Photo-a-Day  (Tuesday, 31st December, 2024)

He's looking if the Indi-Corn shop is still open.

Poor thing, it doesn’t realise that Upton Diner closed early.

It's a lovely arcade, but that solitary pigeon looks like Billy-No-Mates, poor owd lad! Sadly, that beautiful arcade tends to be empty and echoey these days, and is mainly used as a short-cut to the bus station. If there was another pigeon facing him, it would look like the film-set of "High Noon"...."do not forsake me, oh, my darlin'......".

It looks pretty but on the downside they may only be 1 pigeon today but once he finds out there maybe food & a nice perch in the roof area he will tell all his mates. Shoo him out, quick !

It was much busier in the past when Higham’s Florist and Dewhurst’s Butcher where in those shop on the right and the old Market Hall was still there and all the stalls set out on Woodcock Street, will those bust days ever return?
I must say though that all the new shop fronts give it character and it is well looked after. Very often I see a security guard patrolling to keep the riff raff from loitering.

Rare to see a solitary pigeon Colin we saw a rat on the cut through front Wallgate to bus station and it wasn’t in any hurry to scarper,does anyone see any cats?

Two of Walter’s most memorable films are ‘How Green Was My Valley’ 1941 and that very moving film ‘Mrs Miniver’ 1942.

He's the pigeon version of Kwai Chang Kaine from Kung Fu , destined to wander the earth alone . He'll try to stay out of trouble but someone will have it in for him .
"Dirty flying rat" , they'll yell , but he'll rise above it using the Zen philosophy taught him by Master Pigeon .
'If a man dwells on the past he robs the present , but if he ignores the past he may rob the future ' . Which seems a good thought for the New Year .

Makes a change to see people using the arcade.

Helen, I think that they have nets up and other deterrents to stop them roosting. Not like thirty years ago when my wife and I were stood talking with an old friend. She was very smartly dressed and was suddenly unceremoniously drenched in the worst kind of pigeon poo.

Irene/ Veronica, check out ‘unknown’ on The Album, recently commented.
Your opinion is saught!!!!

'Mouldy Old Dough'

I love this arcade and remember the days it was always packed. We didn’t need the Grand Arcade when this was already here ..or the other one that was done away with. More should have been done to integrate them. We have lost too much history in Wigan.

Have found it and commented, Colin! Veronica, you are so right.....we had The Market Arcade, (known as The Old Arcade), The Makinson Arcade and The Royal Arcade. The first, (and most characterful), is gone, and the other two are almost empty. Wigan Council is too fond of knocking down places that their townspeople loved and trying to replace them with "Modern Wigan" .....WHY? If Wigan was Chester or York, those places would be cherished.

But Irene sweetheart, York, and Chester were important places built to a higher standard than the old canalside coal mining town of Wigan.
You should get yourself out and visit Blackburn, Bolton, and Burnley to see the quality of their architecture.

York, and Chester were built long before the old canalside coal mining town of Wigan existed. Although Wigan was never a coal mining town, the canalside town of Wigan only existed from the early 19th century.

You're right about York and Chester, Mick, Sweetheart, and I love the architecture in the other towns you mention, but we had some beautiful architecture in Wigan too.....unfortunately the powers-that-be have no sense of taste or of history. I have recently been to Bolton and its demise is as bad as Wigan's. However, let's not fall out on the last night of the year. I wish you and Mrs. Byrne and your family, and all of us on Wigan World, a Happy New Year.

And it’s a Happy New Year to everyone from me.
PS hopefully Mr Hillman is still with Irene & Peter.

Always liked shopping in this arcade - everything from bakery to keycutting, shoe shop, florist, jeweller and the delicious smell of coffee wafting through the air. My engagement ring was bought from there - can't remember the jewellers' name. I do remember that the bass guitar was sold to pay for it! My best wishes to you all for good health, peace and much happiness in 2025. X

Big Harold, Bolton in particular has some fabulous buildings which I have taken photos of. Sadly many are in the same state as those in Wigan.

Bolton believe it or not is worse than Wigan. It was a great town once and not all that long ago.
Now it’s more like a third world country. Along with other towns.
This morning in Westhoughton outside the Co-op there was a lone beggar something never seen before. I doubt she would be there long….

Always liked shopping in this arcade - everything from bakery to keycutting, shoe shop, florist, jeweller and the delicious smell of coffee wafting through the air. My engagement ring was bought from there - can't remember the jewellers' name. I do remember that the bass guitar was sold to pay for it! My best wishes to you all for good health, peace and much happiness in 2025. X

John Noakes, you'll be saying next that the Royal family, the government and Wigan councillors are all Lizards that arrived on spacecraft.

So true Irene, a great many of Wigan's wonderful architectural buildings along with the Medieval and Roman history, was bulldozed into oblivion.

Well, as another year draws to a close, all that remains is for me to thank you all for your comments and fun in 2024 and to wish everyone the very best wishes for 2025.

John, (Howfen), yes, the Hillman is still with us but is not "MR" Hillman.....she is a "Mrs", (or perhaps a "Miss", but definitely not a modern "Ms"!). She is called "Dorothy". She will be out and about in the Spring.

Not sure if my comment to John (Howfen) was successful......just to say "Mr. Hillman" is still with us, but she is "MISS Hillman", (Dorothy)! Apologies if this comment appears twice....this laptop is getting old, (like me!).

Bolton, Blackburn, and Burnley always had and still have far more quality stone-built buildings than Wigan ever had.

Wigan is as old as the romans that first settled here.

Good to know about Dorothy Irene and Peter

Yes Wheelwasher and much of the Roman history is buried underground where it can’t be seen! Perhaps people in the future will find it and treasure it. The Wigan of the past was far more important than it is now.

Dorothy is a Banger then is she!
My dad once owned a Hillman Husky, a similar car to the Minx but an estate car, my Dad used to call it different names in Winter. Some I can't repeat.

Wheelwasher, you could be correct in what you say about Wigan, however you cannot have a "canalside" town without a canal and the canal arrived a long time after the Romans. Likewise, a coal mining town has coal mines, not cotton mills.

Mr Rootes Dorothy is not a Banger you speak for yourself.