Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 13th March, 2024)

On the last photo it looks like there is a blocked gutter and damp brickwork

Aspull is very lucky to have this Well-being Centre. It’s a building you couldn’t miss though to say the least. But what is that compared to what it’s for…

It’s a bit different to 70 years ago, when I lived in New Springs. It was just Dr Simmons then . The surgery was just a room in his house. There wasn’t a need for an appointment. You just went and sat and waited your turn. I used to go for my Grandmas prescription. There was a big hoha when another Doctor came. This was young Dr Oldfield, who I know has now passed away. There was a bench on either side of the room for each Doctor. The new clinic looks fantastic.

Are there any GPs based there? Here they are as rare as hen's teeth.
Doctor Peter Cooke's surgery, in the early 50s, was by an old barn, left side of Haigh Road going up hill.
The 1960s shed-like brick structure followed.
This looks space age by comparison.

My Doctor's is still a telephone conversation. Very difficult to see a Doctor face to face.

Kath H, my Doctors was exactly to same, my Doctors surgery many years ago was just a converted terraced house on the corner of Ince Green Lane, lower Ince side. You just turned up no appointment needed, go to the receptionist book in and sit down.
Wait for your buzzer and see the Doctor, job done. What can be more easier than that.
We seemed to have gone backwards instead of forwards.

Gary. I remember Dr Cooke’s surgery when we moved to Aspull in 1956.

I don't care what the buildings look like as long as I can see a doctor the same day. Not so easy these days. Telephone calls don't always work and how can you carry out a diagnosis without seeing the sick person.

The building looks fantastic, but can you see a doc the same day, that's the question.

The Aspull Well-being centre looks great. We are so proud of it.

It's a modern building which I don't normally like but it looks "neat-and-tidy" and, as Veronica says, it's its purpose that's important. Having said that, yesterday I spent eight hours in the Same Day Emergency Care unit at Wigan Infirmary which looks like a pre-fab from the outside but I couldn't have received better care from nicer people. Like Kath H, I remember the old doctor's surgeries so well.... cracked lino on the floor, a hard wooden form to sit on, an ancient gas fire and a dim light-bulb. People spoke in whispers and everyone looked up if someone coughed and you felt worse when you came out than when you went in!

The National health service is on its knees, literally. We'll all be paying for our treatment in the future.

We've had one for years on Houghton Lane in Shevy.
Very good service with smiling staff

We’ve all been paying for our treatment ever since we left school and began paying National Insurance contributions .

Apart from those amongst us who chose not to work , cadge on the streets , then move into the Oak Hotel that is .

Certainly looks impressive Dennis only noticed it last week coming down Haigh Road on the left.

I fully understand that Osy, but literally pay to be seen on the day.

It looks a nice clean purpose built building.If it was in Wigan people would be calling it Lego.

Ozy have you heard Kilhey Court is going back to what it was before the migrants,even so I don’t think I would want to go there.

Good photos Dennis, I've never quite understood , why with all that brickwork on show ,they stick the name between two windows ,with the letters sideways .
Some very strange ideas these architects these days, keep it simple.

I’m sorry but they have had all they’re having off me. Let the ‘newbies’ pay for their treatment and anybody else who flies in for health care!
Actually we have a centre for health where I live. Can’t just walk-in but the day will come I’m sure without making an appointment. Doctors do come there on certain days I believe but I have never had the need yet. The building provides a space for those with dementia/ Alzheimers and their carers. Quite a few volunteers who give up their time to help and entertain them.
These health centres seem to be popping up everywhere nothing unusual about them. It’s what every town needs to relieve the pressure on hospitals. I am really pleased Aspull has got their very own.

I wondered about that myself, David. That blank wall on the left would have been an ideal position to put that lettering. I dare say there must be a good reason.

Good all around photos Dennis, and hope all things work out up there, though I've found that these all under one roof health centres are okay at first with plenty spaces to park up, until they then start relocating other clinics and services along with more staff and patients arriving, and they all have cars.
Then when folks arrive and find no spaces on the car park they will park on the front road, and after complaints the council will then put banded yellow lines along the front.
So then folks who arrive in good time for appointments and find no spaces to park will then have to find a spot streets away, and so with them now being late for their appointment they will be grunted at.

