What first comes to mind when you think about the town of Stockport? Maybe it’s the successful Metro swimming team, containing many hopefuls for the 2012 London Olympics. Perhaps it’s the nostalgia of Tudor house Bramhall Hall or the fabulous art deco restored Plaza theatre.

Don’t worry if none of those things instantly spring to mind; over the years Stockport has built up a reputation of being the forgotten sibling of the bright lights and bigger city of Manchester. However, as a proud Stopfordian, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way! (FACTOID: Natives are known as Stopfordians because ‘Stopford’ is the name the town derived from. You never know, that might be a question in a pub quiz sometime.)

Pure 107.8 FM is the radio station serving the borough, which I have been involved with in lots of different ways over the past two years. I’m part of the team who put together The Basement, a community show which focuses on issues that affect young people across the town. You can imagine when we heard about a new initiative called the Teenage Market this was something that we wanted to feature on the show. By being there on the day, this also offered us a great opportunity to promote the show to our target audience as well as the potential to sign up new victims… sorry – presenters!

As I headed towards the market place on Sunday April 1st, just walking down the streets was like stepping back in time. The town centre is steeped in history – quite literally actually, with Stockport being infamously built on a hill! Mixing old nostalgia with new ideas, this was a perfect backdrop for the inaugural Teenage Market. I collected vox pops for the show and got talking to many of the stallholders; from vintage clothes to film making equipment and lifeguard training, there was something on offer for everyone. It was inspiring to hear from young people who not only have good business ideas but who also have the entrepreneurial skills to get the ball rolling and put their business plans into action. There’s plenty of things in Stockport to be proud of and The Teenage Market was a great showcase for many of them – the rising stars of the future!

(C) Mark Pattison

Hear how we got on at The Teenage Market this Wednesday from 7.30pm on Pure 107.8FM. The Basement is Pure’s youth show, made for young people by young people in Stockport. If you’d like to get involved email basement@pureradio.org.uk 

For more information, visit the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/purebasement