Photo-a-Day  (Sunday, 19th January, 2025)

Colin according to the weather people there is more bad weather on its way. If you are stood under the end of a rainbow would you still see it?

No, the Rainbow doesn't mean it's the end of the awful weather; what it means is that the sun is shining through some water droplets.
There's a bit more to it but I won't try to explain in case the nitpickers have nothing better to do today.

I think many moons ago that one of those shops on the left was Vose’s Tripe Shop and next door was a shop that sold cakes in the window and had a cafe at the rear and upstairs.

What a shame over the years how Wigan has declined and turned out it is so sad i never thought this would have ever happened i can remember the blustering shops every saturday all the different shops there used to be in the 60s 70s 80s 90s and now its just like a ghost town.

Poor Wigan there’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the town in this century. It’s had its time the zenith has passed.

And then bacon would go up, Colin!! I love rainbows but hate anything else in the sky. When we had that comet many years ago, I must have been the only person in Wigan who never saw it.....if I went out after dark I kept my eyes on the pavement! Same with the Aurora Borealis which was visible quite a lot last year....I couldn't look. How different we all are!

Big Harold, don’t think you need to explain what creates a rainbow. We might be from Wigan but we did receive an education.

Big Harold are you Mick's side kick from Shevvy because most of the time you post negative comments and that is why you are not liked by has you say the nitpickers. In nearly 20 years on this site I have seen members and guest's come and go. Are you going to be one of those people who will try to get a reaction but after a while people will tire of the glib comments and not take the bait

Although I can remember those two shops on the left and the Electric Showroom building further down, for the life of me can’t remember what those building looked like before they were demolished to make way for than none bland parade of shops.

Oh Irene, what a shame. How do you go on with flying birds and helicopter?.

Is it because I come from Ince that I'm perceived as "thick"? WHY do people assume that we don't know how a rainbow is formed? Of course we know, but most of us don't feel the need to post a scientific explanation, and if we like to think there's a pot of gold at the end of it, or that happy little bluebirds fly over it, or even that it's a Wigan Rainbow (weigh a pie!), then let us enjoy the notion, lads and lasses of Wigan World. Some people wouldn't see a bit of light-heartedness if it jumped up and hit them in the face!

Don’t forget Little Harold …Big Harold’s Sonny Boy Peter P. He introduced him yesterday. Keep up as he is ‘Mick’ this and that as well.
I remember Vose’s as if it was yesterday. The best pies in Wigan with a little knob of pastry on top to finish off.
There’s some photos of the shops along the ‘parade’ I’m sure if you look in Album Colin.

Yes, Peter, it is me; I remember you from the old days complaining about a lovely video that I made of a bike ride alongside a field of flowering rape crops in a Billinge field
For some unknown reason, you complained to the admin of WW and had removed.

Irene, I was only explaining that the Rainbow sighting has nothing to do with the weather changing for the better.
Now, can you explain why you can't look up at the sky?

Colin. Further along where Bryan House is now there used to be Preston’s Furniture Showroom. It was opposite the electric showroom. It was owned privately by Ernest Preston, it was massive inside, and sold good quality furniture.I worked
there many years ago.

I've just found out what mischief my boy has been making. I will take all his devices from him and administer the punishment he deserves. He's a very sad and lonely character but still a very naughty boy!

Just remembered, there was also Lacey’s pie/ cake shop. They sold the best pies and vanilla slices.

Irene, your pot of gold reminds me of the film ‘Finian’s Rainbow’ with Fred Astaire, Petula Clarke and Tommy Steele as the Leprechaun.
Such films with no Blood and Gore would be considered too ‘Shmultzy’ these days.

Kath, my mother, was a qualified confectioner and used to make pies and cakes for R O Laces.
So we had a lot of homemade pies, but when she did buy them she always bought Voses.

You made it SOUND as if everyone but you had no idea how a rainbow was formed , "Harold"; unfortunately you have a habit of doing that because of the way you word things. Sometimes you probably don't mean the comments as they come across, but on yesterday's p-a-d when you insinuated that the place I grew up in stunk, and I quote, "Irene, you wouldn't have noticed any smells because the whole area would have stunk", was rather insulting. You had a lot to say about living near a chippy, but the only chip you have is on your shoulder. To politely answer your question, I am quite happy to see birds, aeroplanes etc but I don't like comets, shooting stars, eclipses etc.....things that are not "everyday" things. I wish I could tell you why but I don't know myself.
Veronica, I remember those pies from Vose's so well..... they were oval in shape and I think they put that little "curl" of pastry on some of them to differentiate between meat-and-potato and steak pies.

Oh Little Harold sounds like he’s been adopted after all! What a shame I was growing quite fond him. Still a chip off the old block would be too much..

Come on now lads it’s all getting a heated and personal. Let’s show a bit of decorum, especially to the Ladies.

Handbags at dawn, I’m keeping out of this one before pension books start flying.

Please don’t have sending in another peace keeping force, we’ve only just ended one war.

I personally consider myself highly privileged to have been around to witness the passage of the Hale-Bopp comet in 1997 .
It was clearly visible in the night sky ( and often in the daytime ) for many weeks .