In the 1950s and 60s doctors did a lot of the work themselves, they stitched wounds, set bones and bandaged sores. Now they have a computer and a book of magic pills. Anything that those can’t cure they send to hospital.

I hadn’t heard John , but since I’ve never set foot in the place , nor do I have any intention of ever doing so , it’s all academic to me .

But considering the way they treated their regular clientele by cancelling long standing bookings at a minute’s notice , blinded by the
££££ signs in their eyes at the prospect of making loads of easy dosh out of the home office , ( which they no doubt received anyway ) , it would serve the barstewards right if everybody boycotted the damn place .

That’s my way of thinking anyroad up .

.Ozy, I'm not sure why you felt it necessary to make your remarks about those compelled to live in the Oak Hotel - I assume you're referring to asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their applications for asylum. As you well know, they're not allowed to work, and the delays in having decisions made about whether they can stay or not are not their fault - 130,000 are awaiting decisions. Delays at the Home Office ramps up the hotel bills - not asylum seekers. 63% of asylum applications are successful first time round - with many more successful on appeal. Sadly, when an application is accepted, the refugee is then turfed out of their hotel at very short notice, with nowhere to stay - you may have see the rough-sleeping refugee being dragged about the pavement and stamped on by a police officer in Manchester recently. I think they are rather more likely to resort to begging in the streets after being granted refugee status than before.
As for a shortage of doctors - the Government recently stopped some of our local universities from offering medical course for would-be doctors, and have cut back on their promises to increase training places. Cuts in bursaries, and making nurses pay fees for training which involves many hours of on-the-ward training, has reduced the numbers of nurses in training.
Finally - refugees made up just 16% of immigrants to the UK last year. We are now welcoming many more non-European migrants that seven years ago (I wonder what happened in 2016 to change things?) The largest number of refugees are Afghan - left behind to their fate when we abandoned the country to the Taliban.
Refugees deserve compassion and support, not cheap barbs and unjustified scapegoating.

National insurance contributions pays for our State Pensions.

Pw of course Aspull is under Wigan. WIGAN Council look after all amenities. Where do you think Aspull comes under...Bolton Council, I don't think so.

Very good point Rev David Long, a well educated gentleman you are.

Even if we triple NI contributions it will not be enough because many people don’t take responsibility for their own health . Doctors have repeatedly pointed out the obesity crisis to no avail . Many want to eat drink as much as they like and when something goes wrong they want the NHS to fix it . There is simply not enough of everything within nhs to cope with this . You can’t build a mansion with the cost of a tent ! Even if we piled billions more into the NHS it also wouldn’t be enough . The problem is how we live and our unwillingness to take responsibility for our own lives , instead we give it to the NHS and blame the government!

Fully agree with everything you said Rev Long.

Correct Alan, you needs to have at least 35 years National insurance contributions to qualify for a good State Pension.

No wonder the nhs is on its knees too many people now in this country using it its all people do is moan and dont do anything about it like the mp who has gone to another party and i am sorry to say that he is telling the truth and trying to stick up for us before it gets to late and worser than it is now.

Rev Long....every word you say is absolutely spot on.

Yes let’s all be overwhelmed with them.
The majority of people in this country don’t agree fortunately. Plus where do we put them all when there’s a complete lack of housing in this country.
Would all those people who are very welcoming put them up in their own homes I wonder..No I don’t think so. We should only take in what we can. What’s the use of putting them out on the street after they have been given permission to stay? Nowhere for them to go and a great strain on the economy as it is.

KFC, macdonald, pizza, Kabbs and all that rubbish contributes to most of our kids being obesity.
Food with no nutrition and unhealthy eating is to blame. I agree with Mark.
We are flooded here in Britain with junk food outlets.

I disagree with 0zy but agree with everything The Rev says.
We all need to get behind the homeless, they are human beings too.

If as you say you assume that I’m speaking about asylum seekers David , then you assume incorrectly , as at no point in my comment did I mention asylum seekers , although I am aware that the Britannia hotel is full of what I’m informed
( either correctly or otherwise ) are asylum seekers from Somalia .

I’m also informed by a friend who works there but whose name or position I won’t reveal , that the Holiday Inn at Martland park is , or at least until recently was, fully occupied by refugees from Afghanistan .

But read through my comment again , nowhere will you find any reference to asylum seekers .

