri 7 December SILKY SISTERS PINK PARTY dj’s Kler, Sinead & Millie 7:30pm-3am The Riverscape Club (above The Old Pint Pot) The Crescent entry by donation: profits to Breakthrough
FESTIVALS Saturday 24 to Wednesday 28 November Salford film festival Various locations Free admission (see feature) info@salfordfilmfestival.org.uk
Sat 8 December Keily Hampson Lower Kersal Social Club Stamford Rd, off Littleton Rd M7 3SD 792 4356
MUSIC
Mon10 December Salford University Big Band 7.30pm Robert Powell Theatre £5 295 5223
Thurs 15 November RECLAIM THE STREETS MC TOURNAMENT dj Shaun de Bauch, MST & live set from Coldside Generals 7pm-10pm The Pav, Castle Irwell free entry b4 8pm £2 after. non-students need to be signed in by a student
Tues 11 December Tuesday Midday Recitals The Powell Piano Trio £3.50, £2.50 (concs) 295 5223 Wed 12 December - Thur 13 December Performance Division 7.00pm Robert Powell Theatre. Real theatre for children and parents. £4, £3 (concs). 295 5223
Sat 17 November Tony Grant A tribute to Freddie Mercury Lower Kersal Social Club Stamford Rd, off Littleton Rd M7 3SD 792 4356
Sat 15 December Tony Lee Jones Lower Kersal Social Club Stamford Rd, off Littleton Rd M7 3SD 792 4356
Sun 18 November Ordsall Acapella Singers 11am-12 Salford Art Gallery
Sat and Sun 15 and 16 December Ordsall Acapella Singers Busking weekend in and around Salford Sunday 16 December Ordsall Acapella Singers 2 till 3 pm. Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, M5 872 0251
Sun 18 November Ordsall Acapella Singers 1- 2 pm Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, M5 872 0251
Tuesday 18 December Midday Recitals: Hallé Brass 1pm - 2pm Peel Hall £3.50, £2.50 (concs) 295 5223
Sat 24 November CELEBRATING INNOCENT (RAPAR BENEFIT) dj Shaun de Bauch, Blendmaster Segue, Congolese dancers & Roma Karavan band 8pm-2am The Riverscape Club (above The Old Pint Pot) The Crescent £5 waged unwaged £2
Sat 24 November Remembering the Manchester Martyrs On 23 November 1867, 3 Irishmen were controversially hanged in Salford, convicted of the murder of a police sergeant during the rescue of two Fenian prisoners. They maintained their innocence and were known as the Manchester Martyrs. This conference, with speakers inc Michael Herbert and Eileen Murphy, looks at the history of how they’ve been remembered 10:30am-4pm Working Class Movement Library (Annexe) Jubilee House, 51 The Crescent It’s free but £6 for lunch. Pre-book enquiries@wcml.org.uk or 736 3601 Sun 25 November Sew Good! All proceeds of sales of beautiful handmade quilts go to the Extraordinary Ordsall Campaign to raise £1million for the hall. 10.00am – 4.00pm Ordsall Hall Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, M5 872 0251 Wed 28 November to Sat 1 December Beautiful House. 8.00pm £6.50, £4 concs Studio Salford King’s Arms, Bloom Street M3 www.studiosalford.com Mon 3 December Latin Line Dance Drop In St Sebastian’s Community Centre 1 Douglas Green Pendleton 10:30am-noon over 55s £1 778 0497 Fri 7 December and Sat 8 December Embryo 41 & 42 Studio Salford £4 King’s Arms, Bloom Street M3 www.studiosalford.com
Sat 22 December Dawn Allen Lower Kersal Social Club Stamford Rd, off Littleton Rd M7 3SD 792 4356
Saturday 8th December An Evening of Clairvoyance 7.25pm £5 Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Avenue, off Liverpool St M5 4AD 737 2188
Other Highlights
Sat 24 November Johnny Martelle (singer) Lower Kersal Social Club Stamford Rd, off Littleton Rd M7 3SD 792 4356
Sat 24 November 24 Comedy Sportz two teams use your ideas to compete for laughs 7.30pm £4 Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Avenue, off Liverpool St M5 4AD 737 2188 www.comedysportz.co.uk
Sat 15th December Studio Salford Lotta Bottle Awards. 7.30pm King’s Arms, Bloom Street M3 www.studiosalford.com
