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LANCASTER in flight over the Chadderton factory.

‘An honour to work here’ — Tracey, a former Miss BAE

THE Chronicle continues its countdown to the closure of the historic BAE Systems in Chadderton with a look at the war-winning Lancaster bomber, and the close-knit ‘community’ feel of the company.


GLAMOROUS Tracey Williams remembers with embarrassment and a smile the time she was crowned Miss British Aerospace.

The Royton beauty was mixing it with the stars as she was the company’s face for a

Date published: 22/02/2012

Magnificent men and their flying machines

Designer Roy Chadwick — the father of the Lancaster. A blue plaque at the Greengate site acknowledges his claim to be

WE reveal some of the stories and personalities behind Chadderton’s link with aviation history - the Greengate Avro site, which closes for good next month
ALLIOTT Verdon Roe and Roy...

Date published: 21/02/2012

Kevin sets out his stall

Martyn MEETS... Coliseum chief Kevin Shaw. Act One (sorry) of a two-part interview
DESPITE being akin to a circus master without a ring, Kevin Shaw remains remarkably upbeat and ebullient.

Kevin is, of course, the indefatigable chief executive and artistic director of the Oldham Coliseum — a theatre company without, well... a theatre.

The Fairbottom Street...

Date published: 21/02/2012

How I used to line the pockets of the CID

THE FRIDAY THING: The Leveson inquiry into the dirty deeds of the the media — fuelled by so-called stars who want to see their glittering smiles in the paper every day but come over all petulant when the spotlight shines on their less-savoury activities — hasn’t yet had evidence from the good folk of Oldham, or indeed hacks from this law-abiding organ.

So...

Date published: 17/02/2012

The soccer wolf in a sheepskin coat

Alan Hardy with his award from the Manchester FA for his contribution to football

Martyn meets... Alan Hardy, the Latics (and Mossley) legend.
TAKE a walk down the Hilton Arcade in Oldham town centre the next time you are up town.

There is a pictorial history of...

Date published: 14/02/2012

Oh, what a tangled web we weave . . .

with a turkey baster to conceive!
NOW here’s a headline that captures the spirit of the times: “Son caught in middle as lesbians accuse gay father of breaking access deal”.

Apparently the mother of the boy, who is now two years old, met the father in a London restaurant and, over a no doubt lavish dinner, agreed that he would be the father of the...

Date published: 10/02/2012

Revealed: the secret lives of cafe boss Mike

RELAXED: Mike Cumiskey in his new life far from the fast lane of high-speed patrol cars

Martyn meets... a former Royal driver, private detective and former lighthouse dweller Mike Cumiskey
IF you go down to the park today there won’t be a big surprise... just a...

Date published: 07/02/2012

Toal the tenor is the business...

Opera Singer Martin Toal

Martyn meets... Martin Toal — the local with the vocals!
OLDHAM can lay claim to one of the country’s foremost tenors although you won’t find too many folk singing...

Date published: 31/01/2012

Is Your House Weatherproof This Winter?

Pro Pointing

With all the recent wet weather and winter fast approaching maybe now is a good time to inspect the pointing on your home.

Date published: 27/01/2012

Making hard work of identifying skivers

THE FRIDAY THING:

THE millions of hard-working souls (of which we have a great number in Oldham) will have a unique perspective on the Government’s sabotaged plan to put a £26,000 cap on the amount of benefits those who are not working can claim.

They will wish that their low-paid and often menial and unpleasant jobs were rewarded with a wage of...

Date published: 27/01/2012

DJ breaks silence on big plans for future

LARGER than life: his departure from local radio station 96.2 The Revolution was far from ‘the beginning of the end’ for Big Al as he looks to the future with renewed optimism

Martyn meets... Alan Nield — the fascinating, entertaining, likeable extrovert known to radio fans as DJ ‘Big Al’
SOME people are simply larger than life — and I...

Date published: 24/01/2012

World domination starts in Shaw

THE FRIDAY THING: IF you think you can hear “We’re all doomed” — the plaintive cry of Frazer from the brilliant “Dad’s Army” — above the din of traffic jams then the odds are you’re in either Saddleworth or Shaw, where parish councillors are under threat from an invasion of revolutionary Localismists, led by Jim McMahon,...

Date published: 20/01/2012

Winning formula of a woman on the up

ALL smiles: Debbie Abrahams MP. Picture by DARREN ROBINSON

LUNCH with an MP, even at a trattoria in Oldham, means I have finally made the big time — my name will be in the Register of Members’ Interests at the House of Commons....

Date published: 17/01/2012

Soccer has been Simon’s salvation

Simon Cooper: power of positive thought

A FORMER football hooligan and heroin addict is inspiring young boys to reach for the stars — through the power of football.

Recovered addict Simon Cooper (40), from Failsworth, is...

Date published: 28/12/2011

In a bit of a pickle...

THE FRIDAY THING: IT all seemed to be going so well. With the threat of another major strike hovering over us all, negotiations between the Government and the public sector unions were going really well and there was even talk of agreement. And then in rolled big Eric!

The Tories wrecking ball’s contribution to the negotiations was, surprise, surprise, to scupper the...

Date published: 23/12/2011

Blown away by global success

WHISTLER supreme: Dave Morris

MARTYN MEETS... Dave Morris, Oldham’s champion whistler
WHISTLE while you work is a well-known refrain — and Dave Morris’s beguiling ability to whistle a little tune has...

Date published: 13/12/2011

60 steps to NHS care could prove terminal

THE FRIDAY THING: IT’S unfortunate that the people who would probably know best about the quality of care they received in hospital are now in the cemetery.

I wonder if health minister Andrew Lansley is going to hire a medium to help set the 60 targets against which care will be measured?

According to Mr Lansley, 24,000 people a year could be saved from an early...

Date published: 09/12/2011

Magical Morgan is still a No.1 hit

Content at 60, but Morgan will be rockin’ on for a few years yet

MARTYN MEETS...Oldham entertainer Morgan Fletcher at 60
THERE really ought to have been a sign in the window: “Quiet please — hell-raiser in repose.”

Morgan Fletcher...

Date published: 06/12/2011

No union for mums - or hospital patients

THE FRIDAY THING: SO how was the strike for you? Were you on the picket lines or in a march trying to bring the country to its knees?

Were you Christmas shopping in Spindles or the Trafford Centre or were you forced to lose a day’s pay because the local school was closed and you had to look after the children and didn’t have enough money to go shopping for...

Date published: 02/12/2011

Flying nurse with an eye for adventure

Janet Dunkerley: restless

MARTYN MEETS... Janet Dunkerly
RESTLESS, impulsive, ambitious. At these descriptions Janet Dunkerley laughed uproariously yet denied only the middle adjective, which was plainly silly...

Date published: 29/11/2011

Euro so afraid of Iron Chancellor

THE FRIDAY THING: YOU have to hand it to the Germans, they may not be the best in the world at winning wars but when it comes to football, grabbing all the best poolside chairs and putting the squeeze on the rest of Europe without dropping a bomb they really are the king or should that be the kaiser!

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor might not have designs on becoming...

Date published: 25/11/2011

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