Taylor Made!
It’s time for the latest episode of my “pies which didn’t make it into the book (and probably deserved to)” series and today I’m sampling the pies from Derby House, or rather Taylor’s Farm Shop near Ormskirk, West Lancashire.
For all the pies I tried during the making of Life of Pies (copies still available here etc etc http://www.lifeofpies.co.uk/buy) I never visited my local farm shop, so it’s time to rectify that and dive back in on the pie trail.
Derby House is a place where the well-heeled “ladies do lunch” in the heart of rural (rich) West Lancashire, just a […]
Welcome to Wigan – undisputed pie capital of the world! Maybe it is disputed though? 
Looking for a literary treat for the pie lover in your life? Well, look no further as “Life of Pies” can fulfil your needs….
At least I’ve finally got the answer to a question posed right at the beginning of Life of Pies, namely – when a pie shop sells a small and large meat and potato pie, why on earth would anyone order a small one?
It’s just over 12 months to the day since I launched my self-published epic Life of Pies and I’d be lying if I said things had gone exactly to plan. I’ve not had the best year to be perfectly frank, in fact in a literary sense, it has been something of an unmitigated disaster. 
It was a sunny, summer’s day when I found myself at the Table Table chain in the Stone Cross pub near Haydock. It was actually the same day as when I last updated the blog and I had already polished off a 
A familiar establishment but a pie I’ve never tried before from there. It’s a cheese and onion pie from Greens which I think cost around £1.50.
At last, 50up! This is still under 16% of the pies featured in all their glory in the Life of Pies, magnificent value for under a tenner.
‘Tis a shameful admission but I worked in St Helens for three years and parked up around the back of this place with no knowledge it was actually there. But maybe that’s a deliberate thing, as it is an understated institution where the locals furtively enter with a knowing nod. 
After a long day procuring growlers on the other side of the Pennines, I found myself negotiating the labyrinth that is the narrow winding streets of Stockport town centre in search of one more pie. I parked on a meter outside a nightclub cum lapdancing bar and headed for the bright lights and noise emanating from Stockport market over the bridge. Lord of the Pies (ace literary pun there) is situated at the quieter end […]
Or the Greenhalghs Steak & Ale with Dunscar Bridge Brewery Ale Pie to give it it’s full title.
I must apologise for not updating this blog for the past few weeks but as some readers may be aware, my pie eating mission was drawn to the attention of the national press during British Pie Week.