Speaking for myself , the event has to rank amongst the most memorable phenomena that I have ever witnessed .
Look it up on the internet Irene . The stats are staggering .

For instance , they reckon the last time it was visible from earth was 4,200 years ago , so It seems such a pity that you missed the show the second time around … but not to worry , as scientists at NASA reckon it’ll be back again in the year 4385 … ( barring unforeseen mishaps obviously , such as collisions with errant planets and the like ) .

So you may consider it prudent to make a note of the date in your diary in order to avoid missing the dirty snowball on its third orbit .

My oh My Toto, I wish I was back in Kansas.

Colin, you are right and we are going off the subject of today's photo, but, if we didn't stick up for ourselves , Harold/Mick would have the upper hand. I am a peaceful person and have tried to speak politely, as you can see today, and have tried to point out to him where he goes wrong in wording things the way he does but I am afraid it is a losing battle; he is his own worst enemy. We ALL have a disagreement now and again with another poster but not to the point of insulting each other. He has brought it on himself and I'm sorry he can't see that and just try to join in like everyone else.

WN6 pension books? Hat pins would be better….not seen Pension books for decades or hat pins for that matter… it won’t make ha’porth o’ difference though with Big H.Scrap Dealer Ltd. But it’s good to get things off chests….. well said Irene. It’s no use I must get the dinner on…

Chapter And Verse
——————————-
And it came to pass that Even Bigger Harold begat Big Harold and Big Harold begat Little Harold and Little Harold begat Baby Harold. And verily I say unto you that when they had all done beginning and begatting they all wished that they hadn’t started beginning and begatting in the first place.
And Big Harold didst start a scrap metal business and his neighbours cried unto him “why dost though torment us with thy foul smelling scrap?”, but Big Harold heard them not and so they sent him to live in the wilderness and there he wandered alone for many years.
Amen.

When I mentioned a stink it wasn't just about where you live it was about all of Wigan and beyond.
Ever the people would have stunk so that's why you wouldn't have smelled the chippy
I'm with Ozy on his comments. You are missing out on so much of life with your funny old old-fashioned ways,

Good photo Colin.
I saw the 15 year old Russian space station Mia from the safety of NZ.
It was great and favoured the brightest star on its return to earth in 2001.
No worries for folk in Wigin as Mia splashed down in the south pacific, never to be seen up in space again.
I do have an aversion to rainbow flags. Real rainbows are ok, but my favourite part of the photo is the.. no entry sign.

The big oval pies with a belly button were the best in Wigan.

Kath H you brought so many good memories back to me when you mentioned Prestons furniture shop,,i bought my my first piano from there in 1960,Mr preston always gave you a good deal. thanks Kath.

Kath H. I take it you lived in Aspull for a number of years did you know
two sisters one was Irene Cain and her sister was Yvonne Caine.

Ps the metal for the chariots started the scrap business….ooh my stomach is aching laughing…

There was a ‘’big stink’’
In London before the great fire according to Samuel Pepys.

R.O.Laces was one of the best pie shops in Wigan especially the
ovel shaped steak pies,I was very disapointed when they suddenly shut down. The other excellent pie shop was sutcliffes cow heel pies on the other side of standishgate,Wigan as gone to seed.

does any of you wigan world fans remember the music shop in standishgate I think it was called chamberlins I used to get my piano sheet music from there in the sixties.

In my minds eye and my memory standing at the side of woolies and looking down standishgate Wigan was a lovely town centre untill the town planning poeple started their big ideas and completely destroyed it.

Yes, Eddie, I remember Chamberlain's music shop on Standishgate.

Yes,I remember Chamberlain's music shop,a bit further up than the Griffin pub.I used to go in for music books with my Aunty who taught piano.Great memories.x

Eddie. I remember Yvonne and her sister.
How is she doing?

I must congratulate you Dtease with your rendition of Genesis in the Beginning of the Begetting when they Begun the Beguine. I did send two posts but they didn’t pass muster. It was mostly about the 40 years in the Wilderness and the Chariots of Fire that turned into a scrap metal business. My stomach was aching laughing. Verily I must thank you for that….it cheered me up no end!

Eddie. Only just seen your post from yesterday. I remember the names, but can’t picture them. They may have been a bit older than me, or maybe younger. I think they lived in St John’s Road. Yes those oval steak pies from Lacey’s were definitely the best. Had them many times for my dinner when I worked at Preston’s. Are you an Aspull lad.

Yes Kath the two sisters lived in St John's road,
Irene the older one was my girlfriend for a while,
I wasn't from Aspull,l was brought up in Scholes.
Eddie.

To big Harold they are still going as far as I know,
Irene lived in Cornwall for quite a number of years
came back home to Aspull for a while then went to
Live down south again and settled in Somerset near
To her daughters,Yvonne her younger sister lives
Some where around the Aspull area.

Yes of course I remember Chamberlains,stood outside one day admitting a piano in the window my Mam said “Come on love let’s go and get you that piano” but it was too big for my pokey living room..I would have loved that piano.