Wallgate Streets and People cont.

Friends,readers and contributors to the Wallgate thread we are starting a new continuation thread as the previous one has become so long that it sometimes takes ages to scroll.Brian has kindly agreed to make the old thread a sticky so that everyone has easy access to what has gone before.We are also grateful to cherryandwhite who began the original thread and provided countless hours of pleasure to many folk the World over.We hope that lots more readers, regardless of their origins, will tune into the new thread and along with the rest of us enjoy a bit of old Wigan together with present and future Wigan. Once again thanks to everyone who has contributed to Wallgate streets and families and I know your support will carry on and help us knock up a few more thousand replies.To Wiganers the World over,have a peaceful and healthy New Year.

What's he stuck it to?

It will be stuck at the top of the people messageboard very soon,cheers mac.

Thanks Dave this new thread really needed.Hi Maureen thanks for your thoughts but at the moment we have no fire problems in Q/Land.However the temp. set to go to 36C and over in parts of the state so we are keeping our fingers crossed we get no problems.
Regards to everyone.

Will say a little prayer tonight Bernard.

(You can't if it's locked though)

hello everyone i am sure i will get as many laughs and great memories on here as the first thread. cherryand white
should be knighted for his great idea

glassman

glassman I've asked about Cherry and White {Billy Green} previously and I think he has passed away but his legacy lives on.

Hello to all on this magic Wallgate thread. Thanks Dave and Brian for your great efforts. Maureen thank you for your concern, and although the heat is awful, we hopefully will all be safe. Our Wigan family, as we speak, are on their return flight after a marvellous holiday. Such a pleasure to have them and our niece was a typical open Wigan lass, chatting to all. She is about to become a Dr and is determined to migrate here, so, much to look forward to.
Hope you all had a great festive season and that the chats keep flowing.
Best regards P

We were just 19 away from 3,000 posts. When I think about what Wallgate was like when I was a child with all the Cotton Mills, the shops, the churches and the pubs. O happy days.

Marie,I very often say I wonder what my grandma and grandad would think about this or that..or even my Mam or Dad would be amazed..I remember when I told my Mam how to hear the speaking clock,she listened then said thank you love..what would they have thought of mobile phones..ones that take photos or those that can gain you access to the web or take videos with,you could go on and on..my Mam only passed away in 1997 and yet technology has progressed so much in that short time..my Dad who died in 1976 would have been made up with a computer,I just know he would..and to go on Utube and listen to his favourite songs(mostly Irish) well he would have loved it...it's a pity really that he missed out on it.I just hope he has one in heaven.

hi momac,one of the things we have to live with is progress,some times your mind boggles with the technology.must of it leaves me behind.i have a mobile phone,the it does everything you have said,the only thing i seem to do is recharge it,never use it,dont text.in our younger days we never had such like,if people wanted to talk to you they waited until they met you.or visited you.now all you see is people walking around with mobile in hand or on there ear.what would jack mcguire or sister francies say to that,they would turn in their grave?

Just wanted to wish Dave Marsh, Brian all the old Wallgaters and WW members a very happy new year.

That's nice,Paul,all the very best to you and yours and I hope you approve of this continuation thread.Morning,bravo,I was listening to a radio (wireles)programme yesterday about things we don't do now including throwing sweets to the children at pantomimes (health and safety).I can remember in Wigan when we thought nothing of walking down the street with an air gun.Imagine doing that now,you'd get a taser up the backside.I suppose the World has changed for the worse in some respects but on the positive side there have been lots of improvement.I still do not have a mobile and think I will abstain as I see it as an assault on my freedom.Pat,we are all thinking of the victims of the heat in OZ and hope things improve very soon.

Thank you Paul,and a Happy New Year to you and yours as well.

Thank you Dave, it is sooo hot at present, most of the country is suffering a heatwave, wish we could share it around with you, it would be perfect.
Maureen, I love Irish music and play it for hours.
A Happy New year to you Paul, it is so great to have a lovely large circle of friends.

The hottest I have experienced was a week-end in Paris in the 1990's when we had to go back to the hotel to shower and change every hour as our clothes were wet and sweaty Pope John Paul was preaching outdoors and I felt sorry for the old boy.You had to remember not to grab hold of any metal handrails outdoors as you would burn your hand.We are a fairly pleasant 10degrees at the moment but the rain has been endless.The lane where I live has been closed to through traffic on account of a very large hole that has opened up for the third time and cost £70,000 in the last two years.I think I will be living in a large culdesac in future.The weather must be costing billions on a National scale.

pberry Pat are you and Tommy and Bernard and Marg OK. The news from Aus has been horrendous with people losing their homes. Where would you go from there?

I think it was billy who said on another thread that you are roasting and we are drowning. It has forecast snow here for next week. Great - not.

MarieM and Maureen we thank you for your concern but we have no problems here on the Gold Coast.Its the people out in the country side thats at risk from the bush fires.Would you believe some of these fires were lit deliberately by brainless idiots.Meanwhile the heat wave continues so we hold our breath and hope.

Bernard,we are all keeping our fingers crossed for you all,and yes it's hard to believe there are idiots that will deliberately set fire to the land knowing it results in loss of life and property,and the poor cattle.Have just seen that parts of India are experiencing a cold wave..the planet's weather seems to be going mad..we here can't imagine how you cope in the heat but of course it's been a steady progress for you hasn't it,will still say a prayer that you keep safe.

So thoughtful of our friends on this thread to think about us so far away and thank you so much. No sign of any relief as yet and the fires still rage in different parts of this wide brown land. If you do get snow, does that make things better for you? If I recall it used to warm up after it fell.
Take care all of you.

There is another thread on ww about the Commercial Inn and baker boy said about drinking Falstaff. It brought back memories of my grandma drinking Falstaff in the Star in Wallgate and the Long Pull and I think all the old Irishmen and women used to drink it.

They used to get a crate and put it under the seats so they didn't have to keep going to the bar. I think, on occasions, they used to put us under the seats.

Does anyone know the proper name of the Long Pull.

I am sorting out lots of my old Zoo photos for my photo blog.I went to Belle Vue as a keeper when I left School in 1958 and my very first job was in The Elephant House.The work was backbreaking and after a few months I was no longer the proverbial 7 stone weakling.From there I moved to the Monkey House which also was responsible for all the chimps and the large outside Gibbon cage.I think I was the only keeper who moved around the various departments and worked in every one of them alongside some great characters who left me with lots of anecdotes.I think I was the only keeper who worked with Capt. Harry Smith a cantankerous ex German P.O.W. who was often visited by an old prisoner friend,Bert Trautman.In the Reptile House I worked with Albert Craythorne who occasionaly went down with malaria caught jungle fighting in the 2nd World War.nother colleague would attack any Japaneses person on sight and you had to keep an eye open.In 1964 I moved to Chester Zoo working with Apes,Hippos,Giraffes,Elephants and lots of different antelope.If I had one criticism of these zoos it would be that management never consulted their keepers especially when new enclosures were being built and as a result lots of mistakes were made.I met and married my wife at Chester Zoo and she had zoo experience working for Gerald Durell in Jersey.I spent most of my life with animals and only after turning 40 did I try a few other occupations.Sometimes on TV I see old colleagues still doing what they did more than 50 years ago and I think I did the right thing by having a change.Anyone interested in animals can watch my blog as I have quite a few to post over the coming weeks,I know Pat likes to see a few creepy crawlies.

hello to you all,I hope the new year has started well for you all.Monsoon season is still with us in Kent.Iv'e had to have a new root put on my "wookshop" and dehumidifirs running for the last week to try and keep things dry.Yesterday morning, snow everywhere,today back to rain,hoping we get a little more sunshine later in the year.I was looking at an old ariel view of Wallgate,and I think I could see a "hallo"over Prices cake shop.than I thought I could just go one of their triffels,the ones in the square waxed cases,then I came back down to earth and had to have some Ambrosis devon cream custerd in stead.It's a hard life!

This is a co-incidence,rolo,at the moment I am dehumidifying our bedroom.It has become so damp with all the rain that I deem it an unsafe area.The road we live in has been deemed a cul-de-sac last week as there is a hole big enough to take a lorry.Do you remember the cake prices in the window one penny farthing,2 for tuppence halfpenny.I keep a tin of old pennies on the desk and sometimes if I grab a handful and shut my eyes I am a rich boy.

Hi All
Oooh Harry, my mouth is watering thinking about the trifles, you and Dave sure bring back the memories.
Believe this has been a very wet year for you all. Friends who live close by the Moors in Halifax, said yesterday that their snow was falling too thick to go outside, it may be heading your way. We are still having a heatwave, the humidity is terrible.
Dave, looked at some of your photos, love the childhood ones. Marie and Maureen, I bet that our g/grandparents knew each other and spent many a happy hour singing and drinking in the locals. Hello Bravo, is it dry in Spain?
Regards to all.

This morning,Pat,I sang,'Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron',Clarrie has a lot to answer for!

hi all,what i liked,was cream spounge cake from prices,the one on wallgate.you could buy cup of tea slice of cake 3 pence old money,sounds fully saying that.dave although living in spain,every night i put the humidifier,always halffull every morning.weather lovely and warm during the day but cold morning and night.the saying is spain warm country with a hot sun.at the moment temp reading late teens.
we have just acquired a cat,started coming in and made its self at home,big ginger,lovely cat.we are now feeding and bedding it.take care all.

Bravo.a common word in Wigan was 'fawse' meaning cunning in a street-wise sense and fawse is just what cats are.

Last year,a very Lean cat came in our garden and looked very frightened,so we gave it some food, Cliff took a photo and I went to lots of houses with it to see if anyone recognised it,nobody did so we started to feed it regularly and boy can it eat,but she ???he??? is a lovely affectionate cat..because Winter was coming Cliff made her a kennel with bedding in ..but she chose her own place (don't they always)in the greenhouse,but in Summer I want to be able to use it,we have our own cat..a Persian.. they don't get on when they meet..he's nearly 19 and can't be bothered with her but in the meantime she's having 3-4 feeds a day..I'm afraid we're stuck with her,but as I say she is a loving cat..you're right Dave they are fawse.

Glad you remember the word,momac,you don't here these days,I remember being called 'a fawse little monkey' by my mam.

Believe it or not Dave ,it was my mams favourite word.

bravo Vince there is a memorial to Syl Lannon in the Wigan Evening Post tonight. Pat, good to hear from you. Momac, your love of animals shines through.

Dave, another word I don't know where it came from is mard. I think it was them Irish men and women who brought these words over. Harry, where was Price's cake shop. I don't remember that.

Marie,I use that word for anyone who is pathetically soft..awful aren't I...I have just looked in my dictionary for meaning,and it means spoilt,and seems it's English Marie..but Dave I can't find a meaning for fawse.

Yes,MarieM,'mard a... was another expression my mam used at times.I cant find anything for fawse but it was used a lot in my childhood.

Am here again,Dave,had look on Google,it seems the word fawse comes from Chester..well I never, you live and learn don't you?I just love words,my dictionary is never far away..I found a new word last week,(Cordwainer) i.e. a person who makes shoes..it sounds like we're back in school again..only don't tell Sister Frances.

LO again,MarieM,Prices cake shop was on the corner of Lyon St.& Wallgate.It was a place dreams were made of.I was given a Collins English Thesaurus as a Christmas present,"bloody good"but not much of a story though!. take care.

hi rolo,i have a thessaurus,i do a lot of crosswords,my pet like is studying maps.i drive alot through spain and france,try to keep in my mind the places i have to pass through.maureen i wont tell sister frances?.dave the cat at the moment is asleep on the settee,looks like she bedded down for the night.iam about to check on the wigan match,lets hope they win.

I remember going to Prices for my mam..a dozen cream cakes of your choice for 7/6p and they were placed in a white box to boot,the lady who served in there lived next door but two when we lived in Warrington Lane..Mrs Jones.

Pat,just imagine if our grandparents knew one another,and I bet they did in a community like Wallgate..I'll ask when I see them next..but hopefully not for a long time..ha ha.
Vince I was going to ask you what name you'd given to your cat..ours is Flossy..on another note I hope Nora's having a nice holiday...take care all.

hi maureen,she has had about half a dozen names,poppy-pipper-pip-ginger i could go on.the one now is PIP.we will take it to the vets,have her checked over find out if she is tagged and more to the point if she knows who yhe owers are.
i will probley go and see nora in benidorm,see whats she is up too,if i knew how to put a photo on the computer i would do.i will bring a photo when i come over.
i can still see the spounge cream cakes from prices and do you remember the cake with rice paper at the base?.take care
hope to see you soon.

hi maureen,she has had about half a dozen names,poppy-pipper-pip-ginger i could go on.the one now is PIP.we will take it to the vets,have her checked over find out if she is tagged and more to the point if she knows who yhe owers are.
i will probley go and see nora in benidorm,see whats she is up too,if i knew how to put a photo on the computer i would do.i will bring a photo when i come over.
i can still see the spounge cream cakes from prices and do you remember the cake with rice paper at the base?.take care
hope to see you soon.

We should have called the continuation thread,The Wallgate Cake Eaters.

hi dave,and why not,my favourate one is cheese cake

I know there are a few photos of Wallgate on here but are there no photos of Melbourne St and Victoria St anywhere. this was the heartland of the Irish Community in Wigan as well as Scholes.

