Photo-a-Day  (Tuesday, 21st November, 2023)

What a contrast to yesterday’s PAD

Not my cup of tea to shop in these places, or other similar shops. I'm from the old school, never fancied kebabs or stuff like that. Traditional fish and chips for me if I fancy a quick meal. No offence to you if you prefer kebabs and that other stuff they sell.

Ye Gods ! Halal meat in Mesnes St ? What would my Scottish Presbyterian Granny have made of that ?
Still the shop front is bright & tidy compared to the one on the left.

Kiwi Travel has been much a part of the town centre for so many years and operated in a few premises in and around that area of town, I, and many others too I'm sure will remember in the early 1970s Kiwi being in part of the upstairs floor area of Whelan's Supermarket. Though along with many other businesses in the town during the time of the pandemic it closed in 2020, Mesnes Street just isn't the thriving shopping area it once was.
https://www.wigantoday.net/business/wigan-travel-agency-shuts-after-nightmare-year-for-industry-3065458

Never understood why you'd want to completely cover the windows like that.
Next door wants a bit of work too

In the 60s an international food store in Wigan would be selling offal from Bolton and sausages from Leigh. Anything from St Helens would have been sequestered at the border.

These type of shops don't want people to see inside. They cover the windows.

Agreed with Garry.
Traditional corner shops for me, I was brought up on Fish and chips every Friday and when I was younger never heard of kebabs.
So no need to change.

It just looks like a worn torn country!

Is it any different to Aldi or Lidl?
Do they not sell kebabs and curries in Asda, Tesco or Sainsbury’s?

Nice picture Brian, a larger picture would show how shabby and dilapidated this row of shops (Clarence Chambers) has become.
The rotting windows on the upper floors and grubby if not empty shops below of this once pleasant building provide a great visual welcome to arrivals from the stations.
Whatever possessed Kiwi Travel to relocate to this run down part of town.

Wasn't Kiwi Travel once in a quite large premises in Crompton St. in the late 60s/70s?

The RSPCA want nonstun halal and kosher slaughter banned. Open the link below to read about it and sign their open letter to DEFRA.
https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/slaughter

Derek, I am sure they started in Crompton Street, was there some connection with a New Zealand RL player at the time, hence the name?
They might have moved to Mesnes Street, but might be wrong about that.

I can see by the comments that the people making them have never tried Halal meat, if they did they would find out how nice, fresh and tasty it is.

Of course they sell kebabs at supermarkets, John Noakes, but you don't have to buy them.
I've ask many people, why do they buy kebabs, most of them say because I was full of beer, and don't even know what they are made from.

These shops have carried on from were the Polish and Eastern European shopkeepers left off, the Poles, Czechs and Romanians have gone back home to be replaced with Muslims coming over on the dinghies, and they want the food that they are used to eating, after all when a lot of Wiganers go to the Mediterranean they won't eat the cuisine or 't'local muck' as they call it, so they go to the English shops to get their daily diet of fish & chips, sausages, baked beans along with Spam, Corned Beef, Spaghetti in tomato sauce and Fray Bentos pies in tins and warm beer, then sit on the beach covered in Carrot Oil and wearing shorts, socks with sandals, knotted hanky and say 'ee its just like bein er Blackpool 'cept wi'sun.

Signed Dave, I've signed something similar before but they came up with some excuse or other and wouldn't agree that stunning first will not affect their practise, but some did begin stunning, hopefully the message will get across to all at some point.

Tommy Dodds, A joint of of beef and leg of lamb beats all this rubbish.

Well said Tommy.
I have lived throughout the Middle East over very many years from Turkiye and Egypt to Yemen and all countries in between including Israel and probably eaten both Halal and Kosher without particularly noticing any difference, I should have been more observant.
Animal slaughter is not pretty no matter how it is done. I wouldn't want my throat slit any more than a bolt in my brain but apart from becoming a vegetarian what would you do, give the creatures an overdose of sleeping pills?
I say each tradition to their own as long as they don't frighten the horses or frogs as they do in France!!!!!!

You wouldn't have noticed any difference at all Colin, and I'm sure that a lot of the Lamb and Chicken too that is processed into products and also being sold in UK supermarkets and other outlets has been slaughtered in Halal abattoirs, though you can always guarantee that Pork hasn't.

I like to eat food I can trust, give British beef and pork anytime.
We always have Lamb for our traditional Sunday dinner every week. I Always use the Butchers on the high street.

All these garish signs in windows don’t do any favours for the street. They just drag the street down making it look worse than it really is. It’s more a welcome sign to the International's. There’ll be more shops like these in time.

They are going to be building lots of flats across the road from that location, 1642 flats spread across several high rise blocks on the old Market Square, so they will have a local shop to shop in :)

If the rest of the shops had garish signs Wigans street would look much nicer.

Veronica correct.
They look like a thurd world country not Wigan!

Bring back Kwik save.....

Why is it, everytime premises close down, they quickly get turned in to a barbers shop, a junk food outlet ie, kebabs, pizza etc.
No wonder our children have no protein in them.

That is not a junk food shop it is a general store. None so blind as those who yearn for yesteryear.

Tommy Dodds, buy some multicolour wallpaper and cover your house windows if you like that sort of thing. Your house would look different than the rest.

Another pseudonym being used by ‘NIMBY’ as if anybody is fooled…

The rest of Europe have much better quality food than the UK.
You need to find out where you stand. The UK is not the best place in the World, by a long chalk.

I love French, Greek and Italian food. I try anything and everything in every country I have been to. The only food I hate was the rubbery squid/ calamari ugh!

My dad worked mainly in retail in Wigan and used to tell me that the council had a man that walked around ensuring that window posters and advertisement met a certain standard. if Garish or unsuitable they would have to remove it. That man would have a fit these days.
Veronica you are so right about squid. My first holiday abroad at the buffet I piled my plate plate with what I thought were onion rings. Turned out to be squid that was more like elastic bands in batter, never touched the things since!