tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37266807414531607832024-02-19T14:47:42.399+00:00Hardy Lane ScrapbookSituated in a suburb of Manchester, England this is a story of a co-op store still with meeting rooms above the shop, and the lane itself. Plus other related or not so related history.lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-61185197155360046332013-10-27T21:09:00.000+00:002013-10-27T21:09:50.709+00:00Co-Op First Self Service UK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXDkdaNcwTNNHmsx687RgLDzPlrvL_PbZ3r3cPENinxUwxZCC8yo_4wNlDyJHp0vvfEsQv8YT6Itze79UN_rwiWftKhsasEGe-NGfk7YgoF3YyXTALO8CZeag7woL8dTtU9GZryQHYQiB/s1600/co-op+self+service.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXDkdaNcwTNNHmsx687RgLDzPlrvL_PbZ3r3cPENinxUwxZCC8yo_4wNlDyJHp0vvfEsQv8YT6Itze79UN_rwiWftKhsasEGe-NGfk7YgoF3YyXTALO8CZeag7woL8dTtU9GZryQHYQiB/s400/co-op+self+service.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />If you browse for finding the first self service store in Britain then you'd have to dig very deep to find any mention of a co-operative bringing the concept from the USA to the UK. There was a recent three part documentary on shopping and retailing by the BBC and any part that the CWS or any co-operative society played in any retail innovation was seriously omitted.<br /><br />The first own label goods are by the CWS date from 1873 and the use of own manufactured goods to beat the restrictions of Retail Price Maintenance are from 1906 with some patent medicines, and better known the Defiant Radios in 1933.<br /><br />Now to the first self service grocery, it wasn't J.Sainsbury or Tesco but the London Co-Op Society who opened a small section in a Romford department store in 1942. Apparently introduced to alleviate staff shortages during the war. The first stand alone self service shop in Britain goes to Portsea Island Co-Op in March 1948. It's one of those great trivia facts that the city of Portsmouth is actually on an island linked by bridges to the English peninsular. Portsea island being the third most populated island the British Isles.<br /><br />The London Co-Op Society sent a delegation to the USA and Canada as early as 1938 to study the self service format. The CWS sent a research team to the USA in 1947, and published guidance on how to run a self service outlet in 1949. The M&SE (Manchester & Salford Equitable) took to idea and started altering its existing stores the following year. Eventually the format came to the smaller stores like Hardy Lane in 1959.<br /><br /> [ <i>Information from the letter pages of the Co-Operative News in October 2013</i> ]lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-26891126882221313832013-10-03T23:16:00.000+01:002013-10-03T23:16:54.664+01:00CWS 150 renamed and not out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_Bk-xMjiwt77hGxVoCHB-1s8-fQ-w4dgwc_if_l-93oZlAX9pGx_h_jh5ZTBbxE4dscvUWLztaU_WjIkSBUd3Q5vxOmHkp9Or0G4-YYT_cXCn5pJse0_JUdrUYzsl_j_iwKk6BWtWmcE/s1600/packet+of+tea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_Bk-xMjiwt77hGxVoCHB-1s8-fQ-w4dgwc_if_l-93oZlAX9pGx_h_jh5ZTBbxE4dscvUWLztaU_WjIkSBUd3Q5vxOmHkp9Or0G4-YYT_cXCn5pJse0_JUdrUYzsl_j_iwKk6BWtWmcE/s400/packet+of+tea.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Not many companies can make 150 years of trading but the Co-Operative Group was founded as the North of England Co-operative Wholesale Industrial and Provident Society Limited in Manchester in 1863. From 1872 it became the Co-Operative Wholesale Society (CWS), and after a merger with Co-Operative Retail Services in 2000 they chose the name Co-Operative Group.
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Forward to the present day and an exhibition at the People's History Museum in Manchester on Saturday 12th October 2013 thru to Saturday 11th May 2014. Plenty of visiting days, it's free and there is a fine cafe too. More to follow....after the exhibition opens. Might as well join in by publishing some photos of CWS memorabilia like the 1940's packet of tea as seen above. That's a 4oz packet of loose tea before tea bags became the norm...more pictures to follow.<br /><br />All the links you need:<br />
<a href="http://www.phm.org.uk/whatson/the-peoples-business-150-years-of-the-co-operative/">The People’s Business – 150 Years of The Co-operative</a><br />
<a href="http://www.phm.org.uk/news/the-peoples-business-events/">Co-Op Events at the People's History Museum</a><br /><a href="http://150.co-operative.coop/">Co-Operative Group at 150 years</a> (pictures and timeline)<br />
lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-15582126926855791542013-09-17T06:52:00.000+01:002013-09-17T06:52:00.740+01:00Touching History Roby ChurchI've written many times about how the Manchester & Salford Equitable Co-op was <a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/origins-of-m.html">founded</a> by members of the Roby Brotherhood. A 19th Century group of young men who worshipped at the Roby Church and had attended that Sunday School. Walking down Dickenson Road you can see one of their former church buildings. It's at the corner of Hamilton Road and is now used by the Church of God of Prophesy. Better still sautering further south down Dickenson Road is the actual successor church, the Roby United Reform Church. A neat stylish building in smart brick with a small attractive garden. There you can touch the names carved in stone of the early preachers.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/9759957563/" title="Roby Church Dickenson Rd by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Roby Church Dickenson Rd" height="332" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/9759957563_fa72e78459.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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William Roby was invited to preach at the Cannon Street chapel in 1830, and they moved to larger premises on Grosvenor Street in 1807. The chapel was renamed Roby in his memory after his death. I doubt if many of the founders of the Manchester & Salford Co-op would have heard him speak. But they would have been familiar with Richard Fletcher who went off to pastures new in Melbourne, Victoria, and Patrick Thomson who had a long career at various independent churches. <br /><br />As a side note to illustrate how history is an ivy that intertwines. William Roby (1766-1830) ran an academy to teach independent preachers, and from 1803-1808 it was funded by Robert Spear (1792-1819) a wealthy cotton merchant in Manchester. "<i>Robert Owen describes how Spear sent him the first two bags of Sea Island cotton to land in Britain. It was through Spear's sister that Owen met his future wife Caroline Dale.</i>" - paraphrased from the Life of Robert Owen (1920). The New Lanark mills were part of the marriage settlement. Yet another co-op connection.<br />
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Further Reading :<br />
<a href="http://dissacad.english.qmul.ac.uk/new_dissacad/phpfiles/sample1.php?parameter=personretrieve&alpha=1189#tabs-6">William Roby brief biog</a>