Good morning fellow cake eaters,MarieM,Iv'e just typed Victoria St.Wallgate in search and one photograph came up,i'm sure there must be more! HORSE meat in Tesco BEEF burgers, not very good is it? some Pig meat as well.After the scare of mad cow disease,it was said carefull monitoring would and must take place of all meet used in burgers,what happened?.It's not that horse meat is bad,it's the deceit in the labelling,and we all like to know what we are eating don't we.Beef is beef and not somthing that came last in a race at Goodwood, Ta Ta!

It is I again,Our Grandaughter who works for Tesco in I.T.and is out working in India at the moment, has just sent us a email about this meat.Tasco Everyday Value 8xBeef burgers.397 grams.Tescox4 beef quarter pounders 454 grams.and a branded product,Flamehouse Chargrilled Quarter Pounders.Check your freezers folks!

We used horsemeat at Belle Vue to feed the big cats,I can still see it hanging in the meat store.Beautiful chunks of lean red meat without a trace of fat.A recent programme on TV showed DNA of more than 50 animals in beef burgers! I think the French like a bit of cheval.
Had a hearing test yesterday,nowt works proper these days.

What a worry Harry, you just don't know what is in any food these days. By the sounds of it Dave, kangaroo meat sounds like horse meat, lean and red, but I couldn't eat it, would much rather have a McCandlish's pie!!
Best to all.

I just hope they don't destroy all these beef burgers. Some people would be glad of them. Vince, does Nora live in Benidorm. I will be going shortly. Did you see the memorial to Syl Lannon in the Wigan Evening Post.

Hi Marie,
Enjoy your holiday in Benidorm, never been but one day would like to see it.
Funny, an article in the paper this morning, saying a new hamburger, Kangaremu on the market, 80% kangaroo and 20% emu, it gets worse!

Emu,I'll have a leg.

hi marie,no nora lives in ashton,she holidays in benidorm each year.i live not to far away from benidorm.we go each year for my birthday in dec,stay for 3 nights.good place to go if you want lively holiday.
would have liked to have read the wigan evening post,i will always remember him.
maureen i forgot what hotel nora is staying in,would have like to have payed her a visit,it would have been a supprise for her,will see her in march.
dave we really dont know what goes in our burgars,we just assume its all good meat.will think twice before eating anymore.take care all

Hello all,Horse burger and chips all round please!

Harry I just googled what you said. Those donkey stoned steps and window sills. I can't find anything for Melbourne St were my grandma lived. I know all the streets in Wallgate had Irish settlers not just these two.

Good day to you all,In one of the papers today, there is a photograph of two young men who went round a Tesco store dressed as a pantomime horse,and shouting "mummy,mummy,mummy"and everyone fell about laughing.I'm also getting a number of funny emails and jokes from friends about this,but they are of an adult nature, and not for all you nice people, (meat balls,and no wonder they had the trots) and many more.

Nay lad,don't join in with all those silly horse jokes.

Hello! Is there anybody there???

Morning' Harry,I was just thinking the same this a.m...I think everybody's got fed up with the freezing weather,I know I have,just don't like the cold,still Spring is round the corner and things to look forward to,garden to tidy..shed to tidy,I can't wait until I can shed these jumpers and get into T-shirts and sun on my face. Hello to all Wallgaters,and hope you are all well.x

Hi de Hi,momac,the temperatures aren't too bad in Jersey but I am fed up with grey skies and rain,we're doomed we're all doomed.I will have to buy some of those bright lights that stop you feeling sad, LFSOG (Lights for Sad Old Gits).

Hi Dave..my daughter bought me one of those..and I'm sure it does help..I do get a bit down in the winter months..but there's nowt like the sunshine..there's no other way, I'll have to flit...I wish.

Hi All Wallgaters
Saw some lovely pictures today on the net, there is one of a cute dog rolling around in the snow, in Kent Harry, could have been your little pet. Oh, could do with some of that snow, it is sooo humid here and that makes me feel down. Cyclones rolling in from the north, flooding again up there. Is it still snowing? Dave do you get a lot of snow in Jersey? Don't worry, your happy jolly mood will be back soon, just a little bit of blue sky is all that's needed. Maureen, as you say, Spring is around the corner, and it will surely come soon. Meanwhile, how's your painting going? Hello Mswigan are you ok? Not forgetting Bravo, hi!

hi all,jus read local newspaper,guess wha,he norhen pars of spain are due snow his weekend,has somehing new,hey say is blowing in from easern europe.weaher here sill warm,bu a he momen we have strong winds giving a cold chill factor.dave wife wen for a earing es his morning,having earing aids on tues.maureen hope he weather is not playing hovoc wih your garden.
the wife as just found her half sister,been looking for hell of a long time,elation is not he word.pa been reading about he fires again,seems he world is changing,we should be having cold spells but temps high teens.ake care all.

It's 'T' time bravo

sorry dave did not know i had a problem wih my keyboard.i must take more care when i type.got to put more pressure on the ttts

sorry dave did not know i had a problem wih my keyboard.i must take more care when i type.got to put more pressure on the ttts

I am due for an eye test,bravo...what's that last word on your post!

Pat and Tommy and Bernard and Marg, are you OK there with the floods. We are frozzent de'ath here. It's snowing heavy in Pemberton. Vince, are you Ok in sunny spain. Momac, I have just watched Carol again in her garden. Harry and Dave hope you are OK and best wishes to all you owd Wallgaters.

Marie,have just put a comment on general about the state of the road that I live on,it's on an incline, and watching all the cars skidding and struggling...well!!let's hope that it does rain tonight as it's forecast to do and wash it all away,otherwise I don't think we'll be able to get out tomorrow..I keep saying I'm going to flit don't I?.been helping our son to move house to Burton in Lonsdale today..just glad the snow waited 'til we got home otherwise!!!.nightnight everyone sleep tight...mind the bugs don't bite.x

Hello again
Thanks Marie, we are fine but are going through the back-end of the cyclone which is now on its way down south. Raining non-stop. Our son is in Gladstone, which is really bad, but he too is ok. Papers say you are all going through the big freeze, just hope you are all safe.

hi marie still sunny here.i feel sorry for you all,so much snow next will be ice and then floods.maureen at least you wont get flooded,living on a hill.i hope i will miss the bad weather when i visit.bernard and pat hope the weather is not to bad for you.dave shirley gets her earing aids on tues.she will hear the archers better.

Hi bravo,my hearing aid will be F.O.C. and you don't get much for free these days.The Archers must break all recording records....I remember Walter Gabriel in the early days. We are back into double figures today at 10c.

hi dave unfortuneate 1279 euros for earing aids,but its a must.shirleys been listening to the arches for 50 plus years.temp now early 20s,i believe in wigan snowed in.must be awful for maureen especialy living on a slope.

Hi Vince,the snow has thawed a bit today and forecast to rain as well..the temp has gone up a notch too but now some people wait for the floods to arrive..luckily as you say that won't apply to us..Nora has missed it all hasn't she.and I bet she's glad...Hello Pat how are you keeping..well I hope, and not missing your relatives too much.Hi Dave and Marie..(just for a bit of devilment)have you noticed Harry popped in for a minute then deserted us..come on Harry,tell us how things are doing with you..best wishes to you all.

Hi everyone and thank you Marie M for your concern but as Pat said we are o.k here on the gold coast however the cyclone is still around with wild wet weather continuing.
What a strange situation you are freezing and we are drowning !!keep your chins up we will all survive

Hello Bernard,I hope you're not drowning, it's strange what the mind does, whenever I see your name I always picture you as you were at fifteen with blonde hair,take care..Hello Pat ,sorry I didn't reply..I haven't painted anything since Amy Winehouse..but I will be shortly,I'm at my happiest painting...look after yourselves.M.

hioto you sent me last april maureen,just been looking at that photo you sent me last april,the one outside ST joesphs,the one with george pauline molly john and yourself.i was wondering wheres johns brother jimmy these days and what is george doing.yourself carry on your good work painting.as i have said before why dont you go on the internet with your paintings,elvis and marilyn willgo immediately,so good.take care

Recently I have spent a bit of time with my ancestry.On looking back I realise that if my family had continued having children as they did in the 19th century then today my Gt.Grandfathers,Marsh and Morris,would have been responsible for at least a further 2000 of the Wigan population.In my generation we would have been heading towards the 20,000 mark.Thanfully contraception arrived in the 20th century.What do you think,Harry.

Hello Vince,I have no idea where George is nor Jimmy..they were non-identical twins weren't they..where John is very pious and as you know is now a priest,Jimmy is one of the lads,loves his drink and ciggies..you could tell when at sch ool what John was going to be...thank you for the kind words on my paintings..I'll pay you when I see you next ha ha.

hi maureen i wil keep you to that,will be travelling up to wigan on mon the 11th march.
i could never believe they were twins,you would say they wernt related.whats your next prodject?take care

bravo Did you know the Johnson's are Sean Edwards' uncles. Sean's mother Phyllis, who went to St Joseph's, is their sister.

She was in my class...just had another look on album at St Josephs school photos,and there's a couple of new ones..rugby groups,have a look Vince and Marie,I'm sure the headmaster then was Jack Maguire when he was a lot younger.

Hi Maureen my once blond hair what little I have left is now snow white but thanks for reminding me of the times me and my mates stood on the corner of Victoria St.and Wallgate watching all the girls go by !! oh happy days eh ?

Guess what Maureen, Bernard still thinks he is in Wallgate watching all the girls go by, mind you, they are all wearing bikinis here.
Spoke to soon about being safe, Tom and I have been mopping up all day and all night. We are catching the cyclonic weather now and with living near the ocean, the heavy and wild seas, plus the high tides, the windows couldn't cope, so we were flooded when we arose yesterday. Just had to stay up and keep changing the towels on the floors and windows etc. Never seen anything like it, really feel for the poor folk whose homes have gone under again.
Sorry to be a little morbid, hope you are all well.

Oh Pat I am so sorry for you,have always said it must be awful to have your house flooded and ruin your furniture etc..the planet is going mad it seems,I hope for your sake that the winds will lessen..I did see it on last nights evening news,and was wondering how you were affected..look after yourselves Pat..will be thinking about you.x
Hello Bernard,indeed happy days..we always say that we had our teens in the best era..and I myself think that we couldn't have had a better place than Wall gate to grow up in.

Sorry about your weather problem,Pat,and I hope you get back to normal very quickly.When high winds coincide with a high tide the Heavens are in charge.These things come to try us.

Thanks for your kind words Maureen and Dave. Still really bad, the ocean came right up to the beach steps but they say it will ease tomorrow. You are right Dave, you feel so helpless as there is absolutely nothing you can do, except to ride it out and keep mopping (Chuckle)! We are fine for now just feeling for the other people who have to leave their flooded homes.
How is your weather, has the snow gone?
Keep wrapped up all you Wallgaters.

Do you realise our generation have had the best life in the history of the World. Thank you to our Irish ancestors for having the courage to up sticks and come over here.

Pat and Bernard Keep mopping up and count your blessings. It's still freezing here.

hello to you all once again,I tried to send a nice long update a few days ago,and when I pressed post.all I got was a message telling me I was "inactive", me, inactive would you believe? Anyway,Pat,it's so sad to see the state you are all in down there, but it will soon pass, and in years to come you can sit in your rocking chair and say"I remember when".It's not as cold here in Kent,just a mild wind and a bit damp, but I think the dogs missing the snow.I'm going to try and post again now""""""

Thanks Harry, we are almost dry now the storms are moving south but have left so much devastation behind. It's either floods or fires in this magnificent country, but that is Oz. Hope you are well, can imagine the dog missing the snow, I just love to see pictures of snow, always looks so peaceful.
It is nice to have such friends all across the globe wishing us well and we thank you all so much.
Glad you aren't really inactive.

Just found ancestors at 313 Wallgate,makes me feel a real Wallgater.Harry,I've be deactivated lots of times,Brian always resuscitates me.

hello again,Ancestors in Wallgate Dave! you are getting posh.Have you found out where abouts that was/is as my Grandmother was born in Wallgate in 1885 near Sharp street,How far have you gone back? About the generation growth and contraception.THAT was not allowed for a lot of our readers and posters on WW.but in it'self it has to be a good thing.I remember in my younger days, I had one with three patches on,Thank god for Tom Hughs bike shop!

Hi Rolo,I believe that 313 Wallgate is next to the entry that went down to the Princess Cinema and my Grandads brother Alfred Morris lived there with his in-laws about 1900.Later they moved to Francis St.which was the little street off Prescott St that ran down to the engine sheds entrance.The Morris side of my family came from Staffordshire about 1880 and my Gt. Grandad,my Grandad and most of the male children worked at The Forge in Ince.My Marsh side I have traced back to the early seventeen hundreds in Wigan and without exception they were pit men.If you keep digging on the internet it is amazing what you find.
At least we don't live in our condom like the Americans do,Harry.

dave I can't get back further than 1800 but that maybe because of the fire in Dublin that destroyed all the records. How have you got back to 1700.

Momac, Bernard was a blonde bombshell at St Joseph's. I can see him now walking over the Brew from school.

Pat hope things are getting better.

Hi MarieM,the 1941 census can take you back before 1800 regarding births.I have been in contact through the internet with other people who are distant relatives and better at it than myself.One or two have produced trees back to 1700 which includes my family.I am aware of the Dublin fire and that lots of people of Irish descent only have Parish records to fall back on which usually means a trip to the Church at source.I have also accessed photographs of close relatives from the early 20th century and it is a joy to see these family members I never knew.I would love to spend an hour in the household of my Gt Grandad when all the pit lads were eating round the table.

dave If only we could have an hour with them who first came over from Ireland.