My comments were targeted at the local home grown , work shy, hedonistic , inbred retards that blight the streets of this town … when they’re not getting thrown out of somewhere or other for shoplifting that is .

And with regards to the occupants of the Oak Hotel being compelled to stay there , I’m of the opinion that the majority prefer to be there , as they consider it a much more comfortable option than getting out of bed at 4 a.m to do a 12 hour shift.

Kind of like what I was
“ Compelled “ to do for half a lifetime .

And on the subject of compassion , I have oceans of compassion for genuine causes , but I have none whatsoever for the shower that I’ve just described .

Only yesterday as I was down by the Duggie searching for Veronica’s imaginary steps , I witnessed a group of about 8 of them exit the place , then walk down the path below Tesco’s before going in amongst the trees adjacent to the viaduct to shoot up with their daily fix .

So if if this an attempt on your part to infer that I’m a racist , which at first glance , it appears to me that you may have been , please don’t bother , just come straight out and ask me … I’ll give you a honest answer .

I’m not saying it will be a direct answer , but it will be honest .

All the very best . Ozy .

Good news for all the immigrants who have been thrown out of the hotels! They can now claim £3,000 from the government for a nice holiday in the sunshine! Apparently the government are convinced that this free money will deter them from coming across the channel???

Aspuller,I know Aspull comes under WMBC but it is not Wigan.

No Ozy you didn't mention asylum seekers but you Did mean them.
People can read through it!.
But you do understand Rev David's point.

Such childlike naiveté from the unearthly .

I am not pandering down to anyone who comes into this country for a free ride and neither i have no compassion what so ever when our own people cant get to see their gps and have serious health conditions all that i can say is that we are a soft touch this country people need to wake up before it is to late before it gets worse.

Ozy - I'll admit I don't know who occupies bed spaces at the Oak Hotel at public expense - and jumped to the conclusion that, as the most controversial use is for housing asylum seekers, and you hadn't made it clear to whom you were referring, I assumed (as I said) that the object of your remarks were asylum seekers. I was obviously wrong - sorry.
However, if our Council has a project running to try to address addiction in our community, which involves placing addicts in a place of safety where they can attempt to address their issues, I say Thank Goodness! Shouting names at them won't change anything. Person-by-person, they're not costing each of us very much at all, and I think it's better to try to work with such problematic people than simply write them off as undeserving of our sympathy.
As far as housing shortages are concerned - those in need are not the problem. It's a lack of action in building social housing - and selling off those we'd already paid for.

Now I know how the panel feel on BBC Question Time.

Speak for yourself Margaret I understood what was meant. I am pretty sure Ozy knew what he meant without you ‘thinking’ you can read his mind.
The audacity is staggering.
Opinions vary.

No , I didn’t mention asylum seekers Margaret , you’re perfectly correct on that point , and the reason I didn’t mention asylum seekers is because my comments weren’t directed at asylum seekers .

I don’t have direct line to Wigan council unfortunately , so they don’t keep me up to date on a daily basis regarding the comings and goings at the Oak Hotel , but the latest that I heard was that there weren’t any asylum seekers staying there , just druggies .

I also received information from a council employee recently that thousands had to be spent on refurbishing the place last year in order to rectify the damage that they’d caused …
And you’re looking for compassion ?

But if it keeps you happy I’ll say this just one more time and then I’m done .

My comments were not directed at asylum seekers .

There ! Satisfied ?

I take a certain amount of care trying to make my posts both legible and specific … It’s just a pity some people don’t take an equal measure of care when it comes to reading them correctly .

Just one final thing though Margaret , I really don’t appreciate anyone telling me what I do or don’t understand , or what I did or didn’t mean .

I worked until I was 73. A working life of 57 years. Unfortunately I'd made the wrong choice, opting to pay a 'small' stamp as I earned £1 an hour and needed the money - raising a young family. My 'pension' was £12 pa, paid every December. I was 67 when I got a percentage of my husband's basic pension. My own stupid fault for choosing to pay a Married Woman's Allowance - we have to take responsibility for our choices, hence having to keep working until I'd turned 73. Luckily I loved my job.

If people on holiday ask where do I come from, I always say "Wigan in Lancashire" although I live in Ashton. I'm from the old school.

