0:00:02 > 0:00:06Hello. It's Russell Watson in the city of Salford,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10and I want to take you back to 1976.
0:00:10 > 0:00:16I remember very clearly, even though I was just a boy, the death of a man
0:00:16 > 0:00:19who, more than any other, shaped the popular image
0:00:19 > 0:00:21of this part of the world.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29He lived here for nearly 30 years. This is Station Road, Swinton,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and up there, in a tiny little attic, is where he created
0:00:32 > 0:00:35all his beautiful paintings and drawings.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40He was, of course, Laurence Stephen Lowry.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45And he perfectly captured the industrial Salford of last century.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50But I'm curious to know what is left of Lowry's world.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I'm off to find some of the landmarks
0:00:56 > 0:01:00captured on canvas by Lowry, and meeting fellow Salfordians
0:01:00 > 0:01:03who are making a difference in their community today.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06And in an old cotton mill sketched by Lowry,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I'll be performing the classic hymn, Jerusalem.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Just a short walk from Lowry's home at the end of Station Road
0:01:21 > 0:01:26is St Peter's Parish Church, the setting for our hymns tonight.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30And amongst the congregation is someone that I'm really
0:01:30 > 0:01:32looking forward to meeting.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36She's been coming here for almost 65 years,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39and she has a Lowry tale or two to tell.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44But first, the hymn, Lord, Enthroned In Heavenly Splendour.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I've never been a chocolate eater.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Joan Etchells has been going to St Peter's since 1945.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16She continues to be an active member of the congregation and has
0:04:16 > 0:04:21fond memories of Lowry visiting the butcher shop owned by her in-laws.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Five to eight, he used to walk down on the other side of Station Road
0:04:26 > 0:04:30till he saw them drop the blind, then he'd come in the shop.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33He didn't like coming when there was a crowd of people.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37So in many respects, he was quite shy.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Oh, very shy! A very, very, shy person.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46When I first met him, he said, "Oh, you're the bride to be, are you?"
0:04:46 > 0:04:52And I'd heard he didn't talk and so I said, "Yeah, I hope so."
0:04:52 > 0:04:57And he started laughing, so he said, "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you."
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- You made an impact.- Yeah.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02My mother-in-law said she'd never known him
0:05:02 > 0:05:05talk to anybody like that.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Wow.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10He was a wonderful, wonderful man.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14He always had this trilby cap on and this long raincoat,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and in that pocket, he always had a pad and pencil.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21That was his doodle pad, he called it,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25and in this one, he always had a packet of sweets,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29and if he saw a child, he would give it a sweet because he loved children.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32We used to meet him once a month,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and we always met him outside the art gallery in Moseley Street,
0:05:35 > 0:05:40and he used to say, "Let's see what they've pinned up for me this week."
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And then we went in the cafe in St Peter's Square
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and had a coffee with him, you see, before he toddled off to his club.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I didn't know, but he came to our wedding
0:05:51 > 0:05:54and he sat at the back of the church.
0:05:54 > 0:05:572nd of April, 1945.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02- We were married there.- That would be...65 years, then, wouldn't it?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I couldn't live without the church.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09God, he's helped me an awful, awful lot.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15When I had my daughter, that was 1948, she was very poorly
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and they didn't give us any hope for her at all.
0:06:19 > 0:06:25And I went into church that morning, and as true as I sitting here,
0:06:25 > 0:06:31I knelt down to pray and somebody touched my head to say,
0:06:31 > 0:06:37"She's going to be all right." And I have never, ever forgotten that.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44I had a similar sensation to that singing the Schubert Ave Maria,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46and I walked onstage,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51and it wasn't actually that long after my gran had passed away,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54and I felt a little touch on my shoulder.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I looked back - nobody there -
0:06:57 > 0:07:00and it was just one of those special little moments.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04People, they think you're silly, they think you're barmy
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- if you say anything like this. - I don't think you're barmy.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13I believe that there is life after. I do, really.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15That is my belief.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Larry famously captured the industrial scenes around him.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Now those cotton mills and factories,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40once the life blood of the city, are gone
0:10:40 > 0:10:44and the old docks have been replaced by a new centre for media.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Salford-born Lisa Haywood was worried about
0:10:49 > 0:10:53how the influx of newcomers would affect her community.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57I knew a lot of people that did work there and that and it was sad.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01It was really scary cos you thought, "They're going to take over.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05"I'm not having it. This is Salford!"