I have a re-awakened interest in pits and mills MarieM and I see that Fergus O'Connor (a good Irish name) was a key instigator in the pit and mill strikes in Lancashire circa 1840.Called the 'plug plot'riots,they pulled out he steam plugs and stopped production at the mills.Maybe the expression 'pulling the plug' originated then,also we have 'letting off steam'which may be another expression from those days.

Hi MarieM and Maureen I never knew I was a bombshell !!! but thanks for the compliments you have made an owd mon happy and did,nt we have happy school days back then.The brew was always a hive of activity after school no computors and video games keeping us on our backsides getting fat because we were never still.

Bernard,I quite agree..the brew brings lots of good memories as well as the ones of Scully Brown always chasing us..on one of my first few days at school I remember sitting there with this very chubby little girl,she asked what my name was,then I asked her what hers was..we both had the same surname which as you might have forgotten was McGovern..I had some sweeties in my hand..she said shall we be friends forever,I agreed,then she said ..well best friends always share everything don't they...we stayed the best of friends until she died two years ago..a bit long-winded I know but that was my earliest and best memory of the brew....I hope you and Pat stay safe.

hi bernard,remember the brew,thats where st joes did all their rugby training with mr moore and mr sweeny,thats what made st joes the best.

Great memories Maureen and a lovely story to cherish.
As you said Vince we trained on the brew which was as hard as concrete and my knees still have the scars to prove it.Both of those teachers were just great and we won many trophies under their guidance.A sad day when St.Joes was demolished but we still have good memories eh ?
The cyclonic weather pattern has passed leaving great destruction up north which will take years to fix but we were lucky here with little damage.

Er was it something I said !!

Hello Bernard..I think we(us in Wigan anyway)have been hibernating,I hope your weather problems have subsided a bit, have you had a look at that photo on Album of a young Mr Maguire..if you've any more memories of St Joes..let us know please will you?.

Hi everyone. Bernard, I have just got back from watching Wigan v Warrington. It finished up 17 all. I am too old for this pressure.

Are Pat and Tommy ok. Not heard anything from her. Maureen, where can I see that photo of Mr McGuire. I wish there was a photo of Sister Frances. I can still see her waiting at the School door for us latecomers coming over the Brew.

Hi All
Everything ok on this side of the world and hope you are all ok. Been a bit busy with visitors, which is nice but tiring. Harry did you see Derek's reply, sounds well eh!
How are you Dave, keep slaying the snails, P L E A S E!
I think St Joseph's was a fun school, although strict it sounds like you all enjoyed it.
Hope you are not having the snow again, saw a little on the news.
Take care, keep warm.

Hello to you all,hope you are keeping well.Yes Pat I did see Derek's reply, he went to St James's school and then to All Saints,we did a lot of buggering about when we were lads,and had lots of boy fun, a long time ago!WE made e raft on the canal in Poolstock, and I was the one who tried it out and got my wellies full of water when it sank to the bottom.Derek was creased up for a week.The stories go on and on! I have started going to the gym, to see if I can get a bit more active because I have been spending to much time in a recumbent posture in fronf of the T.V. through the bad weather,I am now as stiff as a board in a recumbent in front of tha T.V. but thats life

Hi,Pat,I have a lot to be thankful for with snails.Do you remember a triangular piece of land on your right as the Manchester train set off towards Ince.There was a very large deep pond at the bottom of the railway embankmet and that pond was home to planorbis corneus rubra,a fairly rare water snail in the wild.Well,local pet shops paid a tanner apiece (6 old pence to younger people)for those snails to sell for goldfish bowls.Good money for a little lad in those days.A poem we used to recite at St.Thomas's,
The frugal snail
with forecast of repose
Carries his house with him
wherever he goes,
Peeps out and if there's a shower of rain
retreats to his domicile amain.
I think that's how it went.Me and Harry have been like that frugal snail lately,just peeping out at murk,rain,hail and drizzle with the occasional gale thrown in for good measure."Just buggering about" is an expression rarely used these days,Harry,but really does capture memories of an innocent youth.

Hi Marie,if you click on Photos of Wigan top left of page..then Album on your left.. then again on the left see Schools click that,then scroll down to St Josephs..you'll find it there..good luck..Hello Pat and all other Wallgaters..hope you are all fit and healthy.

Hi Maureen yes I have seen the St.Joes photos and who could forget owd Jack and sister Frances.All the lads used to say if Sister Frances looks in your eyes she will put a spell on you.Another of my mates used to say nuns had to wear iron knickers.Wonder if that was true !!!

Hello Bernard,I'm sure Sister Frances would have worn them,she could make your heart stop beating with a stare..when any of the girls were caught chewing gum..she would take it off them and spread it all over their face, make them stand on the stone steps..someone on this thread way back said that her hands were shaking as she typed her comment,but as Pat says,we also had a lot of fun,as you know yourself Wallgaters weren't mard were they..ha ha.

hi maureen,bernard,can you remember your first day at school,it always stuck in my mind.class room just off the play ground or that slabbed square what we played in.you had to go down a few steps into the class room.cant remember teachers name,iam thinking her name was miss sherrindon proberly wrong.i remember half the class cring when the parents left.i dont know how i got to school,dont think my parents took me,must have gone with someone else!!

Hello Vince,I distinctly remember my first day at school,my mam was working so Helen Lynch that lived near us took me..she was pretty grown up then..I do remember going down those steps..I'm almost sure the teachers name was Miss Doherty..and I cried something shocking when Helen left me.

Maureen and Vince Int it funny how you can't remember what you did yesterday but you can remember things from 60 years ago. I can remember standing in the playground at St Josephs on my first day at school and I can remember the name of the girl who was standing next to me. Maureen, it was Miss Doughty who took the first class. Miss Gorman took the second class. Do you remember Miss Hilton?

Marie,we had a reunion about three or four years ago and Miss Hilton was there..and she was lovely,god knows how old she is now..we pass her house often..the reunion was for Helen Kelly's birthday,she now lives in Ireland and used to live near the little tunnel..it was a good night..p.s.Marie..I'm never sure of the correct spelling of our first teachers name,wonder if anyone else knows.

momac I'm sure your's is correct. I can see her now and Miss Gorman. I can also remember two of the Dinner Ladies who used to be in the playground, Miss Hansbury and Mrs Unsworth whose son George is now the kit man at Wigan Rugby League Club.

i maureen-maria,i stand beeing corrected on her name it is a long time ago xx

Marie,I don't recall any of those names..I remember one of the dinner ladies who was a mum to one of the girls,she died while being dinner lady..I can't for the life of me think of her name.Vince,I'm bet you're thinking of Miss Reddington she had the class facing St Thomas's school..she was lovely..and she's on the photo that you have of the other reunion.

Marie,I forgot to ask you,did you manage to find the photo of Mr Maguire?.

momac I did. Thank you. If only we could find one of Sister Frances.

Did anyone from St.Josephs know my neighbour and good pal,Peter Bayman?.He was the only lad in the street with a tele and we were all mates of his.We used to go and watch Billy Bunter and Muffin The Mule at tea time.His mam and dad were very patient and considerate.

momac I went to Notre Dame Convent and I wonder if any photos were ever taken of the nuns. I wonder if there is anywhere where we could find out.

You never know Marie,someone might read this thread and be able to help.

HELLO!!

Hello H, I heard from Derek, nice to chat. Hope you are ok.
How's everyone else on this marvellous thread. Is that snow heading your way from the U.S., hope not they are having blizzards. We are expecting storms here again, bit scary, and yet there are dreadful bushfires down the south.
Look forward to hearing all your news.

Hello Pat..we have a bit if sunshine at the moment,the temp has gone up a bit,but been told to expect more snow and freezing weather..but we're nowhere near as bad as you..I hope things buck up for soon..I'm preparing for Spring with the garden but don't know really when it happen..the stray cat that we've been feeding will have to be a bit squashed in the greenhouse when I get my tomatoes cucumbers etc on the go,she only sleeps in there when it's really cold mind you..we made her a lovely bed..take care Pat..stay safe.
Hello Marie Vince Dave Harry and Bernard..I hope you are all fit as fiddles.

hi maureen,yes fit as a fiddle.we are having some beautiful weather at the moment,what am i to exspect in wigan when i come.looking forward to my visit.pat hope your weather improves,bernard hope you are keeping well.take care all

Hi Vince..it's looking like it'll be cold when you come over..although I hope not..bring some of your sunshine and everything will be fine.

Hi Everyone yes we are in good shape and enjoying life here even though we are going through some unusual weather patterns.We seem to not get enough then to much of everything but thats life here in Oz.Take care.

Good day to you all,Freezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing cold wind this morning,but looking at through my office window blowing the trees it dosen't bother me one bit, but it does my wife, because she is just taking the dog for it's morning walk across the field, so they'll both have a very cold nose.We are all enjoying some sort of weather in piece,a lot of people don't."Trotting" of to Tesco's later to ge a friend a bottle of somthing for his birthday so bye for now. H.

hello again, Peace not piece!!

hi all,rained yesterday,but today sunny again,just come of the golf driving range.looking forward to drive to england next week.then to wigan in two weeks, hope the weather is better than at the moment.take care all.

vince It's been bloody freezing today and forecast to go colder but I hope it's improved for when you come over. Looking forward to Spring and getting in the garden. There were no gardens to worry about in Wallgate, were there.

hi marie,the only garden we had was called a yard with an outside loo,no grass.i think thats why people spent so much ti.me at weekends in the mesnes park or the plantations.maureen hows your garden coming on,lets hope its full of colour in the summer.i do miss the garden,i miss the fish pond i had,plenty of fish.

Hello Vince,just waiting for the ground to warm up a bit,have got loads of different flower and veg seeds..got potatoes ready compost and potato bags..so just waiting for a bit of warm sun..hope it's warmed up for you next month..as Marie says it's bitter today,I hate Winter with a vengeance..and can't wait for the Spring to arrive.

We had a few square yards of ground in the back yard of York St. where we grew nasturtions up the wall and night scented stock on the border.During and for some time after the war we had 3 chickens in the yard.My biggest asset today is my garden.

As you can see I have many memories of our old back yard so here's another one.There was a labyrinth of walls between all the back yards just wide enough for the many cats to stroll along.Wach time I watch Corrie and see the meercat stop in his tracks when confronted by a pussycat it reminds me of the cat chorus that was often heard at night in the backstreets of Wallgate.Two toms would obviously be approaching each other along one of the walls and for a good half hour they would scream the most wierd noises at each other as neither would give way.The loud wails would be heard by every child lying in their bed and always would end in a snarling,fur ripping fight.I miss the sounds,sights and smells of old Wigan.

Hi everyone I wonder if anybody remembers me or can help me find photos of Taylor st off miry lane. wallgate. I was Eileen Ferran and lived at 28 I live in Aus now since 2011 but I have no pictures of my childhood to pass on to my children. would love to hear from old friends and neibours eileen

Hi Eileen stephen halliwell here from leeds street i remember you i used to play with your vince when we were kids. i live in australia too been here since 1995 live in melbourne. does anybody remember my brother Ken Halliwel or have any tales about him

Hi Eileen stephen halliwell here from leeds street i remember you i used to play with your vince when we were kids. i live in australia too been here since 1995 live in melbourne. does anybody remember my brother Ken Halliwel or have any tales about him

Hi Steve I remember you both good to hear from you. We are in Perth howlong have you been here?

Hello Eileen 1942,as you know our backyards in York St. overlooked the back of one side of Taylor St.I remember that Taylor St. had terrace toilets whereas York St. had semi detached !The factory chimney towered above the houses and I always thought it a grand sight in the moonlight.Do yo remember any of the local shop keepers who I mentioned on your thread? Hope you stay and enjoy the chat.

Welcome Eileen
Sure you will enjoy getting in touch with all the owd Wallgaters. My old friend Marion Parkinson lived in Taylor Street, do you remember her?
Hello All,
Is everything ok? We are still having cyclonic humid weather, hope your spring is starting to be sprung.

Eileen As you can see there are two threads for Wallgate Streets and families. The first thread got so big and it took so long to put a message on, that they started a new one. If you have the time, you should, at your leisure, go through all the nearly 3,000 posts from ex Wallgaters from many parts of the world and from people still living in Wigan.

These people are the salt of the earth.

As has been mentioned on here before, I remember Nellie Daveys chippie in Miry Lane. Threpence for chips and pea wet. Nectar.

Pat, in Aus, I hope your weather has improved. It has been lovely here today although still cold.

Hello Eileen..Marie has said it all,and we do hope you will stick around and join in our banter and get to know us all and likewise we get to know you..whatever you can remember about Wallgate will be very welcome,so rack your brain Eileen please and let's add you to our list of friends..you will enjoy it here.
Hello everyone else..Pat,as Marie says it's been a lovely day for sunshine even though it's still cold there is a whiff of Spring in the air..been tidying the garden getting it a bit more prepared for .hello Vince..Harry.. Dave ..Bernard,I hope you are all well,and Pat I hope you get a bit of cooler weather soon.x

Hello to you all,and Eileen,hope you are all fit and well. I have some very very bad news, brass monkeys are now extinct here in Kent.The numbers have been going down for a number of years now due to the freezing cold weather, but, after the last cold spell, remains of several were found across the county, and as I say, the poor buggers have all gone!Do you still have some in your part of the world Dave?