Asylum seekers or illegal Immigrants we are far to much of a soft touch why do they not stay in France it’s obvious,and sending millions of pounds to India and they have a space project sending rockets to the moon,Rev David you maybe right and Ozy you to maybe right but I came out of work through no fault of mine mid seventies and couldn’t get a penny of the social.

Dennis, sorry to be responding so late, been on journey today Chorley, Bolton and Bury.
This building and its medical facilities are a great asset to Aspull, saw it in the early days of construction and please to see that it is finished and up and running.
Thanks for the pictures and the update.

Lets all shake hands and call it a day, and we'll start again tomorrow. Now it's sherry time...again.

There are field workers trying to turn the lives of people who've become addicted to drugs and so are unable to help themselves, and perhaps even act against their own self-interest - who continue to try to see the person behind the presentation they make to the world. Thank Goodness we have a local authority prepared to fund such thankless work despite those who think they should simply disappear from our view. If we don't have compassion - should the next step be vilification, even hatred?

So , David , you now admit that you don’t actually know who occupies spaces at the Oak Hotel, having erroneously implied earlier that I was referring to asylum seekers … But then, and if I’m being perfectly honest neither do I … precisely .

But having made this incorrect assumption that I was targeting asylum seekers , take a look at the response that you unleashed .

We all make assumptions , some turn out to be correct , others don’t … To err is human after all .

However ,
I’m prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt on this occasion and accept your last post as an apology , if that in actual fact is what it was meant to be .
And if it wasn’t , then all I have to say is , that is what it should have been .

I also disagree regarding drug abuse .

I personally could quite easily have chosen that route , as drugs were readily available in my time , but fortunately I chose to take a different route .

Now if you’d care to indulge in a more in depth discussion on my own views as to the way this world is heading , I hereby give Ron my permission to pass my contact details on to your good self .

And please don’t do me the disservice of thinking that just because I’m a humble wagon driver I’m a total thicko .

Best regards. Ozy .

Yes, Ozy, it was an apology - for assuming (as I said) that the object of your comments were asylum seekers.
I don't think I wrote anything which might be taken as an attack on your intelligence. Your contributions here over the years have clearly demonstrated your intelligence and breadth of knowledge.
As for drug addicts - addiction is an illness. Once it's got a hold on you, it's very hard to get rid of it. Most of us manage to get through life without succumbing to it, but those who are addicted need all the help they can get to become free from it. Making the wrong choice and taking a path which leads to addiction should not disqualify you from help to break free from it. Had you taken the wrong path - wouldn't your loved ones want you to receive help to get straight again?
People make mistakes, as you say - To err is human.... Pulling out at a junction and getting struck by an oncoming vehicle is a common error - but no one would think of leaving you injured and trapped in your car on the grounds that you made the wrong choice, and so didn't deserve rescuing.

A intelligent discussion on an emotive subject with differing views and without rancour. Respect to both

I don’t think your analogy of being in a RTA and being hooked on hard drugs is a particularly good one to be fair .
It’s perfectly obvious that no one would want to remain trapped in wrecked vehicle , although it isn’t all that obvious that every drug addict would thank you for attempting to get them clean .
Many that I’ve seen appear to be perfectly content “ swirling about in a human cesspit of their own making “ , to borrow the famous quote by James Anderton , even though he wasn’t speaking of drug users when he coined the phrase .

Just as I wasn’t speaking of asylum seekers in my celebrated comment …

Neither was I specifically speaking about drug addicts …

“ those amongst us who chose not to work , cadge on the streets , then move into the Oak Hotel “ are the words that I used you may recall .

No mention of asylum seekers or substance abusers there you’ll note.
I was speaking of a class of people that take whatever they can get their hands on by whatever means possible yet contribute nothing . Who leave school , if they ever attended school that is then go straight onto social security and remain there for life . Who end up homeless and on the streets as a result of their own actions and then expect “ compassion “.

Well they can expect compassion as much as they want , but they won’t get any from me .

You’ll be familiar with the term “ God helps those who help themselves “ I should imagine , well so would I help anyone genuine , but I wouldn’t lift a finger for this lot .

But it’s a very complex subject and similar problems exist in most if not all of the words developed countries , probably the underdeveloped ones as well but I don’t have any answers , do you ?

Besides , I’ve said everything that I felt needed saying ,
and that’s the topic closed as far as I’m concerned .

All the best Ozy .