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Do you know what I mean?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- I certainly do know what you mean. - And we weren't happy about it at all.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12We just didn't like it, the thought of it.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17When at church she met the chaplain of MediaCity, Lisa told her
0:11:17 > 0:11:18what she thought.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21"You talk funny, you've got a different accent to us
0:11:21 > 0:11:22"and you're posh."
0:11:22 > 0:11:25So you had preconceived ideas of it based on...
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- Just the way she talked. - Just the way she spoke.- Yeah.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32And I thought, "She's one of them. She's got money.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33"She's one of them."
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Next time she come to church she went, "I'm back."
0:11:37 > 0:11:39We went, "Didn't think you'd come back."
0:11:39 > 0:11:42She went, "Well, you're not putting me off." We got talking to her.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44She's great, she's absolutely great.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Hence the saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover."
0:11:48 > 0:11:49That's what she's learnt us, and by God,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52she's learnt us that statement, yeah.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Remarkably, with the help of Hayley, Lisa decided to become
0:11:56 > 0:11:58a volunteer in the chaplaincy office,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02which is based in what was once a pie factory.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04I really enjoyed it.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08She said, "One day, we'll do a big business breakfast." And I thought,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12"Oh, no." And I went, "All right, then." I don't like letting her down.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15So I went and I was nervous. My legs were shaking.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18I'm thinking, "Oh, my God, please help me."
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I could feel my face going redder and redder and thinking,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26"Don't talk to me. Please, just go away." And this one man went,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28"You all right, love?" I went, "Yeah, yeah, fine."
0:12:28 > 0:12:29He went, "What you doing?"
0:12:29 > 0:12:31"I'm dead nervous," I said, "I'm not like yous.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33"I'm not clever. I don't even know half the words
0:12:33 > 0:12:36"you're coming out with." He went, "Well, ask."
0:12:36 > 0:12:39I said, "It don't matter." He went, "No, it does matter."
0:12:39 > 0:12:41He said, "You are as good as us. Ask.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43"If you don't understand something, ask."
0:12:43 > 0:12:45And I thought, "Oh, right, well, I will."
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Well, they couldn't shut me up.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50They couldn't shut me up and then I started relaxing.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54I do them now with her once a month and I love it.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I don't feel intimidated by lots of people in suits
0:12:57 > 0:13:00walking in now cos I always think, "You're no different to me."
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Lisa has been an absolute blessing to me, really. I do think of her
0:13:04 > 0:13:08as a great gift. Lisa's a real bridge between the two communities,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12and I think for me especially, the way her faith has grown,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15she really has learned that God is there for her,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17what ever she's going through.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20OK, So I think we'll get these Julia meetings...
0:13:20 > 0:13:23It's like someone's been sent to change my life, like, show me
0:13:23 > 0:13:25what I'm actually worth.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I thought, "I'm just a person from Salford like everyone else,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33"growing up and nothing's ever good going to happen to me."
0:13:33 > 0:13:37And now I think, "No, something could happen good to me now,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39"because I'm getting on with things."