Hello Harry,our tourism dept. advertise Jersey as 'the warmest place in Britain',and I'm saying"don't believe the lieing toerags".They haven't stood in the middle of a Jersey field when a keen East wind is hitting you straight from Siberia.
I've got a stiff neck
And it's driving me mad
I've been to the doctors
And he said,"look here lad"
Your seventy,you know
So stop climbing trees
If you don't
You'll be stiff
Right down to your knees.

I noticed on the TV weather forecast for today that it was 11 degrees in Preston and 4 degrees in Jersey.

Hi pberry I know Marion very well we kept in touch until I came to oz, Hi marie I spent a lot of time in nellie Daveys chippy I didnt mind queing in the winter because it was always warm in there. I have looked through quite a lot of the postings ,it brings back so many memories. Hi Dave I remember all the shops you mentioned Bet wetheralls ,the off license, do you remember Agnes and nellie Oddie had the grocers on the corner of Leeds st and Clayton st. we lived opposte the Robinsons and the Roberts. in Taylor St and we had our own toilet and brick shelter. Hi to everyone else hope you all well. Eileen

Yes,I remember the shop on the Leeds St.Corner,Eileen.There were so many shops in the backstreets,there was no need to go up Town.As well as the shops we had the regular horse and cart traders every day.You could buy anything from a pair of knickers to a pair of kippers right on your doorstep.Glad you are settling in the Wallgate thread.

Eileen,did you know anyone in Great George Street?.

Hi All
What a small world Eileen. I live in Oz also, where are you?
Marion was my very best friend, all through St Thomas's and All Saints. I rang her for her 70th on the 12 January, I still miss her.
Cheers everyone. P

Eileen I noticed you joined wiganworld in 2009, why have you only just posted recently but it is good to hear from you

Hi marie I didnt post before because I didnt know how its only recently I realised it was easy. Hi pberry we are in Perth where are you?. Hi momac I did but names escape me .Hi dave do you remember meehans chippy on was it Clayton st Maureen their daughter was scalded badly. I met her in the 60s and we kept in touch for a few years. I have had no luck so far finding any photos but I hope some will turn up.

Hello Eileen,Maureen Meehan and myself were chums growing up,her dog paddy went everywhere with us..I see her cousin regularly,mostly in Asda,he married my school friend Joan Cherrington..I don't know if you know or not but Maureen sadly died a couple of years ago.

Hi All
Eileen, we live at Tugun on the Gold Coast, half a continent from you. Hope you are all well. We still have rain and humidity but hopefully clearing soon. HELLO Harry and Dave and Vince, not forgetting the girls Maureen and Marie. Cheers.

hi all,arrived in portsmouth ok.6inches of snow north of spain.cold in england,cant get away from it.hopefully weather will get warmer.hi maureen,pat,dave,rolo,marie,eileen.take care all

How do,to you all.I watched a young lad ont telly this morning in Manchester.They asked him what he thought about having squash courts in shopping malls."You cum ere fert shop not fert play" was his reply.Little un brightened up my day.

LO again,We saw that little lad Dave,I'm glad you picked up on it as well,Mrs.B said we don't need to ask where he comes from.English is not yet dead!!?? Pat I've just Googled Tugan and it lookes like a very nice place to spend your lives,though I think what you all need there is a big tower, just to put that finishing touch to it.

Morning Rolo,we want somewhere to sit not a ruddy squash court.After a good restaurant meal I sometimes ask if they have anywhere to have a lie down.It's as cold as ever today but we have sunshine promised tomorrow same as yourself.My daffs have put themselves on hold for a fortnight but from tomorrow I am sure I'll have 'a host of golden daffodils' next week.Morning all,you have a nice day or whatever it is where you are.

Vince,don't worry..it's forecast to warm up,it's lovely here this morning,at least as long as the suns out.

How do! That brings back some memories Dave. Harry if you Google CrystalBeach.com.au that is where we live. We are one floor up on the front right, looking out to the beach. It is a nice place but we really could do with a tower, I miss Blackpool. We are really over this weather, hasn't stopped raining for days. Shouldn't complain though, might be in drought in a few months. Dave, the daffodils are so beautiful when they all come out together, so very English. Enjoy your holiday Vince, I know Maureen is looking forward to your visit. Hello Marie. Eileen everyone very interested in your stories of Wallgate.

pberry Pat do you live on that Complex with the swimming pool.

I've just been having a look..it looks like a dream of a place to live Pat.

By the crin momac, what would them owd Irish men and women in Wallgate think about that.

Bless 'em Marie..I don't really know if my Grandma and Grandad ever even saw the sea,I know they saw the River Mersey,that seemed to be the only place that they had a break in when they went visiting relatives..I could live by the sea very easily,it would be an absolute dream..what do you think Marie.

momac My grandma in her clogs and shawl in Melbourne St. never went any further than the middle of Wigan until they moved up to Worsley Hall and they thought they were in Heaven with inside toilets and a bathroom.

Good morning All
Hi Marie and Maureen. Yes, that's our home. The times we have said how we wish our owd families were still around, we would have loved to have them here and spoil them. Mind, we were lucky enough to have brought my Mum and Dad and Tom's Dad over for holidays. It's my Gram I think of. She once waded in the sea, in Blackpool, with her frock on, to get me, said I was out too far. No sharks there though!
Rain easing, hopefully. I am getting homesick this morning remembering pastimes.
P xx

They came here when they were starving in the Irish potato famine. Then they had to endure the cotton famine because of the American Civil War. There were no Benefits then so how did they survive.

If only we had photos of them

Hi everyone.Yes Pat lives in a lovely spot on the southern tip of the gold coast whilst we live on the northern end in a place called Hope Island.We are surrounded by wild life such as kangaroo,s and cocatoos which abound here.If anyone had told me when I was a lad in Wallgate that one day I would be shooing kangaroos off the road and back into the fields I would have laughed at them.Now its a regular thing on my morning walks but so enjoyable.Hope Island is a shining example of humans and wild life living in harmony.Stay well everyone

Hi everyone has anyone got or know where I can find any photos of Taylor St parties like the coronation and such .I have looked through a lot of the photos in the albums but cant find any . E.

Oh Bernard,that sounds like bliss,to live in close proximity with animals must be heaven..to me anyway,what a long way from Wallgate you've come.

Pat I used to go to The Ball and Boot in my mis spent youth we used to love watchng the 2 people who always danced rock n roll I think her name was Margaret but not sure it's too long ago about 1967/9
Bernard it's a small world I now live close to you at Runaway Bay. I also went to St Josephs but in the mid 50's before St Edwards school opened. We lived in Montrose Ave, Worsley Hall as kids.

I remember Taylor St. pulling out all the plugs for the Queens Coronation,Eileen.Bunting galore and huge Union Jacks painted on the houses and they remained there for many many years.I know there was a competition for the best turned out street and I would be surprised if you didn't win.York St. had their party in Seddons wharehouse by the Little Tunnel as it started to rain.There must be Street photos of the occasion in the Observer archives.A day to remember for many of us.

Sydneylass, this is amazing. We moved to the other side of the world and here we are, neighbours. I know the couple you mean, I think it was Charley Farley, (Tom's oldest friend) and his wife Margaret.(Sadly both have passed away). You will find lots of friends on this site, all friendly Wiganers, mostly originate from Wallgate.
Maureen, it is lovely where Bernard lives, he tells many stories of his morning walk with the animals, shoos the Roos off the road, away from the traffic to keep them safe.
Marie, I would love to think our ancestors were looking down and saying "we are proud of you all".

pat "we are proud of you all" Pat, that brought a lump to my throat. I wish we could say to them, you did alright, we are OK.

There were no means of communication then, so how did them from County Clare know to come to Wallgate and how the ell did they get from Liverpool to Wigan with no money. Bernard said they got here on any horse and cart that was coming here.

Hi Sydneylass.As Pat said its amazing how we are living so close together.My wife Margarets family lived at 46 Montrose Ave so another coincidence and we also lived in Runaway Bay in Pine Ridge Rd.before moving to Hope Island.So its a small world eh ?!!we should all meet up one day.Stay well everyone

Bernard you're right we should organise our own Ozzie WW get together, would be lovely to have a chat and reminice about the old days in Wigan
Pat I've been on WW for many years and love to read some of the posts but I don't often comment. Yes it was Margaret and Charley I was very young and in awe of them at the time in fact I can own up to you now I was underage at the time but I'm sure I wasn't the only one
Let me know if either of you want to catch up .

My Dad painted those flags along with a few other dads he had a visit from some official saying he could be in trouble because they used gloss paint and it wouldnt come of. can I get the observer archives on line ?

Hi Sydneylass both Pat and I would like to meet up with you so we will have a chat and decide how we make contact.We have probably passed each other many times in the shopping village in Lae Drive eh.a small world indeed.stay well

eileen,I can't find any on line archives for The Wigan Observer.I suppose you would have to e-mail them.At least you know through wiganworld that your dads marvelous effort with the Union Jacks is well remembered by those who saw them.It seems there has always been petty officials telling us what we can and cannot do and what kind of paint to use.I am glad they used gloss.

Bernard Can we all come.

Marie..I'm packing now...are you.

Oh, wish you could all come, wouldn't that be so good. Can imagine the chatter that day.
Bernard and I are chatting and will arrange something soon.

Hi everyone and yes Marie all are welcome.Sydneylass how do feel about picking a time and place to meet up somewhere locally.Perhaps one of the clubs or even the food court in Runaway Bay shopping village.Let us know please and we will arrange it.

Hi Bernard and Marie that would be great. I've got visitors at the moment for another week but maybe after that? When are you both normally free?

Hi Sydneylass.We are retirees and are free all the time so thats no problem just let us know when you get the time and we will try to meet up.

Sounds good Bernard will do

hi all just arrived in wigan freezing!!!!!!!!!!!

bravo Hiya Vince. Will you be in the Moon under Water at any time. I know momac will know.

hi marie,what and where is the moon under water?not heard from maureen for awhile wondering if she is ok.

vince the Moon under Water is Wetherspoons pub on the corner of Library St. Maureen will be on shortly.

thanks,will trt and make it

Can I come P L E E A S E?

Keep wrapped up Vince and enjoy!

Hello all,yes all is well Vince..bet you'd forgotten how cold it was in these parts hadn't you...not heard from Nora for a bit,hope she's okay.

hi maureen she as lost your number,you will have to phone her.

Will do that tomorrow,hope you're keeping well Vince..as Pat says keep wrapped up,and yes Pat ..anytime..wish you could,but you'd need a fur coat.

vince and pat It is bloody freezing here. Stop complaining about the heat in Aus.

Hi everyone and hope you enjoy your time in the old town Vince.Perhaps someone can answer me a question.We are getting re runs of the T.V programme Heartbeat and I notice quite a lot of them are written by Brian Finch.I know he,s in Wigans famous list but is he the same lad that went to St.Joes one class ahead of me.I think he lived in the Newtown area.Hope someone can out me right.

oops sorry put me right

Last week i was supping tea in the garden and this morning I was frozzen feeding the birds in the snow with an Arctic gale blowing round my lug holes!

Brrrrr Dave, you have to imagine you are in Alaska, or was it warmer there? Sorry, Marie, we do realise how lucky we are in this climate. I don't like the cold at all.
Keep warm all of you.

Hello Pat,The weather in Alaska was beautiful and the only snow was on the mountain tops.Our airport is closed and all the schools.I think back of the time when I went to nursery in Clayton St. through trenches in the deep snow when I couldn't see over the top.I have a little 'clouts' thread going on the general comments.Do any of you Wallgaters remember the expression 'clouts' referring to underwear?.

hi dave,i understand it was just to get dressed,put (your clouts on).

Cheers,bravo,that rings bells.We need extra clouts in Jersey today after last nights blizzard.Thermal long johns,best purchase I ever made.

hello all,Dave,the only clouts I remember are the ones I got around the earhole!

I used to get get two clouts,Harry,one now and one for next time.

Hello everyone..I've had a lovely day out with Vince..had dinner/lunch,coffees..went for lovely ride round Parbold,Burscough,Dalton..through countryside..and the sun was shining for us..he's very good company to boot,he's a love..have to wait for another year.

Hi Maureen and Vince so good to hear you enjoyed your time together and riding through the countryside is making me feel homesick especially when the sun shines

Thank you Bernard,it was a lovely day,he will be on his way back home shortly,mind you Bernard I do envy you the glorious sunshine that you enjoy,I have never liked the cold..please say hello to Pat for me will you?.

Yes Maureen our climate is very good most of the time and we do appreciate it.We are meeting up with Pat and Tom on Tuesday for lunch so will pass on your good wishes.Stay well

Have a good chit chat on Tuesday and enjoy a good lunch,Bernard.

Hiya Bernard. Enjoy yourself on Tuesday and say hello to Marg, Pat and Tommy.

Dave..just noticed your photo on the same one as Eric Dowbekin..we were talking to him yesterday and he told us he'd lost his wife three weeks ago..very sad.

O.K.MarieM will do and thanks for the message

Thanks Dave I will pass on your message to Pat and Tom

Hi momac,those were happy days at The Linacre and the photo of the athletic team is one of my few momentos.Sorry to hear the sad news,we all went our separate ways in the big wide World.

