How it had changed

It was nice reading the article from Rose Buckley in issue 21 and her reminiscences of Miles Platting, which took my thoughts, back to John Boardman the Greengrocer in the late thirties. When my pal Alan Sagar and I used to follow him around Tripe Colony, from his first stop on Joynson Street. After serving his regular customers he used to go for a cup of tea, whilst we looked after his cart. I’m sure he knew that we used to pick the odd carrot off his cart to feed to his donkey! I do recall on occasions, he got us to take messages or pick up things from his shop in Lime Street, which was quite a walk, but Mrs. Boardman always gave us an apple or pear.

I originally went to Holland Street School from 1934 to 1938 where I was in the same class as Arthur Almond, George Wright, Arthur Anderson, Bobby Ward and many more whose names and faces have passed into time, but memories I shall never forget. I spent my last school years from 1938 to 1942 at St. Luke’s School from where I left at 14 years of age. Eventually I left Manchester to live and work in various parts of the country I spent almost 25 years living and working in Malvern in Worcestershire until Retirement in 1988, when my wife and I returned to live in Manchester. It was nice coming back home after forty years; but how it had changed! Holland Street School had gone and Philips Park was not as I remembered it in the thirties and forties! Also in 1994 I watched the house where I lived between 1928 to 1948 being destroyed together with the rest of Tripe Colony.
Harold Foulkes