Fireworks over Salford
“I’ve only got to sit in my chair and the window’s there and I can see all the fireworks going up in Manchester and the docks.” Mabel McKenna, resident of … Continue reading
The Ladies Excuse Me
“I used to love dancing. I used to go to Madam Jones’s on Broad Street over a tailors shop. Where did I learn to dance? When the ladies got to … Continue reading
The World Turned Upside Down or Making a Camera Obscura at Canon Hussey Court
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the two tower blocks in the heart of the Islington neighbourhood, Leslie Holmes and Maria Cash of Ordsall Community Arts made a Camera Obscura … Continue reading
All the shops that you needed
“It was full of shops. All the shops that you needed, even the undertaker he was there waiting. Banks, solicitors and the town hall.” Joyce Cotgrave, a resident of Arthur … Continue reading
Moving in
“Coming out of a house and into a flat felt very strange but saying that most of the people that came to Canon Hussey were from where I was from, … Continue reading
Making it cosy
“They were getting rid of what they called the slums, except they wasn’t because you can see how this is kept; our house was kept like this. You had about … Continue reading
Tough times
“By the late 1980s you started to see a transformation in public sector housing. You start to see the emergence of some areas that were, not exactly abandoned, but very … Continue reading
A very different place
“Thirty years ago Islington was one of those areas where staff in the council’s homelessness unit felt uncomfortable visiting. Now I’ve got 250 staff who work at Salix Homes and … Continue reading
Fred Jaws, Radio and TV Star
Gordon McKenna remembers the celebrity in his Oldfield Road pet shop, a Pirhana called Fred Jaws.
How to sell a three-legged tortoise
“You’re selling more tortoises than the rest of England.” Gordon McKenna reveals the secrets behind the Salford tortoise craze of the 1970s.
Get me to the church on time
“It had only been running a couple of days and on the day of my wedding, with my wedding dress on, the lift jammed and I was stuck in the … Continue reading
Wanderlust
“It was a James Bond movie that did it. I saw From Russia with Love and I realised I wanted excitement in my life.” Islington resident Tom Nolan remembers the … Continue reading
Mr and Mrs Jagger
“I said look there’s the Rolling Stones in that van. My girlfriend climbed in the back of their Bedford van to get a kiss off the band. I was stood … Continue reading
The Jealous Ghost
“Odd little things were happening all the time… a ring disappeared and then earrings disappeared. After four years of this going on it was getting a bit nervy here…so that’s … Continue reading
Whisky-a-go-go
“I had a good job working with me Dad I was earning about 26 quid a week as a pipe lagger. I could afford really good Mohair suits. I started … Continue reading
Pulling Together
Sue Rigg and Maria Fitzgerald reflect on women’s role in community activism on the Islington neighbourhood in the 1980s. Sue: “The women pull together and it will get done because … Continue reading
“We needed space”: the story of the community centre (part 2)
Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Sue Rigg, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale remember the struggle to get a community centre at the Islington estate. Maria: “We couldn’t carry on moving from place to place. … Continue reading
Life at the Top
” I enjoy coming back home when I’ve been out and putting my key in the door because I live high up on the thirteenth floor. I wouldn’t like to live … Continue reading
Coffee Evening
Julie Hudson, a resident of Canon Hussey Court, talks about setting up a social activity at the community centre. “I just wanted to do something because I always come to the … Continue reading
The Red Nightie
Bev Carr and Maria Fitzgerald remember the unusual side of fundraising for the local school. “We were doing a charity night for the local school and we had to go … Continue reading
Aunty Mabel
Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Sue Rigg, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale pay tribute to one of the Islington estate’s best loved residents. “Do you remember Aunty Mabel? She was so involved with all … Continue reading
“It makes you different as a person”
Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Sue Rigg, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale talk about their experience of getting involved in community work at the Islington estate. “I think it changed us as people. It … Continue reading
Redevelopment
Sue Rigg, Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale “We lost around about one and a half thousand families. That is a lot of people and a lot of families that … Continue reading
We needed space: the story of the community centre (part 1)
Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Sue Rigg, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale remember the struggle to get a community centre at the Islington estate. Maria: “We couldn’t carry on moving from place to place. … Continue reading
Community work is for everybody
Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale, Sue Rigg talk about their experiences of community work on the Islington estate in the 1980s. “The community work was for everybody. It was … Continue reading
Opening Horizons
Ursula Sossalla-Iredale, Sue Rigg remember the Salford International Community Exchange Group and talk about its impact on the young people who participated in international visits in the 1980s. “We ran … Continue reading
Remembering Joe Falconer
Ursula Sossalla-Iredale and Maria Fitzgerald remember Joe Falconer who got involved in activities at the community centre. Ursula: “Joe Falconer was from Arboath, he was a sign writer who lived … Continue reading
Changing lives
Sue Rigg, Maria Fitzgerald, Bev Carr, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale talk about what community work means to them. “The effects of community work are long-term, it’s not just bums on seats it’s … Continue reading
Women from England
Maria Fitzgerald, Ursula Sossalla-Iredale, Sue Rigg and Bev Carr, founders of the Islington Community Centre remember a trip to Glasgow to find out about regeneration and community growing projects in … Continue reading
How I got started
Sue Rigg recalls how she got involved in community work. “It started off I was a single mum, me and another woman who I used to meet on Greengate in … Continue reading
Holiday memories
Founders of the Islington Community Centre Bev Carr and Maria Fitzgerald remember the trips and holidays they organised: “What is nice is that I get a lot of kids, well … Continue reading
Opening the Peace Park
“That is the opening of the peace park. We’d been in the community centre and we’d all made costumes with the children and then we’ve got people playing music a … Continue reading
The Stella Maris
Jack Hale of the Manchester Modernist Society tells the story of the Stella Maris, a seaman’s mission opened in St. James Street, Islington in 1966, taken over by the Salvation … Continue reading
“We tried to represent everything important to the school”
Kate Maddison of Chrysalis Arts looks back at the art work that was created at St. Philips School in Islington between November 1992 and June 1993 in collaboration with staff, … Continue reading
Building Respect: Chrysalis Arts and St Phillips School
“We had a good core staff at the school who got on board. Because of that the whole project went forward with energy. When you start to work with children … Continue reading
Conversations and International Exchange Work
In 1980 a group of youth and community workers (Dave Eatock, Richard Bundy, Davy Iredale and Ursula Sossalla-Iredale) working in Salford’s inner-city areas started the Salford International Community Exchange Group.Over … Continue reading
Beginnings – The Salford International Community Exchange Group
Davy Iredale: “The initial trip was a real catalyst because it worked tremendously well, despite the fact that we went in a very old bus with very little heating in … Continue reading
Self-Help and the Salford International Community Exchange Group
David Levinson: “People got involved with every part. We didn’t just go on a trip and think we’ve had our freebie. We got involved in the programme when we came … Continue reading
International Social Educational Exchanges (ISEE)
Davy Iredale: “All the clichés we hear ad nauseum today about empowerment, stakeholding etcetera etcetera, they were all being very practically done through the Salford International Community Exchange Group on … Continue reading
“Going to Poland Changed Everything”
In 1980 a group of youth and community workers working in Salford’s inner-city areas started the Salford International Community Exchange Group, with the aim of promoting international friendship and giving … Continue reading
Looking back on Salford’s multi-storey history
Salford’s Deputy Mayor David Lancaster talks about his long-term involvement with housing, first as a councillor in Eccles and then after 1974 in Salford. He looks back on the city’s … Continue reading
“I Don’t Know Where He Got His Courage From”
Resident of Arthur Millwood Court Joyce Cotgrave remembers how she met her husband Stanley. In the factories, the canteen, on my first day there you go to the lodge and … Continue reading
Just Like Laurel and Hardy
Joyce Cotgrave remembers a time when three was a crowd when she was courting Stanley: “Well as I say we were here on a Sunday night seeing the mother-in-law, the … Continue reading
The Baccherole
Joyce Cotgrave talks about her forty year relationship with Manchester’s Halle Orchestra “I’ve always loved classical music right from being at school. So I did a crafty move and I … Continue reading
Islington in Salford 