Hi Friends
Thank you for the lovely messages, so nice to know we are thought of. Hope you are all well and keeping wrapped up.
Bravo, did you find the pub Marie was talking about, I think we went in there years ago on a trip back home to Wigan. You wouldn't believe it, an Aussie neighbour of our son, Chris from Sydney, was having a pint in there. Talk about a small world, he loved Wigan and its people. Still talks about it.
Cheers. P

Marie..I must apologise for not explaining more,the day out with Vince was only organised later on in the evening when I rang his sister Nora..but I've been thinking it would be nice if we could meet up and have a chin wag.I think it would be nice.

Hi All
Oh, see you have snow, hope it's the last before spring.
Hope you are all keeping well.
Well, it is my 70th tomorrow, can't believe it, seems like yesterday that I went to my first dance at the Emp at 17. How quickly the time has passed, do you all feel the same?
Take care for now.
Love P xx

Good morning Pat..yes we have the snow again,Cliff's just cleared the back garden with the snow shovel,doing the front next..and boy was it bitter yesterday..I was 17 when I first went to the Temp,how I loved the place,was there every night except Wednesday,that was for older folk..ahem..Will wish you Happy Birthday tomorrow Pat..take care.x

Hello to you all,Well done for your 70th Pat,have a very good day.I expect you'll be surf boarding or water skiing,or shark fishing or somthing like that,with your family and friends, whatever,eat toooo much and drink toooo much we are only young once!!How is life on that millionares island?, Dave.are you having this white spring weather like the rest of us.Maureen,are the beer lorries still getting through?? that is a must! All take care!

Hi rolo,Vince was telling me the other week that you used to have a cello,is that true.. and do you still play..and to be honest I think the last time I saw a beer lorry was outside St Josephs presbytery.lol

Hello,Rolo.Last week we had a blizzard with 6ft. drifts and today lovely sunshine and temps of 12 degrees.Yep,we have millionaires but most of us just get by.I have met lots of very rich people and from experience those from the old money brigade are far pleasanter than the self made wealthy residents..I have been working full time for the past month on a retail premises badly damaged by flood and I am pleased to say that the owner can re-open next week...good to earn some cash again.
I was 70 last October,Pat,and by heck I haven't half felt my age this Winter.May I wish you well,good health and happiness.

Hi pberry i think i know you do you have a brother tony, and did you live close to the gladwins in miry lane, and mate around with i think her name is pat worthington from further up miry laneand the other girl was sheila woodcock i also know anne fairhurst nee waering, i know her husband Dave. i live in melbourne been here since 1995. i went to all saints sec mod frog lane. used to love nellies chip shop chips and pea wet.

Nellie Davey (died in 1987 at the age of 87) was my maternal grandmother. Widowed early, she ran the chipshop on the corner of Leeds St and Miry Lane single-handedly for many years in order to support her disabled sister, Lizzie, and her three children. She was a remarkable woman, and I loved her very dearly.

Many of us have very fond memories of the delicious chips served by Nellie,MAPT.

Hello all
Thank you for my birthday greetings, I had the best day. My family are far away from us, but their flowers and phone calls make up for the distance. Some friends took us on their boat and after the sail went for a beautiful lunch at a resort, a perfect 70th - except I wish you could all have joined us. Sorry you are having such bad weather, looks so cold on the tv. Hopefully it may warm up soon.
Jillsteve, I don't think I am the girl you mentioned, my only brother was Tom Rimmer and died so sadly 16 years ago. Nice to chat and I am sure you will know plenty Wallgaters on this fantastic thread, who love to recall old memories.
Take care all, keep wrapped up and again thanks you for your kind wishes.

Happy Birthday Pat..I hope you have a lovely day.x

Happy birthday Pat. It sounds like you had a beltin day. Best wishes.

Happy Birthday Pat sounds like you had a lovely day hope we can still all meet up once all my visitors have gone

Thank you all so very much, as I said, I am absolutely overwhelmed with all the good wishes, money can't buy it.
Will hear from you Sydneylass, we too have visitors, but after Easter anytime, look forward to that.
Keep warm everyone, sorry it has been so cold.
P x

pat You wouldn't believe how cold it has been here. On Saturday night watching Wigan v Widnes, I think it is the coldest I have ever been in my life and I had my thermals on.

My friends from England arrive today it's 32 degrees today so I'm sure they will be soaking up that sunshine before they face the snow back in England Rug uo everyone wish we could sent some of this sunshine for you.

Hello to you all.It's the wind,the wind we have all got a bad case of the wind.Down here in Kent it comes off the north sea stright into my back garden, - whatever for a least another week but that's life.Maureen Vince nearly got it right,it was a double bass I used to have, but I gave it up many moons ago couldn't get it on the bus.

Morning Rolo,I thought Vince had mixed up your cello with your cellar,cause I know you had a one of those.We are stuck at 5 degrees at the moment whereas this time last year was the best bit of the Summer.Just been to get kitted out with hearing aids,one of the few things that is free in Jersey.I can now hear every little sound including my creaking joints....Oh to be back in Form 4 with the delightful Ann Humphries at my side.I wonder how the lovely girl fared.

Hi All
It really must be very cold, all my emails say they are frozen. Marie, my cousin rang and said he took hot water bottles to watch the rugby and is still cold from Saturday night - global warming eh!! Hello Harry, you make sure you keep out of that wind, have you snow there also? Dave, I think Ann is well. She lives in Wales I believe. Her brother Alex married a girl I know. Good to know you won't miss any gossip now that you can hear all. Sydneylass, I have UK visitors arriving next week. Marie, our visitors are the Kirkbrides, Bill used to play for Halifax and hails from Cumbria originally. Actually one of our best friends is a lad called Ken Batty. He played on the wing for Wakefield when Fox missed a penalty at Wembley, which would have won them the game, he still has a go at Tom, saying if only. I received a beautiful box of Thorntons chocs from my cousins in the UK, hmmm, won't last too long. Maureen, keep warm, no working in the garden in that cold weather. And Vince, are you enjoying being back in Spain after your hol. D & H I received some lovely cards from my old school friends, Rita, and Marion from Wallgate, not bad eh, friends for over 65 years, I feel blessed.
Am battling glandular fever at present, sleeping 16 hours a day, but just have to try and get on with it. Just takes time.
Am sending you all warm sunny greeting.
P x

Pat,I feel so sorry for you..my son had glandular fever when he was younger and there's not a thing you can do except sleep is there,and as for gardening Pat,I keep going out in the garden then trotting back in again..it's just time it's warmed up now..I don't think Vince will be back in Spain yet,think he's still in Portsmouth with relatives,he won't be sorry to leave this cold,will he?.x

Likewise ,momac,I remember my daughter having glandular fever when she was 14 ,nearly thirty years ago.Her school was very helpful which was most appreciated.All the best,Pat.

Pat I hope you are feeling better soon. I went to Chorley Market today and I was talking to your sister in law Sheila Willis, Terry's wife who I have not seen for about forty years.

Hi Marie, it's amazing who you meet at Chorley Market, we love going when we get over for a holiday.
Have you thawed out yet?

Pat No. Apparently, it's the coldest March for 50 years.

Pat,I don't know whether you saw it on here somewhere or not,but they had to stop the traffic yesterday or the day before in order to take icicles hanging from under Wallgate ..bridge,and they said they were three feet long...it's what you call ruddy freezing.

hi all,leaving hayling island to-morrow,cant come soon enough, never know it to be so cold.but I will still miss it.enjoyed my time in wigan have a most beautiful day out with Maureen,and enjoyed my time with my sister.will be on line next week see you all take care.

Hello Dear Friends
Here's wishing you all a happy and blessed Easter.

Love P x

And same to you and Tom,Pat.

And the same to you and yours Pat.x

hi maureen,back to normal,sun shining quite warm,shorts and t shirt weather.dave hope its getting warmer for you,long time since jersey had snow.its so cold in the uk,if we had not been going to swansea i would have come home two weeks early.take care all,nice to be back.

Hello Vince,glad you're back safe and sound...and warm..it's still very cold here..in fact it's bitterly cold,supposedly got another week of it 'til it warms up..and I'm envious of you all that live in sunny climes..what do you say Marie.

Vince Glad you are back in the warm. I am going to Spain in three weeks. Maureen, Pat, Bernard and all you old Wallgaters, too numerous to mention, hope you all had a happy Easter.

where are you staying in spain,anywhere near torrevieja!!
tempt ok if you are.enjoy your stay.

vince I don't know. Benidorm. Something for everybody.

Hi everyone.
We had a great five day Easter hol.at a country town called Stanthorpe famous for growing apples.Lovely landscape and a nice climate there in southern Q/Land.
Thanks for greetings Marie hope your easter was enjoyable.
Stay well everyone.

Mornin' all
Hope you are all in good health and the weather is warming up. We are having crazy weather, one minute hot sun, the next it is pouring and humid, not sure what is going on.
Your clocks must be due to go forward, I think. Be nice to have those long lovely light nights. In mid-summer, we are in darkness by 8pm, really annoying, but in Queensland they believe the curtains will fade and the cows won't milk - true!! No chance we will ever have daylight saving. Of course, I am a member of the Daylight Saving for Qld but the group is not strong enough to make any difference as yet - one day hopefully.
Love to all. P

Hi Pat,in Jersey if an old farmers wife leaves out a saucer of milk at night then she is a witch and the milk is for her familiar.....and I aint fibbing.

Hello all you old Wallgaters. On Album, there is a photo of a toffee shop, 178 Wallgate, next door to the Star Inn on the corner of Miry Lane and Wallgate. My grandma, in her clogs and shawl, with her mates from Melbourne St and Victoria St used to frequent the Star, and the Landlord, so they didn't have to keep going to the bar used to give them a crate of ale which they shoved under the seats.

hi marie,i think the shop in question was NELSONS,next door but one to malleys the cobblers also next door the paper shop cant think of the name,then the chippy.maureen not heard from you for awhile are you doing a lot of gardening,hope you are ok.bernard was thinking the other day about lads from school,one came to mind tony lundy,i think he went to new Zealand,see him once in the star on wallgate,was on holiday.long time ago.weather now settled here in mid 20s.take care all keep in touch.

Hi Vince.You are spot on with the shops on Wallgate and I think the newsagent was Mick Fish who delivered papers come rain or shine.I do remember Tony Lundy who lived close to the Nags Head pub down Clayton St.and we were pals during our school days.I did,nt know he went to N.Zealand but he was always a nice lad.Stay well everyone.

Good day to you all,at last I have got over my snow blindness and frostbite, and I THINK I saw some sunshine this morning but not at all sure! but we live in hope.Snow is the only thing that settles in this country at the moment and dosen't claim all the benefits? We have a phantom scrap collector in the area,he comes and goes ,if and when,morning noon and night.I fitted a new cooker last week and put the old one near the front gate at 6 pm and Mrs B looked out at 8.30 and there it was, gone!AND he didn't even leave a rubbing stone,not one.what's the world coming to?

Rolo,I have shingles (the plague) and I thank you for the laugh in the midst of misery.It's feeling warmer here,especially in my affected area and the forecast promises 20 degrees plus very soon.Hope all the Wallgaters are well and don't forget, someone up there always saves the best 'til last!.

Good afternoon all,Harry..I'm getting a new cooker in a couple of weeks,you can send your scrap merchant round here..it will save Cliff having to struggle with it,Dave I believe shingles are very painful..it's a neuralgic pain which isn't nice.Hello Vince,how are you,yes we've both been tidying up in the garden today and planting seeds and a couple of shrubs while the sun was out..yippee..was your little cat okay when you got back home...I hope so,as for the shops,I used to go to Nelsons a lot for bubble gum..and the paper shop had a couple of steps going up to the door,but I only remember a woman and her husband running it,also..Sheila Lundy was in my class,wonder if they were related..hello to Pat and Bernard,I hope you are both well..take care all.x

Hi All
Dave, hope you are recovering from the shingles and the pain is easing. How do Harry, you still make me laugh so much, rubbing stone indeed, that really takes us back. Hi Marie and Maureen, hope all is well with you both, hope that old sun keeps shining. Vince, nice to be back in the warmth eh!
Are you all celebrating the Latics win, we are thrilled to bits and Bernard will be singing. Fancy going to Wembley, what an achievement. Will stay up that night to watch that game.
Take care all. Px

Hi everyone and yes I am so happy the Latics made it to the final just hope they manage to stay in the premier league.
Not sure Mo.about Shiela Lundy but can,t remember Tony having a sister maybe Vince might know.
Best wishes to all

hi all,first I want to congratulate wigan on their win in the semi final,ironicly they play city on wed.a win more in portent than the final.bernard I think your correct tony had a sister,but no brothers.maureen we have finally got summer here,temp 28 today,been nice since we have been back,but now a lot warmer.looking out of the window I see my cheery tree in full bloom,picked a lemon the other day from the tree.maureen best of luck with your garden,your weather should been getting better.cats gone missing,not seen for three days,came to us one day in nov and I suppose its had enough of our company.take care all talk again soon.

Hi Vince sorry about your cat,but I bet he comes back,the stray cat that we feed has just come back after three days,limping, fur missing and thin,checked her paw,nothing there,fattening her up again..and yes the weather is picking up now been doing quite a bit in the garden,bet you were glad to get back home after having a taste of our weather..keep well Vince..Hello Bernard,nice to hear from you...you keep well too..Hello Pat..hope your'e fine flower.x

Good day one and all,Dave I do hope your chicken-pox is getting better,there are some very good treatments for it,all 70% proof, but not the stuff we use to clean paint brushes.Maureen re. your new cooker,ours is built in and cost us quite a few bob, but they don't provide an handle for the grill pan,if we want one we have to order it from the factory,I think it's health and safety gone mad again, so we have to use oven gloves to get the tray out,isn't that good.Our scrap man is a very big help,and saves us money as we don't have to pay to have big items collected,I think i'll give him a tip at Christmas!Pat we all have to keep laughing and look at the funny side because there's nothing else worth looking at.

