@AndyBurnhamGM You talk about economic growth, but what is the actual plan for businesses struggling with rising costs and falling confidence?
And now you’re leaving the role we elected you to do, what happens to Greater Manchester? 🐝
@GaryBarlow Usually I always love to see footage of a gig i am going to - but i shall avoid at all costs this time so my eyes can see it all fresh on the 20th June @Etihad_Stadium 🙌🏽
@SalfordCouncil Is this Salford’s newest public art installation on Eccles New Road?
“Pinkhenge” has now been on display for several months. Sometimes upright, sometimes abstract expressionism.
Any plans for an official unveiling? 🌸
@SalfordCouncil Thanks as it has been there for MONTHS!
Often the gates are lay down which is a health & safety concern.
It is near St James Park Flats on Eccles New Rd
@BBCNews Agency work used to be a real pathway into luxury retail careers. It’s how many of us got our start. Now rising employer costs and shrinking retail volumes mean those opportunities are disappearing. Young people are losing their first step into work.
I voted for @AndyBurnhamGM to be Mayor of Greater Manchester, not to disappear into Westminster speculation whilst businesses here are struggling badly.
Hospitality and retail are on their knees. What’s the actual plan to get the economy moving again? @Sacha_Lord
Rest in peace, Patricia Routledge 🙏🏻
In memory of her, I encourage everyone to read these words of hers from February last year.
Whether young or old, you're bound to get something out of it.
*****
"I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.
My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.
At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.
At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.
At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.
At 80, I took up watercolour painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.
I’m writing this to tell you something simple:
Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.
Let these years ahead be your TREASURE YEARS.
You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.
You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.
With love and gentleness,
Patricia Routledge
*****
Once more, rest in peace. 🤍