New in The Sentinel, ‘The coal man and the bread man have gone for good’ – how things have changed in Stoke-on-Trent since the 1960s. Memories of Goldenhill, an isolated hilltop part of Stoke-on-Trent.

Mind you, such things lasted a long time in parts of Stoke-on-Trent. In the early 2000s when I lived in Middleport, you could still see coal-deliveries being made to pensioners, with coal-sacks trucked by hand up back-alleys and into coal-sheds. The distinctive ‘annnyyy-oll-irroon!’ call of the rag-and-bone man could still be heard, maybe once every six weeks, although his horse had long gone. And the milk-float man still made milk-bottle deliveries, and you could get a pre-ordered loaf of bread delivered with the milk. Of course, it’s all gone now — flattened into brick-dust by Commissar Nevin and henchmen.