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by A.Rodgers
Oldham
Oldham was great until it was taken out of Lancashire and put in the silly creation of Greater Manchester.
Now it has lost its identity and is seen by many just a suburb of Manchester. Manchester gets all the developments whilst Oldham gets none.
Then you have the people of Chadderton who used to have strong Oldham accents.. now they just speak like mancunians....
its a crying shame
P Bates - Fri 07 May 2010 9:55 pm
Like most of the commentators on this site i was born in Oldham and still have
great affection for the town, i often ask myself if distance is lending enchantment,
of course if you dont live in oldham day to day it does.
This was never a pretty town, never a town of culture, its saving grace was, warm people with good manners and a certain pride in themselves, in the 60s and 70s i would have brought any stranger to Oldham and would expect them to receive a warm welcome and to be treated with respect.
Todays Oldham has no working class it has a underclass ,a group of people who owe no allegiance to any part of society, so different that we no longer have anything in common with them, badly brought up, badly educated, badly misled about the nature of the modern world.
i do agree with one of the points made above, that is that older people are starting to judge young people as a group and not as individuals, i know this is wrong and i have
been caught out owning this point of view.
Who is at fault, us daft governments and people who say, "wouldnt it be nice if everyone was nice to each other"we all remember what happened to the last man who said that, they nailed him to a tree.
As regards asians, i always found hindus to be wonderful people, they keep their
culture but fit in, muslims seem to have no interest in, or find any value in the society they have chosen to live in, that said, who would want their children to have the same values as the Oldham underclass.
Oldham council are useless, you and i know they are, the market is nearly gone and that was the only reason people from out of town would come there, in a few years it will be gone and then why would anyone come to shop at the same places available in any town.
Unless we change its over, forget politics, forget the stupid people who have run our affairs for years, for gods sake lets do something.
A town can survive a loss of industry but no town can survive an amputation of its spirit, confident people and towns are more understanding of strangers and immigrants, more able to find value in the exotic.
As the man said, "The past is another country, they do things differently there".
Best regards from South Africa
VINCENT - Wed 05 May 2010 10:30 pm
I have lived in or near to oldham all my life and i feel like we are being taken over by outsiders a bit more every day there is nothing to do here other than go and get drunk as i am not really a drinker it is very boring for me the only other thing to do is walk around the town center like a zombie most of the shops are crap and the market is a joke its almost a no go area for white people some people wont like me saying that but i can't help it if its true enoch powell right
simon turner - Fri 19 Feb 2010 10:40 pm
Oldham is now a dump. I was born and raised there and used to be proud of all the "firsts" there, and the people used to be second to none. Now when I
visit the UK I go to Rochdale and give Oldham a wide berth. It is sad and I hate to say it, but the multi cultural experiments have been a dismal failure. In retrospect I believe that we should all have listened to Enoch Powell.
J de Wit - Sun 14 Feb 2010 2:12 am
I WAS BORN IN OLDHAM IN 72 I LIVED ON ABBEYHILLS THEN MOVED TO BARROWSHAW THEN DERKER UNTIL 97 WHEN I MOVED TO GRIMSBY I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK BUT HATE IT WHEN I VISIT MY FAMILY I MUST AGREE WITH SOME PEOPLE OLDHAM IS A COMPLETE S***HOLE AND ALSO A DUMP
DIANE BURTON WAS HARRIS - Thu 11 Feb 2010 9:11 pm
I have been brought up and around oldham, my mums side of family was brought up from beng really young i have read all the comments and cant believe how rough oldham has become the thing thats the issue now is the younger generation is being brought up with this society as my children are it scares me to think about it.I dont want my daughter thinking its normal to get pregnant and taking drugs. Something needs to be done about this!!!!
michelle - Thu 28 Jan 2010 9:10 pm
i have love/hate relationship with oldham. i was born in cardiff, south wales but was brought up in oldham until i was seven, when myself and my mother moved to shaw when i was 7. i then lived there until i was 16 then lived and worked in london for 5 years but was forced to move back as i lost my job and even though i was married, then widowed, had children etc., i can honestly say i have never felt more miserable as i find it hard to find friends and i have tried to connect to people. basically oldham makes me want to cry.