Hi All
Maureen, you so reminded me of my younger days, all my Yorkshire family,(originating from Wallgate) past and present, call me Flower, and thank you so much. Harry, how ridiculous, no handle for the tray. Sounds like a clip-on handle could be dangerous. Hope you are cooking nice dinners for Mrs. B. Good to hear you are warm again Vince, let's hope it moves over to the UK. How are you Marie, have you been or about to go on your hols? Dave, are you ok, hope the shingles are easing. Take care all.
P x

Pat,we were in Yorkshire on Sunday, Burton in Lonsdale..visiting our eldest lad..Pat if you remember way..way back on this thread we joked about our ancestors possibly being related..do you remember that,and we used to have relatives some years back that lived there..so you never know.lol.x

Good day to you all,I had a very nice surprise yesterday when I looked at "albums" because there are two photos of Norman Whittaker,my uncle who had the dance band.bravo you new him quite well and I know Nora did, we all had some good times together in the good old days!

Hello Rolo,I bet you were chuffed when you saw those,and aren't they good photos.

Goodnight everybody,sleep tight and god bless.

Good morning momac,I did, and thank you!

Rolo,it is a wonderful feeling to see photos of relatives and ancestors for the very first time.They are part of you and you a part of them and it will always be so.

hello again,Dave your shingles have cleared up and gone away.that 70% proof stuff I told you about! you are supposed to rub it in, not drink it,but I found it works well both ways.The photographs were a very nice surprise,and a surprise it was,never expected it.The last time I saw him was at a family get together, and then I drove him home.He put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug and one of his watches,he was well into his 80's and that was the last time I saw him.In an earlier post I spoke to Tony Kearns about him using his shop in Wigan lane as Tony and his dad new him very well,I hope he sees these photos as well.

Just left me with temporary incontinence,Rolo,Oh the joys of getting old,I'm wearing those whatsits with wings!

Good morning all,Are you there Dave?I do hope you haven't flown away.We are having some very nice weather AT THE MOMENT in our part of England,I had to put the air con.in the car for the last few days I fully expect in a short while it will be back to the heater.HellOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Pat is there anybody thereeeeeeeeeeeeeee??.

Hi Troops
Sorry, been away for a week 9 hours north to visit our son. I have been going through glandular fever for 6 weeks and am sleeping my life away, so hopefully I will be over it soon. Good to hear your weather warming up Harry. I couldn't wait to see your response to Dave's wings, as expected, I giggled. Hope you are feeling ok now Dave, as my old neighbour used to say "there's nowt to getting owld Pat". Maureen, you are such a sweetie, I feel that we are family as it is. How's Marie, are you ok? Vince, there's nothing like cherry blossoms, beautiful trees.
I think I may have asked before, but does anyone recall the Quinns from Miry Lane. There was Uncle Peter, Edna and Anne. They went to St. Josephs and Anne was slightly older than me.
I wrote to Irene today H and D so hopefully a response soon.

Hello Pat..I bet you're glad that you're recovering from the glandular fever,it's a nasty illness..now you need a good tonic,if you like Guinness..that will do you good..I hope you had a nice break at your sons..hello to everyone else,we're waiting for some nice weather here,have to be careful Vince which plants to put outside,we're still having frosty nights..Hope you're okay Vince,we haven't heard from you for a while..take care everybody.x

Please to report I am out of nappies,Pat,and normal service slowly returning.....I must have done something really bad in a previous life!

hi Maureen,hope you ok,i have tken then skin of my shin on the golf coarse.ground staff ws replacing some posts and I caught my shin about 2 inch square of skin missing,not very nice.by the way nora is in Canada for 3 mths.phoned her the otherday said shes not heard from you for while.iam going to buy a dongle so I can be on line on holiday.next wed away for 2 mths in the caravan.rained allday not very nice.
dave hope you are getting over your embarrassment.rolo knew norman very well,i miss the old days visiting eric and maggie.pat hope you are well and Bernard also marie.hoping to keep in touch,take care all

Hello Vince..I'm sorry about your shin,don't know what G.P has given you for it but honey is very good.put on a dressing,and micro pore or plasters to keep dressing on.I rang Nora just before she left for Canada,and will ring when she's home..I hope your leg soon heals..take care all.x

hi Maureen,my leg will take a few weeks to heal,slow healing person.i have bought a dongle this morning,what I want to know how do I connect it.is there anything I have to do!!!let me know asap.

hi Maureen,my leg will take a few weeks to heal,slow healing person.i have bought a dongle this morning,what I want to know how do I connect it.is there anything I have to do!!!let me know asap.

Vince I'm sorry,I haven't the foggiest of what to do..hopefully someone will read this who can help...try Google Vince it might help.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Where's H with a dongle story.
Hello all, sorry to say it, but we are entering the most beautiful time of the year here, autumn. Coolish nights and mornings and warm balmy days. I know Bernard will agree. I wish we could share it with you all.

Enjoy Mother Nature at its best,Pat.I look at my garden and I am a wealthy man."I am just a Wigan boy,money have I non,but I have silver in the stars and gold in the morning sun."I wish I'd kept my woggle as it could have come in handy lately!

hello all,Pat I didn't even know that I can buy a new dongle,mine's getting a bit the worse for ware like me, the only time I hear heavy breathing these days is when I try to exercise.Vince just plug it into the usb slot on the side of your computer,you must have got instructions with it.

my grandkids have been trying to explain the differens between a IPOD and a IPAD and i am still wondering how a flask knows if you want to keep things hot or cold

Hello all you old Wallgaters. Pat hope you're feeling better. Is Bernard OK. Vince we have just been to Spain and the weather was awful. It was freezing and raining but we still enjoyed it. Momac, we saw loads of bottle brush plants there and I am going to get one for a pot. Hope Dave and Harry are OK.

Hi everyone.
As Pat said earlier we are going through a very pleasant period of weather which is perfect.Now for the other side of the coin we have another cyclone coming ashore in the north sometime tomorrow so hopefully it does,nt cause to much damage.
Marie sorry you copped some rough weather in Spain which is unusual for that country but the worlds weather maps are upside down right now.Hope everyone is keeping well

hi marie,sorry to hear about your lousy weather,its turned for the better.iam in los patos at the moment,in the caravan.we are here for two mths.sun shining for thr foreseeable future.it can only get hotter.having a beer as I type this message.maureen you are conspicuous with your absents.bernard hope you don't have to much problem with your weather.dave hope everything ok with you.and greetings with all the remainder of all the wallgaters on WW.
rolo as you can guess I have got my dongle working,although the instructions where in Spanish.anyone going on holiday for any length of time its worth investing in it for what it costs.dongle 40euros,you keep',and 37 euros p/mth for10GBS.TAKE CARE ALL

hi marie,sorry to hear about your lousy weather,its turned for the better.iam in los patos at the moment,in the caravan.we are here for two mths.sun shining for thr foreseeable future.it can only get hotter.having a beer as I type this message.maureen you are conspicuous with your absents.bernard hope you don't have to much problem with your weather.dave hope everything ok with you.and greetings with all the remainder of all the wallgaters on WW.
rolo as you can guess I have got my dongle working,although the instructions where in Spanish.anyone going on holiday for any length of time its worth investing in it for what it costs.dongle 40euros,you keep',and 37 euros p/mth for10GBS.TAKE CARE ALL

Hi Vince nice to hear from you again mi amigo and we got lucky this time.A wind change turned the cyclone north and it fizzled out over the Pacific ocean so a sigh of relief by everyone here.Best wishes to everyone and stay well.

Well Vince,I've never been called conspicuous by my absence before..not everyone can boast that,I've been here all the time..just been flitting about between here and Yorkshire..on and off,and the weather has been lovely..so there's been lots to do in the garden..I hope you have a nice holiday..and Bernard,I'm glad the cyclone moved,that's a blessing isn't it.Hello to all Wallgaters I hope you are all fit and healthy.x

Good day to you all, once again my gast has been flabbered.In beautiful sunny weather, I filled the car with petrol and then gave it the GOLD* treatment through the car wash,when I drove it out at the other end it was pouring with rain.This morning when I looked out through the window, it had been dive bombed with what looked like the very big Local seagulls! At least I tried!So glad your dongles working for your holidays Vince,have fun.Dave are you selling ice cream or planting spuds?I hope your on the mend now.Maureen,are you interested in the bye-election,I find it good fun listening to the interviews after the event.Take care. H.

Hello Harry,sorry about your gast being flabbered,there should be a law against it ha ha,and no Harry,I'm not interested at all in any elections..everybody to their own eh..anything to do with politics at all,I'd sooner paint or go in the garden..anyway I'm going to send an e-mail to those seagulls,so you'll see no more of them..don't they know they don't do that to Wallgaters like us..take care Harry...Marie did you get your bottle brush plant,they're very pretty,sorry you didn't have good weather on your hols,as Bernard said it's unusual for Spain..hello Pat how are you flower,okay I hope,and Dave,I hope your shingles are on the way out now..Vince are you enjoying your holds..I could do with some of your sunshine..just getting over a really bad cold,the third I've had since November..gone all my life never getting them then three in a row,will have to get some Guinness in..any excuse..take care all.x

Good day to you all,I NEEEEEED your help PLEASE! The hen and the fox have A COMBINED AGE OF 91 YEARS.THE FOX IS NOW TWICE AS OLD AS THE HEN WAS, WHEN THE FOX WAS AS OLD AS THE HEN IS NOW. I must find out before I go to bed tonight! Thanks to you all.

Harry Momac is good at puzzles. She will get it when she sees it.

Marie..I'm not that clever..but thank you anyway,I've never got my head round this type of puzzle..and I don't fancy having a stroke lol..sorry Harry,afraid you'll have to take a sleeping tablet tonight or have a good drink of whisky.

Good morning again,it is I,the answer to the puzzle is, the fox is 52 & the hen is 39.so the hen must have been 26 THEN to give the fox 52 now,so that makes it 13 years ago,and the hen is now 39 making a grand total of 91 years. H.

Harry,go to the back of the class and give the rulers out..clever you.

Hi All
So clever Harry. My subject was English, I think maths are a man's thing, at least that's my story.
Hope you are all well and that the sun is still shining.
Marie and Maureen, bottlebrush are very common here but they really make a terrible mess, mind you, in full flower they are very nice. Sorry you had cold weather on your hols Marie. Met Bernard and Margaret for lunch today. Normally at the club there is entertainment on, but they had changed it to Bingo. (Yeah!) Hadn't played for years, think it was on Blackpool front the last time with my little Nan. However today, we moaned a bit but really enjoyed it. Guess what, we had trouble keeping up with the other oldies, keeps the brain going. What I was going to say was, it was absolutely freezing in the Club, we moaned about the air con, but when we came outside, it was freezing, a right shock I can tell you. It would have been about 20 degrees and I know that sounds soft, but the wind chill was bad and we shivered to such a drastic change.
Hello Vince, are you preparing for the summer invasion?
Where are you Dave, hope you are fully recovered, take care all.

Hello,Pat and all the good Wallgaters.My backside feels like a baboon on heat and I have had a bit of experience in that department.Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.Do you all remember that phrase in early days of T.V..Today it could almost be part of the B.B.C. logo !

Hello Dave,received and understood!

To all you expats who are interested, there is a video of Wigan Athletic setting off for Wembley this afternoon at Wigan North West Station on "Sport" "Wigan Athletic FC"

Does anyone have any memories of the Winter 1947.I was 5 years old and remember going to the nursery in Clayton Street through trenches of snow above my height.

hello again,YES Dave I do.In early 1946 me and my brother were put into a nursery in St.Wilfreds Way in Standish,dumped on Monday and picked up by anyone of the family who had the time on Saturday.We stayed there until we started attending St Thomas schoolin 47.This was a very dark cloud that hung over the family for many years.My earliest memories of starting school are standing at the back in miss Ellisons class not knowing what to do.I don't remember the snow. H.

Hi All
Harry I too remember my first class with Miss Ellison, I cried when Mum left me. You mustn't think of anything in your early past as dark days. It must have been hard but remember times were bad and folk did what they had to at the time. You obviously have come through it in good shape.
Hope you are feeling better Dave.
Hi to all Wallgaters, especially, Maureen, Marie and Vince, just letting you know how proud Tom and I and Margaret and Bernard are to say we come from Wigan, after the brilliant game by the mighty Latics at Wembley. We met at the club and celebrated today. Mind you, we are always proud to say we come from Wigan.
Take care P x

Like I said on the general thread,Pat,the last match I watched was when England won the World Cup but I watched Wigan play Man.City yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the game,that ginger lad had a moment he'll remember all his life.
I'm in the post neuralgia stage now but like so many set backs in life you just have to smile and carry on.The main thing I remember about our very early years is that adults didn't seem to burden us with the war and everything always seemed normal.We had no money,but we were warm and never hungry and only much later in life did I realise how much we were loved.

hi all,first congratulations to the latics,brilliant result.never had chance to watch the game,cant get itv on my lap top.always remember my mother,kept everyone well fed,they where good at it in those dayswe chidren always came first.never had money but at that age why would you need it?now a days its the charity shops then it was second hand shops.it mattered not most people in same boat.todays kids want designer clothes or nothing.
weather here quite good just about to watch the Barcelona GP
lastly good luck to latics in their final matches nothing less than 2 wins will do.maureen is it gardening weather yet!!take care all

Pat,I remember crying on my first day at school as I got left in Miss Doherty's class..but I only remember it snowing once,isn't that strange..and only because I slipped on it in the playground and broke my arm.I honestly think we had the best period in history..we had the hard times but didn't come to any harm..we had grandparents etc living close to us,as Vince says there wasn't much money but as kids we had the beauty of freedom,being able to run and play anywhere without being afraid of whatever..then in our teens we (I think)had the best music..we had cinemas, dance halls and above all being able to find work wherever we wanted...we had it all...Hello Vince, it's raining as I type this,everyone's utterly fed up with it,but the weather changes around the world make us realise that we are very lucky..but we wouldn't mind a bit of sunshine,GOD,are you listening?.

momac I can't remember what I did yesterday but I can remember my first day at school standing in the yard waiting to go into Miss Doherty's class at St Josephs. Vince, it's bloody freezing and raining here. Hope the weather is better in Spain and Oz. Best wishes to everyone.