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<a href="http://www.roby.org.uk/history-of-roby">History of the Roby Church<br /></a>lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-31710656032477313302013-09-15T17:04:00.000+01:002013-09-15T17:04:29.182+01:00Longsight Printing WorksReading through many old co-op society magazines and pamphlets the imprint "CWS Printing Works Longsight" is on the publication. I thought the old printing works had long since been demolished until I took a cycle short cut down Hamiliton Road in Longsight and caught glimpse of the building. It took a few more months before returning with a camera.<br />
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CWS Printing commenced in January 1895 off Balloon Street in Manchester, and such was the need for more output a site was acquired in Longsight and production commenced in July 1898. The works expanded over the years and employed 1,100 persons in 1913. Printing wasn't as mechanised as today so lots of hands, both men and women were needed to collate, trim, bind and box all that paper.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/9760075622/" title="longsight printing works by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="longsight printing works" height="330" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7325/9760075622_966a9100f2.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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The attractive engraving shows a magnificent structure and with artistic licence the roads are shewn overly wide and spacious. Built on large open plot behind the shops on Stockport Road with Gore Brook and Rushford Farm to the right and east of this illustration. It has been knocked about since its heyday. The chimney and pond have gone, the brook is under a culvert but the original entrance to the offices on Hamilton Road survives.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/9759944885/" title="former CWS Printing Works by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="former CWS Printing Works" height="332" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7366/9759944885_97e252513a.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/9759924346/" title="former CWS Printing Works by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="former CWS Printing Works" height="332" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5322/9759924346_6d9cd6bd8f.jpg" width="500" /></a>
The illustration is from The Story of the CWS: the jubilee history of the Co-Operative Wholesale Society by Percy Redfern (1913). You can download it at <a href="http://Archive.Org">Archive.Org</a>lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-61034852939310649022013-04-29T22:08:00.000+01:002013-04-29T22:41:14.786+01:00Northmoor Road<a href="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/94/10/2941004_622ca826.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/94/10/2941004_622ca826.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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The old co-op building on Northmoor Road in Longsight, Manchester M12 5RT is an impressive building. Enough to be classed as a Grade II Listed Building in 1994. The other week it celebrated its centenary, only a few months late as the date on the building states 1912.
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It was built for the Beswick Co-operative Society, founded in 1892, and a thorn in the trading area of the Manchester & Salford Equitable. The Beswick ignored any territorial agreements and would open branches were they felt they could do business. Thus districts like Levenshulme, Ancoats, Withington and Didsbury would have rival co-op stores.
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Northmoor Road, originally called North Road was developed between 1899 thru to the 1930's. The most famous person to reside there was J.R.Tolkien between 1926-1947. We don't know if he went to the co-op for his tea and biscuits between writing another page of The Hobbit or Lord of The Rings.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8686196667/" title="Beswick Co-op building by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Beswick Co-op building" height="325" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8544/8686196667_0e673d5511.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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The building rises up to two floors plus attic rooms in a square tower. It used to have a meeting room used as ballroom for dances to live music. The property is now owned by Great Places Housing Group who provide affordable, social and supported housing across the north west and Yorkshire. There is now a community centre and small business units on the ground flour. Apartments are on the upper levels.
It's not every building that has a party by local residents to celebrate its 100th birthday. It was reported in the local newspaper, "the co-operative building is loved by all in the area, and that showed with the amount of local residents who came to the event." - South Manchester Reporter 25th April 2013.<br />
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There is no doubt a lot of history to this building, it is something I must follow up someday.<br />
Further reading : <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northmoor_Road">Northmoor Road (Wikipedia)</a>
<a href="http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/default.aspx?pid=2&id=454820"><br />Description of the architectural features</a> (Images of England)<br />
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Photo credit to <a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2941004" target="_blank">www.geograph.org.uk<wbr></wbr></a>lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-18460608288606745622013-04-07T21:36:00.000+01:002013-04-07T21:36:03.510+01:00Trams beyond Chorlton<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8619685353/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Tram tracks Hardy Lane by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Tram tracks Hardy Lane" height="240" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8399/8619685353_00d9753ca9_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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The tram tracks are now being laid down the centre of Hardy Lane. Slowly the construction of the line to connect the airport with the centre of Manchester is coming along. I'm recording the progress with photographs.<br />
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As Hardy Lane is not a busy thoroughfare for cars reducing the road to single line traffic shouldn't cause any long tail backs. However the siting of the station at the junction of Mauldeth Road West and Barlow Moor Road might isn't ideal. Not ideal for foot passengers who will have to cross two main roads to reach the platforms. You have a similar situation in Droylsden and there are no cycle lanes to contend with there.<br />
