The year 1953 was when life in Britain began finally to bleed from monochrome to colour. Not everywhere, and not for everybody, but, slowly, there was a palpable sense that brighter days were just bey

BRENT, NORTH LONDON

An A-road transport cafe circa 1958, the atmosphere thick with intrigue and cheap-cigar fumes. The waitress, a twin for comedy starlet Liz Fraser, scowls at the attempts of four businessmen at the win

THIRSK, NORTH YORKSHIRE

Wolseley 6/99

A car park in rapidly changing Northampton reveals some rarities – and a surprising absence