How We Used to Live

- Season 6

(1984)

Patrick Brady returns home after the Boer War, to Bradley. The Selby family now live in the house he grew up in. Life for the Selby's is hard. Sarah Selby works at the nearby mill which is owned by the Holroyd family. The Holroyd and Selby children meet at Sunday school. Patrick finds work

The people of Bradley are non conformists and attend Chapel rather than the Church of England, this goes hand in hand with temperance, a strict no-alcohol lifestyle. Mr Selby returns home, worse for ware from drink.

A bank holiday means a day off work from the mill, and for the lucky ones, a train trip to the seaside. The Band of Hope temperance league take the younger children out for the day. Maggie Selby gets to spend some time with Patrick Brady.

The Holroyds own the mill and have a comfortable life. Maurice Holroyd has joined the union much to his fathers anger. The Selby's life is much harder; Tom has lost his job and Sarah's health is declining. Tom decides to look for work at the colliery, someone has to pay the rent and buy food. People in Bradley discuss the outcome of the election and what is important to them and their futures.

Work in the mills is a hard life. Bessie is over 70 and still working at Holroyds, and should really get her pension. Freddie starts working at the mill as he struggles at school. George sets his affairs in place, with help from Maurice. Charlotte is becoming more aware of social issues.

Maggie is heartbroken when Maurice ends their relationship. Emily is in mourning and thinks she knows what's best for her children. Patrick and Victor drown their sorrows. Opportunities at the labour exchange are few. Patrick find work elsewhere; Maggie sees an opportunity.

Strikes have led to food shortages. Scouts and Girl Guide camps provide time in the country for the older children, and Charlotte is helping run them. Freddy is working on a farm as a labourer. Tom and Maurice visit Charlotte and their younger brothers and sisters at the camp.

Charlotte is training to be a teacher and wants her independence. Victor is still a rag and bone man while Sarah is frail and too ill to work. Bertha gets a free place at high school, but Alice does not see education as her future; both she and Albert are offered jobs.

Emily is shocked and horrified to learn that Charlotte has been arrested while campaigning for "votes for women" as a Suffragette. The Selby's say goodbye to one of their own, leaving Alice with an uncertain future.

Maggie is back in Bradley with her son Michael. War breaks out in Europe, with both Maurice and Patrick leaving their families, assuming it will be over by Christmas. Alex takes over running the mill and takes in Belgian refugees.

The war carries on. Bradley is hit hard as a community with many young men dying at the front. Conscription means Alex and Freddy are both called up to fight. Charlotte and Alice work in a hospital with the wounded.

Maurice returns to Bradley on leave from action. Women have taken on many roles that men would do. Maurice speaks with Maggie about what life is really like at the front. The horror of battle in the trenches touches both the Selby and Holroyd families.

The Selby family pull together in difficult times. Rationing of basic foods makes life even harder. Albert returns to Bradley as he has been injured. Alex and Victor both support the war effort. Armistice day arrives in Bradley, but life has changed for everyone.

The war has ended but an influenza pandemic grips the country. Both Charlotte and Tom want to see change in society. Alex runs the mill, Albert has been demobbed. Maggie gets an offer. A wedding brings the Selby and Holroyd families together

Alex and Albert go into business building motor cars. Tom is nominated as the labour candidate in Bradley. Maggie hopes one day she can take Michael back to Ireland.

Tom helps out following an accident at the coal mine. The mill is struggling with the economic downturn. Tom's political ambitions continue to develop. Charlotte arranges an outing for the children from poorer families.

Alex continues to look at alternative business ideas. Maggie agrees to having electricity connected at home. Tom and Charlotte prepare for the election. On election night, Bradley has a new member of parliament.

Albert gets a radio receiver, a "wireless", as radio spreads across the country, and he is not the only member of the family who gets the buzz for it. Politicians are making use of the new radio system too, as Tom faces re-election, there are opportunities for all.

Michael is doing well at school. Alice returns to Bradley from London, after some years of living the high life. Bertha makes a decision that will affect Albert's future. Alice's friends arrive and bring the Charleston to Bradley Chapel Hall.

The country is on strike, and there are no trams and no newspapers. Tom and Alex have very different views on what the strike means for local people. As tensions rise, a wedding offers a chance to look forward to the future.