Comments on: Cherry Gilchrist On Cheshire St

By: Phil Maxwell

Phil Maxwell — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 14:37:58 +0000

Wonderful to see Colin’s photos with this article. Many thanks to the gentle author.

By: Marcia Howard

Marcia Howard — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 19:33:43 +0000

A great write-up and photos to illustrate same. Thank you.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 19:11:28 +0000

Good story.
If you’re reading this Cherry,
was Tigerlily up Mill road before the bridge, City centre side?
If so, I may have visited, but I fear it was the early eighties, where I purchased a natty black shirt with skulls all over it. Oh to be fashionable.

By: George Kearse

George Kearse — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 17:06:37 +0000

I’m always unsure reading ‘the amount of litter is horrendous’ ‘how unclean the streets were’ and other such comment when we’re looking at open air markets of the time.
Yes, there was litter, sometimes stacked high, but rarely is there litter left to be there day-to-day week-to-week.
Sure it can ‘look a mess’ but it’s a live open air market often not managed nor structured in any way for there to be a ‘clean up’ end of day.
It wasn’t so bad, most times it was unnoticeable, rarely did it become a congealed mess lying there weeks on end.
These are ‘open air street markets’ that existed by happenstance and sure most would probably never be allowed today to be that way end-of-day none-the-less they are reflective of the stark reality of an open air street market back then.
In some ways the life and soul has disappeared along the way to be replaced with something that is no longer a ‘bargain hunt’ ‘a surprise when poking around a stall or rummaging a box’.
One or two still exist not quite gentrified ‘n cleansed beyond the everyday just turning up ‘n pitching their wares no fees no watchful eye whatever.
The days of an individual just laying out their ware in the street are long gone, mores the pity given the end result today is so much more never gets to be seen to be snapped-up re-cycled whatever.
Some things have started to change in that respect with the benefit of online an avenue to get stuff out there but of the open air street markets of old most all are no longer in the sense of what we see in these photos never mind litter would be allowed or not.

By: Sonia Murray

Sonia Murray — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:21:07 +0000

The photographs are wonderful – those in winter bring back memories of walking to school in the snow. When did the Council decide to clean the area up? The amount of litter is horrendous – that would never be allowed today.

By: Hetty Startup

Hetty Startup — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 13:37:47 +0000

What a completely wonderful addition to your blog, Gentle Author. Both the story of the weekly trips from Tigerlilly in Cambridge and the accompanying photos do so much to convey the time period (when I was living near Old Street) and offer a bit of insight into the enduring inventiveness and capacity for creativity that we humans can have often with very little to begin with.

By: Christine Swan

Christine Swan — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 06:46:47 +0000

What wonderful memories. I could definitely rock a blue velvet tailcoat! I also enjoyed the post about tea with David Bowie – it is strange looking back over small incidents and realising what happened next. What an interesting blog!