patricia turner - Tue 26 Jan 2010 4:00 pm
I have lived in many places. I was born in 1954 and brought up in Wythenshawe (before it had a reputation). I have lived in London, Lincoln and several Arabian Gulf Countries). I now live in Moorside, Oldham. I can honestly say that the people here are the salt of the earth. Yes, there are gangs and drug dealers around, as there have been everywhere else I have lived. But the people around me are honest and hardworking. Not arrogant or unhelpful. Everywhere has changed, and nowhere for the better. It's easy to compare Oldham to how it used to be, but it's more worthwhile to compare it to other towns and cities as they are now. Oldham really isn't that bad.
Eliz Syddie - Sun 10 Jan 2010 9:18 pm
I was born in OLDHAM and lived there 32 years,i left for Australia in 81. I am proud to be an Owdomer, but very sad and angry to see what it has become. I hate what the ethnic minorities have made it, it is becoming a slum, I go back often, but no more, I lived in Clarksfield, used to be GODS country, but I dont know who's it is now...
dave smith - Fri 20 Nov 2009 3:32 am
it takes a pretty picture sometimes. x
grandaughter - Wed 28 Oct 2009 1:56 pm
Its so sad to here about the place i was born in 62 years ago when i lived in esther street greenacres we were poor but happy and and all working in the mills and for the gas board and crime was low, it seams differant now and i am glad i moved away with all the troubles you here about now, i did want to come back at have a look at the house i was born in but i dont think i will bother now,i will have to live with the good times and school days i had ther.
Adrian Broadbent - Tue 13 Oct 2009 7:13 pm
I have lived in Oldham (moorside) for the past 10 years.
I grew up in Greenfield Saddleworth, I wish i had never moved,its a completley differant world here racism is a big issue in oldham,its not a very nice place to live at all.
I remember the days when playing out with friends was possible,these days i wont let my daughter out a all as i dont feel it is safe.
people are so ignorant to life now, We are thinking on moving up north to scotland so our kids have a better start in life which i dont feel they will get here in oldham, which is sad to say...!
M Walton - Fri 25 Sep 2009 10:26 am
I have lived in Oldham all my life. Like so many others of my age (58)I always held my heritage in high regard. That heritage is being systematically destroyed by this & past councils in an attempt to find a "new brand" The sight of the Tonn Hall looking down majestically onto the 2nd rate developments that surround it will bring a tear to many a proud eye. Although they tell us continuously how good race relations now are I must admit to feeling like a Man Utd fan playing away in Turkey the last time I went t,Town.There is no joy, which is always essential in hard times.Oldhams people have been badly let down by self serving politicians.
ALAN SMITH - Thu 24 Sep 2009 2:07 pm
I live on the sholver housing estate near moorside. A few years ago I visited stockport. I never knew how bad oldham was unil i visted there. there arnt gangs roaming the street in the early hours there arnt drug dealers and underage pregnant girls wandering down the street with a fag in there hand. Oldham is a s***hole i am sad to say and now getting worse. Fights And stabbings yorkshire street brought in panorama. And there has just been a few drug related shootings taking two young mens lives and i hear people are coming up from manchester to fight with the drug dealers round here. This talk breaks my heart. Oldham in the 70s was brill so i hear. This place needs a clean up fast.
D smith - Tue 22 Sep 2009 1:31 pm
I was born in springhead and still live there today (although I am only 19). I hate Oldham. I think there is a lot of negative energy between ethnic groups, and between the older and younger generations. Being a clever kid, (not that i'm boasting but I have good gcse's and a-levels) it's hard when most of my age group are pregnant, taking drugs or just generally disrespectful to everyone, including themselves. These peers make the older generation (especially around Saddleworth) think we are all the same. Which does annoy me slightly as I feel i'm a good person and after working in the Drs surgery in Uppermill for a few months it horrifies me to find out how rude older people can be when they see a young person behind the desk. I think Oldham is a shambles. It's getting rougher and rougher by the minute and all I can say is thank god i'm going to University this year to get away from it. Although, there are good people in Oldham and people who genuinly want
to get on in life. It's just a shame more people can't get up off their bums, get jobs, get proper lives and stop living in world of poverty and crime. I hope the older ones of you read this and realise that there are good young people in Oldham. It's just the odd ones that spoil it for the rest of us. We need more police, and people claiming benefits should be given jobs in the community to help make Oldham a better place. It's the people who make a town and it's only those people who can make it a nicer place to live and a town to be proud of.
