QUEEN MUM 1936

by Dave Roberts
I'm sure most people won't object to a little self-indulgence today of all days. 
This picture first appeared on the Middlewich Diary on Mother's Day 2012 and has appeared every Mother's Day since.

Dad, incidentally, made his first appearance here on Father's Day 2011. 

DAD AT WORK

And Mum, like Dad, played her part in Middlewich history at the height of our salt town days.
Mum was born in 1919 in neighbouring Moston and went to school in Elworth which she always said was  'a lovely place until Fodens ruined it'.
Her Mother, our Grandma Hodgkinson, was at one time in service with the Foden family.
Mum lived all her adult life in Middlewich and, like so many young women in the town, worked at Cerebos.
In 1936, when she was 17, she was crowned 'Salt Queen of Cheshire'* and our picture shows her wearing the beautiful dress which was specially made for the occasion and which, amazingly, still survives in the possession of the family.

* That was the title we were always told Mum held all those years ago, although there do not seem to be any records of any 'Cheshire Salt Queen' event. The 'Salt Queen of Middlewich' has proved equally elusive, although the local press has carried reports about a proposed revival of the 'Salt Queen of Winsford' title. Could that be the title that Mum held all those years ago?.

Whatever the truth of the matter, and whatever her actual Regal title was all those years ago, Mum, like all Mums, was a true Queen.

Mum passed away on Easter Sunday, April 16th 2006.


Mothers Day 2012


First published Mothers Day 2012. Republished Mothers Day 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

THE MIDDLEWICH PANCAKE BELL

by Dave Roberts

Middlewich historian and Clerk to the Middlewich UDC Charles Frederick Lawrence was a prolific collector of poetry and verse, particularly when it pertained to the town of Middlewich.

Here, for Shrove Tuesday, is a famous poem about the pancake bell which Mr Lawrence says in the publication Bygone Middlewich (Electro Bleach Club, Scientific Section, Middlewich, 1921) only ceased to ring, along with the Curfew (or 'Curfue') Bell within his 'recollection'.

So we're probably talking about sometime in the early to mid 19th century.

The Pancake Bell was rung to remind the people of Middlewich that it was time to gather all the ingredients together to make pancakes for the great feasting before the fasting period of Lent began.

Shrove Tuesday does not occur on the same day every year. Like Ash Wednesday and other Christian 'moveable feasts', the date is determined by the date of Easter which falls on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after March 21st. The beginning date, March 21st, was chosen because it is usually the vernal equinox (generally, the first day of spring). That is why this diary entry was published on the 13th February 2018, and the 5th March 2019. It will be interesting to see how the dates differ as the years progress.

VERSES ON THE MIDDLEWICH PANCAKE BELL

by The Rev'd Charles O'Niel Pratt, formerly Curate at Middlewich

What sound is that which greets mine ear,

As it sweeps along through the sky so clear?

Of millions of chickens it rings the knell,

For I wot it is the Pancake Bell.

Full many a farm-yard cock hath crowed,

And tender love on his wives bestowed,

But over her brood has waved the spell,

As sure as she hears the Pancake Bell.

And the housekeeper goes to the huxter's shop,

And the eggs are brought home and there's flop! flop! flop!

And there's batter and butter and savoury smell,

While merrily rings the Pancake Bell.

And with frizzle and fizz the condiment's tossed,

And dished, and dusted with sugary frost,

And the youngsters at home the fun can tell

That follows the sound of the Pancake Bell.

And into the batter will mistress fling

That mystic token, the marriage ring,

And the bosom of many a maid will swell

With hope as she hears the Pancake Bell.

For if smiles and loving looks be true,

Someone may whisper a word or two,

And when Lent is over, then Easter will tell

Its old, old story - the Wedding Bell.

First published on Shrove Tuesday, 13th February 2018
Re-published on Shrove Tuesday, 5th March 2019, 25th February 2020, 16th February 2021, 1st March 2022, 21st February 2023, 13th February 2024

FOLK & BOAT FESTIVAL 2022: BRINGING ON BACK THE GOOD TIMES!

