How my village used to be

This photograph, which hangs in my old bedroom, shows Delph, my home village, as it used to be.

It some ways little has changed: the buildings remain as they were, with the exception of a couple of the gas lamps and the mill chimney in the background.

It's interesting to see how the people stroll easily down the street, sharing it seamlessly with a couple of horse carts. Sadly the cobbles have now been covered over, pushing the people out of the road and onto the narrow path. It's a good reminder that streets were made for people, long before motor vehicles came along - and that no matter how much they bully us aside, cars have no particular right to dominate our roads.

There's a story to the photograph too: the little girl on the right is crying, because her brother has stolen her straw hat. He's the one marching down the road past her!

So the village has changed a bit. But the way kids behave is pretty much the same!