Look back at how we chilled out in the sun
bathers at the Galleon Pool in Didsbury in June 1960.
The Galleon was the first open-air pool to open in the north west and was extremely popular through the hot days of the 1970s.
Fairs and carnivals are a hallmark of long summer days.
A favourite is the annual Stockport Carnival – the region’s biggest – which every year raises thousands of pounds for local charities. Often the carnival has a theme. This year it’s the circus. In 2015, when our picture was taken, the broad theme was the Wild West which inspired many colourful floats and costumes.
This year’s Stockport Carnival takes place on Saturday, July 22, with the traditional parade through the town centre and fun day at Woodbank Park.
Probably not taking part in the Stockport parade, but ready for the open road, is the caravan Bolton man George Brown bought for his old horse Duke in April 1949.
When George retired from his carrier business he couldn’t bear to be parted from Duke, so he spent a year turning a broken-down gipsy caravan into a touring home from home.
George explained that Duke loved the open road so he and his wife Jennie, with grandson Brian, left the Bolton home they’d lived in for 40 years for their first trip to the Lake District.
Duke seems quite happy with the new arrangement.
Finally in our summer sun round-up we head to the beach at New Brighton in April 1959 and expert nappy-changer Gerald Perkins, aged 36, from Eccles.
With one safety pin in his mouth, he deftly pins the side of 11-monthold daughter Una’s nappy.
Suits and ties abound as beachwear for a day out was a little more formal in the 1950s.
And proving that the beach is always a magical place for youngsters is 12-month-old Alison Smith from Cheetham Hill, Manchester, playing in the sand at Blackpool.
The photo dates from May 1953, but the smile on her face is timeless.
Memorable pictures like these – and many more like them from the M.E.N. archives – feature in Clive Hardy’s latest book Around Manchester in the 1960s. Clive’s previous book, the muchacclaimed Around Manchester in the 1950s, is also on sale.
Around Manchester in the 1950s and Around Manchester in the 1960s, published by Manchester-based business iNostalgia, retail at £19.99 each with free postage for M.E.N. readers. Just go to inostalgia.co.uk to place your order or fill in the coupon in this supplement. Or you can ring our hotline on 01928 503777 to place your order.