by Malcolm Pheby | Oct 2, 2019 | Manchester, Sport
Normally when British boxing legend Henry Cooper came to Manchester it was to fight at Belle Vue. But in June 1972 it was different. Cooper arrived at Old Trafford to captain a team in the long-running BBC quiz show Question of Sport. It was in the middle of the First...
by Malcolm Pheby | Sep 29, 2019 | Liverpool, Manchester, TV
It’s surprising how many stars have swapped the suburban driveways and gardens of Brookside for the cobblestones of Coronation Street over the years. Some are well known like Sue Johnston, who played Sheila Grant on Brookside before becoming landlady Gloria Price in...
by Malcolm Pheby | Sep 18, 2019 | Football, Manchester
An extraordinary new chapter in the life of former Manchester City manager Joe Mercer took the football world by surprise in May 1974. Mercer was in charge of Coventry City at the time after an acrimonious exit from Maine Road in 1971 which saw his car parking space...
by Malcolm Pheby | Sep 11, 2019 | Liverpool, Manchester, TV
It’s surprising how many stars have swapped the cobblestones of Coronation Street for the suburban driveways and gardens of Brookside. Oldham actress Nicola Stephenson, Rochdale-born Anna Friel and Rovers Return barmaid Sue Jenkins all started on the Street before...
by Malcolm Pheby | Aug 14, 2019 | Manchester, TV
The much-loved TV sitcom Last of the Summer Wine may have been set in West Yorkshire, but most of its stars were born and bred in Manchester. No less than seven of the major characters, ranging from the redoubtable Nora Batty to war veteran Walter ‘Foggy’ Dewhurst,...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jul 24, 2019 | History, Manchester
This week in July 1858, an extraordinary woman was born in the Manchester suburb of Moss Side. A clue to her future lay in the political backgrounds of her parents, Sophia and Robert Goulden. A Manx woman, Sophia was steeped in the social unrest that characterised the...
