Brian Groom
@groomb.bsky.social
Ex-Financial Times Assistant Editor. Ex-editor Scotland on Sunday. Author of 'Made in Manchester' and 'Northerners: A History'. 'These Isles' due Feb 2026.
Pinned
Brian Groom
@groomb.bsky.social
· Nov 1
'Made in Manchester: A People's History of the City That Shaped the Modern World' and 'Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day', paperback and hardback. 'These Isles: A People's History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales' due 26 Feb 2026 (HarperNorth).
Smithfield Market, Manchester, 1907 (Archives+).
December 2, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Smithfield Market, Manchester, 1907 (Archives+).
Yates’s Wine Lodge, Liverpool, 1983, photo by Martin Parr.
December 2, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Yates’s Wine Lodge, Liverpool, 1983, photo by Martin Parr.
Winter Sunlight, Diggle, Saddleworth, painting by John McCombs, b.1943 (Saddleworth Museum).
December 2, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Winter Sunlight, Diggle, Saddleworth, painting by John McCombs, b.1943 (Saddleworth Museum).
Distant Viaduct, by Trevor Grimshaw (1947-2001). Born in Hyde, studied at Stockport College of Art, worked in advertising in Manchester. #NorthernArt
December 2, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Distant Viaduct, by Trevor Grimshaw (1947-2001). Born in Hyde, studied at Stockport College of Art, worked in advertising in Manchester. #NorthernArt
Poet Philip Larkin died on this day 1985, aged 63. To DJ Enright, 1955: 'I wish I could think of one nice thing I could tell you about Hull. Oh yes … it’s very nice and flat for cycling.' Photo outside the University of Hull, 1979, by Jane Bown.
December 2, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Poet Philip Larkin died on this day 1985, aged 63. To DJ Enright, 1955: 'I wish I could think of one nice thing I could tell you about Hull. Oh yes … it’s very nice and flat for cycling.' Photo outside the University of Hull, 1979, by Jane Bown.
Regulator backtracks on Manchester to London 'ghost train' plan. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
ORR reverses Avanti West Coast’s Manchester–London ‘ghost train’ plan
Plans to ban passengers from the 7am peak train service between Manchester and London have been abandoned after a U-turn by the ORR.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Regulator backtracks on Manchester to London 'ghost train' plan. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Lots of signed copies of both 'Made In Manchester' and 'Northerners' in stock at Waterstones Altrincham. Perfect Christmas gifts!
December 1, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Lots of signed copies of both 'Made In Manchester' and 'Northerners' in stock at Waterstones Altrincham. Perfect Christmas gifts!
Waiting for Godot, Usher's Quay, Dublin, 1969, photo by Mick Brown.
December 1, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Waiting for Godot, Usher's Quay, Dublin, 1969, photo by Mick Brown.
Waiting for the Labour Exchange to open circa 1910, Salford (Salford Local History Library).
December 1, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Waiting for the Labour Exchange to open circa 1910, Salford (Salford Local History Library).
Daymoon over Dunbeath, Caithness, painting by Deborah Phillips, Scottish artist. #WomensArt
December 1, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Daymoon over Dunbeath, Caithness, painting by Deborah Phillips, Scottish artist. #WomensArt
Market Street, Manchester, 1930s (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
December 1, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Market Street, Manchester, 1930s (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
Children sledging down a street, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1976, photo by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
December 1, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Children sledging down a street, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1976, photo by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
Statue of factory co-op pioneer Robert Owen on Balloon Street, Manchester. He spent 13 years working in the city in his youth.
December 1, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Statue of factory co-op pioneer Robert Owen on Balloon Street, Manchester. He spent 13 years working in the city in his youth.
Christmas is coming. Geese going off to market in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, at the turn of the twentieth century.
December 1, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Christmas is coming. Geese going off to market in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, at the turn of the twentieth century.
Deansgate Square, Manchester, painting by Sue Scott @suescottartist.bsky.social. #WomensArt #NorthernArt
December 1, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Deansgate Square, Manchester, painting by Sue Scott @suescottartist.bsky.social. #WomensArt #NorthernArt
Andreas Whittam Smith, co-founder of the Independent, dies aged 88. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Andreas Whittam Smith, co-founder of the Independent, dies aged 88
The journalist and editor also led the British Board of Film Classification and served as the senior lay member of the Church of England
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Andreas Whittam Smith, co-founder of the Independent, dies aged 88. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Ten-month-old Susan Torkington, of Regent Road, Stockport, gets a tow on the snow-clad slopes of Lyme Park, Disley, from her three-year-old sister Linda, January 1960 (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
November 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Ten-month-old Susan Torkington, of Regent Road, Stockport, gets a tow on the snow-clad slopes of Lyme Park, Disley, from her three-year-old sister Linda, January 1960 (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
Take their word for it. Made in Manchester: A Financial Times Book of the Year – the perfect gift for any Mancunian. www.amazon.co.uk/Made-Manches...
November 30, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Take their word for it. Made in Manchester: A Financial Times Book of the Year – the perfect gift for any Mancunian. www.amazon.co.uk/Made-Manches...
Cefn Bryn pony, wild herd on the Gower peninsula, south-west Wales, photo by Joann Randles.
November 30, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Cefn Bryn pony, wild herd on the Gower peninsula, south-west Wales, photo by Joann Randles.
'It was part of my childhood' - keeping Ulster Scots heritage alive. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ulster Scots Language Week 2025: Poetry reading in Cullybackey
Ulster Scots Language event traces Ulster's heritage through the poetry of the
www.bbc.co.uk
November 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
'It was part of my childhood' - keeping Ulster Scots heritage alive. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Gaelic and Scots now recognised as official languages under the Scottish Languages Act. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Gaelic and Scots now recognised as official languages
The milestone is one of a number of new measures taking effect on St Andrew's Day from the Scottish Languages Act.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 30, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Gaelic and Scots now recognised as official languages under the Scottish Languages Act. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Enjoyed talking about Manchester's history yesterday at Khizra Mosque and Community Centre, Cheetham Hill.
November 30, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Enjoyed talking about Manchester's history yesterday at Khizra Mosque and Community Centre, Cheetham Hill.
Cityscape, west Belfast, painting by Daniel O'Neill, 1920-74 (Queen's University Belfast).
November 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Cityscape, west Belfast, painting by Daniel O'Neill, 1920-74 (Queen's University Belfast).
Reposted by Brian Groom
A little girl in a Manchester department store is upset by doves in Santa's Grotto when one lands on her head, December 1954 (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
November 30, 2025 at 9:27 AM
A little girl in a Manchester department store is upset by doves in Santa's Grotto when one lands on her head, December 1954 (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).