Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 23rd May, 2020)

You can smell that wild garlic from our house.
Must say they all do look very nice when they are together

Could there be anything nicer after a miserable English winter than a Spring carpet of flowers like these?
Great photo Frank, l hope we will see more from you.

Pretty sure they'd been the leaves of 'wild garlic' that Downside's Father Christopher had taken from the Abbey's nearby wood on the current Retreat episode - he'd added their chopped leaves to the table's easy spread. And his easy grasp of the 'water to dough ratio' was quite admirable.

I love everything about this photograph it's got everything. Sunshine and shadow, wild flowers in the foreground and even the splash of red in the post van in the distance , it makes a lovely composition.

What a fantastic photo. I love wild flowers and this is just perfect with the sunshine and shade, and gives such a feeling of hope after we have all been stuck in for weeks on end. I love the red splash of the post-van in the distance, taking a parcel or a letter to someone. Despite emails and texts, there is something special and timeless about the Royal Mail and our Postmen and Post-Ladies. A very cheering photo.

Veronica, great minds think alike! I have just added a comment which hasn't gone on as I am reading yours and we have said almost the same things! I haven't copied, honest! But I knew you'd like this, as will Maureen, Elizabeth, Helen, Anne and our other WW Ladies. xx

I know Irene - it's the extreme opposite of the 'stnking ditch' a few days ago! And you are right there's a feel of hope about it which we need. Let's hope the situation ends soon.

Thats Shevy postman Chris, who take photos and sends them in to the Wigan Observer every week.
He was just awarded by Shevy Fakebooking women a knitted teddy bear for being such a nice kind reliable and friendly village postman.

Lovely late Spring flowers, great for our bees and insects.

Irene, I'm not altogether thrilled with bluebells. In a setting such as this they are a beautiful sight but spreading into cultivated gardens are a nuisance, I'm not alone in this thinking, many gardeners will say the same. Invading Spanish bluebells are a menace to the native English variety which most of these seem to be.

I brought some wild garlic from Yorkshire about eight years ago,it's now rampant..very pretty flowers.I believe that chefs use nothing else but the leaves,the smell can be overpowering when it springs into life,and it spreads even between paving stones.

Frank your photo is lovely,you obviously have a good eye for composition..please carry on with more shots for us.

I cant help thinking how lucky the Shevington residents are, with having so many green spaces in the centre of the village.
We have a row of old cottages on church lane one of which was originally the village blacksmiths stable, and that is were I was born way back in 1947
We have the park land, the memorial gardens, old trees, the recreational ground and graveyard all in the centre of the village.
Three churches, two schools two pie shops, one chip shop, three chemist, doctors and two charity shops.
Brand new sports pitches and changing rooms that the parish council managed to buy the land from ICI before it was bought by a house builder.
The parish council also bought ancient woodland that was around the ICI site.
Just one mile from the M6, railway station, and the spectacular walks that the Leeds Liverpool canal provides.
We also have mill dam wood, otters croft wood and grieves wood and a golf course.
Plenty of activities going on like two bowling greens, two allotment sites, gym, youth club, a group of volunteers who regularly win awards for the best flower displays

Yeh but, Shevington also has a Mick.

As I said yesterday, it's all about mick.

Teasy Weasy I like to think the whole of Wigan and beyond as a Mick, who travels day in a day out in all weathers trying to take interesting photos for Wiganworld website.

I forgot to mention in my last post that Shevy also have a library, a opticians and chiropodist, and in the later you can buy Frank Orrell books of Wigan photos

Mick taking the mick about shevington. YOU CAN'T HEAR THE BIRDS SINGING BECAUSE OF THE M6 MOTORWAY RACKET OF CONTINUOUS HGVs, CARS AND VANS. Aspull a much nicer area.

What a super photo Frank - I've always preferred wild flowers to cultivated ones - we can't beat nature however hard we try. Shevington in bloom.

I love the Royal Mail van in the distance. When we were children our village had a postwoman who delivered letters and parcels on the back of the scooter.

All the best people were born in 1947 Mick!

That made me chuckle Dtease.. Mick is an expert at digging a hole for himself... ;o))

The best thing about Shevington is that there are four roads leading out of it. Not much to say about the council estate that is there have you Mick, you can't sweep that under a field, plus I bet you keep those two pie shops and chippy in business.

By the way Shevington and Standish too for that matter, may have been villages two hundred years ago, but they aren't anymore as each have more houses and residents than any large town or city and along with the traffic congestion and close proximity to the M6 a lot more air pollution too.

One thing - Mick is good at 'stirring' things up and getting people talking!

I for one get totally fed up with all these comments surrounding Mick. Everyone, just ignore him and perhaps he will go way. Sadly, once again a really good contribution by someone has become overpowered by Mick's world !. Mick please give it a rest let others enjoy WW as its meant to be.

Thanks everybody for your comments and to Mick for the book plug.Even though Mick and me are from Shevington we are not in liaison.
I was born on Shevington Lane in 1949 and remember the place when it was more like a country village.
Like most people I have an affection and loyalty to the place I'm from.
You can't blame Mick for being proud of his roots.
Whilst on the subject of Mick, I know he upsets some people with his comments but he contributes a lot to Wigan World and if he wasn't around it would be a duller place.

Yes Irene,you're right,how well you know us ! However I couldn't agree more with comments by Vic,Garry and Arthur about Shevington and Standish.

Mick - you forgot to mention the splendid gang of Shevington folk I meet on my walks who go round clearing up the litter dropped by folks who think a discarded can or bottle adds to the scenic beauty. Sadly, these latter folk have not caught the community bug during the coronavirus episode.

Your right Rev the litter pickers do an excellent job, and Im proud to say I sometimes do a bit myself, I have also been known to help the lady gardeners when they have something heavy to move.
Arthur Aspull roads are to busy and I dont like where you have stuck you War memorial, and the two churches are not central to the village, and there is a poor selection of shops.

Why should they clean up litter around Shevy, my part of Wigan is clean and tidy, we don't have litter louts.

Where's Dave Oy?

Do you mean to say Mick that Frank's book can be bought at the later (latter) chiropodist?
Footnote:
So you must be able to have a pedicure whilst looking at bygone Shevy..
I need a sherry....

Alan you are lucky if you live in a complete litter free zone, you must live in a vacuum and as regards Dave Oy, I agree with you, he is a brilliant photographer and I always look forward to his contributions.

The area of Wigan I live in is litter free too Alan, makes you wonder doesn't it, it must be locals who are doing it, as why would anyone not local go specially to walk around there when they have scenic walks on their own doorstep.

I need a large sherry.

Most of the litter on the road side in Shevy as been chucked out of car windows.

Mick is spot on.

Them folks from the Council Estate in their Rolls Royces and BMWs are a flippin' nuisance aren't they Mick, always throwing their cigar butts out of the window. You would show them the staircase to the top of Boyswell House if it was up to you wouldn't you Mick?

I can understand that Mick, the reason its litter free around where I live at the moment is that McDonald's on Greenhough St and the pizza shop and pubs on Wigan Ln are closed, as soon as they re-open the wrappings and boxes that contained the greasy muck will once again be tossed out of car windows by the semi-comatose drunks on their way through the area.

That's quite true Cyril, I have noticed that- I hope those fast food shops don't open again! They can deliver them instead and the wrappings can go in their own bins. There was never as much litter before those shops.

You are so right Veronica.
The Council should make the owners of the junk food outlets pick all THEIR wrappings up.
I agree, hope they don't open again.