Wed 14 – Sat 24 November A Taste Of Honey 7:45pm £8 The Lowry www.thelowry.com
Kersal D.I.Y. Ltd We sell knockers
187 Littleton Road, Lower Kersal, Salford. M7 3TL (0161) 792 0556 (0161) 792 7595 kersalDIY@hotmail.com Mob: 07786 523020 74 www.salfordstar.com
www.salfordstar.com
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Ashes to Flashes Local photographer David Dunnico’s exhibition Memento Mori, (Remember you must Die) is a celebration of Salford’s four municipal cemeteries...Nice topic for Yuletide ? Sasha Brogden dug him up… Are you a morbid sod or what ? Humans alone live knowing that life will end. I don’t think that’s necessarily a morbid thought, but as a photographer it reminds you to create things today. I suppose making photographs that will still be about after you’ve gone, is a bit like leaving a memorial in a graveyard. Wouldn’t you rather be down the pub than creeping around cemeteries ? Rather than being necropolis – ‘cities of the dead’ – I think of cemeteries as sculpture parks and places to look at social history. So what do Salford cemeteries reveal ? The Victorians knew more about death than birth. When Weaste Cemetery was opened, male life expectancy in parts of Salford could be 17. Sat 15th December Comedy Sportz two teams use your ideas to compete for laughs 7.30pm £4 Salford Arts Theatre Westerham Avenue, off Liverpool St M5 4AD 737 2188 www.comedysportz.co.uk Wed 19 December North Country Folklore Tales by Peter Watson. 7.45pm £1.50 Ordsall Hall, Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, M5 872 0251 Thur 17 January 2008 Salford College Open Evening At Worsley and City Campus See facilities, meet tutors, find out about range of courses. More info: 211 5001/2/3 or txt `call me’ to 88020
Which were the top tombs ? There are quite a few grand ones in Weaste – but I’d say to people go and have a look and discover them for yourself! Some of the most striking things are actually what’s written on the stones rather than intricate carvings. Memento Mori by David Dunnico runs at Salford Museum and Art Gallery until 13 January 2008. Mon to Fri 10am to 4.45pm, Sat and Sun 1pm to 5pm. Free The Crescent, M5 4WU www.mourn.me.uk Weaste Cemetary is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary.
Until 6 January 2008 Memento Mori Photographs by David Dunnico (see feature) Salford Museum and Art Gallery Peel Park, The Crescent M5 778 0800
Ongoing SILKY LOVE IN Shock Radio 87.7fm every Sat in November 7pm-10pm ORDSALL ACAPELLA SINGERS Weekly Rehearsal 7 - 9pm Ordsall Hall. All welcome £4 or £3 a session.
EXHIBITIONS Mon 26 November - Fri 14 December University of Salford Arts Programme Mon – Fri 10.00am – 4.00pm Margaretha Schöning’s wax wall pieces wax sculptures, + video pieces by Helena Tomlin. The Chapman Gallery University of Salford, Chapman Building, Peel Park Campus, Salford, M5 4WT Until 20 April 2008 Harold Riley: A Photography Retrospective 1943-2007 Daily until 5pm The Lowry www.thelowry.com Until 6 January 2008 Hidden Treasures Gems from the Salford Museum Collection Salford Museum and Art Gallery Peel Park, The Crescent M5 778 0800
Every Thursday Modern Jive classes No need to book 7.30pm £6 Masonic Hall, Hospital Road, Swinton 07703 474649 Every Saturday Salford Arts Theatre Youth Acting Classes 12 - 18yrs (£12) 10am-1.30pm Westerham Avenue, off Liverpool St M5 4AD 737 2188 Every Sunday Salford Arts Theatre Youth Acting Classes 7yrs - 11yrs (£10) 12 - 3pm Westerham Avenue, off Liverpool St M5 4AD 737 2188
FOOTBALL FIXTURES Salford City FC Moor Lane, Kersal £5 (£2) Official Website: www.salfordcityfc.com Supporters website: www.salfordcitymad. co.uk 0161 792 6287 Sat 17th Nov Salford City V Congleton Town Sat 24th Nov Flixton V Salford City