No wartime spirit here in Oldham

A NEW report looking at the effects of the recession claims it has unleashed wartime spirit.

Workers who contributed to the findings said there was a ‘refreshing surge’ in camaraderie.

The survey of 1,000 workers found employees were trying hard to keep their spirits high despite economic gloom.

Two-thirds said they had adopted the Second World War ethos of keeping calm and carrying on.

Evening Chronicle reporter Marina Berry asked people in Oldham town centre if the credit crunch had changed their relationships with colleagues and community...

Janet Street is currently on sick leave from work, but said there had been no surge in wartime spirit where she lives in Manor Road, Oldham.

She said neighbours rarely bothered with each other, other than to just say “hello” and there was no increase in help or support from anyone. She is struggling to bring up her 14-year-old daughter against rising costs, and said she was expected to “live off peanuts.”

Jennifer Barrett works at Hyde’s newsagent’s on Oldham indoor market, and she said she had noticed little difference since the recession began. She said: “Everyone is more or less the same, but I have noticed that the whole of the market is a lot quieter. People have a general moan, but I wouldn’t say it was any more than usual.”

Seventy-one-year-old Eric Street, of Sedgefield Park, Lees, said he was unaffected by the credit crunch, purely because he had everything he was likely to need for the next few years, although this could change for the worse in the long term.

He said it was more of a problem now for his sons who run a Saddleworth-based taxi firm, where business had dropped off in the evenings because fewer people were going out socialising. But his sons were getting more business from trips to Manchester Airport as fed-up Oldhamers sought a temporary escape by going on holiday.

Royton man Rick Barber works for Oldham Council, and said morale had been affected by the credit crunch, but he hadn’t seen any change in the way workers treated each other.

He said there was no evidence of wartime spirit in his office, but he had noticed people were more cautious about spending money and going out.

Singer comedienne Jackie Dijon, aka Jackie Brierley, said the credit crunch had forced her back into her day job at Millfield Residential Home in Waterhead.

She said the pub and club scene had virtually disappeared in Oldham, and where once she could get work six nights a week, she was now lucky to get a couple of nights work each week.She said pub and club-owners would no longer pay her set fee, and haggled for a better deal because there were so many acts out of work.

Jackie also said she was not aware of any camaraderie or wartime spirit, and said it was the reverse, with people seeming to keep more to themselves and staying at home.

Paul Mates lost his job at Mossley Electro Platers through the credit crunch, and was in Oldham heading for an interview. He said people’s attitude had not changed, but they were less likely to be seen out and about spending money, opting instead to stay at home and save.