0:13:40 > 0:13:45God's listening to me and he does answer me, so it's good.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Now, as well as his industrial scenes,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Lowry drew and painted the parks of Salford and there were lots
0:16:19 > 0:16:25to choose from, because over 60% of Salford is made up of green spaces.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Buile Park is the location of a project run by the charity
0:16:32 > 0:16:35START in Salford, an arts project for people
0:16:35 > 0:16:37with mental health problems.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40The aim of the project, really, is to bring people together,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44to allow people to mix and make new friends,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48to feel good about themselves, to build up their self confidence
0:16:48 > 0:16:50so they can get back into community life.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Gardening in particular can be very therapeutic,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and all these ways of expressing yourself
0:16:58 > 0:17:05can help give focus and purpose and something to be proud of as well.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Stops me from getting depressed, suicidal.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12I like meeting people, you know, having a chat.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15You always find out about different things.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20I think nowadays, mental health still has a stigma,
0:17:20 > 0:17:25yet it affects us all, whether we're made redundant, whether our
0:17:25 > 0:17:29relationships break up, or whether there's a bereavement in the family.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33They're all mental health issues that can affect anybody.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Your mood is, you feel a little bit better, even if
0:17:36 > 0:17:39it might only just be for a while. You know, it just helps.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Your mind is focused on something else other than yourself.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Suffering and despair
0:17:45 > 0:17:49and sadness are very much common to human experience,
0:17:49 > 0:17:55and Jesus, in the gospels we're told that he experienced that
0:17:55 > 0:17:57despair on the cross as he cried out,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
0:18:00 > 0:18:01Just the other day,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04we were talking to some parents of some of our members,
0:18:04 > 0:18:09and just in passing they said, "You've given us our son back,"
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and that was really quite emotional.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16I suppose that's what makes me so passionate about the project, really.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20It's people who have problems the same as I have,
0:18:20 > 0:18:25so we all pull together, we help each other much as we possibly can
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and we all understand each other and that is the main thing.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34TRUMPETS PLAY
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Public buildings were another of Lowry's favourite subjects,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18like this 1926 sketch of Salford Courthouse.
0:20:18 > 0:20:24As a boy, it was Graham Jackson's ambition to work there.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27My father was a foreman on the docks
0:20:27 > 0:20:31and my mother used to be a seamstress for a friend of hers.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36I was the first one in the whole of this very large family
0:20:36 > 0:20:38to obtain a degree.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41It was a real big deal, so to speak.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45A proud day in 1978 when Graham qualified as a solicitor.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47But at the beginning of last year,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50after over 30 years in the profession,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Graham was made redundant.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56I'd never had one day out of work.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Then suddenly to be put in this situation
0:20:59 > 0:21:05where your whole life is turned upside-down, you really then,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09or I really then started to question my faith and saying,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11well, am I getting anywhere with this?
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Is God helping me?
0:21:14 > 0:21:19I was really, really low in mind and spirit.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23I don't think you can't feel guilty for being depressed.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25It's sometimes, I think, difficult,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28when you're in the situation yourself, to look outside of it.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30It really was a difficult time.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34One particular priest who came, he didn't know anything about me
0:21:34 > 0:21:35but it was just his sermon.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38He spoke so movingly about
0:21:38 > 0:21:43you don't know what God has got in mind for you for the future,
0:21:43 > 0:21:44but there is a plan.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49I think I came to my senses and said, "No, God isn't abandoning me."
0:21:49 > 0:21:54I think that I'm being given far more time now by God
0:21:54 > 0:21:57to be able to do things to help other people.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01The upshot being that you now feel like you have a new meaning to life?
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Yes, indeed.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- I've been fortunate enough to travel a lot into Africa.- Oh, my word!
0:22:06 > 0:22:11To see people living in the bush, in mud huts, walking miles for water,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16being afraid to leave their children because of people coming
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and either physically or sexually abusing children.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22It puts your own difficulties into perspective.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Yes, I'm looking forward to the future
0:22:25 > 0:22:28and I think there are opportunities.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Maybe I don't know what they're going to be
0:22:30 > 0:22:32but God has something in mind for me.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34I'm sure he's not just going to abandon me.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- The twists and turns of faith are continuous.- Yes.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Sacred Trinity is Salford's oldest church.
