A trip down memory lane around Manchester....

[RadcliffeRick]

The mystery of Jonah, the giant whale who toured the UK in the 1950s

Decades before Damien Hirst’s shark, a truck full of formaldehyde carried a 70-ton whale around the north of England – but it barely made the news. Now, artist Fiona Tan is bringing back this strangest of sideshows

www.theguardian.com

Thanks for that. The story says the 50's too early for me, I am convinced I saw it around 1965. I wasn't around in the 50's

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Thanks for that. The story says the 50's too early for me, I am convinced I saw it around 1965. I wasn't around in the 50's

It says they toured for 20 years

 

[bluemanc16]

I always used to pass this place on Grey Mare Lane on the 53 bus going to Maine Road,I was always wishing I was older so I could go into places like that.

had some great nights in the Domino, seen some top artists and some rubbish one's Des O'Connor singing Dick a dum dum,

 

[RadcliffeRick]

It says they toured for 20 years

It will teach me to read all the article in future. I saw it again around 1967 in Zambia, it was stuck by the side of the road after Jack knifing on a road in the mountains

 

[Marklr]

The lost bus station that was under Manchester's Arndale

The Arndale bus station was open for less than two decades and closed in the most dramatic fashion - 25 years ago this week

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[Alan Oakes Shinpads]

I also remember the old Church building at the top of Dickinson road where they filmed the original Top of the Pops, there was a 53 bus stop just to the side.
Also remember the Rag and Bone man with his pony and cart, that was also back in the 60s.

Birch Villa and Roy Clarke`s Sports shop on the corner of Dickinson Road,studios were a bit further down on the left hand side as you went towards Birch Park.
A lot of the stars of the day went in the Welcome Inn nearby before and after performing there including a certain Mr Saville.

 

[Fat Chance]

Was that water not chlorinated?

I know not...presumably everything was pre-prepped for the tour ( sharston and wallasey)...nutty nodge couldnt contain himself and next news he was down to his keks and swan dived in the pool with flipper...teacher had a coronary with nodge throwin him a deaf en...thing was cause of his nuttyness he could hold his breathe for 4 minutes so flipper and the handler thought he was brill...halcyon days.

 

[LongsightM13]

Birch Villa and Roy Clarke`s Sports shop on the corner of Dickinson Road,studios were a bit further down on the left hand side as you went towards Birch Park.
A lot of the stars of the day went in the Welcome Inn nearby before and after performing there including a certain Mr Saville.

I went to Xaverian College for sixth form, 1986-88, and a group of us would occasionally walk over to the Sunrise chippy on Dickenson Road at lunchtime. One afternoon we noticed some TV cameras, press photographers and commotion on a grass verge across the road next to the Welcome so went over to have a look.
Apparently it was an anniversary (20 years?) of those studios opening and they had gathered a bunch of people who appeared/performed there for a photo shoot.
No Savile but we were treated to a football team-style line up including Ken Dodd, Alan ‘fluff’ Freeman and Bob Hoelness along with a few others I didn’t recognise. Funny as fuck, fair play to Dodd and Freeman, they came over and had the craic with a bunch of teenage lads who were mercilessly taking the piss out of them a few minutes before.
An eccentric elderly West Indian fella who lived in the houses built on the site kept opening his front door and shouting at them to “Gwaaan, fuck off!” every couple of minutes while they were being interviewed. Needed a few takes

 

[lazerblue]

dave granelli asking if i wanted "jungle juice" on me cornet from his horse drawn ice cream cart.
the ragbone man blowing his trumpet, if you had enough rags you got a bow and arrow,if not it was a balloon on a stick or a donkey stone

 

[roman totale]

The lost bus station that was under Manchester's Arndale

The Arndale bus station was open for less than two decades and closed in the most dramatic fashion - 25 years ago this week

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Hated that place and often got off or on one stop before or after to avoid going in there.
I was delighted to see in the comments section someone mention something that I’d completely forgotten about; when it was built the entrances were too low to fit a double-decker into and they had to lower the road to make it work. Insane.