A RAIN CHECK REQUIRED FOR THIS SUNDAYS PROPOSED ECCLES HISTORY WALK

Sadly the Gods seem to be frowning down on me at the moment regarding the Eccles History Walk this Sunday with rain threatening to proverbially pee on my parade, chuck into the mix the closure of The Albert Edward pub on Church Street, where it was planned to hold a quiz and perhaps have some food...

The walk more of a limp actually will hopefully start at Eccles Railway Station, Church Street at 12pm and finish about 1:30pm/2pm

Some people are under the impression that this is a pub crawl around Eccles...No Sirree, far from it, we shall have a pint or a half in The Lamb, then walk around Eccles at The Eccles War Memorial and then hopefully a suitable venue for the quiz and food will be sorted...any suggestions?

But what will I learn on this educational walk I hear you scream from behind your tightly, drawn curtains, bear with me and I shall spill the beans, not all of them, you have to join the rest of the curious rabble on the tour.

You will stand slack jawed in amazement as you learn about horrific train crashes, and fatalities one in particular a first in the world, who on earth would put arsenic in the local beer causing deaths galore, men and women, mainly women to be honest, rampaging mobs, hell bent on smashing up shops and pubs, secret tunnels, body snatchers, millionaires, foul mouthed Mynah birds, 'orrible suicides, long gone, shops, cinemas, pubs, the cholera mass burial pit, Eccles Cross it's origins and mishaps, Fred Engels and his chums, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, Beatlemania (The Kinks) as screaming girls pursue pop stars wielding scissors, Eccles race course, yes we did have one, Eccles cakes and a bizarre death by a lightning bolt...need I go on?

Know here is the good bit, where you the reader can feel better about yourself, I intend charging a measly £5 for this two hour extravaganza or if your tight chuck what you can afford in to the collecting bucket wielded by my bodyguard Karl, all of the money raised will be split between the Mustard Tree Foodbank and Salford Unemployed and Community Resource Centre on Liverpool Road, Patricroft, who both do sterling work helping those less fortunate in our community, and disgraceful in my opinion that we need foodbanks in this day and age..

Also if you have any spare tins of food lurking at the back of the cupboard, pasta, toiletries etc please bring them along and they will be shared with the foodbanks. Karl likes Pineapple Chunks or Sliced Peaches.

I think I have covered everything, the last walk before Covid struck attracted lots and lots of people, a bit too many as I had to shout through a rolled up newspaper so I could be heard, perhaps it could be limited to, shall we say 25 people?

Let me know what you think and try and keep it clean, children read these pages, so weather and the police permitting we set sail at 12pm from Eccles Railway Station. 

See you there.