Comments on: Gravy / Train

By: Laban Tall

Laban Tall — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:34:43 +0000

Wigan is also the home of the very wonderful Uncle Joes Mintballs.

(To Scousers someone from Wigan is a ‘woollyback’, btw - presumably implying they’re from a more rustic part of Lancashire)

By: The Cricket

The Cricket — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:09:34 +0000

Wiganers are called pie-eaters because during the General Strike in the 1920s the Wigan miners returned to work early and were accused of eating humble pie.

The nickname became a self fulfilling prophecy when modern day Wiganers forgot this and decided to open lots of pie shops (most of which closed down after Pooles disappeared).

By: Tim Newman

Tim Newman — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:54:22 +0000

I once heard that the term pie-eaters was given to Wiganners after some general strike or other in which they refused to take part. The term was a variant on having ones cake and eating it.

By: No Good Boyo

No Good Boyo — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:20:19 +0000

Very heartening to hear. What about pudding? Do they have custard slices?

By: ProjectBliss

ProjectBliss — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:30:37 +0000

Wiganites are known locally as “pie-eaters” ( or “pie-yaters” if you speak Lancastrian, as my husband does) so it’s good to see that old culinary stereotypes are still strong in those parts.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:57:31 +0000

I was in Glasgow last Friday and sadly forgot my camera, so missed the opportunity to take pictures of battered sausages, pizza, and haggis for sale at the chippy outside our hotel. We found that immediately after listening to a talk which included addressing health inequalities. A round of four beers in Glasgow cost £7.50.

By: Max Bob

Max Bob — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:05:29 +0000

Not many people know this, but (just as Milton Keynes is simply the local pronunciation of Middleton Keynes) “Wigan” is Old English for “Weight Gain.”