March 2013 – John D Eccles

31/03/201301/04/2013

You Can’t Beat a Bit of Live Music to Make You Feel Good!

Let me set the scene. After what seems like months of being housebound and almost at the point of becoming stir crazy, tonight I have been lucky enough to go to a place that not only serve alcoholic beverages but they also have an almost unique sales proposition.

They are mad enough to put on very good live music acts. Maybe its only once a month but its keeping something alive which is on the brink of becoming extinct.

To add to my spring like insanity we decided to invite our grandkids along to see what they thought of it. I was surprised on several levels because one, they agreed to come and two they actually looked like they enjoyed it. Apart from one complaint that they couldn’t hear what each other were talking about.

So here is my question to all of you thirty / forty somethings out in suburbia when did your kids last go to a live band playing live music. Now I am not counting Karaoke, I mean real people playing real instruments and singing without the aid of auto tuning. I suspect not many.

Now I am not trying to sound righteous or superior and I admit at your age I was that busy paying the mortgage that I didn’t have the time or money to partake in such activities. But to watching young people’s faces whilst listening to a band who are playing songs they have only heard on the radio is magical. Its an expression which is a mixture of recognition and the fact that it doesn’t quite sound the same but in the words of my 10 year old granddaughter, “its very loud but brilliant”.

Whilst in-between sets I now realise I am now beginning to sound like my Dad, I was remonstrating with another grumpy northern bloke that when we were young you could go out any night of the week and listen to a live band and it was nothing special.

How little did we know that in the space of thirty years it would no longer be the norm but a treat to be savoured whenever the opportunity arose.

So here is my request to everyone. Just think what activities you enjoyed when you were young. Try to give your children or grandchildren the chance to have the experiences you enjoyed as a kid. Mine include running down a beach trying to fly a kite, the magic of listening to a band who for that moment in time gave you a feeling like nothing you have ever felt before, the magic feeling that sends shivers down your spine.

Putting it simply give them a chance to live in the moment, experience what we have taken for granted and unfortunately let disappear from our lives, because one thing I have learned is that once it has gone, it has gone forever.

24/03/201320/07/2015

Ice Station Diggle

Diggle – Photo by Oldham Mountain Rescue

There are various advantages to living in Saddleworth the great friendly people who still think its important to put something back into the community they live in, the beautiful countryside and on hot sunny days the quietness of the moorlands that give you a time to mentally recover from what life throws at you in this hectic 21st century way of life.

This time last year it was warm enough for our first BBQ of the summer, this year on the other hand It would take me twenty minutes to dig it out of the snowdrift it is lodged in.

Having said all that on Saturday evening we had tickets to see Jersey Nights at the Opera House in Manchester. We left Saddleworth around five looking like a pair of Arctic explorers prepared for every eventuality and set out by car.

By the time we had got down to Ashton there was little in the way of snow and by the time we reached Manchester there was non at all. Now this is good news in one way but the strange looks you get from people when you arrive in Manchester dressed like trainee mountaineers is a little disconcerting.

I can also say that the Opera House gets very warm when you are wearing thermals and several layers of clothing, I think I lost a stone in weight by the time the show ended. (which was very good considering I don’t do musical theatre).

When we came to return home the temperature in Manchester was two degrees. By the time we reached Ice Station Diggle it was minus two, that is some temperature drop in the space of ten miles.

The weather this weekend up here on the top of the world has been challenging to say the least. Snow has come down in bucket loads and what has made it worse is the wind has gathered it up and put it in places that are far better off without it.

So to the point I am trying to make. If you live in Saddleworth you dress according to the weather and you know when to try and travel and when not to. I have a stick in the front garden and if the snow covers it I know to get back in bed until the first bus passes through.

This comes from the collective experience that says trying with hundreds of other commuters to get over the hilltops that surround us is a fruitless exercise which prevents the snowploughs from clearing the roads in an efficient manner.

I suppose we all take for granted that someone will come and rescue us should we find ourselves in trouble. But I always think that if you do not put yourself in the position in the first place then the emergency services will be free to help people who really need help.

This weekend our intrepid Mountain Rescue Team have been incredibly busy working in conditions that would give every Health and Safety person palpitations.

What makes me appreciate these individuals is not the unquestioned bravery or the obvious expertise, it is that these dedicated professionals do it because they care about the environment they live in and they feel they make it safe for less experienced individuals to take advantage of our beautiful moorlands.

So I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the volunteers and fundraisers of the Mountain Rescue Team that help make Saddleworth a safer place to live in.

20/03/201309/04/2013

Park Life

I have been on a location recce (reconnaissance) for a film that will be in production the first week of Easter. Most of the film is set in a park that needs to have a secret garden feel but with enough features to make filming scenes interesting.

After much racking of brains and ringing of hands someone in the production team suggested Alexander Park in Oldham. So for an hour this afternoon in the freezing cold we embarked on our location spotting exercise.

Now I personally have not been in the park in years and what a pleasant surprise I had. Even in the cold blue light of this wintery March weather it still was fantastic. On a warm sunny day I can image it would be great for a walk through the grounds littered with very interesting statues and bridges.

I was told that one statue in particular is the only one in the country who wears a top hat, how true that is, I am not sure. The whole place has a great gothic feel about it and should make the film look fantastic.

It only goes to show that you don’t have to travel too far in our wonderful country to find hidden gems, how lucky we are.