Italian Style

One Street: Market Square, Shipley #78

It's going to be a tough week at work so I'm apologising in advance for being even more absent on blip than I already have been of late. Since starting here I don't think I've ever had a period of quite such intensity, with so little time to get out with the camera. But the desire to find an image each day is still there and that is usually the highlight of my day. It feels selfish when I'm seeing so few other journals but I remain excited about posting my blip each day and seeing your comments. I hope I can still provide some value for your money!

I saw these two ladies walking arm-in-arm at the market and struck up a conversation. I sensed that they were the very best of friends and, indeed, they turned out to be as close as I suspected. Maria on the left and Tonia on the right are originally from Italy and came over to Shipley when times were hard in the 1950s. They've been close companions for the best part of 60 years. They definitely still have a bit of that trademark Italian style about them too. They stood out from the crowd at lunchtime.

I've now met four people who came to Shipley from Italy at around that same time. I was in a rush today and these ladies were headed somewhere too, but if I see them again I'm going to try to find out a bit more about this historical connection.