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The picture below is from the Manchester Libraries Archives. It shews the tram times to reach the centre of town from the outlying districts in 1917. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/8195910095/" title="Manchester Time Zone Map, 1917 by mcrarchives, on Flickr"><img alt="Manchester Time Zone Map, 1917" height="479" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/8195910095_3402d70cf6.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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Depending on which part of Chorlton-cum-Hardy you lived in it could take from between 20 minutes to 50 minutes to arrive at Piccadilly. It is maybe marginally faster on the Metrolink these days but then you have to factor in the time to walk to the station. lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-6391217317479506152013-03-29T10:00:00.000+00:002013-03-29T10:00:08.347+00:00Twin tubs carry on<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8566780178/" title="Daz by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Daz" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8089/8566780178_f1d5fcbfe4.jpg" width="375" /></a>
<br />I'll draw your attention to a famous brand of washing powder and the words printed on the packet. The reference is to "twin tubs". Had I stepped into the past and not another shopping trip to the local Co-Op. Well apparently twin tub washing machines are still manufactured and presumably someone is buying them and Proctor & Gamble are marketing a washing powder to cater for that market. It is not widely promoted in the Daz range, it hardly gets a mention. What's the difference? This soap powder will make more suds so is unsuitable for an automatic washing machine.<br />
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Washing clothes that weekly chore that requires lots of hot water isn't the full drudge day of years ago. Well not when you have an automatic washing machine. So there must be some reasons why people still favour the machine of choice from the 1960's. Maybe it does a cleaner wash, or is eco-friendly besides being a cheaper capital purchase. The powder is also for handwash (not hand wash) and you can't go further back in history than laundry by hands.<br />
<br />lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-28193710632194559082013-03-27T18:45:00.002+00:002013-03-28T21:35:16.472+00:00Gramophone Music<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8594982861/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="barrynola 2 by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="barrynola 2" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8521/8594982861_ee4582c1cf.jpg" /></a>
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The history of recorded music is how it has progressively become cheaper and more convenient. You don't even have to possess the physical object that holds the sound just some electronic device that can play it. Literally bushels of songs at the fingertip. The advert is from the 1930's and the M&SE are stocking the new Barrynola gramophone. Note it is being demonstrated at a concert in one of the more salubrious suburbs of Manchester. A night out listening to records - no mention if dancing was allowed. <br />
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Interesting class dimension in that the Co-Op was appealing to not just the weekly struggle working class customer but to customers who had regular income with savings.<br />
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They were an expensive purchase not one for a struggling working family. A small portable would cost just under £3 (3 GBP), a cabinet model from £7 to £10. Then there were the new electric models using mains electricity. The new radiograms were also coming on the market, a status piece of furniture that would be desired for living rooms for the next twenty years. This was an age of developments in reproducing sound. Just as today there is that newer and better model available after you've paid your hard earned cash and taken delivery. Last year I purchased an iPod Nano that also doubles as a wrist watch. That model has been superseded, and my Zen MP3 player is ancient. We've not even gone into the junk room to find museum pieces like the Walkman.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnAHSEeexhKx_U_PsJVtMkblCU-oVuCTSTTUX8OoX39SKr7ndN1lM1Y7fvSi5lTtFzcWuX49gZEhh_dN0RtGXsS6GolQfx1dXibR_XwooOjdV0RNjt7NurnaMWwlNgOwvq-SqnIhoQQxa/s1600/radio+1929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnAHSEeexhKx_U_PsJVtMkblCU-oVuCTSTTUX8OoX39SKr7ndN1lM1Y7fvSi5lTtFzcWuX49gZEhh_dN0RtGXsS6GolQfx1dXibR_XwooOjdV0RNjt7NurnaMWwlNgOwvq-SqnIhoQQxa/s320/radio+1929.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The co-op society did hire gramophones and the Womens' and Mixed Guilds made use of such facilities to have a meeting based around listening to recorded music. I had an earlier post, it was back in 2009, about 78 rpm records that were played at Hardy Lane. It is <a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/gramophone-records.html">here</a>.<br />
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So there you have it. I'm sat on the tram listening to my own personal playlist on little ear speakers and all those years ago it was a treat of an evening in a hall hearing gramophone records.<br />
<br />lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-49522389538591328862013-03-23T16:32:00.000+00:002013-03-23T16:34:29.364+00:00Defiant Radio Story #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqf_Z7nWWQ-NKFe8TKESC260OZdXo2mX4ndC0547DqZ997sajaFQadAm3JFdN8RiDKuuTW7emK5mkhtKf0l2t6AVVwYhg8jZu8b_OvEGkTdjDeBIpzBo4PRWAl06rGHMcsZ_VAgx-QjPOd/s1600/defiant+radio+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqf_Z7nWWQ-NKFe8TKESC260OZdXo2mX4ndC0547DqZ997sajaFQadAm3JFdN8RiDKuuTW7emK5mkhtKf0l2t6AVVwYhg8jZu8b_OvEGkTdjDeBIpzBo4PRWAl06rGHMcsZ_VAgx-QjPOd/s320/defiant+radio+2.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
The Rochdale Pioneers Museum is having a 'Defiant Radios Fun Day'.
That's Wednesday April 10th 2013 from 1100 - 1600h. A heady cocktail of
vintage radio and co-operative history. Steady.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ho3qTZhmfg8UfnywdLz9SCIrypg9JkG3DgbUsyvafJJMF7mKEwCJnY3FFsepUa4znAbbwDPaTNN3LDDPcu_tRsDmEQnyZeSpfa7hgfceWi4CSYTkyIj63Q2RZ-xAxT3XeF83J5jvtcWw/s1600/defiant+radio+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ho3qTZhmfg8UfnywdLz9SCIrypg9JkG3DgbUsyvafJJMF7mKEwCJnY3FFsepUa4znAbbwDPaTNN3LDDPcu_tRsDmEQnyZeSpfa7hgfceWi4CSYTkyIj63Q2RZ-xAxT3XeF83J5jvtcWw/s320/defiant+radio+1.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
The Defiant radio story is one of co-operatives set against price fixing
by a cartel of electrical manufacturers. At the time the Co-op wanted
to sell radio sets but they could not "discount" and the "divi" was a
form of discount. So the solution was to find a subcontractor to make
their own brand. Eventually a deal was struck with Plessey to make the
radios, with Mazda valves the brand name of BTH (British
Thompson-Houston, I think it was a subsidiary of AEI then) and the
wooden cases to enclose the receiver were supplied by the CWS cabinet
works. It's appropriate that they called their own brand of radio
"Defiant".<br />
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The Resale Prices Act abolished price fixing in 1964. After that the
retailer or chain store could decide their own price for goods .