J Thompson - Tue 25 Aug 2009 6:54 pm
I was born and educated in Oldham, have lived and worked in this town all my life (69 years) so I feel more than qualified to say that in my own personnel opinion, Oldham like many other rough northern towns has slowly but surely sunk into a large cesspit of it's own making. The rot seemed to have started around the 1980s and is fast getting worse with no end in sight. The clowns who think that moving the rail track 500 yards nearer the town centre will be the towns saviour must be barmy. What can Oldham offer any visitor other than the weekend loonies to join the band of crackpots, drug dealers and trouble makers that we already have on Yorkshire st. I cannot afford to rid myself of this town or indeed I would. Again my opinion is that the influx of various ethnics and religions has not been beneficial in any way or form, in fact they have exasperated the situation along with our home grown jerks. It is very sad to see a once proud town made by a once pr
oud people, to end up being a huge s*** pit.
Harold K. - Thu 20 Aug 2009 4:38 pm
i have lived in Oldham all my life, born on rock st oldham town centre,moved to springhead where i spent a very happy childhood.
Now aged 47, and living in shaw i find this town to be the lowest of the low. it breaks my heart every saturday when the wife & i head for huddersfield to shop, instead of the dissgusting & depressing oldham town centre
steve sinclair - Fri 24 Jul 2009 5:01 pm
I now live on the south coast - did the Normal Tebbit thing and got on my bike to find work. I loved Oldham, especially when I'd left it!! Its history is all its got left now - if in doubt read about the Mills, the people and what it was really like. Grim? Aye it was, but it had soul. I lived there from 1956 till about 1980 but visited my Mum and Dad in Derker (both gone now) and it always saddened me to see what it had become - but you get what you pay for and the local council is full of outsiders with no interest in the town - its either promoting their party or their race. Remember the old motto - Dare to be Wise, what have we now a stupid corporate logo - sad, very sad.
ExProud Oldhamer - Fri 19 Jun 2009 3:30 pm
all the pubs i used to go to in the 1970s have gone or been ruined. i left oldham in 1977 and find it depressing to see how it's gone downhill since
i used to love the cosy rooms in the bath hotel on union street
what hapened to the tripe sellers on oldham market? in fact what hapened to oldham market? it used to be great. now there's little left of it
tony - Tue 09 Jun 2009 08:53 am
i read the comments on oldham i to grew up in oldham and was one of the lucky ones to escape,,,but i must say ,,the world has become smaller the owdham lingos gone ,,,im proud to av come from nowt and remember running about with me arse hanggin out of the jeans but i had fun ...i was a tough kid still am ,,,but oldham has now become a viscous place to live who can blame kids taking a pregnancy route for hoousing when mps are putting there kids in flats then selling the flat to them at a loss when for years they have been claiming outr of public purse but i bet the poor kids have more morals anyway what a shame its gone ,,,all the kids are talking eg,,init,,bruv,, they need reminding that they are dcendents of warriors past who fought for our country and it was a nice place to live make poverty history
r longgone - 21/05/2009 23:37
I have just returned to my home in Australia after visiting my home town of Oldham and feel physically sick at what the town as become. Where is the Oldham I spent so very many happy years from birth to retirement, gone forever I believe. O K so the weather has a lot to do with how people feel but honestly I very rarely saw a smile on people's faces, the streets and buildings were dirty, the shop assistants were without manners and the number of young girls pushing prams was disgusting. Is it easier to get pregnant and get a house than it is to work for one. I am so glad I am at the age I am and know that I had a lovely childhood, teenage years and raised a family before the bottom fell out of Oldham. I feel so sorry for the many good people that are still living there and cannot get out.
E Brown - Fri May 01, 2009 12:06 pm
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