Photography by Paul Dishman: To the 70`s and Beyond!

Bit cloudy earlier so rather than a walk and taking a few landscape shots me and Sue thought we would reminisce and visit our old haunts. We met at Leeds University in 1976 and whilst taking the chance to look around again the main reason for our trip there today was to see the new Marks and Spencer`s archive, newly opened in the University`s Michael Marks building.

Michael Marks Building - Clarendon Road behind the Innovation Centre.

Sue reckons she had a hat like this!.

And a gabardine like this for school.

Some nice images / newsreel of old adverts / lines

I liked this building next door best

Opened by Stella Rimington ,of MI5 fame, I can now officially reveal it was always a government plot to make us all shop at higher prices under previous claims of "British made" St Michael`s produce. How else could they rise from a penny bazaar stall to this monster of today if not? Certainly fooled Sue who continues to squander our resources in the food court and Per Una.
The archive is open daily from 10-5 and houses examples of old lines/ M&S uniforms and adverts / newsreels. My favourite quote was from M&S Chairman Marcus Sieff in 1979 who, when told they would be marketing their new Chicken Kiev line named as that even in Newcastle, feared they would never sell with that name up there! Put it in a stottie cake and there would be no problems I would have advised if asked at the time though given it was a perfect accompaniment to chips how could such fine cuisine fail in my native north east! Not a huge archive for the public to see but there as a student resource too and worth a visit. Having gone down there we thought we might as well wander through the University campus and see how much had changed in over 40 years. Externally the old Union building looked the same...

A lot more bike racks but the same old buildings intermingled with a few new structures (new to us) still make it a nice campus. Posters offered a somewhat larger summer ball than we ever experienced for what seemed like only £10-15 more! Nice to see Great Hall and Clothworkers Court still looking grand!

Most interesting bit though was going through the Union building and finding that whilst the Riley Smith Hall and Refectory are still largely the same, the MJ lounge has gone and even worse the snooker room where I mainly studied has disappeared! I`m told the libraries are still in place but struggled to find them - now as then! A warren of shops, beauticians, eateries with bruschettas and the like showed the life of a modern student is way beyond what my experience was. My experience of living in an exploitative landlords slum for 8 with weekly shopping trips to Leeds market snapping up bargain bashed tomatoes and bacon scraps are as far from a modern student`s existence as Chicken Kiev was to a Geordie in 1978!

In the refec it was great seeing the list of bands who played in what is a really small hall. Reminded me of all the great musicians I saw - Santana, Fairport Convention, John Martyn, The Chieftains, Nils Lofgren, Wishbone Ash, Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, Joan Armatrading, 10CC even Leo Sayer and many more. My favourite excluding my trip to see Who live at Leeds who I just checked was in 1970 prior to my going to Leeds Uni - got to be John Martyn. I remember being mystified at the range of sound / guitar work and sheer brilliance of one man on stage - and the drugs being smoked freely all around me just raised the perception a bit more!
After that it was a nice lunch in the Leeds Museum cafe, off Millennium Square, before taking in the 1970`s Exhibition on there until 22nd April.

I remember at Uni saying to others in my Belle Vue Road student house that I would go to France with them if I had £75 in my account. When I found I had more I bought a music centre instead only a little smaller than this which filled my 8ft x 4ft room with music for 2 years!