Talking Shop
 

Some time ago I posted that Oswaldtwistle Players and Mid Pennine Arts were getting together to celebrate the local shops of Oswaldtwistle. Well, it's taken a little while but everything is in place now. We've got funding from Awards For All and this is what's happening.

From 6th July, I and a photographer will be visiting the shops in Oswaldtwistle to take pictures of them outside and inside their shops. We'll be asking lots of questions about how long the shop has been there and if they know any history about it etc.

This will form an exhibition which will be held at Oswaldtwistle Mills from 1st - 8th September. It will then be put into the Architruck (a big exhibition truck) and hopefully placed in a prominent place more centrally in Oswaldtwistle for a couple of days.

On Saturday 2nd September, Oswaldtwistle Players will be presenting the Flying Girlywhigs potted history of Oswaldtwistle. It will be fast, furious and very very funny. Time and venue to be confirmed.

There will also be a postcard pack produced which all shops who participate will get as a souvenir.

When all the other districts (this is also being done in Burnley, Rossendale, Pendle and along the Blackburn Road stretch of Accrington) have been done there will be a huge celebratory event and exhibition at Mid Pennine Arts (probably this time next year), there will also be a conference about the future for small independent shops and a coffee table book produced. In other words, it's all part of a very big project.

So, and this is probably the really interesting bit - how can you get involved?

Well, in conjunction with all this there is also a photography competition which anyone can enter. All you have to do is take a photograph of a shop either inside or out (you must have the shopkeepers permission) and ideally the shopkeeper will be on the photo although that's not essential.

You can load your pictures onto Accyweb and then vote in much the same way as other recent photo competitions. The winner will then be exhibited in the exhibition and will also receive a £50 voucher prize.

Click here to link to the gallery

I would like new pictures please so I realise it may take some time to co-ordinate. The gallery will be open to load photos until the end of July and then there will be one final week for voting. I'm really sorry but the photos must be of Hyndburn shops (sorry for all of you around the world) but anyone can vote for the winner.

I really hope you'll all get behind this project and support it. Local shops are dying out and we really need to promote them and help them.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Given that there are no shops left in Church, would it be possible to amend the rules a little bit? We could get various people photographed by their favourite traffic light - we've got lots of them in Church.

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Perhaps you should do it on Church Street in accrington, theres a wide variety of kebab shops there! ;)... Ah once the heart of accrington

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Gayle, I think that this is a very good idea, anything that creates an interest in small local shops is to applauded.
I fail to see why certain people only want to be negative.

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Whilst I appreciate what you are trying to say, about how our outlying towns have lost their shops, there are still some shops in Church. What about the ones on Henry Street?

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I'll be sending the attached leaflet to the shops on Union Road over the weekend. If anyone knows anyone who owns any of the shops can you encourage them to take an interest in it please?

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I think the most fasinating shop (architecturally) is Adam's barbers, by the Tinker. Other than the fact that they do an excellent job on my bouffant, it's interesting to enter there by the side entrance with the half door. I'm sure the photographer could get an unusual shot of them hanging out the door/over the river.

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It's a relatively new shop as well. Chris goes there too.

Does he only charge you half price? ;)

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No. It's usually 50p, but I always give 'em a good tip.:)

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Just to post... I think it's a great idea, to get to know the local shops better, my comment was more a dig at what accrington is turning in to, rather than any sort of dig at what you're doing in ossy :D

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Is ASDA classed as a shop? people do go shopping in ASDA.

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Yes asda is a shop. Asda in rawtenstall was featured in a eight page spread in the freepress at the end of last summer to mark the comming of the new asda, it was entitled the asda years. That was the edition featuring the space ship panoptican if I remember right.

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There isn't an Asda in Oswaldtwistle though.

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I know, but they asked so I answered. It seemed the polite thing to do gayle. What is that classed as were asda is, is it classed as accy propper.

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I think all roads have shops dissappearing, the latest thing seems to be wait till ones empty then knock it down, take it and the land behind it for flats.

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This afternoon my Mum and I counted that there were thirteen small bakers shops in Ossy thirty years ago, now there are two.

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I made a post in that pram race thread, we had a pub to every 40 people including women and children.
times change. aldi and asda take their trade.

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That's because all the smokers are outcasts and have to drink at home.:D

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Bet more will close now

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We'd love to do everything but can't so we've selected a few areas.There was nothing overly clever about the way we chose the areas.

The reason that Blackburn Rd was identified is because it is part of the Elevate area and Elevate are sponsoring part of the project.

