Wigan Album

I remember "No Spitting" notices, and also "Wilful Damage" notices.....I wish there were "No Swearing" notices, not that they would do any good!

I remember the signs on the buses. In the interests of public health and safety. Please abstain from the objectionable habit of spitting.

Some young lads and even men too have a bad spitting habit whereas they spit out every few moments, subconsciously copying footballers maybe.

No Swearing notices would definitely be ignored Irene, some folks can't string a sentence together without including quite a few expletives, and some young girls can be as bad as the lads, mouths like sewers as is often said.

I remember the no spitting signs on buses. Even into the later 1970's , Yates Wine Lodges still had spittoons in their bars.

Wigan Corporation Buses had no spitting notices on them at one time.

William Henry Tyrer must have served as Town Clerk for a long time. He was town clerk in the forties and his srster wa my headmistress at Warrington Lane School then

They should put these in footballers dressing rooms and make them read it before they go on the pitch

I remember Miss Tyrer she didn't like me and I didn't like her. She sent a letter to my parents about something or other. Anyway my dad took me out of the school and I moved to Highfield Junior School I would then have been about 8.
( We lived at Pemberton then but I was still going to Warrington Lane School) Best move my parents made for me, as the year I passed my 11+ there wasn't one pupil from Warrington Lane School that passed it.

When I was at school in the 1950s it was the routine for us kids to line up in two rows each morning before being marched into school by the headmaster.
This particular morning I was standing in the back row and my mate, Tommy was stood in front of me in the front row. Now Tommy was, at the time recognised as the School Champion at Long Distance Spitting. He was blessed by having a gap between his two front teeth through which he could spit, a fact which we lesser mortals maintained gave him greater control and explained his advantage.
It was the Headmaster's habit to stand behind the two rows and follow us kids into school. This day, for some reason he decided to walk between the rows. As he reached Tommy's rear, Tommy, being unaware of the Headmaster's proximity decided to make another attempt at the record and let one fly, whereupon he was made painfully aware of the Headmaster's presence by a swinging right hand making contact with his earhole. Taken unawares but still undaunted Tommy informed the Headmaster that "ast tell mi dad o thee" an act of bravado that was much admired by the rest of us kids but only resulted in Tommy receiving a clout to his other earhole thus making up a matching pair.
It didn't stop Tommy spitting but he always checked his rear before making future attempts at the record.

Brilliant Dtease - just how I remember little lads at school- full of spit and bravado!

Brilliant, DTease! And if he HAD told his Dad, he'd probably have got another clout!

At the risk of turning anybody's stomach- I believe the spit was called a 'golly' if I'm not mistaken! Horrible little blighters it seemed to be a phase they went through at that age of about ten - I do remember them in the school playground!

Veronica, gollies where not allowed in the Long Distance Spitting Competition. Gollies were usually green and weighed in heavier than ordinary spit so not allowed.
Having dredged that memory up from a long-buried corner of my rapidly ageing brain I shall now have to go upstairs and speak to the big white telephone.

You're right, Veronica, and we used to sing a song about it at school dinners, but I will spare you and our Wigan World friends the lyrics!

Irene. Your school dinnertime song isn't likely to cause much consternation, considering the fact that spit and golly have already been lain forth, and what about grotch.
But then, there's the faint hearted to consider, isn't there, so why not replace your song's rum parts by asterisks ... right, how does it go?

I won't put it all on, Philip, but just to show I'm not making it up, it began "Green Golly Custard, Green Golly Pie". We'll draw a veil over the rest in case any of our Wigan World Gang are having their dinner!

That's the one.Irene/ Philip...it didn't turn your stomach then.....but now ugh!

I know it Irene, I know it! Thanks. And I hadn't doubted your recollection of it.

That's right ladies: The visuality of the said slime is quite obnoxious.

Reminds me of that snotty stuff they used to dish up at school. Ey up look what's for pudding.... semolina. Er no thank's miss.

We called that stuff 'frog spawn' TD no way could I have eaten it. Rice pudding,sponge cake and custard was ok another rotten pudding was 'Blancmange'! I still call it 'BLANK MANGE' to this day!

I'm reminded of the Ray Mears episode in which he watched a group of Indonesian villagers process a Sago tree, for the delectability of themselves and their friends. After being offered a bowl of the processed paste, Mears then explained that as he had come from a Sago tree, he also had the option of refusing the meal - I can find no film of him having eaten the 'stuff.'

From a Tramway no spitting notice through the school yard to school dinners it can only happen on the Wigan world album.Had me in fits of laughter reading them -keep it up folks. Semolima is not "frog spawn" as it is a smooth desert ( Sainsbury & Asda sell it), Tapioca is what we at school and at home used to call "frog spawn" as when cooked that what it resembles. Booths stores stock it as well as from Amazon on "net". We still eat it at home during the winter months-Son loves it.

I enjoyed your comment, Barrie, and how right you are about Wigan World Album going from one subject to another. Trouble is, you get people moaning because we've gone off the subject, (not the posters of the photo but other people). But that's what it's all about.....one memory leads to another. Glad you enjoyed the banter.

You're right Barrie, it was Tapioca. Good grief! I was never a fussy eater but one thing I could never stomach was Tapioca Pudding. It was akin to eating a bowl of fish eyes, Yuk!

Barrie, I enjoyed your comment and we may be having another chuckle if our frog spawn consultant decides to jump all over your spelling of semolina. There is no ‘semolima’ on the Amazon of course, but I do get your point and as I am reliably informed by a certain survival expert, the best preparation and use for the vital resource is to boil it up with a dash of blank mange, paste to the old wood chip and then slap it all over the inside of your bivouac. My great, great grandfather worked on the Wigan trams and would not have experienced the disgusting habit at close quarters. He was the steam tram engine driver on ‘Living Wigan 1902’. You can check him out on you tube folks.

You are correct Barrie - I don't know where semolina came from!, I did mean tapioca....;0))

Ps ...you couldn't even chew it- it slid between the gaps in your teeth- at least we've got back to the 'gaps' in teeth !

Folks, I stand corrected on my semolina spelling -missed the correct key (n/m).Thanks for your comments. Spitting notices used to be displayed on the Glasgow transport systems in the late 1960's when I first moved up there from Standish to work.

Sloppy Moppy Custerd Green Snot Pie, all mixed together with a dead dogs eye,Slap it on a Butty slap it on thick then Swill it down with a Cup of Hot Sick Spring View School 1959/1963 Never forgot that for some strange reason. PS Sorry about Ladies.

Should have put ( sorry "about" that Ladies).

Alan, our version of the popular song started with yellow belly custard.