Ironically the end of retail price maintenance in Britain had a
devastating affect on co-operative society sales especially food, and
helped the rise of the multiples .<br />
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The Defiant wireless sets were on sale from 1933 with the MSH 901
manufactured by GEC but they joined the Radio Manufacturers Association embargo of dealing with the CWS
hence a 1934 deal with Plessey. Later radiograms, gramophones, record
players, transistor radios and a television in the 1950's were
available. At least 85 different models were put on sale until 1967. All now collectors' items but affordable that is if you can
obtain a working model. Why haven't I bought one? <br />
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Back in the 1930's a
wireless would set you back two weeks average wages of work, there
weren't many radio stations to tune into and you had to pay the annual
licence fee of ten shillings (50p). But still a must have big ticket item of its
day bringing music and talk into your home that we take for granted.<br />
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Pictures : Dial of the Defiant MSH902 from 1934; Defiant MSH914 from 1935-1938,<br />
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Link :<a href="http://www.rochdalepioneersmuseum.coop/event/defiant-radios-fun-day">Rochdale Pioneers Museum Defiant Radio Day</a><br />
Links for morelorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-35511381962939280972013-03-20T09:23:00.000+00:002013-03-20T09:23:00.571+00:00New Co-Op Book in September 2013The first major business history of the CWS/The Co-operative Group in over fifty years is coming out in hardback this autumn. The pre-ordering is taking place and the blurb describes what you get for thirty pounds. Yes it has pictures in it.<br /><br />
"<i>Based on extensive archival research, many of the materials being made available to historians for the first time. Brings new attention to co-operatives as a distinctive business type from investor owned models. Published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Co-operative</i>"<br /><br />
<b>Profit with Principles? A Business History of The Co-operative Group, 1863-2013</b> by John F. Wilson, Anthony Webster, and Rachael Vorberg-Rugh; 464 pages | Numerous black and white illustrations; colour plate sections | 246x171mm 978-0-19-965511-3 | Hardback | September 2013 (estimated) Price: 30.00 GDP Oxford University Press
<br /><br />So something to look forward to then......lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-70763136289885420952013-03-19T20:55:00.000+00:002013-03-19T20:55:25.025+00:00Co-Op Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTus44tJ7malJfEo0umiytplEuaC-_oLow_RULrV2PnH8q7ofC1Hq-ukSFzh46bGrBkkUhcv7v3M4x8EYGbHaS6Z5qWOOkNVwBakRTJYXcEj3tqcpBxJNqZAgdb8Atw-GUx5_aMMrXK5s/s1600/co-op+fashions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTus44tJ7malJfEo0umiytplEuaC-_oLow_RULrV2PnH8q7ofC1Hq-ukSFzh46bGrBkkUhcv7v3M4x8EYGbHaS6Z5qWOOkNVwBakRTJYXcEj3tqcpBxJNqZAgdb8Atw-GUx5_aMMrXK5s/s400/co-op+fashions.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Was very taken with this old advert for the latest spring fashions for 1939. Surprisingly it is in colour rather than the black & white line drawings I've usually discovered. It deserves a reprise.<br />
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So what does the advertisement say. It speaks aspirational, you could be in a P.G.Wodehouse novel with your pipe, matching handkerchief in the top pocket and a modern camera. Personally I wouldn't be my choice of a check jacket going with baggy stripped trousers. I'm no fashion expert but that looks like a windowpane check which you don't see much of these days clashing with a chalk stripe trousers. The lady looks jolly sporty as well. Stood next to the daffodils for the spring connection in a dashing hat and a lovely coat again in a check. It has an interesting four button arrangement.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-ChB8EFURVuMwwgz8YEq-TYBhKWyVr2yV8_Tgkbx-zcF9mrflolUBKjmzlAlNVPfyhn40C7ZCT6K3oh3GwTKroRCMxg0Pp3E1vZaySjnA-OJ7U1BBM3JNGoWg-d4pxV4fE_ro4WGy7vF/s1600/worsley-1934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-ChB8EFURVuMwwgz8YEq-TYBhKWyVr2yV8_Tgkbx-zcF9mrflolUBKjmzlAlNVPfyhn40C7ZCT6K3oh3GwTKroRCMxg0Pp3E1vZaySjnA-OJ7U1BBM3JNGoWg-d4pxV4fE_ro4WGy7vF/s320/worsley-1934.jpg" /></a>No doubt if you could afford a new spring outfit you'd have looked pretty spiffy in this. There is a whole area to explore in suits, class and downright snobbery but I will leave that to others.<br />
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So did people go down to the shops or the local co-op store in outfits
like this? Err..maybe or maybe not? It's just that photographs from this period of people going about their everyday chores look pretty dreary. <br /><br />However the photo on the left is historian and curator Lucy Worsley
dressed up like 1934. If you've seen any of her BBC Tv programmes you'll
know she likes getting into character by wearing outfits relating to
the age she's presenting. So there is possibly one from the 1930's coming on schedule as this was published this month.<br />
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Recommended viewing and better check <a href="http://www.lucyworsley.com/">Lucy Worsley</a> on the web. Enjoyable history not just entertainment but you get facts even a jaded viewer will find riveting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ruGWJMCBHtqmPP1GVPFyopot-fk3b0jFlLw31Uj7lHfUkYZfhyr6IsnBN6iJBDT4vM92mSzgYE_PI1vcovJqE52PrPNh4KMTvcbwzLFz-JtEqY7s6n89mtDsrQQFWjbrht4jJKDoVRfq/s1600/shopping+outfit+1935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ruGWJMCBHtqmPP1GVPFyopot-fk3b0jFlLw31Uj7lHfUkYZfhyr6IsnBN6iJBDT4vM92mSzgYE_PI1vcovJqE52PrPNh4KMTvcbwzLFz-JtEqY7s6n89mtDsrQQFWjbrht4jJKDoVRfq/s320/shopping+outfit+1935.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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The next picture is a section of a poster from around 1935 by F.C.
Harrison (that's Frederick Clifford, painter and illustrator 1901 -
1984). <br />
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He worked freelance, and this is one for the Empire Marketing Board currently on display at Manchester Art Gallery. The lady has bought a pineapple which was a luxury. So back from the shops on a winter's day dressed in a very long scarf, large possibly fleece lined gloves, and the snug hat. Not very colour co-ordinated but maybe that's the illustrator trying to attract our attention. <br />
<br />Further reading : Empire Marketing Board <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/manchester_city_galleries/collections/72157629157846093/">posters</a> on Flickr thanks to Manchester City Galleries.lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-61708581942217378882013-03-14T22:30:00.000+00:002013-03-14T23:08:31.664+00:00M&SE Head Office<a href="http://images.manchester.gov.uk/web/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=37490&reftable=ecatalogue&refirn=17341" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://images.manchester.gov.uk/web/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=37490&reftable=ecatalogue&refirn=17341" width="400" /></a><br />
The photograph is from 1963 and shews the Manchester & Salford Equitable Co-op head office and central stores. The building was then 100 years old and is looking a little worse for wear. The addition of a rendering over the brickwork and stone lintels of the upper storeys is no longer giving it a modern appearance. There used to be a tower above the doorway in the centre of the building and spires at the front corners. Not sure when these were demolished but before the 1950's.<br />
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This was the era of slum clearances and Ardwick or is it Chorlton-on-Medlock were the building was situated was part of that inner city renewal. We've had a few more since then and the area never recovered its population or any vibrancy. There is already a vacant lot across the road and thus the photographer can obtain a good long shot.