Hi everyone.
What a great day for the town with the Latics putting the name of Wigan on the world map.Lets hope they produce that form to win the final two games to keep them up.
As to my memories I started school in 1942 at 4 years old because there was lots of women doing mens jobs because all the men were in the army.As I recall when miss doherty let us out at play time some of the kids ran home missing their mums.!! stay well everyone

momac,I love your comment about the freedom we had as children.It is one of the things that really sticks in my memory.We would be out of the house for hours and think nothing of walking to Haigh Hall or Gathurst and Appley Bridge stopping for little adventures on the way.We certainly arrived during the best of times to be a child.

I am making a list of back street shops of Wigan.There were so many of them and I don't think they are listed anywhere.In York Street alone we had 8 shops catering for most needs.Let me know the names of the shops that you remember....Harry is good at this.

Hello Dave,I remember McMahon's Duckworths,Sawbridges,Latimers,Bensons,Mr Davies Chemist,Morts,Theresa's,Latham's Catholic Shop,Sherringtons,Westheads,Meinekins? Prices,as you say Dave,Harry will have some more to add.

hello all,Remember Billy Armour,out at 9'clock at night looking for his LITTLE brother in the dark on the canal bank. and the other little lad found dead in Ince

Hi Momac,Mr.Duckworths daughter,Marjorie,came and stayed with us for a short while some 20 odd years ago,she is still soldiering on.
Hello Harry,we have spoken of little Billy many times.He lived around the corner from me in Vere St. and was such a lovely lad who had already gone through so much including polio.I think it was the first time I doubted God when that tragedy happened.I always say God Bless Billy whenever I pass the spot where it happened.I remember him taking me into their house and that's another vision etched forever in my mind.His mother was very well educated but never seemed to talk to anyone and his dad who had lost his fingers did what he could to support them.I often wonder how Billy's little brother fared in life.We have spoken of how safe we felt as children and many of us were sent out in the evening to find our little brother,myself included and when things like that happen it seems unreal.If you remember Billy came into our class when we were with Mr.Ashcroft in form three as he had been away,in care.He had his calipers from his illness and I remember that he spoke without the broad Wigan accent that we all had.Bless you Billy.

Hello again to you all,yes Dave,the point I was making was were we ever safe, and the answer is no.We had freedom to do what we did and had a good time doing most of it, learning about life.It IS better to look back at our lives through rose tinted glasses sometimes, it's good for the sole and helps us to get on with it as we get older.I always speak well about the years and life I had in London, but in fact almost every day there was a bomb or a bomb scare and I lost count of the times I had to leave the bus or the tube,get out of shops as cinemas and theatres as fast I could, it became a way of life,and that's on top of the other not very nice things that can be seen from time to time. What I have have seen and done or not done through life is what's made me into the happy and contented old man that I am today.No I have think about all the old shop I Wigan,OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH what a life!

Good to chat,Harry.We felt safe but we can all remember the close shaves we had...I remember a corporation bus taking the tip off my shoes as I ran in front of it under Wallgate Bridge.I was working in Manchester during the Cuban crisis and there was a strange edginess that descended over the City and a communal sigh of relief when Kruschev backed down.In the early seventies I worked at a public swimming pool for a couple of years and we were forever having to evacuate the building.I had to say over the P.A. system "There has been an incident, please leave the pool and the building immediately".What makes me happy today? I owe nowt to no one, my grand daughters and my garden.

8pm and a severe gale force 8 blowing out there...funny old Summer.

Good morning one and all,only a gale force 8 Dave.Wednesday is wheelie-bin day here, so people tend to put them out on Tuesday night then it's done with.The only trouble with that is gale force 8+ blowing down the lanes through the night,bins over, contents everywhere and after the wind and foxes etc.have had a go, the place is in one big mess.The bin men will only collect what's in the bins,so there you have it.The road sweeper drives around on Mondays to pick up anything that's left on the ROADS, the rest????.At one point we had canvas bags for waste paper collection,when they were empted the bag would be left on the pavement and they would be found all over the place,BUT now we have quite heavy plastic boxes for the paper, with NO lids on,I think this is called recycling or something.

We still have a sensible system in Jersey,Rolo.Your bin goes as close to but not on the road as you can get it.Glass goes in a separate bucket and you take large amounts of garden waste to the dump yourself where it is converted and sold as compost.The bin men are sensible,polite and shift anything you leave out.
The storm has settled and it's a beautiful morning.
Do you remember the Wigan bin men with their shire horse dustcarts.We all had metal dustbins and the bin men had to collect them from your backyard and carry them on their backs,often up a long entry,then dump the contents into the cart.Those big horses couldn't half pee.

hello again,That big cart horse reminds me of someone I used to know Dave,but enough of that.A lot of the trouble I'm told, is that some of the people who do the bins are on community service orders, so I think they are getting a bit of their own back.On one of our holidays we visited a shire horse center in Cromer, Norfolk.My goodness some of them are big buggers,beautiful animals.They also have some of the original big horses, not very tall but very wide, they came from France and were used by the nights of old when they had all their armour on.Here in Kent until a few years age there were lots of ploughing compitions going on all over the place but sadly not any more,the cost is to high.Through the summer a lot of the working horses from London are brought down here for their holidays.When possible we like to go and watch them being let out into the fields.running around kicking their legs in the air.it's a joy to watch.

As I mentioned I am making a list of back street shops during my younger years in Wigan.I will kick off with my own street,York St.Starting at the Miry Lane end there was a grocers making the corner and coming down to The Little Tunnel was a small clothes shop on your right,this was one of the many shops that was just someone converting their front parlour to retailing.Just before the tunnel was Cunningham's grocers shop adjoining Whittles that sold bits for bicyles and other hardware.On the corner with Taylor St.Opposite on the corner with Taylor St was Bet.Wetherall's Grocers shop and opposite this was the Off Licence.Coming around the corner from the Off Licence was Baxendale's Butchers shop run by Molly Baxendale and her husband.They were one of only two people in the street who had a motor car and I remember my first ever ride in a car when Mr.Baxendale took me and mam to see my dad in hospital at Southport.We lived at 32 just across the road from Mrs.Griffiths who sold bottles of pop,firewood and shoe laces.It was one of those front parlour conversions and you went straight down the lobby into Mrs. Griffiths back room to ask if she could serve you in the shop.I will never forget what a lovely room the dear old lady had at the back.Going towards York St. East there was a small knitwear shop on your left and just a little further up was Fairhurst's,another Grocers shop.So many shops in one small street,there must have been hundreds of them all over Wigan.

When I put my streets on Dave..I was forgetting that you didn't live at the top end like I did..hence the names of all the Wallgate shops.

Good morning all,OOOOOOH life without Tescos. Dave,the shops you listed just shows that all we had to do was walk out of the front door, and all we needed for life was across the street, school, work,ale-house,doctors, Middleton and woods,(did the man from the Pru work for them collecting for the "Penny Policy")If somebody needed something some body would open a shop so they could bye it.As Maureen said,we lived at the top G.G.St.so I don't remember the names any of the shops down your end and I expect Pat will be able to remember the shops around Chapel lane(and the pubs).Was there ever true record of the shop in Wigan I wonder?

I remember a general shop in Gt.George St. Harry,I think it was McMahons and also I remember a chippy half way down.It's a different World we live in and was it better when we had no mobile phones,computers,plastic bags,supermarkets,transistor radios,credit cards,and the list goes on.

LO all ,we are off again,It was better when we had Hollands pies and puddings,Mr.Donaldson in Caroline St.selling his bread straight out of the oven at 7 o'clock at night and I WILL NOT mention Prices cakes again. Theses bakers,chip shops,little cafe's all had a taste of their own that we loved and remember.I don't half feel hungery.I forget to ask you Dave,is there a Tescos on your little island, or don't you have room for one??

The chippy half way was I believe once Matty's..according to my mam,..but I remember it as Meehan's..and one of McMahons sons used to come on these thread only last year,I think he went under the name jonboy,and always finished off by saying God bless..but seems to have stopped altogether.

No Tesco's,Harry but we have Waitrose who appear to be an excellent employer with equal and generous profit sharing amongst all the staff.The thing I remember about Price's cake shop was the cakes priced at a penny farthing.Cheers momac,I remember contributions from jonboy and thanks for the chippy info.

Hi All
Been away for a little holiday, up to the Sunshine Coast, it was magic. Hope you are all keeping well.
Oh Harry, Donaldson's rings a strong bell. I keep saying I will have a go at making steak puddings, a family favourite, but I'm sure they wouldn't taste the same as the ones from childhood. In Chapel Lane we had Sharrocks, Eileen's Dad, sold anything you wanted, Ashton's the Newsagent, and a beautiful little cake shop, run by two very elderly ladies, who made the most beautiful cakes, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. I would love to visit Jersey some day Dave, it sounds a lovely place. Hi Maureen and Vince, hope that sun keep shining for you.

Hello Pat,is Eileen Sharrock the same person that married Bill Ainscough of Wainhomes Properties.

I remember Eileen very well,a quiet little girl,then wern't you all.We were missing you ,Pat,but didn't like to say.Glad you had a pleasant break and hope you are coping with what ever gets chucked.Thanks for the shops,I will go general after we have had our tuppenyworth on Wallgate.

Good morning to you all,Donaldsons shop was in Caroline St.across from St. Thomases, about half way up to Chapel lane.Mrs.Donaldson used to repair ladders in ladies nylon stockings.Pat, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my grandson told me that steak puddings are now know as Babbies Yeds in the better chipshops of Wigan.I'm sure that the seagulls around here have my car tuned into their sat .navs.I'm going to put a bucket on the roof when I park just to see how many can land their bombs in it.Went into Marks and Sparks café yesterday,4 little posh butties with different fillings,pot of tea"2cups" and a little bickie,all very nice.

Hiya all
Awww Dave, did you really miss me, that is so nice. Maureen, you are a wonderful artist, absolutely amazing. Not sure who Eileen Sharrock married. We were best friends at St. Thomas's but both made other friends later. I think her husband was a golfer and Eileen ran the restaurant at Haigh Hall, only gossip though. Harry, the bat poo is a problem in a lot of areas here. Awful stuff, have to scrub it off your car, and they smell.
We have the whales just starting to move north for the winter, so I look forward to that.
Hope the weather is warming up for you.

Be thankful the whales can't crap on your car,or can they?
ORCA,do you get it?

Thank you very much Pat for your kind comments..if it's the same Eileen..she now runs the Marina..or did..in the lakes...I wonder.

LO again,there's a big bright light in the sky,please advise!!

Move to Jersey!

Hide under the table.

LO all,thanks for that folks,but it's gone again.Pat.did you see some Aussie bugger built a "billabong"at the Chelsea flower show and won a gold and best in show????

Hi All
Harry, I saw the Chelsea flower show result. Suppose the Oz show would be quite different to the usual gardens, well done eh!
Would love to see the show one day. Hopefully that bright light you saw may be the sun shining through. Maureen, sounds like it could be the same Eileen, into catering and entertaining etc. Funny, none of my old school pals have ever heard anything about her. Dave, are you fully recovered now, hope so. Stay well everyone.

The billabong was a well deserved Best in Show the two swagmen seemed to be the salt of the Earth.Well done OZ.It will wither be a long or short haul,Pat, but I am well prepared for whatever.

LO all,I went to the Chelsea flower show 7years ago with Mrs.B and two friends of ours.While i'm not into gardening AT ALL, after seeing the show I can well understand why people are.After a day walking around in ever decreasing circles, they started to sell some of the plants.pots tools etc.off because it was the last day.I sat near the tea bar and let have a mooooch about.Within a short space of time it looked as if a bomb had it the place,I got the shock of my life,but a lot of people go on the last day,year after year just bye things on the cheap.The year after, we all went to the Hampton court show,that was very much the same and the last one I will be going to,(Mrs B doesn't know yet)!

The day before a Bank Holiday in Jersey,Rolo,the supermarkets are under siege and the fact that now most of them open on Bank Holidays seems irrelevant to those who seem to think that The German Occupation is about to re-start.There is gardening and there is gardening,Harry.There is nothing more satisfying than to eat the fruit of a seed you planted earlier in the year.

lo again,Dave,I think I told you before about the FIVE grow bags of potatos that I grew some years ago.It became a religion form start to finish,covering them up with compost as they got bigger,giving them the right measured amount feed water and tender loving care for weeks.Some of my family came down for an holiday and the big day came, we choose a grow bag each to open and off we went.It was like Christmas morning,green leaves, roots and compest everywhere,and it was my grandson who shouted first "I'VE FOUND ONE GRANDED". Half a pan full(small) out of the bags, and a big hole in my pocket money.To add insult to injury later that day when we were out and about,the farm shops were selling the biggest bags of spuds you could lift for £4 each.

