Having initially been asked to deliver a presentation to the members of the Calderdale Family History Society, as the months went by like all my other booked presentations it too had to be cancelled.

But, could it be done through what is new to many people as a new zoom presentations?:

We were both keen to give it a try.  My presentation 'All in a Day's Work' which is based on the lighter side of my 30 years in the police service does not usually have any images.  Having tried a zoom presentation without slides I knew it would not be as interesting without them.  I created a new PowerPoint slide presentation, with music to make it even more interesting. With the help of the society and a couple of dry-runs,worked out potential problems the date was set 7.30pm, Thursday July 23,           

On the night 39 members of the society tuned in, this included some members from both North Carolina in the US and Brisbane in Australia. With just one very small hiccup which was resolved in less than  two-minutes the 55 minute zoom show was a success.

Some of the society members emailed to say how much they had enjoyed it. One of the members from Brisbane sent me an email:   

 'I wanted to thank you for the great presentation you did and to say how much I enjoyed it.  I loved seeing all the old photos also'.

My next zoom presentation is on August 5 for the Oddfellows Society. This presentation is 'So, you want to be a Pirate?'- the life of a pirate during the Gold Age of Piracy. This will also be about 55 miniutes with a touch of music to add to the overall effects.   

Over the years I have been invited to a number of junior schools to show photographic presentations of Victorian Britain, with particular reference to our own community in and around Brighouse. These presentations always proved to be a big success.

Just imagine you were given the final say in naming a new street, a task I am sure whilst many will think is easy, many others including myself would not find it that easy. To choose a name that will last, a name that will not be out date or even sound silly in a few years time. On our featured image we have a small part of the Mark Blackburn auction sale of land on Friday September 30, 1870. The vacant land extended from Huddersfield Road both left and right of the Martin's Nest (now the Thaal Indian Restaurant) all the way up to Halifax Road. Try to imagine in 1870 there were few few buildings of any kind at that time. I have chosen to show you this small section where all the land is split up into building plots and are numbered..    

If during this period of self isolation and you are a local history enthusiast of all that is in and around Brighouse including its surrounding communities and you have question. Why not drop me an email I might just be able to get you the answer.  Here are three questions to start with: 

1 Where was Union Street in Brighouse town centre? 

A: Union Street - was the cobbled road which in front of the town hall and what was Holroyd Builodings

2. What was the original name for the section of Bradford Road between the Yorkshire Building Society and Lloyd Bank corner?

A: This was called Ball Flash (I don't know where that name came from - it might have had some historical connection to an old field name - Maybe)

3. What were the shop premises called on Bethel Street at what is now called the Meze Restaurant?

A. This was the Domestic Appliance shop and years later it was George Simpson and his family who had it a a large screen TV and Hi Fi shop. Then they retired and not long after the owner of the Mexe Restaurant bought it and then extended into what was Wendy's fishshop on Hudderfield Road.I have a photograph when it was owned by the Simpson family but cannot just find it. When I do I will post it on the website as the third image.   

See if you can answer those but if you can't I will post the answers on Friday. Have you got a question?

The golfers who stride out across the greens at Crow Nest golf club would find it fascinating if for just a few hours we could turn the clock back to September 1873. They would find it extremely difficult to get to any of the greens let alone play a round of golf on them.