‘We’d like to apologise to our viewers in the north… it must be awful for them’  Victoria Wood.

That short snapshot of genius humour was originally written by Victoria Wood for her late 80s show Victoria Wood as Seen on TV. It was delivered by Susie Blake in her dead pan continuity announcer impression. Today, the phrase is now plastered across the art museum in Victoria Wood’s (and mine) home town of Bury, near Manchester, UK. And rightly so, until September 2019 is an exhibition of her Bafta winning career.

I’m not sure if it is the Northwest sense of humour, but Victoria Wood’s work was always right up my street. I humbly go as far to say she must have been a subconscious influence to me, I started watching as a 12 year old and am now writing and self publishing comedy drama and romantic comedy novels. And I am absolutely convinced that Victoria Wood’s words and work have entertained, humoured and touched many, many fans. She was right up everyone’s street regardless of where your street is.

The exhibition is well worth a visit, the walls are full of Victoria Wood’s story, above is the first house she lived in on Tottington Road, Bury. It is bonkers to me to think that someone so talented and fabulous lived on the same road my husband works on now, and a stone’s throw from where we live. But enough of my ‘wows’. Two big rooms are filled with bits and pieces of memorabilia, costumes, scripts and photographs …

Radio Times covers (there’s more than two) well worth a nosy for the nostalgia lover. Not pictured, an early Red Nose Day cover.

Can you see the opening times on this poster? And Bury bus/tram interchange in the background, walking distance. The museum is on Moss Street, round the corner from the library, there is on street parking (metered) and the building is wheelchair friendly. link to Bury Art Museum

The exhibition is free, there is a donation box in the foyer, click on the link in pink above for opening times.

There are two large display cases, which admittedly me trying to catch them on my mobile phone is not the same as visiting in person. Behind glass are costumes from Dinnerladies and As Seen on TV. Me being me, I could not resist a snap of this knitted Guns N Roses jumper which I think Maxine Peake’s character Twinkle wore in Dinnerladies. Scripts from the previously mentioned shows plus the bitter-sweet Pat and Margaret and Housewife, 49. 

More pictures:

A sneaky glance in the dressing room mirror. The Baftas below.

The final photo, ‘WE MISS YOU VICTORIA xxx’ it’s a bit wonky because I was a bit emotional. There is a gorgeous tea room upstairs, where I ordered one soup, rather than two . Do you remember the famous ‘two soups sketch’? After Victoria Wood passed away in 2016, I bought two soups in a supermarket, and was affronted that the person on the till did not get the joke … it was most likely my delivery…

Below is a snap of soup, plus a photo of the parting shot of the exhibition, an opportunity to dress up as ‘Kimberley’s friend’.

We miss you Victoria xxx