Try toms instead,Rolo,if you start from seed it's cost effective.I do cherry toms and 6 plants keep me and my neighbour going for the whole Summer.I gave my dentist a bag last year and he responded with a discount that covered much more than my entire costs.However my Mrs. always says veg is cheaper at the supermarket.

Two little market gardeners in the making, mind you there's nothing tastes as nice as home-grown.
Not a lot of gossip from the other side of the world, except that it quite cold. Big change suddenly. The sea is high and so loud and rough, pounding on the beach, it can make a real mess of the foreshore, but as is in nature, it comes back as it always was.
Hello Bravo and Maureen and Marie, hope you are ok. Is that sun shining for you all.
I haven't had any response if anyone knew my family, the Quinns from Miry Lane, seems strange as they were there for a long time.
Best wishes to all on this Wallgate thread.

hi pat
I knew a quin lived in clare st of mason st,would it be the same,maureen still got the dolphin!!

Hi Vince, Yes, I am sure it is the same family. There was Uncle Peter, Aunt Annie and cousins Anne and Edna. My great-grandparents lived opposite the Cabin on the left- hand side going down Miry Lane from Wallgate. Apart from W.H.Smith trying to contact me re the Quinns, this is the first I have heard of my family.
Hi all, looks like you are having fine weather, all the best from me.

Good morning all..hello Pat ..It must be lovely to live so near the sea..the sun is shining here..for now..the world always seem a better place when the sun is out.. I recall some Quins Pat,and I'm trying to put it all together,I'm sure the ones I knew went to St Joes..Hello Vince,are you still in the caravan,I bet you're having a great time..look after yourself and hello to all Wallgaters wherever you are.

Evening all
Thanks Maureen. The Quinn family did go to St Joseph's. The Quinn family were all Catholics. When Mum married Dad she changed her religion, which would have upset them, but it was never an issue with us as a family.
Very sad about the murder in London, not sure where all this will end. We are having thousands of Muslims arriving by boat and it is now out of control, don't know what the Gov can do.
Enough gloom, have a blessed Sunday all.

Hello all Wallgaters. Pat we have been able to sit out in the garden today. The weather before has been awful. The garden has been so overgrown. I have done a bit of pruning today Maureen. There is a lot of work ahead.

I am just watching Wigan Warriors against Leeds. I have been a season ticket holder at the rugby for over 30 years but I am so proud of what Wigan Athletic have done. No one will be able to take that Cup Final win away from them.

Marie,I have always said that I wish I could get into sports..as it is I don't seem to have any interest in it..Vince is a real sporty person and he couldn't believe,I don't think that I had no interest in either rugby or football,I really do envy you..I've been painting the bathroom today but still managed to sit out in the sun..I can't miss the sunshine,that would be a mortal sin.lol

Good day to you all,Maureen we seem to have a little more in common than G.G.S.Like you I could never get into sport at all,running at school etc.to keep us fit,but after that-nothing,not never ever.If it's England against the world at anything,or Wigan winning anything I'm in there, but other than that, nothing! You painting your bathroom reminds me of of a friend of mine who is an artist and art teacher.One day she was dying her hair and some of the dye went onto the bathroom floor.She noticed that the mark looked like a crabs shell,and as it was on cork tiles that looked like sand anyway,so she painted some legs on it,and then some shells in other parts of the floor,the outcome of this is, the whole bathroom was finished of like an old seaside postcard.Blue ceiling with clouds and sea birds,fat men in in deck chairs with straw hats, dolly birds, life belt etc,you name it, it's all over the walls,and still growing.Every time we go to visit her and her husband,seeing the bathroom is a must to try to notice whats new.Having said that, the rest of the house is full of suprises as well because she has a different slant on things,she is one of our bestist friends also.

Harry.you need to take a photo of it and put it on here..I've just finished the second coat and cleaned up..it's pickling down here now and miserable..but tomorrows another day.

Dave..that's a photo of Thomas Linacre on Album..I thought you might be interested.

Cheers,momac,it brings it all back.The Masters sat in the seats on the right and 540 boys filled the hall I can see Mr.Pegg,a brilliant pianist sitting at the grand piano and playing the most beautiful music as Mr.Brace,the Head, swept down the right hand aisle,gown flowing behind him,to take morning assembly.All the boys stood and you could hear a pin drop as he approached the desk,centre stage.Why did they destroy an excellent school.Perhaps ww's resident politician
knows the answer.

There's so many lovely buildings that have been destroyed in Wigan Dave,I'm beginning to think that we have numpties in charge of everything..you can go to other towns and see how they preserve their old buildings,here all they to want to do is pull them all down and erect some modern monstrosity that has no character whatsoever..on all the old photo's that I see of Wigan..there were some beautiful buildings..and it's no good them saying "It would cost a fortune to stop them falling down" so what,they spend more than a fortune on these modern buildings that only a handful of people seem to like..I could go on but to no avail..rant over Dave.lol

Good morning all,we were told on sothern weather news last night that it is monsoon season in Europe,and they were right,very right.But it has it's good points,everything seems to be more fresh a green than usual.Our Labrador loves it and wants to stay out in it all day soaking wet through and rolling in the grass,it's a great joy to watch.About the old buildings,I have mixed feelings about trying to keep them, because they were left to rot by people who had no use for them anymore.I have worked all over the country on restoration work trying save them,but once they have been done,they are used for a short while as with Wigan Pier,and left to decay again.Like you Maureen I could go on but to no avail,so sad, H.

It's all down to cash,Rolo,renovating old properties is dearer than demolition and fresh start,probably.I remember Belle Vue Zoo closed because the land was worth far more than the huge business built on it.True the weather has some good points.If I had to come up with a slogan for Jersey today it would be 'come and enjoy our hedgerows'miles and miles of country lanes with with Heaven on each side.

Eh by gum it's been a hot un today,Rolo.

hello again,your're not wrong Dave,and as usual I was sat in the car park at Mrs.B favourite shop(well ONE of them)TESCOS!.With my arm up my back,I bought a "kindle fire hd"tablet,it seem it's the in thing for the ladies to have these days.ALL I have to do now is to find out how to work it and then TRY to show my better half.I'll keep you up dated over the coming months our the progress.Hot again to day,I think I going to leave my vest of,so there!

If you take yours off,I'll take mine,Rolo,and I might put on the shorts !

On the General thread it says 60 years since the Coronation.Do you remember Rolo,Pat,we were taken to The County Cinema to see the film of it.....the most boring film I have ever seen,but hasn't she done us proud,God Bless ans Save The Queen.60 years eh,who'd have thought the World would change so much.PS the shorts went on today.

Harry "I bought a kindle" What do you think them owd Irish Wallgaters would have thought of all this. I don't remember watching the Coronation on the tele because nobody had a TV near us but we had a street party and my brother was Prince Charles.

Hello All
Hope you are keeping well. Dave, now that you mention it, I vaguely remember going to watch the Coronation. You have such a good memory and I say "hear hear" our Queen has led by example, she is a marvel. Sadly, I think when anything happens to Her Majesty, there will be a push for a Republic here, but then again, the most recent referendum voted to keep the Monarchy, but now due to a lot of mixed immigration, not sure what will happen. Harry, I think you may have shares in Tesco, you just love going there! Hope the sun is still shining for your gardens Maureen and Marie. Keep well all.

Good morning all,to be honest Dave,I don't remember going to see the film,as you say,very boring, as earlier in the week, it as all been on t.v. and it still is.My mother took us to a friend of hers in Beech Hill to watch it live on a bw 9inch bush tv with a 12 inch magnifying glass on the front.We all had to sit in line behind one another so that we could all see the screen.My brother and I had to sit on the floor,no commercial breaks then,no ice cream and we neither new or cared what it was all about.At least we were there,seen it done it,and one of my cousins was born one the day and she received 2 gns.from the Queen.MarieM,until last Thursday I had never heard of a Kindle.Some friends came round for tea and bickies and got my lady wife interested and as they say the rest is history.The usual Friday shop and brought one home.Pat, our granddaughter works for Tesco as an I.T. international tester and has more shares than she will admit,I don't have any.

I was hoping I could sit with my favourite girl,Rolo but no such luck.I remember the TV magnifiers,I think they were filled with oil.We had to get an electrician to put a socket in as the shop said we shouldn't plug it into the light socket like everything else.I watched the programme on Oz last night,Pat and it seems that China is taking over.I think I told you the one about my Chinese neighbour who informed me that his father was Chairman Maos right hand man and the first president of the Chines Republic.Fascinating chap to talk to.

Hello everyone,I watched the Coronation on my friends t.v.Molly Hill in Poolstock.I think they were the only family in our class to have one,but of course none of us remembered anything about it..we were just fascinated because we were watching a T.V.boy oh boy have things come a long at since then..I hope everybody's well..hello Pat how are you flower..and Marie,I hope you enjoy your Kindle.. Think Vince must be having trouble getting on-line 'til he get home from his hols,we're having some sunshine here at last aren't we Marie..thank God t.t.f.n. Mo..x

Maureen I remember Molly Hill from St Josephs. She had a sister called Jean who passed the Scholarship to the Convent when I did about 1952. The weather is lovely at the moment. I have planted some pots out today. Do you think our owd Irish men and women ever saw a flower in Wallgate

Marie,my dad always wanted more than a back yard,so when they moved to Beech Hill and he had a nice big garden he was made up..he was always in there..but of course my grandma and grandad wouldn't had that pleasure,bless 'em.
As for Jean Hill..she died a few years ago..can't tell you about it on here Marie,and I used to see Molly quite a bit,she lived on Spencer Red,but she sadly died last year,it was a shock I can tell you..again I can't go into detail Marie..do you remember Pauline Cox..she isn't well at all,so I've no-one left of my school friends..if you remember Molly and Jean,we must know one another.

momac Ask Brian for my Email address

Marie,have just sent Brian an email..just waiting now.

Hi Marie M,I remember some lovey gardens in the back streets off Wallgate,especially where they backed onto the railway embankment.They had complete shelter from the elements.We always grew a few nasturtiums up the wall in our backyard and got lots of butterflys and caterpillars.

Morning all, Maureen, I mentioned earlier about my cousin,she was born at 1,Great George St.on coronation day.Although you won't remember, you will have seen Theresa Ramsdale spending a lot of her time, pushing her around in her pram, and baby sitting for my aunt.Do you know what happened to the Ramsdale family? Having a go at the Kindle,I do hope I don't get hooked on it.A life long friend of my wifes family has three old broken TV set in a cupboard.When one gave up the ghost, she would put it away and bye a new one.She says that when she looks at them, she can recall lots of times she spent in front of them with her loved ones.She is now in her late 80's.

Morning Harry,I don't remember Theresa pushing her around,but I certainly remember her..I last spoke to Theresa about eight years ago in a shop..we used to regularly see one of her brothers and have a chat with,he did an awful lot of walking,and it's only lately that we said we wondered what's happened to him..a nice chap he is but I never knew his name..very tall an thin he was and seemed to have trouble walking..and didn't they have a Joseph who went to be ordained as a Priest but didn't make it..they lived just further up than the Kenny's didn't they..happy days Harry.

LO again,Maureem,if I remember correctly, Theresa had three brothers but I can only remember two of them,as you say one was Joe and the other one was Bernard who was a member of OUR GANG.One bonfire night we had the usual fire on the shelters across from your house,Joe was lighting fireworks and put a skyrocket in a milk bottle and lit it,at the time when it should have gone up, the bottle fell over an the rocket hit Bernard, who was just recovering from an appendicitis operation,poor lad,it put the wind up a few people, but no harm was done.Best memories of Mrs.Ramsdale are the smell of baking bread always coming from her house.as you say Maureen, happy days.

Hello Harry..I remember Bernard as well..I think he was more my age,and it's the other one that I'm referring to who's name I never did know..he was definitely one of the brothers because he spoke about their Theresa.and if I don't see him again I suppose I'll never find out will I? unless I see Theresa that is..and yes Harry their mum always seemed to be baking bread...I would love to go back just for a day.

If I could go back just for a day,momac,I would spend most of the time chatting with my dad who died when I was 13.Such a lot to tell him.

hi Maureen,iam still here,been having problems with broadband,seems ok now.we are in our 5wk of hols.the weather is great.but iam still going to medical centre 3 times a week.keeps looking at the dolpin.you can try to email I wont to see if its ok.when I get back home it will be much easier to keep in contact.take care alland Bernard and pat in aussie land

Nice to see you back Vince..will try and email you shortly..enjoy the rest of your hols..Dave if I could go back,I would be asking my grandma all about County Claire..about the children she lost to TB..the questions I should have asked then..find out where my grandad originated from..but as they say,you can't put an old head on young shoulders..goodnight and God bless everyone.

Maureen My ancestors were from County Clare as I think most of those in Wallgate were. I have been and it is the most wondrous place. I thought what a shame they had to leave there because they were starving.

Child mortality rate were horrendous just a couple of generations ago.Momac.Only last year I discovered for the first time through grave records,close relatives who died very young,so at least I could say a silent hello and think about them.