Olywn's Celebration of Stanley

I’ve always lived in Stanley. I’m seventy three now, born in South Moor and I’ve spend my life between there, Shield Row and now Fellplain. Most of my family is here too. When I was young, I don’t think I knew anyone who didn’t work at the pit. There was one at Stanley, another at Annfield Plain and a few further out. That’s just how life was then, everyone was connected to the mines somehow. 

When I was little, Stanley used to be really busy, South Moor had lots of shops and people always talk about how the buses used to runa long the Main Street. You’ll still hear older folks saying , “Oh, they should bring the buses back.” It made such a difference, everything felt more alive. You didn’t go far from home back then, so your world was your town. 

I went to Greenland School in South Moor as a junior, then on to Stanley Grammar when I was eleven. I’ve got good memories from school. I remember one winter, the bus didn't come because the weather was so bad, so we had to walk all the way to Tanfield. If you know South Moor, you’ll know that hill, it's steep. We finally got there and found the school closed! The winters used to be terrible. There was one year when a bus got completely buried. There’s a photograph of people walking on top of the snow with just the bus poking out, it was that deep. 

Back then, everyone helped each other. Nobody had cars or much money, but everyone was the same. The people on your street were all your auntie or uncle to you. Every summer, we went to Crimson Dene, it was just a campsite then, tents and nothing else. We used to load everything into a furniture van from Craghead and go off together, eight or ten families from the same street. We’d set our tents up in a big circle, we must’ve looked like a tribe! It was simple, but it was wonderful. I think everyone got the same holidays from the pits, so the whole place would just empty out together.

I’ve never moved away from Stanley, it's home. I like it here but  I think it's more the memory of the community that I miss, the closeness of it all. You don’t get that anymore. 

When I was younger, the villages felt more separate. You didn't necessarily go into Stanley everyday, and you could tell where someone was from by the way they spoke. People from Craghead or Burnhope had their own sound to them, you just knew. But Stanley was the main hub, if you were going anywhere, you had to pass through it to get the bus. I remember the first lady bus driver in Stanley, everyone was amazed. There was a queue of people just wanting to see her. I didn’t even want to ride the bus, I just wanted to see her! It was such a big thing back then. 

There were cinemas too, so many of them. The Pavillion was at the bottom of Stanley, where the funeral home is now, though I didn't go there often.  The Essoldo was on the Front Street, opposite the Catholic School. I worked there for six weeks after I left school, before getting a proper job. I absoultey loved it. I was an usherette and sold ice creams from the tray. I dont remember having a uniform, but maybe I did. I would’ve loved to stay there but there wasn’t much money and there was mice everywhere! Still, it's one of my fondest memories. 

There were others too, the Tivoli and the Arcadia in South Moor. We used to go there on Saturday afternoons when I was little. I must’ve been about seven, so it’d have been the late fifties, early sixties. My mam would give me nine pence, sixpence and a threepenny to spend. I remember getting all upset because I couldn’t remember which hand had which coin. 

As for Stanley now, It’s just been left behind. I don’t get into politics but it must be down to people higher up, for it to have got into such a state. I know in general towns are closing and It’s not like it used to be. It's less lively than it was in the past. I mean theres hardly any shops. I dont think you could go into Stanley and buy decent men’s clothing or even decent lady’s clothing unless you go to ASDA. It’s a shame because I think the community would appreciate it again and it’s something worth fighting for.