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 […]
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.
What should have been a nice relaxing birthday for me last weekend saw me shuffling in and out of the Post Office at Wigan Asda carrying boxes of books to be shipped out to all points north, south, east […]
If your local pie shop is any good, you may have not noticed a new adhesive adorning the window. A few weeks ago I took the plunge and ordered several hundred car stickers in a bid to spread the gospel of good pies.
You can hopefully see an example of these very stickers in the images included in this blog.
If I’m honest, the purpose is twofold and ideally of mutual benefit. From my perspective it will […]
To give you a flavour of what possesses someone to write a book about pies, I’ve reproduced an article below that I scribbled for the brilliant Barnsley based fanzine West Stand Bogs….
PS Sorry I had January off after the gargantuan effort of actually putting the book together and getting it published in 2014 but I’m back now, blogging blogs and flogging books (hopefully). Go on, it’s only £9.99 and it’s […]
There’s just over two weeks left for you to make someone’s Christmas a truly Hap-PIE one by getting the pie lover in your life a copy of Life of Pies!
Over 20 boxes of the book have now gone out and the feedback has been incredible. It’s truly heartwarming for me personally to know that it has been so well received.
It was a night which delivered everything it promised. Pies, mainly and plenty of them! The back room of the Raven proved a great little spot for the assorted ladies and gents of Wigan Pie Society to celebrate the launch of Life of Pies in no uncertain terms.
I had a few shocks and setbacks along the way, not least concerns about the delivery of the books in time after they got held up in customs […]
I’m sat at home waiting for the delivery of 1,000 books. Nervous and exciting times indeed. It has been a long haul: nearly three years in the making but the Life of Pies is nearly ready to be unleashed onto an unsuspecting public.
First job will be to post out many of the 114 copies that have been advanced ordered. I’m also tied up with preparations for tonight’s book launch at The Raven Hotel in Wigan […]
What’s that you say? Yes a half and half pie! Not a half and half pizza, or a half and half scarf (don’t get me started!) I couldn’t believe my eyes/pies! I knew what I wanted for me tea before we walked in late last night but upon espying this culinary treat, it threw me sideways.
I have pastry based responsibilities within the community to fulfil you see, so all thoughts of an XL burger with […]
Life of Pies book launch Friday Oct 24th @ The Raven Hotel
The above might be a headline grabber but it’s absolutely true!
My blog updates have dried up. However, with under four weeks to go I have a ridiculous amount of things to do in a short space of time.
I imagine taking pies to Newcastle is a bit like taking coals to Newcastle but for one bunch of foolhardy Southerners, and I mean REAL Southerners, well they seem to be excelling at it.
I ordered a box full of NZ Gourmet pies (yes that’s the NZ which is a long way down south) towards the end of last year and shared them out with my mates. The Thai green curry pie was excellent and Mike’s […]
Cirencester is one of those places that, no matter whether you live there or not, you just have to adopt a West Country accent to say it. When I came here, I was initially looking for a Halls Bakery within the castle walks but I simply couldn’t find it. Parked on double yellows running around in the pissing rain like a drowned rat. How dare the Romans not provide multi storey short stay (preferably free) […]
I seem to have gone overboard praising some of the better pies in the book the last few weeks, well today I thought I’d cover one of life’s little disappointments. Mobberley is a posh little place situated equidistant between two wealthy Cheshire towns, Knutsford and Wilmslow.
I was working nearby with a limited lunch window and decided to give this one a bash based on its proximity rather than recommendation. After driving past Jodrell Bank and […]
Having introduced the original Clarks yesterday, it would be harsh not to give it’s English cousin a bit of air space.
The same day I went to Cardiff, I also weaved my merry way to the Clarks pie shop in the sleepy area of Bedminster (sorry) in Bristol. Cruising along the A5 past the Severn basin with an army of joggers and cyclists up above, down below and alongside on a glorious wintry day. Past the […]
It was chirpy Bristolian Ian Holloway who first opined that Clarks Pies were one of the best things to come out of Bristol (apart from himself). However, it seems that statement was a touch liberal with the truth, you see Clarks pie originated in Cardiff and still thrive and survive there to this very day.
I took the opportunity to head west last year to understand the Clarks phenomenon. Pulled up in a working class area […]
I feel duly obliged to do a piece on this one in my pie hall of fame. If you see the links on the right, you’ll notice it is the most read story on this here blog.
It wasn’t always – it seems to have rocketed up in the past few weeks to come from nowhere. Maybe the eighties teen heartthrob show “Dawsons Creek” has seen a resurgence in recent times? Maybe […]
You might recall a few blogs back I mentioned the bad press that Greggs get, simply for their mass market domination of the steak bake sector.
To be honest, there is another company that have emerged in the North West which has also taken a bit of stick for it’s bold, affordable approach.
But what’s the problem here? People in the North West like eating PIES and the POUND BAKERY simply makes the money in […]