Introduction
[2] Blue bag. In those days, the concept of “ready salted” was unknown, the technology not being available to ensure an even coating of salt (sodium chloride) on every crisp (chip). Upon opening a bag, one had to search for the diminutive blue packet, which comprised a small amount of salt wrapped in a tiny piece of blue paper. We felt ourselves winners if a packet contained two or more salt parcels.
[4] Cockles, whelks, and mussels. Types of shellfish. Cockles are similar to clams, whelks are sea snails.
[7] St. Thomas’ Church. Anglican church in Up Holland, dating back to a pre-Reformation priory first established in 1307 (www.stthomasthemartyr.org.uk/history.htm). Up Holland is a village about three miles west of Wigan in what (at the time of the author's boyhood) was the Red Rose county of Lancashire. Perhaps Up Holland is best known for its Roman Catholic seminary.
[8] Rugby League. At that time the professional variant of Rugby Union, one with 13 players per side as opposed to 15.
[12] Wigan Pier. A coal-loading staithe by the LeedsLiverpool Canal, a 127-mile long canal linking the port of Liverpool with the industrial heartland of Yorkshire. It was immortalized by the music hall comedian George Formby, Wigan-born and bred, who would make a play on the use of the word pier even though industrial Wigan was hardly a resort. Formby's son, also George, became even more famous as a morale-boosting, bucktoothed ukulele-playing comedian and film star in the Second World War era.
[13] Ribble bus. Red-liveried bus company based in Preston but which merged into Stagecoach in 1988.
[14] Smoke-free zones. A smoking ban in England making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed public and work places came into force on July 1, 2007.
[15] Dark Satanic Mills. From a short poem by William Blake (1757-1827) and immortalized within the hymn Jerusalem, music by Sir Hubert Parry (1848-1918):
And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England’s pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England’s green & pleasant Land.
There are those who would have this as the National Anthem—witness the Last Night of the Proms.