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<i>Photograph courtesy of Manchester Libraries Image Collection, number m19204</i>. Click the picture for a more detailed view.
To see how the building looked in 1909 still in its Victorian splendour see an earlier post<a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/first-m-co-op-premises.html"> here</a>.
lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-32494277908558805152013-03-08T17:26:00.000+00:002013-03-08T17:26:31.160+00:00Saving Stamps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwRgvW8Osa7YmSUMTRAobWDNKYiVSjHmy638BA9HabvoDD8cHU8n3RPULQLvMhoxM6Rs1ElKjU6ynG86ZHZGYyXuU_CYKySeYOwY4N9ELguw0jauwTYZmw1IAsxvnhCVGTqIGBqaGTY4k/s1600/saving+stamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwRgvW8Osa7YmSUMTRAobWDNKYiVSjHmy638BA9HabvoDD8cHU8n3RPULQLvMhoxM6Rs1ElKjU6ynG86ZHZGYyXuU_CYKySeYOwY4N9ELguw0jauwTYZmw1IAsxvnhCVGTqIGBqaGTY4k/s1600/saving+stamp.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />The Co-operative Food reports sales of saving stamps on the increase. I was drawn to the story published in Talking Retail - the hub for
grocery retail of 6th March 2013. Like most of print & web media they
publish press releases and this one is by the Co-operative Group. <br />
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"<i>The Co-operative Food says sales of saving stamps have soared by a
third, following the launch of its new saving stamps trust fund. The
retailer said that in the first four weeks following the trust fund
launch, the number of saving stamps sold increased by 33%, compared with
February 2012.</i>"<br /><br />Basically you buy £1 stamps throughout the year at any of its 2,800 stores across the UK. Saving is a laudable activity and should be encouraged. Far less costly
than the misery of debt. Anyone redeeming a full saving stamps book
(with £48 worth of stamps) in store in December will receive an extra £2
bonus, just in time for the big Christmas shop. Which if my arithmetic
is correct is a return of 4.1%. Far better than the banks on the high
street. Except the pay out is in goods not cash.<br />
<br />Something as simple as saving stamps reminds me of an age maybe 50 plus
years ago. But then lots of recent developments in finance outside the
tarnished banking sector are redolent of an earlier age. There are now
more pawnbrokers, gold buyers, and pay-day loan merchants who charge 4000%. Then there are better and more realistic, newer peer-to-peer
lending schemes and the stable credit unions. I expect to see a sign in some shop announcing "join our xmas club today".<br /><br />Further reading : <a href="http://rememberwhen.gazettelive.co.uk/2010/08/saving-nostalgia.html">Saving Nostalgia</a> by Paul Delplanque for the Gazette in Middlesboro. It is a humorous piece with some good photos of divi day and Princess Anne on one shilling national saving stamps (5p was once a lot of money).<br />
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lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-3044984534765353532013-02-27T23:45:00.004+00:002013-02-27T23:45:41.056+00:00Fairtrade at Co-op<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8513389579/" title="Fairtrade poster Co-op by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Fairtrade poster Co-op" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8531/8513389579_df33e76865.jpg" width="375" /></a>
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It's Fairtrade Fortnight and for another year "The Co-operative" shews its support with 20 per cent off everything that is officially fairly traded. Like the way the co-op has stuck to selling fairtrade, it must be 19 long years now. Whilst the capitalist supermarket chains have blown hot, token gesture, and indifferent over the years, a band wagon to be hitched or ditched in pursuit of sales the co-operatives have added more and more lines. <br />
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This year they've added roses for those who take cut flowers home and mung bean sprouts for those who like to do a bit of wok cookery in the kitchen.<br />
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A point I've made many times in the past is the difficulty in making the engagement in shopping with the economic and political message. Who is aware of The Co-op Bank and the anti-shale gas campaign? Co-op stores struggle with this engagement. But so does every retail outlet. <br /><br />It's the art in the bar experience. The owners want you to look at the nice pictures by a local artist they've tacked on the walls. You want a coffee and cake. Some might notice the pictures which makes everyone happy. Job done and success if you ignore the majority who were never aware of their surroundings.
Anyway, was hoping to find the 99 Tea Gold, it's a stronger fairtrade brew, but Hardy Lane doesn't stock it. Ah well, you can't always get you want. Settle for a few bottles of the Malbec the fruity wine number from Argentina. It's fairtrade.
lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-81083429994424190432013-02-19T21:35:00.000+00:002013-02-19T21:35:47.657+00:00Pioneers Display<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8489415183/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Rochdale Pioneers Display by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Rochdale Pioneers Display" height="240" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8489415183_fc915d5ef6_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>To promote the newly refurbished
<a href="http://www.rochdalepioneersmuseum.coop/">Rochdale Pioneers Museum</a> there is a display of photographs with text at the Unicorn Co-Operative Grocery store in Chorlton.<br />
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It captures scenes from Toad Lane through the ages. The Pioneers only traded from this store for 23 years but it has become the shrine to the birthplace of co-operation.<br />
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You can probably give credit to George Jacob Holyoake for immortalising the Pioneers struggle and achievements with a book in 1857. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8490399548/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Rochdale Pioneers Display by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Rochdale Pioneers Display" height="240" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8227/8490399548_69061817d6_n.jpg" width="320" /></a> Fortunately the Co-operative Union had the foresight back around 1925 to buy the property when it was a pet shop and turn it into a museum.<br />
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Since then the story has been the subject of two films, in 1944 and 2012, several books and hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles.<br />
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Anyway it is a good display and many of the photographs will be new to a lot of people. A good example of co-operation between co-operatives. lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-85816891724013573022013-02-14T22:35:00.000+00:002013-02-14T22:35:10.357+00:00Co-Op Check Tin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6kF2uLQKUwZkPEjk42RZSbO1ssHzHv81MIOXu0FjuiLBDxZf_e-FEbZWMZTIQ0x9L_Sz7x8gbb_BUPK_2XtzDXnUjJJ0N5EL01j7_eXaemGPiVx-mJYUTJviFAqHC84mqjQjHRKfXYUu/s1600/gipsyville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6kF2uLQKUwZkPEjk42RZSbO1ssHzHv81MIOXu0FjuiLBDxZf_e-FEbZWMZTIQ0x9L_Sz7x8gbb_BUPK_2XtzDXnUjJJ0N5EL01j7_eXaemGPiVx-mJYUTJviFAqHC84mqjQjHRKfXYUu/s400/gipsyville.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So you stumble over some item for sale, puzzled by the object and curiosity wants answers. Said item is a co-operative check tin possibly from the 1920's. It's not made by a co-operative but is made for co-operative shoppers to keep little slips of paper safe. On paying for their purchases customers were given a small paper receipt with the amount spent and their membership number.<br />
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I suppose some would keep these safe and calculate if their dividend on purchases had been tallied correctly. I suspect not many could be that bothered and accepted the dividend listed by the co-op head office.