I agree there are some wonderful shops on Warner St but they're not undergoing any sort of regeneration programme at the moment like Blackburn Rd is.

and Oswaldtwistle was chosen because I live here and got the funding for Oswaldtwistle.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Just been out in Ossy delivering leaflets to all the shops to tell them that I'd be visiting them soon. I didn't get chance to speak to many people but it was half and half reaction of 'oh, that's an odd thing to do' and 'oh, that sounds like a good idea'.

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I've been wanting to do this down here, to put the pictures and interview on my site, but so far all I've got is questions asked about me, why, who are you, who do you work for, why, why , why, we will make you talk. Very defensive, dunno why, it not only advertises their business, but tells people what they sell and how long they've been trading.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Well, I delivered a leaflet and explained that it was lottery funded. Also, I wasn't putting them on the spot and asking them to pose there and then so they'll have time to think about it.

Plus, I am kindof well known around here and some people know what I do so it's not that hard to get a foot in the door. But if you want to do it go for it. Once you've got a few interested people you can use that to persuade the rest.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Fantastic - the first entry in the gallery. Thanks Mick for starting it off.

The shop on Blackburn Rd has recently been demolished but was a hardware store that sold just about everything. A great piece of history lost but remembered.

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Thats what happens when you run down Union road naked after a good night out :D







Only joking of course :p

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Hmm I'll see, they're a strange bunch here, they're all mad. I'll think a bit longer and watch how this goes. Have you got the questions sorted?

I don't think we've ever had anythin lottery funded, is that difficult to get?

Re: Talking Shop
 

No, it's not that hard. You need to be in a formal group and it needs to have a constitution and a bank account with at least three signators. Other than that it's just a case of filling in the form properly and making sure you explain the project thoroughly and in a way that would interest the funding providers.

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So we can enter shops that have been demolished? I think I've missed the point of this somewhere.

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I want recent or new pictures. As Mick kindly decided to set the ball rolling with a picture to illustrate the type of thing I'm looking for it seemed a good idea to include it.

Ideally they would be new photos taken specifically for this competition.

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I've just taken a picture of a shop here to put on my site as a story on new businesses opening. I takes the picture walks in somerfield , goes round doing my shopping and this guy walks up to me demanding to know why I took the photo. I said it's for a web site. he then demanded business name, to which I said it's not a business, then he wanted my name and address and suggested I was lying that I was doing it free for a not for profit site. He said what I was doing was illegal and I was doing wrong and I knew it. He was drunk to,quite agressive, I thought we were going have fisticuffs over it lol. It wasn't till after I realised I didn't know which shop he was on about, I'd assumed it was the one with people in it, but thinking about it it looked like he'd been waching from one of the pubs.


Comments please.

Re: Talking Shop
 

That's why I suggested that you approach the shopkeepers first to get permission.

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It's not illegal to take pictures of anyhting in the public domain. You can take pictures of streets and shops all day long. But it is better to ask. good manners and less likely to be accosted..

If taking pictures of shops then I would suggest a poloriser filter.. you can get them for digital cameras that take filters ... a polorizer willl reduce the reflection from the window.. you will be able to take a pic of window and stock rather than of yourself and this side of street.

I recently sold spare ones for a digital camera I had... I have a large one for my DSLRs... I will have a bash as at a very loose end at the moment :( haaa bless :)

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When I worked in fashion, I always chased people away who took photos of the wondows without telling us what they are for.

Tourists fine, competitors rippin' off your designs bad.

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Didnt have time to do a shop today as an example...but water has the same reflection as glass so I did an example while at the thing in ossy today... Should show you the benefit of a polorizer filter if doing a shop window.

http://www.kipax.com/mbgfx/reflection.jpg

Re: Talking Shop
 

Which is best? depends on what your trying to do I suppose.
I'm not too fussed about the contents kipax, cos it's the shop, the building I'm taking in this case. I'm cataloguing the buildings but also these were for a story on new shops opening up.
I haven't got a decent digital, only my phone. I could use the my trusty old cannon t90 but phtographing every shop front and every building would make it too expensive.
What annoyed me, is this guy wasn't even the shop owner or a worker, and he was drunk, and he followed me in sommerfiels half hour after the event. Shop keepers often do interogate me, some even say they don't want me to, but at the end of the day it's a public place. I can return when they're not there, but as I go at 7 in an evening they rarely are anyway. Some after a chat are fine about it.
Thing is they're getting a free online advert in the business board.

