A new photography exhibition that captures life in Stockport during the 1970s has now opened at a local museum.
After a successful run at one of the town’s most prestigious restaurants, Where The Light Gets In, back in June 2021, the exhibition – which is titled The Stockport Collection, and features the work of local photographer Heidi Alexander – has now opened to the public at Stockport Museum, and it’s free for everyone to visit.
The Stockport Collection documents the social history of a particular time, place, and way of life.
The exhibition illustrates the human need for a sense of identity, and of belonging to a working community with a common purpose.
🚨 THIS FRIDAY @ STOCKPORT MUSEUM! 🚨
See Heidi Alexander's evocative images of Stockport Market in a new exhibition. Punters can see the market as it was in the 70s & reminisce about times gone by with objects from the museum collection.
All the images in the exhibition were taken by Heidi Alexander between 1976 and 1977 when she was an undergraduate student at Stirling University and spent a few weekends visiting a friend near Stockport Market.
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Heidi said she was “charmed” by the atmosphere and the characters at the Market, and was inspired to shoot several rolls of film with the Leica M4 camera she inherited from her father.
Decades later, during the first COVID-19 lockdown of early 2020, Heidi rediscovered the long-lost images of a warm and lively community from those visits and started to post them on social media to immediate, enthusiastic, and often emotional reaction of the public.
The images resonated with people online, and proved to be particularly poignant in times of separation and isolation during lockdown.
“The Stockport Collection is an exhibition full of hidden gems which documents the rich history of our town centre,” said Councillor Grace Baynham – Cabinet Member for Highways, Parks and Leisure Services at Stockport Council.
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“With the town centre currently undergoing a period of so much change, it’s fantastic to be able to look back to a snapshot of history captured so brilliantly by Heidi Alexander.
“A must-see for all residents, to get a sense of the atmosphere of Stockport town centre in the late 1970s.”
The Stockport Collection is now on display at the Stockport Museum, which is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am-5pm, and on Sundays from 11am-4pm.
There will also be a book signing Heidi herself on Thursday 4 August from 6pm-7pm at Stockport Museum, with tickets now available for free and need to be booked in advance here.
Stretford’s free neighourhood festival returns this weekend
Danny Jones
Stretford’s still fledgling and completely free all-day festival is BACK for 2026 and is happening this coming weekend.
So, if you didn’t have plans this Saturday, you do now.
Simply named StretFest, this is the third edition of the now annual celebration in one of Manchester’s fastest growing neighbourhoods – and an increasingly up-and-coming one at that.
Kicking off in the morning and running right into the wee small hours thanks to a healthy dose of varied daytime activities, evening events and de facto afterparties, there’s plenty on the cards.
🎉 It's the big one on Saturday! Stretfest is back & we're thrilled to have a fab selection of LIVE Music on from 3pm – 8pm for it!
We can't wait to greet loads of faces, old and new. #Stretford will be buzzing with activity so come on down & make a day of it ! 🍻 pic.twitter.com/16Rnn5w1qj
StretFest only started back in July 2024, but it has quickly grown into a cult favourite not only among locals living in and around the Trafford town, but also among plenty of people from all over Greater Manchester, with last year seeing more visitors than ever.
Based not just over at Stretford Mall but the surrounding parks, Public Hall, across the bridge and an area they dub ‘The Beach’, there are several distinct but equally vibrant hubs, all offering something different.
For instance, venues like Longford Tap, Head Bar and Stretford Canteen are all involved, as are the likes of the Library and Martin Luther Church, but also recently opened cafes like Swig and Cuppello’s, as well as many, many more.
To be honest, we’ll probably be popping over for all the food and drink alone.
And, of course, there’s going to be plenty of live music, DJ sets, other bits of entertainment, and all-around fun to be enjoyed; there’s even going to be everything from arts, crafts and workshops, to pirates and boat rides.
Getting underway from as early 9am – thanks to the likes of the regular Stretford parkrun crew teaming up with the festival, and Mr & Mrs hosting a coffee morning for their first birthday – there really is going to be something for everyone from start to finish.
You can see the full StretFest schedule or build your own personal day-into-night programme HERE.
As for what else is on the cards for the final few days of March (give or take a couple), you can find out what else is on in and around the ten boroughs down below.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures/Adrian Michael (supplied)/The Manc Group
What's On
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Emily Sergeant -
25th July 2022 
