DOCUMENT OLDHAM

Sunday, 20 April 2008

Celebrating the birth of Prophet Muhammad

Taken on the 23 March 2008, following the procession through the streets of Glodwick and Oldham town centre, ending at the AlMadina Jamia Mosque.

Saturday, 19 April 2008

Blackpool Comes To Oldham

Funfair off Oldham Road on the 23 February 2008.

Sunday, 2 March 2008

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Monday, 28 January 2008

Monday, 5 November 2007

Sunday, 28 October 2007

Hills Stores, Huddersfield Road

Friday, 19 October 2007

Young Mothers

Katrina & Bailey

Stacey & Marnie

Chelsea & Morgan

Stacey

Saturday, 6 October 2007

Refugee Social at the One World Centre

(Updated 5 November 2007)

Wednesday, 22 August 2007

Friday, 10 August 2007

Thursday, 9 August 2007

Friday, 3 August 2007

Michael, 22. Hathersage Street

"They started knocking these houses down in February. I've been working here four months now from 5.30pm til 9pm. It's really quiet. You get a few kids coming in messing about but apart from that it's alright, it's not bad." Michael, Security Guard, 22

Steph, 16. Edward Street.

Simone, 15. Edward Street.

Wednesday, 1 August 2007

Bob Lees Bookshop - George Street

"This was the first second-hand bookshop in Oldham since the other Bob died in the 1970s. Me job before I came in here was for the water-board, as a labourer. Then I left that when I started earning more money on quiz machines. Me and a mate basically cracked the code. We’d make £400 on a Saturday afternoon and thought, “there’s money to be made here.” I got myself a chauffeur, someone on the dole who used to ferry me around each day. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds because you’re drinking all the time. I did it for five years which got me the money to come here. I’d always said to myself if I ever made money, I’d buy those local interest books which are always expensive and sell them on. I found a shop in Rochdale and bought everything local they had, it was all there, everything I’d always wanted.

I've been here 13 years and they've just told me the rent's going up. Only the second time it's gone up in 13 years - not bad is it. I have 10,000 books down here and twice as many upstairs, all catalogued by memory. I've lost loads of sales recently though because I just can't find them. I've so little room to work in it's not easy. I need to get on this internet thing otherwise it'll be dominoes for me." Bob, Shopkeeper

Body & Soul - George Street

“Since I was eight or nine years old I used to do the markets with my dad. After I finished university I joined the family business as a wholesaler. Then we got into retailing but unfortunately there’s no future for independents. It’s very hard to make it pay. I’m thinking of a career change now, getting out of retail clothing and finding some business that could do better. Maybe importing and selling to stores. I’ve done this all my life, this is what I know best. I won’t be doing retail again though, it’s too much of a risk.

Oldham has never recovered from the trouble it had a few years ago. It used to be a very busy town but since then all the shoppers have started going to other towns like Manchester, Ashton and Rochdale. It was like someone had turned a tap off and once shoppers start to get into a habit it’s hard to get them back. You talk to any trader and they’re all struggling to make it pay.

Then there’s the increased competition. You can buy clothes from anywhere now - Sainsbury’s, TK Maxx, Primark. A lot of people want throw-away fashions. They buy something and wear it once or twice then go and get something else. They’re not looking so much for quality as they used to. We were already making a loss before Primark opened but since they opened our trade went down by half again.

We’re supposed to be out by the end of the month. Trade has been so bad we’ve not managed to clear the stock like we were hoping to, even though everything’s for £2 or £3. I’ve been here three years now and we’ve only made a profit for two months. It’s a shame because our expenses here are low. They tell me George Street used to be one of the busiest shopping areas. It’s attractive with cobbled stones and that but we don’t get many people walking by anymore. Once upon a time they had buses running through here which made the street more noticeable but nowadays they don’t let the buses through here. The only people who come from Spindles down George Street are basically those who are leaving Debenhams to get a lift home. The bulk of the shoppers into Spindles never even know about George Street.” Raj, Shopkeeper