AS we all know, there is a massive interest in the past in Bolton (hopefully, this column has something to do with that!), and another soft back book has just been published by the firm which brought out a paperback version of the Scholes and Pimblett 1892 classic History of Bolton, in 1994.

This new book, edited again by Peter Riley, uses more material from that book in Bolton, A Bygone Era, and some old pictures of Bolton and district have also been included. Mr Riley has in some places linked passages to make easier reading than the original volume allowed, because in those days authors padded out books with a lot of unnecessary writing, and he looks at various episodes of the town's past.

The book, price £4.99, is available through Sweetens Bookshop, Deansgate, the Bolton Museum and Library Artefacts Shop, and from Champleys Bookshop in Leigh.