 

Mr Graham Sivills is interviewed, in typically shambolic style, by Mr Roberts and points the way to the future of folk music in Middlewich and the World. Or something. Much has been said about 'putting the folk back into the Folk & Boat', but on Sunday afternoon at the Kinderton Hotel we managed to put the Folk & Boat Festival right back where it belongs. If you have a long memory you'll remember those magical Festival Sunday afternoons in the marquee, where we were all demob happy and up for it after all the stress and hard work of organising the Festival. We managed to recreate that wonderful Sunday afternoon feeling this year as we paid tribute to the Festival we were all a part of creating back in 1990. Right from the very beginning, the F&B has been supported by Middlewich Town Council and we invited along some of the Civic Dignitaries of yesteryear to enjoy the fun. Gracing us with their presence were: Dorothy Kelly-Hughes (aka Dot Roberts), who was Mayor of Middlewich in 1990, with husband Colin; Peter Cox (original F&B Committee member and Mayor in 1992) with son Ian, ex-Cllr Jim Basford and, representing the new breed of councillor, Mr Garnet Marshall. Other pioneers of the F&B present included Rita O'Hare (Secretary) with husband Mike, Mike Hough (Artistic Director), not forgetting Festival founder Richard Devaney and the man who guided the Folk & Boat from the very beginning, Dave Thompson. There were so many stories about how the Festival started and how it has managed, with the help of the MTC to survive and prosper for thirty years. And the music was the Real McCoy - the authentic and original sound of the Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival. Craig and Freddie Moores joined with Dave T to kick of the proceedings as The Salty Dog Blues band; Musical and Comedy genius Stanley Accrington came back to Middlewich to show us just how things were back in the day when we built up a great reputation for presenting comedy folk to the people of Middlewich. The Hayes Sisters from Stockport contributed a fabulous set, representing the younger folk sound which the F&B has always been careful to nurture. Local hero Snagger The Balloon Man was on hand to delight the kids with his amazing creations and Sarah Pearce was there to add some sparkly face-painting magic. And, of course, there were the Middlewich Paddies: Richard Devaney, Dave Thompson and Graham Sivills, the band that started the Festival all those years ago. It was my honour to introduce the whole show, just as I did in June 1990, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. There were so many well-wishers from the old days there, expressing their appreciation of the way we'd managed to recreate the magic of the Festival's early years. Many thanks to everyone who came along and helped us make it an occasion we'll always remember. If I've missed you out, don't hesitate to give my addled memory a nudge and let me know and I'll include you in this account..

NOW & THEN: TANNERY ALLEY/SOUTHWAY

 

Tannery Cottages as they were in the late 50s/early 60s. Although we refer to old photos of this public footpath as depicting 'Tannery Alley' in fact the name was changed to 'Southway' a very long time ago. Certainly those of us born in the early 1950s can't remember it being called anything else. What the name 'Southway' is supposed to mean is anyone's guess. It's one of those exquisitely meaningless names which local councils love. You can find out more about the area in this Diary entry, written during the 'Jack's' era: 

SOUTHWAY

Southway as it was in January 2024,  and the huge bulk of the Home Bargains store dominates the scene as it has done since the early 1980s. This building, which started life as a Gateway/Somerfields supermarket and later became Tesco and then the short-lived Jack's, looks relatively unaltered from the way it was in the early 1980s, but was in fact comprehensively rebuilt before Home Bargains moved in. The earlier semi-rural feel of Southway has largely disappeared. On the other side of the wall on the left-hand side, great changes have taken place; The much lamented Barclay House and the other prestigious homes in the area have all disappeared to be replaced by new housing, still at the time of writing under construction. Even further to the left, in Darlington Street, the hotch-potch of old industrial buildings, garages and flats which once formed one side of the street, have been replaced by Roman Court a retirement development built by McCarthy & Stone.