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Where's the thing? is it as quiet and peacefull as it looks?

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yes it is.... see other threads on foxhill bank nature reserve.... couple of minutes walk from cenotaph bang in middle of ossy

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I live right next to it and it was lovely and quiet until stray photographers started telling everyone how wonderful it is and encouraging people to go there! :D

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Now theres coach parties and talk of a macdonalds right behind gayles back garden :)

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I know and I'm blaming you Kipax!

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lol I'll take a look if I'm up that way working, or if I go to a meet I'll have to come up during the day.

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Well, it looks like I'm going to have good weather to start the project tomorrow. I was dreading having to walk up and down Union Rd in the rain.

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Well, I had a fantastic day on Thursday, despite being called a flasher. We took some brilliant pictures and everyone was so friendly and generous - if we'd have taken everyone up on the free food that they offered we'd have needed wheeling home.

Out of about 35 shops we only had two people who declined and both for very different reasons.

We're going back some time later in the week to talk to a few people we missed.

The drama part of it is going to be performed on 2nd September at 2pm. More details to follow soon.

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I hope you sorted out a venue.

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Well, I just had a thought about that and I wonder if we'll need some sort of performance licence from the council to do it at Jubilee Gardens. I'm going to look into it. I'd hate to have to cancel it or move it at the last minute.

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Jubilee Gardens is an odd place, it is not HBC land but privately owned. HBC appear to keep it tidy as the owner does not. I am not sure who does own it.

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I'm going to talk to the Co-op and I've already sent a quick email to the Area Council bods.

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You'll see I've added a poll to this thread to try and guage how often people use their small independent stores.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Is the Co-Op a small independant shop? I suspect it is not.

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No, I'm not counting the Co-op as a small independent shop. When I said I was going in to talk to them it was to ask if I could put the exhibition truck on their carpark and whether Jubilee Gardens belonged to them to do the drama thing there.

It's council land though and I've spoken to the person who can give me the permission.

Re: Talking Shop
 

So Jubilee Gardens belongs to the Council. I did not think it did.

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I said weekly for a few items but I almost use the Co-Op daily.

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Could you get me a pint of milk then?

I'll leave the money on the sideboard.

Thank you.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Just had some of the pictures back from the photographer - they are fab! Really looking forward to the exhibition now.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Do you have the dates for the exhibition yet?

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1st to 7th September at Oswaldtwistle Mills then on the 8th September it will be transferred into the Architruck and moved to the top end of Ossy. I'm just trying to find somewhere to park it at the moment - hoping for Co-op's car park.

Re: Talking Shop
 

how often do I use small independant shops? we haven't got a lot of non small independant shops to use. somerfield, co-op, Aldi-tsssk, and martins, thats about it.

Does the londis garage shop count as a local independant though?

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The shops that could be classed as local to me are too far away from me to walk without experiencing extreme discomfort – OK pain then – and too near to justify driving to them. So I tend to use just Asda and Iceland. Of course the cost comes into the equation too.

But if Asda carries on discontinuing branded products in favour of their own *!!* brand then I will be forced to stop using Asda.

Yesterday I wanted some spaghetti but they only had their own brand. No more Buttoni or the other brands.

Asda is getting too greedy!

Re: Talking Shop
 

Can I bring everyone's attention to the first post in this thread about the competition. We've only had one entry so I'm going to extend it a little and allow any shops into the competition.

So, all you need to do is post a shop related photo.

Re: Talking Shop
 

Exhibition is now up in Oswaldtwistle Mills.

Don't forget to come to Jubilee Gardens tomorrow at 2pm to see the play.

If you can't make it to Ossy Mills to see the exhibition, it would be great to see you next Friday when I'm sat in the Architruck all day - could do with some company!

Re: Talking Shop
 

Sadly I can't come and see Shadey's play this afternoon, as I'm off to see Steptoe and Son with Lettie and Sparks in Manchester.

Hope the weather picks up for you, and I look forward to seeing the exhibition tomorrow.

Break a nail.:D

Re: Talking Shop
 

Well, first slight disaster - I've had to withdraw the exhibition from Ossy Mills. The panels that the pictures were hung on weren't stable, partly because the floor isn't flat and partly because they weren't constructed sturdily enough.

The exhibition is still going to be in the Architruck on Friday, 10.30 to 4pm and I'm going to find a new venue for them asap.

Sorry if anyone had planned to go later in the week but see you on Friday instead.