Greenough Street

When I was a young lad and doing prep at Wigan Grammar School I was very fond of the tuck shop. Mother therefore scolded me, stopped my pocket money and arranged for me to have lunch at my Nan’s house in Greenough Street. I used to trundle down Greenough Street on my way back to school behind Clifford Higham and other older boys. I once passed the school gym where they caned boys. I could hear Clifford crying out “Yaroops, Argh, Gerroff” and Mr. Gore replying, “Shut up boy or I will hit you harder”. My pal Oliver “Lardy” Wimpole said to me “If you shout when being caned it makes the pain easier to bear and may get you sympathy from the beastly master caning you”. “Cripes” I said, “I will do my best not to get the cane.” After that I always did my Latin homework because Mr Gore, the Assistant Head was also my Latin Master.

Does your mum know you are out on your own j walker.

Wow. I don't know what times are coming to. Boo Sandside dessing in nuns outfits and now in sailor suits. I don't know what the world is coming to. They wouldn't have stood for that nonsense in my day.

The string was wrapped round a piece of brown paper to protect the loaf. Seriously though we were there from 5 am till 1.00 and the little lad Brian was great.(hes Scottish)and even had a stand-in.Its best viewed on www.hovisbakery.co.uk our ad I can then pause it as I too blinked and missed it.(how sad am I)At least I have a bigger part in Apparitions on BBC1 in November. Believe me this is good, a six part series with Martin Shaw watch out for the last episode its good.

Now listen up hombres there's enough cowboys in Wigan without another one from giro city.

Now now girls stop bickering.

He was too .. when I was a young snipe…in Court .. Boo’s was the case before mine. The Judge asked Boo his occupation. Boo replied, “Nun Sir”.

No he wasn’t Cisco. You’re telling porkies again.

I am the real Cisco? Who are you .. Boo Boo .. Boo Boo.. who are you ..I really want to know ..Boo Boo..Boo Boo. Anyway: Did you know that Boo was a Nun?

Cisco kid platt bridge.Why are you copying the real Cisco.Are you Chinese or are you a wazzer.Replies on a postcard please then i can throw darts at it.

Daft but never boring Cisco.

Bloo your as daft as Boo Sandside.

Oh ok

You're too fussy Cliff.It;ll taste the same with or without the string as long as you don't swallow it.

Beam me up Scotty.These guys are from a different planet.

interestin and a change from the normal ad crap. Why did the little lad have a piece of string wrapped round the loaf, I went to buy one today but couldn,t get one with the string around so I didn,t.

I agree with Jim. Shame on you Boo Walker..criticising a local hero like Bernie..not Ernie..Dowdall.

Let me think about that one.

I wish also to add Mr Boo Walker that Bern - nard Dowdall also went to St Mary's school and is an ex-grammar school boy. He may well follow in the footsteps of Sir Ian McKellen, also a Wigan Grammar school boy. So have a little respect you lakeside twerp.

curly? ... charity worker, racontuer, horse racing authority, wigan personality, ladies man, poet, tv personality, all round good bloke etc..

I blinked and missed it.Is curly a singer or comedian or what kind of a hero.

veteran car rally - wots all that about - are you for real. I saw Berny not erny dowdall on telly in the hovis advert. rock on curly lad ..your a star. a greenough street hero.

It was the Bradford to Morecambe veteran car rally today.So unless you went you've missed it.

I remember Rathbones Strunchers.They were lovely with jam and best butter.

That one would have snookered em on What's My Line iff ever I saw one.

I know him, I worked with him at Rathbones he worked in the rumple struncher shed rumplin the srunchers before they went in the ovens, a good lad he was I hope he does well he desHOVE,S it

Ey up here we go again.

Curlies older brother.

Who is Bernie Dowdall.

For all fellow followers of the fabulous Bernie (Curly) Dowdall: They are showing the Hovis commercial on Friday before and in between Coronation St.Bernie is in the Miners strike bit on the front row next to the chap with flat cap..its the longest advert ever made for tv in the u.k.(a small preview is on Youtube titled "Hovis advert featurette")

Your sister's correct they did.

my sister work at maidwells she said they made pinnies

Way back in 1952 when Wigan decided to offer shares to the public in order to buy players like Billy B.The ammount of shares offered to the public amounted to 16000 with no individual including directors not being able to purchase more than 8 shares per individual.The idea being that no one person would ever own or control the club.

