Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 25th May, 2022)

It is sad to see this place,
Forgotten, lost, no gaze to trace,
left to weather, without a shield,
surrender given, my sword I yeald,
passing notice , perhaps a few,
briefly thought of , but nothing new ,
I'll close the window, but they're gone too,
the final chapter, that once some knew..

Its earmarked for a new housing development, I'm surprised the two television aerial survived the fire.

A lot of Wiganers will have forgot that it was originally named the Red Lion.

I have lived in Abram since 1974 and remember when it was called The Red Lion but locals have always called it The Dover Lock. I can remember someone in a car once asking me where The Red Lion was and I told them there was no Red Lion in Abram....luckily it dawned on me before they drove off that there WAS a Red Lion and I was able to direct them. When it was renovated some years later they renamed it The Dover Lock. It is truly heartbreaking to see it as it is now and "e's" poem suns it up perfectly. ...We sat in the beer garden often with our children on Summer days and I have warned my daughter, who we haven't seen for four years, but who is visiting us at the beginning of June, that she is in for a shock. So sad, but the memories will always be there.

Irene, I can remember someone in a pub asking me is there a B&Q in Wigan, I said no theres only a W-I-G-A-and a N.

I might have known that was you, Tom!

Sometimes it's not the spelling but the sound of a word that rings in the mind . Avondale Street near me is pronounced by locals as Avundale (rhyming it with tavern) , so when a driver stopped me the other day and asked for directions to Avondale Street ( rhyming it correctly with raven ) I said I'd never heard of it. ... I was almost too embarrassed to call him back and put him on his way .

Hey, our James, you'd find most 'Wiganers' don't even know where Dover Lock is, never mind that the used to be called Red Lion.

Irene: I always enjoyed going for a bite to eat and a couple of pints, it had a nice relaxing atmosphere.
Tom: I liked that, typical Wigan dry humour.

James Hanson,.... (will the reall one please stand up?)....it was actually The WHITE Lion at one time, before it became the RED one! I imagine not many Wiganers know that, either!

It is not only sad for this pub, the way things are going there will not be anything left for anyone. These young people of today have my sympathy. There is nothing left

I think the last pub in Golborne was the Red Lion and the first in Abram was the Red Lion. Not many places that happens.

Irene, that Tom with the Wigan dry sense of humour wasn't me.

I can guess who it is, a man of many disguises!

I too have only ever known it to be Dover Lock. If Arthur Onions was still feeding his cattle with onion scraps they wouldn't sell those planned houses. I'd always thought that the strong onion smells around there at one time came from the Patak's factory until I was told about the onion scraps in the field, apparently the cows couldn't get enough of them.

It's typical Bolton dry humour really, because Dave Spikey first told the joke at the Leeds City Varieties Theatre in 2003 whilst jokingly sending up Wiganers. He told of when on his way to do a gig in Wigan and noticed he still had paint on his hand so wanted some turps to remove it before going on stage, so he asks this passing man if there's a B&Q in Wigan, who replies etc., etc., and then finally replies, "So no, there's no B or Q in Wigan, have you tried Bolton." He then gets lost in Poolstock, so he asks a lad "How do you get to the DW Stadium," "My brother takes me." the lad replies.

He then says "Why do meat pies have a hole in the middle - it's so Wiganers can pick up four with each hand."

Veronica, does he ride around on a Raleigh too, or maybe it's now a Boris bike whilst doing royal waves going up and down The Mall.

Ozy hasn’t been in there with his chip pan has he?

I’m sick of telling Boris about his parties. Stick to number 10 I tell him but does he listen?

Irate Landlady to charred Landlord…“What do you mean it was a work bubble?”

Ozy to charred Landlord…”Bloody Aga!”

All I can say is I did advise Ozy to move to Hic Bibi perhaps he moved here instead and the Aga has well and truly blown…the chip pan is up the chimney….I think that’s the last of Ozy …
I believe the man of many disguises is running out of names…we can see through ‘em all….