A few weeks ago, I had the dubious honour of turning 31. As people who know me will grumble in agreement, I prefer not to have much fanfare on my birthday. All I ask is that things are kept simple and relatively low-key. Perhaps a medley from a barbershop quartet or a burlesque dancer jumping […]
It’s now a whole year since I reached for the razor and removed the hair from the top of my head. One year of being a baldie, a slap head, a skinhead. Or as I prefer to think of myself, a Bond villain. I must say, I’ve absolutely loved the last hair-free year. There’s something […]
Northern types, I bring good news! After more than 175 years of trading in London, Cordings of Piccadilly now have a second store, in the historic Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate. What’s more, your favourite protagonist was there to witness the second coming by attending their opening evening. I was tickled pink to be invited to […]
I was around 8 when I first read Tintin. My uncle gave me his old, slightly battered copy of The Calculus Affair and it was love at first sight. As a young boy, I always had a pencil and a piece of paper close by to draw so the artwork really caught my eye. Each […]
This week I bring to you a pictorial post for your peepers. Last Saturday, I travelled from Manchester to the Big Smoke for an In Retrospect editors meeting. Fortuitously, the date for the trip coincided with the ever-popular Tweed Run. For those not aware, the Tweed Run is an annual cycling event around London. Participants […]
Playwright, composer, director, actor, singer. Sir Noël Coward was all of these things and so much more. As his chum, Lord Mountbatten, remarked in 1969: “There are probably greater painters than Noël, greater novelists than Noël, greater librettists, greater composers of music, greater singers, greater dancers, greater comedians, greater tragedians, greater stage producers, greater film […]
This week marked the 90th anniversary of the death of antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton. Since the leaves started falling from the trees last year to signal the beginning of autumn, I found myself drawn towards adventurers and their tales of derring-do. Of course, I naturally turned to Ernest Shackleton, who is perhaps best known […]
Yesterday, Friday 1st July 2016 marked the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme during the Great War. I work in Salford and as part of the city’s commemorations; I was honoured to be the announcer that led the tributes for the fallen outside the town hall. More than 650 Salford men, including members […]
Norton of Morton is very proud to be an award-winning blog. Winner of ‘Best Vintage Fashion/Lifestyle Blog’ in the National Vintage Awards 2014. Finalist in the ‘Most Innovative’ category of the UK Blog Awards 2014. Winner of ‘Best Vintage Lifestyle Blog’ in the Best of Vintage Manchester Awards 2013. Thanks to everybody who has ever voted […]
Following on from my factory visit to see where Percy Stride have their shoes made, I was very kindly sent a pair of their Nightfall Blue oxfords. During my tour, I had seen and handled these very oxford shoes while they were still being made at the Northampton shoe factory, so it was even more […]
Panama hats are exceptionally magnificent. But a Panama hat that can be rolled up, perfect for one’s travels, achieves messiah status. I now own such a messiah item of headwear, after the lovely chums at Peter Christian Gentleman’s Outfitters very kindly dispatched one to me. It also arrived with an all-important travelling tube to store […]
Last Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly, who along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (I do love Chantilly Lace), perished in a plane crash on 3rd February 1959. Growing up, my mother and father always played music and Buddy Holly was my favourite. There’s was something about his […]
I live around five miles from Rochdale, a small town in the north west of England. From the age of 16 to 22, I worked in the town and but now I only occasionally visit. It’s been a good three years or so since I had a proper mooch around. This week I had a […]
Following on from last Saturday’s collection of British film noir baddies, I thought that it was only fair to write about what is considered to be the first film noir – the 1941 production of The Maltese Falcon. Based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name, this is the second Hammett inspired film […]