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Nostalgic history forums always quote people who can still remember their divi number of the family. It was ingrained into memory at an early age, for ever, and is recited for life.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5XhqG7XFe7WRNCqg0rvKCm7J7VAK9pYsHemVbBKMrMBu5qkeSBFkcYervVMdnpAa9C1fzLgUBiH5SZejznVwvhiDpOM9LEmrnVk9kjrW0FbSW7willENi5zs2fduS_9w1wRewvp_Oc1A/s1600/glosso+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5XhqG7XFe7WRNCqg0rvKCm7J7VAK9pYsHemVbBKMrMBu5qkeSBFkcYervVMdnpAa9C1fzLgUBiH5SZejznVwvhiDpOM9LEmrnVk9kjrW0FbSW7willENi5zs2fduS_9w1wRewvp_Oc1A/s320/glosso+2.jpg" width="178" /></a>Metal boxes were given away to promote a company's products. Who doesn't like a bright useful tin to keep safe items and make homes tidy. This one came compliments of Hargreaves Brothers & Co. and maybe dates from the 1920's. It's four sides announced that you must remember to buy the following :- Linoleo Floor Polish, Gipsy Black Lead, Ocean Blue in squares & Bags, and Glosso Metal Polish. An age of coal powered grime and relentless cleaning. Note those brand names they end in the letter "O". As in Brasso, Silvo, Zeppo and so on.
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Hargreaves Brothers and Co started as makers of black lead and metal polish in Gipsyville which is in Hull way back in 1868. When this tin was issued the company may have been taken over by Reckitts & Son in 1922. An even older Hull company, founded in 1840 that also made starch and cleaning products.<br />
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Whether any of these products were sold alongside the CWS own brand, can't say. You get the impression from co-op histories that only CWS goods were sold but that wasn't the case. Leading brands and own brands did stack side by side in the stores. It's that co-operative magazines and advertising promoted CWS products. Very likely Glosso was available at your local co-op.lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-13085093598902160642013-01-23T10:02:00.000+00:002013-01-23T10:02:00.150+00:00M&S Archive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqylvLKxom9TAe9ve3SsMdVx-CPtDq0Kpre6mvTHSKgRCy6AHiM56GBV0U14gLb0eO-Q9Ug6RBez0NMUp8gpmfdhzqqPBrS0klICeVwx_fqQxoaey6EhLxIlrkuGAXcmExm4s0ueVrgjgn/s1600/m&sarchive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqylvLKxom9TAe9ve3SsMdVx-CPtDq0Kpre6mvTHSKgRCy6AHiM56GBV0U14gLb0eO-Q9Ug6RBez0NMUp8gpmfdhzqqPBrS0klICeVwx_fqQxoaey6EhLxIlrkuGAXcmExm4s0ueVrgjgn/s400/m&sarchive.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I've done previous posts on Marks & Spencer. The link is tenuous and is based on the premise M&S used to refer to Manchester & Salford and the co-operative society of that name that built the Hardy Lane shop and rooms. There used to many organisations with Manchester & Salford in their title - e.g. Manchester & Salford Trustee Savings Bank. But the city names have fallen out of favour and the term Greater Manchester has become more widely used.<br />
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But if you are interested in the history of shopping, retail and food then the Marks & Spencer archive will be of interest. Based in Leeds where trading started on a market stall in 1884. There are pictures, a timeline and themes to explore online. I visited the exhibition when it opened a few years back. It had a cafe serving Marks & Spencer teas and snacks as well. It is a short way out of town in the university district. A day trip to Leeds is well worth a visit. Some good architecture, marvellous Victorian shopping arcades and plenty of places to obtain a decent meal.<br /><br /><a href="http://marksintime.marksandspencer.com/">Marks & Spencer Archive</a><br /><a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Marks-and-Spencer">Other posts about M&S</a><br />
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http://marksintime.marksandspencer.com/lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-84939648101805162422013-01-21T21:50:00.000+00:002013-01-21T21:50:06.571+00:00No longer a wide road<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8403178260/" title="Hardy Lane Tram Works by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Hardy Lane Tram Works" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8503/8403178260_da6617b4be.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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The end of an era for Hardy Lane, a big wide road to nowhere is now reduced to single line traffic running east and west. Mark the date as Sunday 6th January when the first barriers were installed. Now inside those barriers the road is being hacked away for the foundations of the new tram track.
