Oral history

Interview with Yvonne Bakht

Total duration: 1 hour 0 minutes and 14 seconds

Interview by Naomi Weaver and Joanne Robson, summary by Naomi Weaver

This interview plays as one long recording, but is made of three tracks of varying lengths. Some sections of the audio have been redacted on request by the interviewee. This interview relates to the Bakht archive (GB3228_76_Bakht) held at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre. During the interview items from this collection are referred to, relevant item numbers have been listed where appropriate.

Index

Track 1 start time: 00:00:00 finish time: 00:34:39 approximately duration: 00:34:39

Brief description of content:

00:00 Interviewer introduces Yvonne and Jo [archivist and second interviewer] also present.

00:28 Yvonne discusses her childhood. Born 1937 in Marple, Cheshire. Moved at the age of three to Cleveleys in Lancashire.

03:30 Describes her education, several different schools and home education.

04:30 Studies art at Blackpool Technical College and School of Art, and then later studies textiles for three years at the Royal College of Art in London, lives near Barons Court.

06:39 In 1959 after completing her degree in London Yvonne marries her husband. She moves back to Lancashire where she continues her work in textiles design.

09:00 Explains how she meets her husband at the opening of his restaurant in Blackpool in 1956.

11:15 Yvonne’s husband opens the restaurant on advice from a friend about Blackpool’s popularity, unaware of seasonal popularity. Discusses English customers’ expectations.

18:30 Discusses wedding day and honeymoon, civil ceremony three days before and then wedding at Victoria Park Mosque in Rusholme. Attended by lots of people from the local community.

23:30 The newlywed couple move to a flat in Gorton.

25:50 Discusses her husband’s work as a businessman and unofficial community worker.

27:30 Talks about some of the challenges of running an Asian restaurant in Manchester in the 1960s and 70s.

28:45 Reflects on differences between first restaurant in Blackpool and the second restaurant in Manchester.

30:20 Describes design processes for the murals and artwork in the restaurant, plus pieces commissioned by companies in New York and Britain.

[34:06 – 34:39 Audio redacted].

34:39 Interview paused.

Track 2 start time: 00:34:39 finish time: 00:43:40

Approximately duration: 00:09:01

Brief description of content:

34:50 Interview resumed. Discusses design pieces for the restaurant.

36:45 At the request of the interviewer Yvonne discusses the family’s temporary relocation from Manchester to Pakistan in 1968 following Enoch Powell’s infamous and frightening speech in that year.

[40:33 – 41:17 Audio redacted].

41:20 In 1972 the family return to the UK from Pakistan.

[42:55 – 43:15 Audio redacted].

43:15 Interview paused.

Track 3 start time: 00:43:40 finish time: 01:00:14

Approximately duration: 00:16:34

Brief description of content:

43:40 Interview resumed. In 1977 after the death of her husband Yvonne moves from Manchester to Coventry and starts working in the Foleshill area as

manager for Minority Craft Workshop.

47:30 Moves back to Manchester planning to take up a similar job. Finds other work creating education packs for children at Manchester Cathedral, with

Hospital Arts reminiscence projects and writing for Lancashire magazine.

49:30 Discusses Hospital Arts reminiscence project.

52:05 Yvonne receives an award from the Institute for Social Inventions for Memory Box creation.

[58:45 - 59:26 Audio redacted].

01:00:14 End of interview.