Do you remember?

Swings and Roundabouts
Warners, Collins and Silcocks, are some of the Fairground people who brought “All the fun of the Fair” to parts of Manchester in the 1930s.

Two of the main sites where Fairs were held was the Albert croft on Queens road and Hilkirk Steet near Ashton New Road. It wasn’t just rides like the Dodgems, Waltzers or the Merry-go-Rounds that made up the Fair, there were slot machines and side-shows. Some side-shows were musical or dramas, Belly dancers, Strong men and the Bearded lady, There were also Midgets who worked on the Fair and they took part in entertaining just like in a Circus.

There was one Midget who was taller than the others so he was billed as “The Worlds smallest Giant.”
The Boxing booths were a great attraction, local lads would try their luck in staying three miutes with a boxer to win a couple of bob (shillings), if too many were winning, the prize money would drop the following session.
The Barkers were an attraction on their own, they used to shout enticements to the punters to lure them into the side-shows, one favourite “Roll-a-penny” had an attendant who called out “In the chute down she goes where she stops no-one knows. In the square I”ll pay you fair, On the line the Pennies are mine. Roll em down.” She refered to the head of Queen Victoria on the coins, there was still a lot of them in circulation in the 1930s.
A stall on the Fair sold cups of soup and a big slice of bread to dip in it, if you’ve never had “Black pea soup” and a dossers wedge you haven’t lived.

The big Steam Organs were very popular playing the tunes of the time. It all seemed to stop as time went by, perhaps “The merry-go-round“ really did break down.
Tom Connor

City View Pub Team
Most of my life was spent involved with sport, my main love being football. The photograph was taken of the pub team I used to play for, it was outside The City View’ which was on the corner of Lewis Street.

Although I say it myself, we were a good team. We won many cups and medals. Our team name was pegusas. We were local lads who grew up together from babyhood, as did our parents. We were great friends then, and still are though we may not see as much of each other as we did then.

The pub landlord’s name was Billy Newman he was well liked and respected by all, nothing was too much trouble for him.

Billy also had ‘The Lancaster pub’ next to the Osborne Picture House on Oldham Road. The Osborne is still there but I’m sorry to say, not as we knew it. Looking back I know we had a lot to be thankful for, we grew up in a close-knit community with many friends and memories.
Hadge Breakey