Author: Trevor Baxter

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   WHEN their annual holiday was cancelled due to lockdown a group of quiz buffs came up with an answer to overcome the disappointment. That’s why for the last five months the friends have held an online Sunday evening social with a quiz the focal point of the Zoom…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   WITH the current restrictions in place, people are looking for interesting, local walking routes to help maintain their health and well-being. Over the coming months I’ll share with you a selection of walks from my Saddleworth and Oldham Discovery Walks guidebooks. There is evidence of human habitation in…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   THE green shoots of this year’s fruit and vegetables crop may be battling recent frosty weather but there is already some growth at the allotments in Uppermill. Thanks to a change of heart by the Parish Council, plot holders at the site by the Huddersfield Narrow Canal can…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   AS a youngster Jo Harthan always dreamed of becoming a writer. Fulfilling her ambition may have taken longer than Jo, holder of a first-class honours degree in biology, imagined. But after publishing her first book – Working the Nightshift – in 2005, she is now a full-time author…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   AN Uppermill-based mental health specialist combined his two biggest passions to organise ‘the world’s cheapest music festival’. Paul Wolstenholme has now described the two-day, online Thrive Hive Fest as “wonderful”. Scores of artists, many of them Saddleworth or Tameside based, came together to raise nearly £1,000 for charity….

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   DENSHAW’S last surviving cotton mill has been brought back to life and turned into three bespoke town houses. The history of Woodbrow Mill can be traced back more than two centuries though the site has been empty for many years. So when Denshaw resident and property developer Martin…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   A CORONER has questioned if under 18s should be banned from music festivals following an inquest into the death of a Saddleworth teenager. Anya Buckley was 17 when she died at the Leeds Festival on August 24, 2019. Senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin concluded Anya’s passing was drugs related…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   A YOUNG Saddleworth eco entrepreneur aims to be boxing clever with her new online business selling environmentally friendly products. Diggle-raised Kate Barnfather, 24, is the driving force behind subscription venture EcoBox. Each month subscribers receive a themed box containing eco-friendly health and beauty home accessories, lifestyle and household…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   THE community has rallied in waves behind a project to open a Saddleworth Lido. The idea was launched in January by outdoor swimming enthusiasts Katy Boulton and Erica Ryan, who aim to have open air, partially-heated pool, constructed and maintained to the highest possible eco standards. And their…

First published in the Saddleworth Independent   THE Independent’s exclusive story in our January 2021 paper revealing the aims of outdoor swimming enthusiasts Katy Boulton and Erica Ryan to open Saddleworth’s first lido in more than 85 years drew plenty of reaction. It prompted Saddleworth Museum curator Peter Fox to write this piece on Saddleworth’s…