If the progress is anything like the development of the tramway extensions in the other parts of Manchester then expect the barriers to be still there in twelve months time. lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-14975817279605595232012-12-26T16:57:00.000+00:002012-12-26T16:57:00.817+00:00Norwest in Green and Yellow<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8304551052/" title="Norwest Co-op report by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Norwest Co-op report" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8304551052_c9d4c4501f.jpg" width="375" /></a>
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Found this old Directors' Report from 1987 whilst rummaging through a pile of old papers. Why do we keep this old stuff? Things get put away and dumped into a junk room. Mine is a veritable trove of old ephemera, uncatalogued and piled in boxes.<br />
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Notice the green and yellow colour which was adopted by the Norwest Co-Op Society. The photograph doesn't do the yellow any favours it is really a strong canary yellow on paper. There is a list of all the members' half yearly meetings and there are 14 of them. There was one at Hardy Lane on Wednesday 21st October 1987 at 7.30pm and three others elsewhere on the same night. The Directors' and the people on the Members Relations Committee had to spread themselves across Greater Manchester over four different nights.<br />
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In the Member Relations Committee report the Woodcraft Folk, and the Norwest Co-Op New Mills Band are doing well. That band is still going after 200 years which is some achievement and have published some of their history in a book and still has The Co-Operative as a sponsor....<a href="http://www.newmillsband.com/">website</a>. However the demise of the Stretford branch of the Co-Operative Women's Guild was reported due to a decline in membership.<br />
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Turnover was over 77 million GBP, an increase of 630 thousand. Now I've kept this old bit of paper it would be a shame to throw it away. Or would it?<br />
<br />lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-67331502614365644412012-12-24T16:30:00.001+00:002012-12-24T22:07:17.133+00:00Tea Trolley rolls in<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8284766407/" title="Old tea trolly in Co-op rooms by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Old tea trolly in Co-op rooms" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8350/8284766407_7f5600f10c.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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On recent visit to a meeting at the Hardy Lane Co-op Rooms managed to
photograph the old tea trolley. It is one of the relics that has
survived all the refurbishments of the premises over the years. Can't put a date on it
but don't expect it to fetch much money in an antique auction. Some things
survive and this has probably because it is not a fixture or
fitting. Next time I'll inspect the underside for clues about its manufacture.<br />
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Actually seen it many times but paid it no heed until someone regaled a story
of how it would be wheeled into the main room bearing a big tea pot and white
cups and thus uplifting a dull and ponderous meeting. A nice refreshing brew and a break. That trolley has a history.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrAIF5P4dfoB7DKJV98SCp5yxzOnqF-vd-hdibQCyeLlC9ns32Oy0hXfWn9jjXfukYQNeOhis5GHqhFC0FQoCNnTkAUbmJwnaQMEH86wSyRZzauvD_2BorjRNm8XdwosRcVKSlihbL7LHv/s1600/cover+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrAIF5P4dfoB7DKJV98SCp5yxzOnqF-vd-hdibQCyeLlC9ns32Oy0hXfWn9jjXfukYQNeOhis5GHqhFC0FQoCNnTkAUbmJwnaQMEH86wSyRZzauvD_2BorjRNm8XdwosRcVKSlihbL7LHv/s320/cover+cropped.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
Fortunately the meeting this time wasn't dull. It was a history presentation
by local historian <a href="http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/">Andrew Simpson</a>. It was under the auspices of Withington
Co-Operative Party and so had a local political theme. Going back to the
1832 General Election and forward to the contemporary political landscape
with a nod to Chartism, Clarion, Peterloo and the Moss Side bye election of 1973.<br />
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As a nice touch one lucky person in the room won a copy of "The Story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy" written by the speaker. It has recently been published by The History Press. The rest of us had the opportunity to buy one and insist on a signed copy.
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The tea trolley was rolled back into the kitchen, the post meeting social chatter followed and eventually everyone went home or to the pub.lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-77221074808287416502012-12-20T21:38:00.002+00:002012-12-24T22:08:01.965+00:00Wartime bomb maps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFH2-0MMNbQ9lTxytyjYNtjycLK6hjQvDMmIzYFn0hcWB4CDQ7bTIzde7XsBjaKyuvlSaqyNnkfawpj-UH9dE9b_3ObmF51HSKpg_Mcq0t4N5fWeX7IGhcb8O6jncvkDXUdjr-fBMxiKJ/s1600/damage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFH2-0MMNbQ9lTxytyjYNtjycLK6hjQvDMmIzYFn0hcWB4CDQ7bTIzde7XsBjaKyuvlSaqyNnkfawpj-UH9dE9b_3ObmF51HSKpg_Mcq0t4N5fWeX7IGhcb8O6jncvkDXUdjr-fBMxiKJ/s400/damage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The local Tv news recently reported that the maps of where the bombs fell on
Manchester during WWII are now available online. There is hardly a day when there isn't a story
about the war and those who lived through it, and never a day when some Tv channel isn't showing a
drama or documentary about that conflict. However this was now new
information readily accessible for everyone. It was a revelation especially when you
discover a fire bomb fell in front of your own house, or a high
explosive bomb landed on the next plot on the allotments up the road. It accounts for why we have hideous cheap post-war buildings in streets of fine old properties. For example Chorlton Post Office a construction of no merit that replaced a Victorian building that was destroyed by enemy action.<br />
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The whole of the city is divided up into various pages, and an hour
has gone by before you realise you've just been staring at red (incendiary
bombs) and blue (high explosives) markings on 80 year old Ordnance
Survey maps. The maps also reveal how much of Chorlton was still fields and how many allotment gardens and tennis courts there were.<br />
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To keep it relevant to the weblog the picture is of the corner of Hardy
Lane, Mauldeth Road West and Barlow Moor Road had shews where an
explosive device fell on the 12th March 1940 and exactly a year later several more nearby. Both dates outside the heavy blitz on Manchester 22nd and
23rd December 1940.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Manchester%20City%20Council%20City%20Architect%27s%20Department%20%28Building%20Surveyor%27s%20Division%29?sort=Reference_Number,Page,Current_Repository">Wartime Bomb Maps of Manchester</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3726680741453160783">.</a><br />
Further stories of wartime bomb damage at <a href="http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Chorlton%20bomb%20maps">Chorlton History</a>......lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-9279359432102324182012-11-26T17:23:00.001+00:002012-12-24T22:08:33.226+00:00Tahini & falafel at the Co-op<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8221538898/" title="Tahini & Falafel at the Co-Op by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Tahini & Falafel at the Co-Op" height="300" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8221538898_d0d8bb3fa1_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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Who would have thought that tahini, falafel mix, and harissa would appear on the shelves of the local Co-Op store? Well surprised! If you talk about these foods you usually have to explain what you mean to the majority with a limited palette.
