JUMP on my time machine and I will take you back to May Day when I was a child 70 years ago, in Haslingden.

Milk floats and horses would be decorated with paper flowers of all colours. Coloured ribbons would be plaited in the horses' tails.

Bells would jingle and their brasses would gleam in the warm sun (it always shone in those May days). The milkman would have flowers in his cap, a smile on his face and the taste of fresh milk was heavenly. Skimmed milk, which one buys today was given to pits.

The headstones in the yard of St James' Church would have been washed and donkey-stoned the week before and each grave had daffodils on it.

Then would come the Maypole with bells and ribbons and boys and girls singing: "Dancing round the maypole, merrily we go."

Then they would share the pennies out to spend them on chips at 2d a bag, ice-cream at 2d a cornet or penny drinks.

Where, oh, where, have the old traditions gone?

ADA GIBSON, Grange Street, Clayton-le-Moors.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.