A huge thank you to Peter and Barbara Snape for an excellent afternoon of words and music which shone a new light on our local heritage.  Using broadsheets and old songs, the first half related to the all important cotton industry.  It was a particular pleasure to see some of the words exchanged between President Abraham Lincoln and the local people of Manchester and vice versa, recognising the huge sacrifices made by the Lancashire workers (Manchester was a proud city in Lancashire then) in support of the President’s fight to abolish slavery.

After coffee and biscuits, the music continued but now focussed on the lives of the coal miners and their families.  The songs together with the pictures, served to highlight the abysmal working conditions of those toiling in the pits but it was interesting to hear that when legistion was proposed to improve the lives of women, they fought back to retain a chance of earning a living.  Fascinating.

All in all an extremely professionally presented programme, so thank you to Peter and Barbara.  Was the fact that the subjects related closely to other recent talks and excursions planned or serendipity?  You must decide for yourselves!