Photo-a-Day  (Thursday, 29th May, 2025)

Colin, you are a kind caring person in wishing the coffee shop well but do we really need another one? Just how many coffee shops, barbers and nail bars and beauty salons do we need? What happens at Christmas when we want to buy presents for people? It will end up that we will have to buy then coffee vouchers and haircut vouchers and manicure vouchers because that's all we have. We will have to order the things we used to buy in shops "online"
I for one am sick of "online" and want to go in a shop, choose some products and pay an assistant at a counter. We can't all travel easily to retail parks, even if they weren't horrible, soul-less places.

This brings me back to when we would walk through Woolys to grab a fist full of toffees from the pick-and-mix counter and out through the side door and into the Ritz.
We felt like we had done a bank robbery.

Talking of retail parks, Peter and I have no choice but to go to Robin Park every two years as our opticians, (Boots), has moved there from the town centre. We went a couple of weeks ago and decided to treat ourselves to something to eat. We went in McDonald's, Burger King and KFC, only to find you can't buy food and drink at the counter....you have to order what you want at a machine and pay there too with a card. We hadn't a clue how to use it and the people behind us waiting to use it were very impatient, so we had to leave. There is no-one to help if you don't understand the procedure. We ended up in Gregg's where there is an assistant serving who will actually sell you a sausage roll and a cup of coffee over the counter for cash! Sorry for the rant but it's getting to be a robotic world with no thought for anyone but the young and the technically-minded. I wish that Woolworths sign was still over he door on Colin's photo, together with the old-fashioned wooden counters and personal service, even if it was only for half a pound of broken biscuits or some of those hot salted nuts that were kept warm under a light-bulb! I still have a 1950s Woolworths Fairy on my Christmas Tree and some original decorations that bring back memories of more "human" times.

Irene, that prominent shop has stood empty for far too long typifying the decline of retail in all towns.
Both doorways had become sleeping zones for vagrants with old sleeping bags and cardboard making it an eye sore.
Too big for for ‘yet’ another vape shop, barbers, Thai massage parlour or worse still one of the International shops with the windows plastered with tacky posters hiding god knows what they are selling,
I have been in their Coffee Shops in Warrington and Bury so expect it to be refurbished to a high standard making the entrance to The Grand Arcade that much more inviting.
I believe it will open on June 16th.

It will impact on the other coffee shops what are around it and the cafe/coffee shops in the Grand Arcade& Royal Arcade. Like Irene has said there are enough coffee shops now.

Thanks for your reply Colin, and if we can't have a Woolworths, I WOULD rather see a cafe there than the other outlets you mentioned, but let's hope they have assistants or waitresses to serve you instead of a machine, and that they will take cash, although the price of a cup of coffee in some of these places is extortionate. One of the nicest cafes in Wigan was the 1920s-themed Bruccianni's but that sadly closed some years ago.

It’s a massive building it’s going to need many tables and chairs to fill it! Just to serve coffee! Remember all the counters selling everything you could think of from food to all the household articles needed to run a home. I am just going to come on the day out of curiosity in my best hat and tucker to see how many people fill that store just to drink COFFEE! It’s unbelievable!. You really need to be an optimist to see a future for that building turned into a Coffee House it would need a dozen Coffee shops to fill it. I just can’t see it. Colin I admire your optimism and I genuinely hope it does well. I can’t see it putting all the other cafes out of business with the tables outside on the pavements when the sun is cracking the flags.
ps there’s not much left in the Grand Arcade to entice anybody to come.

Two points Irene, don't you think you should be having your eyes tested more than once every two years.
Second point is why do you need to drink and eat after only traveling the short distance from Abram?
I'll be driving 4 to 5 hours soon and we will only be stopping off at service stations, to pee, but we will be eating our own prepared food, and we will be drinking Wigan tap water.

Mick, I would give your comment an answer if it was worth one.

Irene, I forgot to remind you that it's 1940s Weekend at Heskin Hall 7/8 June 2025. I know last year you couldn't make it, but you asked me to remind you again for next year, so here I am again.

Veronica, you have to be optimistic, there is too much doom and gloom around at the moment.
Wigan might be a bit depressing at the moment but in a few years time it will be buzzing again, perhaps not in the traditional retail sense, times have changed.
When the entrance to the the new media centre opens on Standishgate with bowling alley and multi screen cinema, the new Market Hall opens in Market Place and Stack Leisure completes their transformation of Debenhams into a live entertainment hub, it will cater for a new generation of people.
Be they coffee shops, wine bars or restaurants, those willing to invest their money in prime locations such as this will in the future reap the rewards.
The future is bright, the future is Wigan!

He needs to mind his own business with the personal comments. Far too intrusive and not only in what he says!

Irene, when Boots closed their Opticians in Wigan it was a mistake, they keep sending me letters saying I’m due for an eye test but I dumped them like they dumped me and go to Specsavers, better choice, more reasonable prices and excellent customer care and service.
Robin Park is the most difficult place to get to by car or public transport.
Why try to get there when there are so many excellent Opticians within walking distance of the bus station.
These big name brands take the loyalty of their customers for granted as with M&S but that’s their decision, I know what mine is, spend my money where it’s much more convenient.

Irene, you might rennet we went to the event at Heskin Hall last year, I sent you some pictures.
We will try to go again this year. My everyday clothing might pass for 1940’s!!!!

Colin, we went to Specsavers for many, many years, even when I worked at Boots, (the chemists, not the opticians), but when the pandemic was on we called in to make an appointment, as we were in Wigan already, having had to visit The Halifax right across the road from Specsavers. The "reminder" letter from Specsavers actually stated "please ring OR CALL IN STORE to make an appointment". When we got in the store they said we had to ring up! We showed them the letter and said, "Look we're here now so can we just make an appointment?" and they refused.....we were actually standing there inside the store at the time! It was absolutely ridiculous and we walked out and never went back.

Yes, Mick, I did ask you to remind me about Heskin Hall and you have done so, so I will have my manners and thank you for that.

Thats all it is trying to cover the town centres with coffee shops we dont need things like that we need proper shops back is that going to give people who wants proper jobs its like them putting a sticky plaster over to hide the town centres how they have all become all like a 3rd world countries people need all to wake up!

Thanks, Irene it's nice to see you being nice, but you haven't said if you will be attending this local event.

There's one in Warrington and one in St.Helens. Here's an example review:

"Reasonable prices at just under £7 for a medium cappucino ...."

What?

I walked through those doors of Woolies many times. I can almost smell the aroma of wood, as Irene says..the wiiden floor, the wooden boxes containing treasures to spend your pocket money on...
And today we have the dreaded 'online ' which I steer clear of...I have a friend who buys everything 'online' & then moans that most of it has to be returned...what a palaver..I'm with Irene !

Mick, when people are nice to me I am nice back. I can't be 100% certain we are going to Heskin Hall but I think we are.

I too agree with everyone in that there are far too many coffee shops in the town centre. Though at one time there were just as many, if not more - pubs.

Irene, I too had been using Specsavers for some years, initially at Wigan and latterly at Middlebrook, and I had always found both the Optometrists and store staff to be good, however on my last few visits I was finding the shop assistants in store becoming dreadful, with this year being far worse than last, and so I told the customer service manager this on the feedback form, though in her reply she came across as being unconcerned, so if she is that way, then is it any wonder that the shop staff are that way too. So come my next test I will definitely not be going there, and may well be joining you at Boots.

I usually have a latte in M&S with my granddaughter and that costs £3 65 each! I think that’s expensive…you can buy a jar of coffee for that! It’s all the specialist coffees thats all the rage with young ones these days.
Go in Wetherspoons and drink coffee all day with refills. It’s very nice coffee as well.

With the greatest respect to you all, you cannot half tell that the average age of all comments made today have an average age of 75, that’s including me at 77!!

Ron put a past up on The Album entitled Market Place but it is Standishgate.
It is up again today and I have put a comment on regarding the Woolies building and it history from when The Royal Hotel stood there.
If interested, check it out.

Wetherspoon's coffee IS good, Veronica, as is their hot chocolate. For anyone who doesn't know, you just pay for a cup at the bar, fill it with coffee or hot chocolate at the machine, then you can stay there all day if you want to, topping it up free, all for the price of ONE cup, and the initial cup is very reasonably priced.

How dare you, Colin....I am only 35!.... (I wish!). Colin, I will look out for you if we go to Heskin Hall 1940s event. I hope the coffee is 1940s prices and the sugar isn't rationed!

What a lot of people don't realise is that Woolworths did not close down, it actually emigrated to Australia, because it was sick of Thatcher's Britain in the early 1980's, it booked it's passage on a tramp steamer as one of those £10 pound poms.

https://www.woolworths.com.au/

I agree wholheartedly with Irene and Veronica's comments.Sorry Colin but I can't help feeling that the so- called plans won't come to fruition.

You're right Colin - I'm a 1947 vint-age!

Irene, young at heart, that’s all that matters.

Sir Bob, I think they are still going strong in Southern Africa although I think no connection with the original group.
I still have a few items from their shops in Cape Town and Dubai, they are a bit more upmarket from the Woolies we used to know.