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Like the way the hot chilli harissa from north Africa is with items originating from a vast area called the Middle East. It's not the geography it's the ethnicity that comes to mainstream British shopping.<br />
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Tahini for me is one of the most versatile and healthy foods ever. You can make a sauce, you can add sugar or better still date syrup to make a dessert. For a local variation add yeast extract like Marmite or even miso to create a savoury cheese like topping.<br />
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When the za'atar and sumac spices appear I'll know there is a culinary revolution taking place at home. From the photo below you can see it's a regular on my table. Who needs the sunshine to go with a mezze of delights.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8221665862/" title="Mezze At Home by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Mezze At Home" height="300" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8063/8221665862_f6bbc5166c_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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Link : <a href="http://www.alfez.com/">www.alfez.com</a>lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-51747636750435967122012-11-12T17:34:00.000+00:002012-12-24T22:09:18.368+00:00Nearly A Century and a Half<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_78qCUOPiMlBAVPITFnepsuWflzyNFbrAp_WKPz_QZ0Ea0866PPUdLdkh5zxjVI2cT_u4tq3_Sc3-PC0b11QUS0U3euwPcfqBzR-AYzTO49mYJma0MuBPDOiTHwKXStvA0FPrAje7iEO/s1600/cws-centurywise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_78qCUOPiMlBAVPITFnepsuWflzyNFbrAp_WKPz_QZ0Ea0866PPUdLdkh5zxjVI2cT_u4tq3_Sc3-PC0b11QUS0U3euwPcfqBzR-AYzTO49mYJma0MuBPDOiTHwKXStvA0FPrAje7iEO/s400/cws-centurywise.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPZOefe77HPGO083zw1t-PUJwjq3zbUbTpjTpWoTJcjcmnx0NPTTBfAS6198XUV5lCP79OgXpmgiNiNbJgDKJtl67OZUfhfctYs6hkahnEAp1ONMIkpc0Df4A9bGMFXKjXd0h7ad0GdGw/s1600/cws-centurywise-badge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPZOefe77HPGO083zw1t-PUJwjq3zbUbTpjTpWoTJcjcmnx0NPTTBfAS6198XUV5lCP79OgXpmgiNiNbJgDKJtl67OZUfhfctYs6hkahnEAp1ONMIkpc0Df4A9bGMFXKjXd0h7ad0GdGw/s200/cws-centurywise-badge.JPG" width="200" /></a>2013 marks the 150th Anniversary of the CWS (now known as The Co-Operative Group). No doubt there will be some sort of event or at least a booklet to mark the occasion. <br />
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The picture shewn is from the centenary year of 1963 and depicts a gentle world of shopping. The lady is nicely dressed to collect a few groceries in her wicker gondola basket and the door is held open by possibly the manager of the shop attired in his white coat.
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For the year the CWS adopted the word "Centurywise" and produced posters and badges announcing such. They also produced a film which was exhibited by the numerous retail societies. Obtaining a copy in a modern digital format might prove difficult.<br />
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Also celebrating 150 years is the Football Association and they have already announced their dinners and friendly international matches with Brazil, Scotland and Ireland to mark the year. But considering it is the national game you won't find an events in your town as they don't like to leave London. <br />
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The successors of the CWS may take a more countrywide view.<br />
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Previous related posts<br />
<a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/under-railway-arch.html">Under A Railway Arch</a><br />
<a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/150-years-in-2013.html">150 Years in 2013</a><br />
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<br />lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-194601216729210502012-11-09T21:59:00.000+00:002012-12-24T22:09:38.062+00:0099 Tea Retro Offer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/8169699386/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="99 tea retro style in 2012 by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="99 tea retro style in 2012" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8066/8169699386_1d8a789dcc_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremai/4238772136/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Old Scottish Co-op 99 tea by Jeremai Smith, on Flickr"><img alt="Old Scottish Co-op 99 tea" height="320" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4036/4238772136_85a17c08d0_n.jpg" width="240" /></a>
The "99 Tea" is one of the remaining own Co-Op brands when once there were once dozens. Personally I usually go for the other remaining blend called "Indian Prince".<br />
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But currently in the stores the "99" is on special offer and in what could be called an imaginary retro style package. I say imaginary because the past wasn't like this. A very early "99" is shewn below. Loose tea and with its original name of Prescription Tea No.99. <br />
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Original cost in the 1920's was 10 old pence for 4oz net weight, which in modern terms is about 4p for 11gms, and allowing for inflation is around 90p in today's values.<br />
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Whether they taste the same is probably something we'll never know unless an old packet is found in an hermetically sealed capsule somewhere. The modern tea is now Fairtrade, something that didn't exist in the age of Empire. Also it was from the Joint CWS & SCWS estates in India and Ceylon and didn't have the stronger East African teas in the mix.<br />
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I made an earlier post "<a href="http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/time-for-tea.html">Time For Tea</a>" about "99 Tea" about the health connection..... "<i>doctors in assessing vocal fremitus
asked the patient to repeat the phrase 'ninety-nine' whilst placing the
palm of the hand on the patient's chest. They probably still do.</i>"<br />
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Lots of foods and drinks claimed how easy it was to digest their wonderful product. Digestive problems, real or imaginary appear to have troubled the country from the days of first patent branded foods up until the 1940's. I'll be making a post on digestive biscuits soon to illustrate this point. <br />
<br />lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3726680741453160783.post-58276736299350925962012-10-25T18:33:00.002+01:002012-12-24T22:10:39.774+00:00Owen, the North, the flame<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenzo23/7889839528/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Co-op and flag by lorenzo23, on Flickr"><img alt="Co-op and flag" height="240" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7889839528_1d7b573800_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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Excellent post this week on The Northener Blog at The Guardian. It is entitled "<b>When Manchester & Salford Lit The Co-op Flame</b>".
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"<i>10,000 people gather in Manchester next week for Co-operatives United, the conference of the International Co-operative Alliance which is celebrating the UN International Year of the Co-operative. Michael Herbert looks back to the radical days of the movement in the city and neighbouring Salford.</i>"<br />
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Here is a fact from the post - the first Co-operative Congress was held in the Spread Eagle public houe on Chapel Street, Salford.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/oct/24/blogpost-co-operative-movement-co-op-history-salford-manchester">Link</a>.lorenzo23http://www.blogger.com/profile/03703276296616620943noreply@blogger.com0