THE Wigan Pie

Is there such a thing? I only recently learnt that Bolton is famous for it's pasties and there are two rival pasty purveyors in the town centre. I'm looking to introduce Wigan to my Boltonian friend for the first time, but as far as I know (especially with Pooles no longer having branches) there's no real specific 'Wigan Pie' seller in town, is there? What else should I show them in the town centre to make sure they understand how much better Wigan is than Bolton? :P

hobofish, if that is the case then how come wiganers go to Bolton to shop, and it isn't for pasties either. Even Bolton council is better than Wigan's.

And Bolton have more mosques.

And lions outside the Town Hall.

And a Statue of F. Dibnah. (Poorly sculpted though it is).


Wigan pie?

Nahhh. Leigh myth.

I know I have asked before, but why no pie-tasting week with prizes for best in category, for both commercial and home-made?

Would be good for local economy.

Nearest thing to that, Priscus, are the cheap publicity stunts that are called 'Pie Eating Contests'. Or World Pie Eating Championship. Or something like that.


Wigan is not Melton Mowbray.

Do they have Wigan Market days in France?

I didn't know that Bolton is famous for its pasties, Hobofish.

'What else should I show them in the town centre to make sure they understand how much better Wigan is than Bolton?'

I don't feel WW has quite got its teeth into this question yet.

Wigan might not have a pie, but it has got a Pier.

Av nowt against pie eating competition, just thowt what can be done with quantity, has more to offer if same competition for quality.

People laughed when Bradford announced that it was to promote itself as a tourist destination, based upon Asian Food, but they succeeded.

Why aint Wigan doin wi pies what Bradford did wi curries?

The commercially made category needn't be local, better that it is open to all. The enthusiasm for pies is the USP here.

Some of us aren't too happy with the Pie Eater tag.

'What else should I show them in the town centre to make sure they understand how much better Wigan is than Bolton?'


English sculptor Rick Kirby seemed to think Wiganers can be bigheaded.

(He created the 'Face of Wigan'.)

Good God that's horrible.

At least it isn't chewing a pie.

It isn't to everyone's taste, Priscus.

Another view.

I'm always telling everyone how good-looking Wigan folk are.

That's blown it!

Most Wiganers are very down-to-earth though, Priscus.

Hate to spoil the party but the "pie-eaters" tagline isn't because Wiganers eat alot of pies!

No-one is saying it is. can not though deny that, at least amongst some they have taken up an enthusiasm for the things.

Just contrary to popular belief :-)

Surely we can laugh at ourselves...because we ARE the best..and we know it.

This is a new site and I would appreciate your input, ideas for content and such like...What would you like to see on this site? (No,Dolly Parton doesn't count!!!)

WiganPieEaters

Regards,

Fred.

Fred, will Tonker be running the ruler over your site pre launch?

explorations,

you're not referring to that revisionist ''humble pie eating '' myth , are you? '...
'Goes something like strikers returning to work / eating humble pie, bla di bla nonsense.

When I worked in the area (1960's) and we would need to lunch at various locations, the pecking order was:

Best: Wigan Tory Club, Commercial yard.

2nd Best Golborne Colliery canteen

3rd Best Bryn: Smiths and Cis Pownall's pie shops.

4th Best Ashton-in-makerfield Pilling's pie shop.

Can no-longer eat pastry, it gives me heart-burn. But I was once a fan.

Priscus,
Make heartburn a thing of the past. Get your GP to prescribe Omeprazole. A 20mg tablet daily does the trick.
' Think half the town's on them. Marvellous medicine for pie-eaters. Not had heartburn for four years after lifelong sufferance.
Also save fortune on rennies.

As foreseen by Gwim -

Wigan is a town in Lancashire? - Wrong!

founded by the Romans and named Coccium? - Wrong!

centre of the universe? - Wrong!

The town of Wigan had a total population of 81,203 - Wrong!


If you're going to start a site, make sure you get the facts right first.
Don't just believe and copy what's already written.

Oh be quet

Why? is it a library?

Tonker, thanks for that...but please explain?

*Settles in*

See Fred was in Snellens tonight, did you see it Tonker, Thomas Beecham opened his first shop in Wigan selling Beecham's Pills, laxatives for wiganers all bunged up with thick pie crust.

Don't do the egg one, Ayrefield.

ayrefield said - "Thomas Beecham opened his first shop in Wigan"

Wrong!

And there was no Laxative Wheel.

Hurry along, Tonker. Fred wants an explanation and I need to nip out....

Laxative Wheel: was that the Roman privy, wur they sat around in a circle, telling stories to scare the s**t out of each other?

And if it was, is that where 'wrong end of the stick' comes from

Wigan Pie Eaters on a day out in Orrell, just to make it Tonkercally Correct.

Pump Up your Pie

I know it wasn't actually a circle. We'll take that as read, so that tonker will have less to type.

Look at topscuttler's comment. Very Tonkeresque

I saw on the back of a car today this sign

"there are no pies left in this vehicle overnight""

love it!! made me chuckle

gwim, you are spot on, as always... good on yer...

If Fred cares to explain what it is that he needs explaining, I'd be happy to explain it!

tonker, you say Wigan is a town in Lancashire...Wrong et al... what do you mean by this please?

douglas, I was fishing at Carnforth last week, in the Lancaster Canal, Kellet Lane bridge 130. Are you near to this?

Hello Fred!

Right. I mean Wigan is not in Lancashire. It WAS in Lancashire, but it isn't now. Just like Warrington WAS in Lancashire, but isn't now, and St.Helens WAS in Lancashire but isn't now, etc. etc. etc.

