Everyone knows that Wigan is famous for its pies – the town’s football team even has a pie as their mascot – but Hannah Mizen and George Lee who own Leafy Creams, a vegan celebratory cake bakery want the town to be known for vegan cakes as well.
‘We’re vegans and we got a bit fed up with everyone assuming that vegan food must be dull and bland but vegans enjoy a show-stopping cake as much as anyone. After I was presented with a flat boring cake for a birthday, I decided to put aside my creative advertising degree and put my baking skills to good use,’ says Hannah, who feels the biggest compliment is when someone won’t believe that her cakes are vegan.
‘Vegans are a fast-growing group and they want spectacular wedding and celebratory cakes too. We love doing bespoke work, planning with the client or choosing from a range that includes layer cakes and cupcakes. We deliver cakes all over the North West: pretty nerve-racking as we tootle along with our precious cargo but so far, every cake has arrived intact,’ says George.
Sweet success
Colette Alexander also caters for those with a sweet tooth. Based in Haigh Hall her shop, Luisco-named after herself and her two sons Luca and Isacc contains her own luxurious hand-made chocolates, as well as a range of traditional sweets.
‘I was on maternity leave and, to pass the time, started making chocolates. It was trial and error and learning, while looking after a 20-month-old and a two-month-old, wasn’t easy but I persevered because, much as I love being a mum, I wanted to regain my identity.’
The perseverance paid off and Colette secured a grant which enabled her to go on chocolatier courses and transform the living room in her house into a chocolate dedicated kitchen, although she had to learn wrangling skills to keep the boys out of it.
‘I was selling out at artisan and farmers’ markets and when my grandma died leaving me a small inheritance, I opened my own shop at Haigh Hall. I know she would be pleased because she was massively supportive. In fact, it’s been a family affair with my dad making the fitments and my mum helps out in the shop,’ says Colette who also runs chocolate making classes, as well couples classes for Valentines’ Day.
Today, Colette designs and hand makes all her chocolates, sending them all over the world, making bespoke boxes for events and weddings and organising events like Heart Smashes: a recipient is given a chocolate heart to smash and inside is a message for the recipient.
‘Sometimes, it’s a request for someone to be a bridesmaid and sometimes, it’s the proposal itself. So far, all wedding proposal Heart Smashes have been successful,’ says Colette who also supplies dairy free and vegan ranges, as well as the milkiest hot chocolates for those who want something warming as they wander around the grounds of Haigh Hall.
The guitar doctor
Richard Thompson of Tomson Guitars – he had to drop the ‘h’ and ‘p’ when he discovered there was a Thompson Guitars in America – has been making and repairing electric and acoustic guitars for nearly 40 years.
‘Sometimes I recognise one of my guitars on the TV with a younger band but sadly, I’m at an age that although I recognise my guitar, I don’t recognise the band,’ says Richard who has also dealt with many Mersey bands and, more surprisingly, cyclist Bradley Wiggins.
‘I gave his whole collection an MOT because guitars need looking after,’ says Richard who has a long list of clients for his bespoke guitars.
‘Sometimes people want one to give as a special retirement or 21st gift and sometimes it’s just for themselves,’ says Richard.
A bespoke Tomson guitar always gets attention but Richard often works on other guitars, sometimes brand-new ones, where people want adjustments to suit their style of playing. He has also seen many guitars in need of TLC.
‘A married couple came in with a badly damaged guitar: the wife had broken it over her husband’s head. He had forgiven her and she was paying for the repair. I’ve repaired guitars that have suffered from the musical frustrations of the owner – one chap had thrown his out of the window and, not content with that, had rushed out and jumped on it,’ says Richard who rarely has to admit defeat. He even repaired a guitar that had been soaked in a bath.
‘That was touch and go: even the glue had become unstuck, but eventually I succeeded,’ smiles Richard who also undertakes repairs on other stringed instruments.
An uncommon smith
If your Valentine won't be impressed by a bouquet of real flowers, maybe they'd like a recycled rose.
Giles Hargraves is an artist blacksmith who creates delicate and detailed roses out of old baked bean tins.
‘I’ve always being interested in it, attending traditional blacksmithing courses and working with a local blacksmith to learn techniques, so when lockdown began, I decided it was now or never. Other people were having deliveries of books and cornflakes; I was taking delivery of anvils,’ says Giles who has been an instant success with his organically shaped abstract garden sculptures taking first prize in a national competition.
Since then, the commissions haven’t stopped: chess pieces are popular, as are his baked bean roses which appear on social media around the world.
‘It is thrilling but they are simply baked bean tins – minus the labels – formed into softly petalled roses. Apparently, they have been used in proposals in all sorts of exciting locations and I love hearing the stories. One of my first commissions was a pea pod containing two peas, made for a lady who had always referred to herself and her late mother as ‘two peas in a pod’ says Giles who, before giving it all up for love of the anvil, was an international surveyor.
‘Now, people ask me to go to their gardens if they want a bespoke piece of garden sculpture and I take note of the form and flow of the space, before creating something unique and everlasting,’ says Giles who also likes to upcycle materials.
‘I’s not just bean tins, either. A friend sent me American railway spikes which I’ve formed into gothic style hooks for firepits – and I’m currently making an octopus for a client from old pick handles says Giles.
Dance therapy
Andrew Farrall of Chrome Dance offers classes in pole dancing in order to help clients deal with anxiety.
‘I suffered with anxiety but it wasn’t until I tried pole dancing that I found something that helped. Fears about Covid and the planet and personal concerns are just some of the anxieties that have propelled clients through my door. It isn’t about wearing sparkly leotards, it’s about empowerment, a feeling of achievement and delighting in one’s own flexibility,’ says Andrew who insists that even the unfit can benefit.
‘It is for everyone. My clients include retired people, teachers, medical professionals and I even have classes for children. For those who prefer an experience tailored to their needs, I offer bespoke private classes,’ says Andrew who also teaches floor work.
Don’t miss
There are restaurants, pubs, cafes and delis, but you really can’t visit Wigan without sampling the town’s two most famous foods – pies and Uncle Joe’s Mintballs. The mintballs are made in a town centre factory and the ‘pie-eaters’ nickname for Wiganers is said to date from the 1920s when striking miners in Leigh saw their colleagues in Wigan return to the pits. They stuck it out in Leigh and won better pay and conditions, forcing the Wigan miners to eat humble pie.
Three things to do in Wigan
Flashes. There are some glorious places to explore. Try Haigh Hall and its surrounding parkland, a walk beside the canal or a trip to the Wigan Flashes Nature Reserve which is now a Lancashire Wildlife Trust site and is important for waterfowl and wildflowers.
Shopping. The town centre is home to three shopping centres, all within easy walking distance of one another. The modern Grand Arcade stands on the site of the famous Casino nightclub, while the nearby Galleries has three distinct areas –The Makinson Arcade, Marketgate and The Galleries, all connected by walkways and squares. Other shops are on the streets which radiate out from Millgate and Wallgate.
History. Wigan is said to be Lancashire’s oldest town and was once known for porcelain manufacture and clock making. The old Roman town grew rapidly in the 19th century with the growth of the coal mining industry which fired much of the Industrial Revolution. In the late 1800s Wigan had more than 1,000 pit shafts within five miles of the town centre and at one stage the town was home to almost 20 per cent of Lancashire’s coal mines. It has long been one of the most successful Rugby League towns and the famous Wigan Casino, voted the Best Disco in the World by an American music magazine in the late 1970s, hosted famous Northern Soul all-nighters but was gutted by fire in 1982 and demolished a year later.
