Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 1st March, 2025)

Billy Boston’s Pub was The Griffin, this leads down from side of The Royal Oak on Standishgate to Hilton Street and Tesco’s.

I would not like to walk down there on my own in todays society maybe many years ago i would feel safe and not think anything of it but today not a chance!o

Meterogical Spring today and the Weather to go with it.
My Spring bulbs are out in flower...Great.
The alleyway looks a dangerous shortcut at night this day and age, even though I can see street lighting.
Much safer to walk round.

The last time I walked down there to nip to Tesco it was full of litter at the bottom end.
As a young girl we used to cycle down there it wasn’t tarmac’d either - I remember an uneven dirt path.

I find the brick colour very interesting, the ones on the left are red and the ones on the right and a mixture. maybe they have been reclaimed from a much older building.

My late husband used to collect old bricks, and if he were still alive he would say that some of them looked scorched so they would have been used in something that got scorchio like a factory chimney or a train tunnel.

WN6, it is next to the Royal Oak, but was a short cut from The Griffin to Central Park rugby ground and the Rugby Club.
It's now a short cut to the car park next to Tesco.

Don’t get too excited John Duffy, think about your blood pressure!
Almost as thrilling as the gas pipe this Mick. I think it could do with a little dandelion at the bottom though just to add a little something you Know?

That's a cracking photo once again Mick. You take photos no one else thinks of taking. Thanks again, we see another side of Wigan.

One think about Mick, his photos are different with history and a story to tell.

I too find the colours in the brick really pleasing to look at. In the past, we've used this type of baked brick, some of which had pebbles and holes in them, which gave them a lot of character.

I'm surprised that two people, one after the other, have commented that Mick photos are "different" and that he takes photos no-one else thinks of taking, as this alleyway had been the subject of p-a-d before now, and some of p-a-d's regular contributors often give the history of
the buildings shown in their uploaded photos. But perhaps those two commenters just haven't seen those photos.

Decent view of it.
Shame not as many folk fancy using that alley these days.
I must say from Micks photo the footway does look better than it did during the days of central park.
Much improved with tarmac, no weeds and the scene is enhanced by the light bouncing off that building on the right.
Good job.

Perhaps those two commenters are the same one commenter Irene.
You’re right Irene this photo as appeared on here many times before.
Glad to see you back Irene, have you been unwell?

This is a top quality pic.the camera angle is to purfection. In the trade it is known as the Egyptian Avenue effect. The light contrasts just add to the quality. Thanks Mick.

Actually the wall on the left looks as if it’s been added on to and built higher . I don’t remember it being so high years ago around 1960. Time does play tricks though.

Have you ever wondered about who all these names are waxing lyrical about a boring pile of plain old bricks and tarmac, even though there is no graffiti, double yellow lines or men peeing against said pile of old bricks?
Certainly makes me think what’s going on, on pad.

Good photo Mick, I didn't know this walkway existed.

I wonder if our Billy will be watching Wigan / Warrington tonight from Las Vegas?
It’s on Sky Showcase (106) from 8:30 till Midnight, for free if you’ve got Sky. Press record if you’re early to bed, should be great.

Thanks for your good wishes Dtease. No, I haven't been well but have kept up with viewing p-a-d daily, just haven't felt up to commenting recently. And I think you're right in what you say about the two, (maybe three now?!), commenters.

The wall to the right had a lot of bricks that were badly spalled and in a dangerous condition, I remember it being rebuilt but can't say when, and with it being in the local conservation area they would have used reclaimed bricks to more or less match up with the originals.
On this PaD photo by Colin of looking down there, you can see that the top end of the same wall now on the left was patched up, with the right hand back wall of Worsley Terrace having a rest by leaning on the pole. https://www.wiganworld.co.uk/photoaday.php?photo=2024-09-03

So as Irene says it has been on before, albeit t'other end.
Good to see you back posting Irene, have you been away or had the horrible virus that's going around?

Definitely W6 it’s what has been crossing people’s minds for quite some time. I’m only commenting because I knew this short cut very well as a child. Actually if you don’t know about this pathway it’s quite boring to look at.

Nice to see you back Irene, I hope your well, I thought you'd gone for a sherry or two at Garry's.

All the same people from Shevy and probably all the same person!
As WN6 comments, something’s going on. Dennis, Colin and others put stuff up that’s interesting, nice to look at and brightens up the day, not this boring old rubbish.
Get your act together Mick, stop using all these false names, you used to put some good stuff up too.

At the long defunct Steetley brickworks at Birchenwood near Kidsgrove in the mid 80s , the plant was identified as producing unacceptable amounts of imperfect facing bricks which had to be sold off as “ common “ brick at a substantially reduced price .

Then some bright spark came up with the idea of installing a 40’ long by 6’ diameter mesh tumbler , set at an angle of about 10 degrees to horizontal .

The imperfect bricks were then loaded into the tumbler at the top end and by the the time they came out the other end , the sharp corners had been rounded off which gave them an “aged” appearance .

At the same time , two parallel conveyor belts carried two lines consisting of about 10 percent of these bricks under a basic apparatus which painted one face of the bricks black ( to represent soot ) whilst the other line was painted white ( to represent whitewash )
The idea obviously being to replicate the appearance of reclaimed bricks which were becoming not only difficult to source but also very pricey .

Packed into bundles of 500 and shrink wrapped
they became a resounding success .

The developers building the yuppie estates in Cheshire couldn’t get enough of ‘ em .

Similar thing with the bar marks on the Scotch Common bricks from GISCOL , in Scotland which are very popular around this locality .

Just a little bit of useless but factual info for anyone who took the trouble to read the post in its entirety .

Irene, I heard you were more ill than the Pope so I'm glad you have recovered, but having said that, I'm just wondering if you are my friend Irene from Abram, because it's not like you to post nasty comments, especially when you have just got over being very ill.
Anyhow, for your and anybody else's information today I have been in Yorkshire, and even thought of you as I walked around Todmorden market with all the old-fashioned foods and butchers that sliced your bacon, thinking to myself that you would love it here.
I ended up buying a steak and onion pies that was from a bakery in UpperMill called Buckleys, and I bought a big lump of tasty Lancashire cheese from the cheese stall, the women weighed it and said it was £7 something and did I want it cutting in half, I said no I take it all.
Later we went to a nice garden centre called Gordon Riggs were missis bought some compost and some growing sticks for our orchids, and then a big bag of Fiddlers Lancashire salt and vinegar crisps that are grown and made in Rufford.
The crisps are Salt & Elseys vinegar ( Fiddlers Crisp putting Ellseys vinegar of Wigan on the map).

Purfection ??? Says it all