Gladstone Pottery Museum

A small group of us travelled from Manchester to Longton, one of the six towns which amalgamated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent.

The district has a long history with the pottery industry and the Gladstone Pottery Museum features some of the few surviving bottle oven kilns in the UK.

Workers in the pottery industry had a particular job and a fixed place of work which was seldom left. They knew little of the people in other parts of the factory.

Most would get their first job by a relative “asking for them”. Once trained they could look for jobs posted at the lodge.

Men, women and children had different jobs in the factory. The average weekly wages in 1908 for a thrower was 27s 10d (£1.39) but this job was only available to men. The woman’s job of thrower’s attendant attracted a wage of only 12s 9d (64p). Children were attendants and mould runners. Boys were paid about 10s (50p) and girls 6s (30p).

Different jobs in the factory included: jiggers, jolleyers, throwers, turners, pressers, casters, felters and spongers. There was also a saggar maker and a saggar maker’s bottom knocker!

We had lunch in the Gladstone Café where we sampled the Staffordshire oatcakes – a flat savoury pancake served with a choice of fillings – as well as ham or cheese sandwiches.

The visit was very worthwhile and we particularly enjoyed the demonstration by the potter.

More photos can be seen here.

Around 900,000 older people will be eating alone on Christmas Day this year in the UK

Whilst many of us will sit down with family and friends to enjoy a Christmas meal together this December, it won’t be the case for everyone. With constant reminders of lost loved ones, and family gatherings of the past, Christmas can be an especially lonely and isolating time for older people, even more so than throughout the rest of the year. 

Re-engage have developed a service dedicated to ensuring that older LGBT+ people (aged 75 and over) do not feel alone over the festive season.

Community Christmas Call Companions offers lonely and isolated older people the opportunity to join their dedicated telephone befriending service throughout December.

Older people are matched with a trained volunteer call companion who is also LGBT+ and who has the skills to deal with the often more challenging conversations that can develop at this time of year, and as a result, help avert people falling into crisis.

The older person and volunteer will decide between them the regularity and length of calls usually around half an hour once a week throughout December, but they may agree to more or fewer calls depending on their needs.

These weekly calls with a dedicated volunteer will connect older people to the outside world, bringing conversation and human contact back into their lives. Lack of transport, mobility, and the cost-of-living crisis, all combine to limit an older person’s ability to socialise which can be particularly felt at this time of year.

The service is free and available to anyone wherever they are in the UK, with no need to travel. This is particularly important for older people who struggle to leave their homes in the winter months, leaving them particularly vulnerable to loneliness and isolation.

Thankfully, the service can bring them some joy, and a reminder that they are cared for, not forgotten. 

If you are interested please speak to Out In The City, so that we can refer you.

Every Body

FREE Special Preview Screening – Monday, 6 November – 6.00pm – HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN

Doors open 5.45pm for a 6.00pm start (run time 92 minutes).

Ahead of its release in cinemas, join us for a special preview screening of EVERY BODY, directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Julie Cohen, followed by Q&A with key contributor Sean Saifa Wall.

EVERY BODY is a revelatory exploration of the lives of intersex people. The film tells the stories of three individuals who have moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non- consensual surgeries to thriving adulthoods after each decided to set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a secret and instead came out as their authentic selves.

Actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and PhD student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) are now leaders in a fast-growing global movement advocating for greater understanding of the intersex community and an end to unnecessary surgeries.

Woven into the story is a stranger-than-fiction case of medical abuse, featuring exclusive footage from the NBC News archives, which helps explain the modern-day treatment of intersex people.

At its core, the film’s main objective is to not only educate audiences on the long-standing issues and mistreatments faced by intersex people, but also highlight the joys and beauty of the intersex community as they continue their fight for equality.

If you want a ticket, please contact us here as soon as possible.