As for the other 'wrongs' -

There's no proof that it was founded by the Romans.
There's no proof that it was Coccium, but there IS proof that it wasn't.
Wigan isn't the centre of the universe, for obvious reasons.
The 'County Borough' of Wigan might have had a total population of 81,203, NOT the 'town'.

Sounds good to me, tonker, but after all, it was meant as light hearted, at least some of it....

have a good day, all...

Hi Fred, I live on The A6. I don't know the bridge numbers but I live very close to Kellet Road.
Did you have a fruitful day?

Ta all for the replies! Surprised no one's got anything in the town centre they're proud of! i'm not a fan of that face sculpture either tbh.

Tonker,

'The new county boundaries are administrative areas, and will not alter the traditional boundaries of counties, nor is it intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change despite the different names adopted by the new administrative counties.'
Government Statement Quoted In The Times 1st April 1974

Never mind the fact that the Royal Mail still marks my mail LANCS.

If you have to be represented by a government body to officially live in a named area, then none of us live in England. No one lives under any English government control, there's no English council, assembly or government, yet no one says England doesn't exist. I don't live under any Lancashire government control, but I still live within Lancashire. Blackpool is a unitary authority these days, is that not a Lancastrian town either now? The Government and Royal Mail agree with me, so I'm happy to say I'm a Lancastrian!


Don't confuse geographical entities with administrative ones!

If a person doesn't know anything, it's only because they've never been told. So, here goes ....

A 'county' is an administrative area. Nothing more, nothing less.
Lancashire, as was or as is now, is nothing more than an administrative area. In 1972, the government's administration was separated into even smaller areas and Wigan ended up as a town in one of ten boroughs forming Greater Manchester.
Wigan has nothing to do with Lancashire nowadays, other than the claim to have been historically linked.
As it is, Wigan was only 'fully' part of Lancashire for about 65 years.

The Royal Mail is a mail and parcel delivery service.
It just so happens that the WN postcode area is within their Lancashire distribution area and that puts part of St.Helens in Lancashire as well, but it's not, it's in Merseyside.

Indeed, and as I have said a number of times, the governing body (in the form of local government) and the name of the area you live in are totally different concepts.
Wigan is a town.
Wigan Council is a government body which doesn't only administer over Wigan.
The area which they do administer over is known as a 'metropolitan borough'.
That metropolitan borough is part of a 'metropolitan county'.
And that metropolitan county is known as 'Greater Manchester'!

But, Wigan is still Wigan regardless.


In fact .... you can't have the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan without it being part of Greater Manchester.
So, if you live in another part of the metropolitan borough of Wigan, other than Wigan itself, and you claim to be a Wiganer on the strength of living under Wigan Council, then I'm afraid it's hypocritical to also claim you live in Lancashire.

Absolutely anything you wish can be used as a geographical entity. ie: The Diocese of Liverpool, of which Wigan is very much a part!

douglas,

The bridge is on the Kellett road and I had a fantastic day out. I got sunburned and caught very few fish but delightful nevertheless. I chatted with a chappie who was on holiday in a local caravan site and I knew right away by his accent that he was from Lancashire. Chorley in fact but his father was born in a cottage near to Red Rock. Ahhh... the sounds of home.... I envy you living in such a beautiful location.

Cheers.

Well, each to their own, but next time someone asks me: 'What is a Leigh Toaster?' I, sure as hell aint going to tell them it's 'Greater Manchester Cheese'!

Ironically, the UK's largest independent cheese distributor and supplier of Lancashire Cheese to the supermarkets is Bradbury & Son, in Buxton, Derbyshire!

And hobofish, the only pie manufacturer in Wigan is Galloways. Their bakery is in Wigan and they have four shops in Wigan, three of which are in the town centre!

You can't beat Goosnargh for best Lancashire Cheese.

Wigan on CBBC.

That should cause a riot.

Letter to Ms Nandy.

It could leave a Wiganer quite shaken.

Trades description act?

The Pier isn't the Latin Quarter.

Note the greyness.

And showing a pub on a kids' programme.


"Dear Points Of View


Why oh why oh why oh why, have you allowed Tonker to become an advisor"


Dustaf

Wigan.


Read out by woman with a West Country accent.

Anyone providing a quote for the WEP?

'The most magical place in the world' - Hacker (the dog).

Paul Daniels' son may not agree.

He has a shop on Mesnes Street.

Coincidentally, my sister decided to find out more about CBBC's 'Hacker The Dog' having noticed his mischievous mentions of Wigan.

Online research revealed that Wigan is the hometown of Hacker's puppeteer.
And that Hacker's birthplace is none other than Wigan, too.

Any publicity is good publicity.

And does anyone know anything about the Wigan Pie that Delia Smith made when Norwich City played Wigan away last weekend? (I just caught a little about it on the telly.)

"And that Hacker's birthplace is none other than Wigan, too."

I hope your sister's research will survive Tonker's scrutiny, Jo Anne.

We need to have a 'TOWN PIE-ER' to look after Wigan's interests in these goings on.

GERROFF

Old postmark read:

'Modern Wigan has no peer'

Or something like that.

It wurn't that old: late 60's/ early70's.

I love Hacker me, funniest thing on the telly these days.

I'd say early 70's, Priscus. Around the time that postcodes were introduced.

Edit.

Google says postcodes were introduced 59-74.

Possibly Wigan was at the latter end.

I lived in London from mid 60's till 1973.

My post from Wigan during that period bore the said slogan: the postman thought it hilarious, which gives me an anchor for memory of it.

I seem to remember a 'push' by the GPO in the early 70's with little stickers bearing the individual code being sent to each household. The idea being that you stuck a sticker on any letters you sent, to inform the respondent of your details.

We'll be getting complaints for tandeming.

No wonder....etc..

exhibit for the defence

Piecycle.

Or is that a tart?