0:24:42 > 0:24:48Lowry sketched it in 1925 and it's one of his views of the city
0:24:48 > 0:24:50that has remained unchanged.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Back then, no-one could possibly have imagined that Sacred Trinity
0:24:54 > 0:24:57would hold a monthly Goth night.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Goth and Christian Kolyn Amor is one of its founders.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06People have said to me, "You can't be a Goth and believe in God."
0:25:07 > 0:25:14And I just start, "Well, I am a Goth and I do believe in God."
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Goth night is based on Christian principles.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25I'm trying to encourage a group of people that perhaps
0:25:25 > 0:25:29might not ordinarily engage with church in any way,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32just to get them across the threshold.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38It's not quiet, believe me!
0:25:38 > 0:25:41But people feel safe to be themselves here.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45What do you say to people who are judgmental of you?
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Generally, nothing.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54Because I think they're the ones that have an issue, not me.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59My parents, for example, when I was a teenager.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01I was going to ask, how did you... How, for instance...
0:26:01 > 0:26:07They weren't big fans. They aren't big fans, still!
0:26:07 > 0:26:09- No, they're lovely.- Ah, lovely.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15But I wouldn't feel like me if I didn't express myself like this.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19I know it sounds a bit daft, it's just clothes, it's just hair styles,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23but it's such an expression of what's inside me,
0:26:23 > 0:26:28that I would feel crushed if I didn't express myself the way I do.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34I'm wearing a Sophie Lancaster bracelet, who was a Goth,
0:26:34 > 0:26:41and got beaten to death because she felt so strongly
0:26:41 > 0:26:43that she wanted to look that way.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Some people took a violent response to that.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Obviously, some of the imagery and music
0:26:52 > 0:26:56and stuff that goes along with Goth culture can seem quite dark.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03Very occasionally, some people have not been happy with that
0:27:03 > 0:27:05and have challenged me to say,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09"You shouldn't be doing this," or, "You can't do this."
0:27:09 > 0:27:13- Within the world of the Goths, or? - Both.- Both?- Yeah.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- So there's been conflicts from both ends?- Yeah.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22But my perception of Jesus is
0:27:22 > 0:27:27that he tried to reach those kinds of people
0:27:27 > 0:27:32that everybody else didn't really want to hang around with.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40Or was outside what was accepted in society at that time
0:27:40 > 0:27:45and if we can do a tiny bit of that, then I think that's quite good.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09# And did those feet in ancient time
0:28:09 > 0:28:15# Walk upon England's mountains green
0:28:16 > 0:28:23# And was the Holy Lamb of God
0:28:23 > 0:28:30# On England's pleasant pastures seen
0:28:30 > 0:28:37# And did the countenance divine
0:28:37 > 0:28:44# Shine forth upon our clouded hills
0:28:44 > 0:28:51# And was Jerusalem builded here
0:28:51 > 0:28:59# Among those dark satanic mills
0:29:11 > 0:29:18# Bring me my bow of burning gold
0:29:18 > 0:29:26# Bring me my arrows of desire
0:29:26 > 0:29:32# Bring me my spear O clouds unfold
0:29:32 > 0:29:40# Bring me my chariot of fire
0:29:40 > 0:29:47# I will not cease from mental fight
0:29:47 > 0:29:54# Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
0:29:54 > 0:30:01# Till we have built Jerusalem
0:30:01 > 0:30:08# In England's green and pleasant land
0:30:13 > 0:30:21# Jerusalem! #
0:30:24 > 0:30:30Almighty God, may we live with hope in this, our earthly community,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and anticipate with joy, the heavenly city
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and the communion of all the Saints
0:30:37 > 0:30:41through Christ, our Lord, Amen.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44And the blessing of God Almighty,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
0:30:47 > 0:30:53be among you and remain with you, this day and always.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Amen.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35Next week, Pam meets people who believe they've encountered angels,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37including author Lorna Byrne
0:33:37 > 0:33:40who says she's seen angels since she was a child.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42The hymns will be angelic, of course,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45and there's music from Sir Willard White.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd