Porter Ponders: positivity in Wigan Town Centre and homecoming gigs at Robin Park Arena

Things are looking positive in Wigan, work has recommenced at The Civic Centre and the walkway from the bottom of Makinsons Arcade to the bus station has shifted slightly away from the site of the new market hall. Back before we were kicked out of the now demolished Galleries, I went to a meeting with market traders with the council and Cityheart.

It is fair to say the timeframe promised has taken a beating, but the surviving businesses in the market are now, hopefully, soon going to see the beginnings of the new one being built. I fear that the concrete still up, from the original precinct, will be damaged after being exposed for over a year to torrential rain and freezing temperatures, worst outcome would be building starts on it, but down the line it is declared unsafe. Hopefully this will not be the case, but I do fear for the former upstairs offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland that has been exposed for even longer, to the elements, if I was the owner of that building I would be charging the council for any repair costs, even just a tarpaulin would be better than nothing.

More positive news is the exciting events this weekend at Robin Park Arena, even getting national coverage, well on Radio X at least. Homecoming gig for Richard Ashcroft and a headline one for The Lathams, the latter I have tried, and failed, to get an interview with for Wigan Watch, I am guessing they are not fans, but ‘Local boys made good’ would be a positive video about our great town. I haven’t approached Richard, I mean he is a juggernaut celeb, but that too would be fun, from his flat in Pemberton shopping centre to mega stardom. There is also a Manchester guy, done good, with his band playing the other headline night.

A few other local bands are supporting, and I hope & trust that everyone whop was lucky enough to get tickets has an awesome time, I just hope I can hear some of it from my house up the road, I could just about hear the Verve gig at Haigh Hall many moons ago.

People, who are new to this column, will think I am a Labour politics basher, I am, though I have voted Labour in the past, but feel they no longer represent the working class. That said the Conservatives have had some criticism while in Government too. But now we have Labour both locally & nationally, I feel I will have to criticize them more, so be warned.

I can never understand people who vote for the same party for decades without a thought. Labour in the eighties and before, was a party of the people, Blair changed it to New Labour and now we have Sir Kier Starmer as our current PM, I give him eighteen months, then the lefts will vote him out and install their favoured leader, if they do, they will have played a blinder to hoodwink the whole country, well nine million. But we wait to see, they might be the best government ever, though I worry about rises in fuel duty, road and alcohol tax, tobacco tax, etc, though none of these have been even suggested by them, yet.