In a sentence the most famous rugby league ground in the world was sold for peanuts.

There are common factors in the affairs to which I allude and I have the acquaintance of a few of them. If you put a succulent chicken before a hungry fox you dont need to be a weather man to know which way the wind blows. If you have the most famous piece of real estate in Wigan steeped in folklore and legend. Is it worth more than a supermaket company will pay? Well it depends on whether your eyeballs are pound signs or whether you value the town legacy. What better way of justyfing the sale of arguably the town most valuable cultural asset than to say its about to go bust. Call me a cotton pickin', chickin pluckin, cockel picker...but I rest my case.

Skullduggery is not unknown in the rugby league world and has been going on for years.Things were kept quiet at Wigan over the sale of Central Park to preserve the good name of the club.

There are a lot of things I could say about both Wigan RL and Orrell RU. But is it wise, could I prove it and would it be published. Instead I will just press a few bells: I was on Central Park when there were over 40,000 specs. Years later in the "wonder years" I experienced similar cicumstances but the crowd was declared as 30,000. Certain WIgan officials were investigated by the legal system. I played at Orrell when they had a good club house and several playing fields. They ended up with a couple of pitches and a club house that "burned down". To all intents there is now no Orrell RU. How long before, as we know it, there may be no Wigan RL. Maybe it should go bust - maybe it should rise again with its own ground. There is massive RL support (in RL terms) in Wigan. There is little (in football terms) support for the Latics.

The simple truth of rugby super league is that every club in it is living beyond their means and are way in dept.Even after Wigans great run of success they finished up having to sell Central Park to pay off their depts. To build large stadiums is simply throwing good money after bad because apart from the odd game or two they will never be filled.Rugby league will never attract the crowds which attend soccer and even their attendances are falling every seaon apart from Manchester United simlply due to being in the Cheshire stock brokers belt.

As a casual observer I would remark: if Wigan Council and the general public had at the time known that in future Wigan RL would have been turned out of their home for the sake of a routine Latics match - would Whelan have got the subsequent permissions and co-operation that he subsequently rceived to acheive his ambitions? Is Whelan now showing his true colours? Will Wigan RL find themselves without a stadium in the near future? I don't know how wealthy are the present owners of Wigan RL but I hope that Wigan Council will co-operate with them to build a new stadium. I think it needs to be at least 20,000 strong. And I hope the latics are left with an empty stadium when they are back with the non-league clubs. Wigan Athletic are a false club and are supported only by Whelans wealth.

Agreed Red Sales..What happened to the Twelve million quid we got for Central Park.At the time we could have had our own stadium built to hold 12 thousand which is all thats necessary for rugby league.The money received from Tesco belonged i would think to all the shareholders but not one was consulted over this matter.A disgrace indeed and what has now led to the present circumstances.

Wigan RL - warriors - you mean stiffs, Wigan RL is dead - sacrificed like Orrell RU on the back of a tuppence hapeny soccer team that will finish up where it started in Div 4. Playing a home cup round against Bradford in Widnes. Biggest disgrace ever. The hearts been ripped out of Wigan RL. B. disgrace...b. disgrace..biggest ever disgrace in rugby league history..b. disgrace..

There is a god after all.Wigan R. L. manage a draw at St. Helens.

I have.She doesn't know who she is either.Must be something in the Wigan water.

Iff you don't know who you are ask the matron she'll tell you.

Do any of you guys know who you really are?We're all doomed i say dooooomed.

Stay on strike Yatesy it's much more relaxing.

*************LAST OF THE DOWDALLS************ After reading these postings for some time, I like Bernie am confused. So Bernard Curly Dowdall isnt Ernie but Bernie, cept he is Ernie but his real name is Bernie. And Terry aka Ducky isnt Ernie or Bernie but is Curlies Older Wiser Brother cept he is Terry Dainty. Bernie is the last of the Dowdalls - so who is Peter? I'm confused!

So did mine.Lousy at cutting hair but a mean umbrella repairer.

My barber repaired umbrellas.

I saw two in Wigan park with umbrellas.