Northampton

A selection of pics from Northampton in 1973 One of the stalls on the Market Square Traffic chaos at the old Banbury Lane level crossing - now replaced by a bridge. We used to go out there and watch the trains fairly often. For many years I thought there were no trains on Sundays because that's what my parents told me - presumably so I wouldn't bug them to go out there on Sundays as well... Not the sort of thing you stumble across in a field too often... Some from the Borough Show in Abington Park. The building work in the Town Centre continues, with the public still not suspecting how awful it's going to be. A summer evening at the pub - the Britannia on the Bedford Road. One from the front garden at home, showing the cherry(?) tree in blossom - it just *look* 1970s doesn't it? And one final one - dear god what the hell are those trousers??? Putting a 5-year old boy...
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Summer 1973

Pics from our summer holiday in 1973 - a trip up north, which will have been to stay with my father's parents near Hull. We went a bit further north, as well. The Transporter Bridge in Middlesborough - to be honest, until I saw this I never knew I'd been there. A couple for any Dr Who fans out there - an exhibition in Stockton-on-Tees. Not sure whether they supplied a sofa to hide behind. One of me and the Brother with our father - no idea where we are! A great piece of 1970s fashion sir! Skidby Mill near hull - I remember going there several times - pretty sure it was a functioning mill. Ah yes, a quick google and here it is. These last two show a fairly uninspiring set of workings and a bloody great hole in the ground. This building site became the Humber Bridge - there are some more pics to come from 1974, but I've never seen the bridge...
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Beckets Park

Starting off 1973, pretty much all of which is from the summer. These two sets are both from Beckets Park in Northampton. First up, the raft race in May '73 - was it organised by the Rotary Club? Seems to ring a bell. Anyway, first up are the Friends of the Earth - presumably thought of as a bunch of hippies back then, before they became so much more mainstream. The second pic appears to include the Mayor, in a suit, complete with chain, sat on a raft. The third one is the Nene Valley Mountain Rescue crew - presumably not a particularly busy organisation, given the lack of hillage in the area. I'm impressed by the last one - they seem to have built quite a good double scull! The second batch are from a boat rally in August. I do like the barge that's been converted into a replica battleship, and look at the size of the crowd!...
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