60 replies to this topic

[JFM]

I just wanted to be nearer the sun and sea so I moved to Widnes
Well it is further South and have you been to Spike Island recently. (Don't Knock it until you have seen it, WONDERFUL)

What do I miss
Knowsl (oops) Langtree Park but thats just a short scutch up the Wilkinson Way
Pimbletts Pies but they will never come back (Imposters not allowed)

Seriously you foriegn St Heleners Why did you go and what do you miss?
Likewise you new St Heleners why did you come and what would you like to have brought with you?

[dingie]

I went to USA for a visit. My wife was supposed to come back to St Helens and we were to be married. I went to see what Chicago was like and I have been here ever since. That was in 1963 and I am married to the same lady today.

What do I miss. There is a long list but at the top of that list is Burchall's Pork Pies.

[Phyll]

I was back and forth for a few years, visiting my Sister who lives here.
I met my OH here, then my Dad died and so I moved here permanently.
We now have a 14 yr old Son, but I still get homesick at times.
I love Connect cause it keeps me in touch with my home town.
I miss the accents, the food, the pubs, the sidewalks/pavements,
the Summers, (too hot here), shall I go on.....?!!!!

[Alan]

I moved 130 miles north 40 years ago for the kind of job that wasn't available around St Helens

Edited by Alan, 07 December 2011 - 09:48 AM.

[DEVON BOY]

Moved to Devon via North London ( Wealdstone ) 40+ years ago my ex in-laws lived here

[Olliebeak]

Married a guy from Huyton in 1972 and been here ever since - even though we split in 1990. Thought my kids were 'too scouse' to move them away from the area.

Two of the bgrs have since moved to St.Helens ..................!

What do I miss? - hearing my own accent around me; being able to ask for 'a split' without getting dirty looks and the area around the town for lovely walks.

Edited by Olliebeak, 07 December 2011 - 05:11 PM.

[SKYMAN]

none of the above reasons would have tempted me to leave ST Helens or this country ,
i have done my share of travelling at the expence of the government ,( in the forces )
and was allways glad to be home,i understand job committment but to just up and leave
is another story,i notice from comments on other topics most of the ones who took the plunge
would if possible like to return ,you can have the sun baked beach,(and the sharks and spiders)
you can have the out of this world scenery ( and the earth quakes ) you can have the big cars and houses
( and the fear of coming sick and losing the lot ) im off for some fish and chips in my corsa then home to watch
the news about all those disasters ,

[JFM]

Spot on Skyman
I have been all over for work and leisure but give me a few weeks and I actually miss the cold, rain, wind and moaning about it until we get the odd lovely summers day and then its to hot
However in 1969 we where set to emigrate to Canada (Vancover Island) I had been interviewed at Canada House in London (As was the norm then) secured our £10 pound passages and had a job lined up. I was to go first and then a couple of months later when I had sorted things my wife was to follow. (She was also guarenteed a job)
BUT!!!!
She changed her mind and refused to go because she thought that was it and she would never see her mum, dad, sisters, brothers etc again
Canada was much further away then (at least in our minds), phones where a luxury and air travel practically unheard of for the average working family
A couple of our mates went and are still there, they have done ok, nothing special but would never come back as their family is of course now Canadian
Occasionally i still wonder WHAT IF?
What would I miss, Well I thought about a nice pint of Bitter but on my first visit to Canada in 1999 I went in a bar and the first thing I saw was BODDINGTONS BITTER
It's a small world

[Clancy]

I had my own reasons for emigrating to Australia and this country has been very good to me.
I have been back quite a few times but I'm always glad to get back to Australia.

There isn't anything I miss, although I'm still not used to very hot Christmases after all these years.

[BarbaraC]

I left St Helens in 1971 for New Zealand. My parents had died, I had no brothers or sisters, my husband had lived in NZ many years previously for 2 years - I had nothing to stay in St Helens for - I was young, I wanted to travel, I wanted to see other places -SO we left.
I have been back 3 times - I have no relatives at all in St Helens now, - I have friends from 1960s with whom I still keep in touch.
What do I miss? -those friends from 50 years ago because you never lose real friends BUT it is a bit far to go for a coffee!
I do not miss the winters - I can go to places in NZ and get the cold and the snow and the ice and the howling winds.
What do I not like about NZ? - the humidity in summer - you can always add another layer in winter but there are only so many layers you can take of in summer when you don't actually have them on anyway!.
Christmas in summer doesn't bother me - after 40 years here I have got used to it- it is far better having salad, BBQs etc than having a full turkey roast + pud on a blazing hot Christmas Day.
My lif is here - My family (including 8 grandchildren) are all here, I love my job (which is not in existencein UK) I am highly involved in my church life, Community involvement is important to me.
The firends I have met here on Connect have brought St Helens back to me because I thought that when I was there for 5 days in 2001 that I had completely closed that part of my life but Connect has opened it up again for me so for me I feel I am a VERY lucky person - I have my feet very firmly planted in both worlds

I DO miss the history of UK - you can't get that in any depth at all here in NZ although I am involved in the local historical society - "white" peoples connections with NZ only go as far back as 1840 - not far enough for me.

[SKYMAN]

I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR ALL SAYING AT THE END OF THE DAY I SUPPOSE HOME IS WHERE YOUR FAMILY ARE,
I REALIZE THE DISTANCE FROM THE UK TO OSSY IS THE SAME NOW AS IT WAS YEARS AGO ,BUT IN THE MIND ITS SURE ALOT NEARER NOW,,WITH THE MODERN TRANSPORT,DO THEY STILL WALK UPSIDE DOWN THERE SPORT,, HA HA

[RATTY]

Lol Ollie that was funny, kids eh, and perhaps they thought you meant a spliff

Barbara, Thank god for the internets hey


When I lived away the things that I missed were sausages, nobody else seams to do a descent one, and McVitties digestives( the chocky ones)

[kizzy]

One of my regrets is that I never got out of the town. I always planned to..it just didn't happen. I would only have missed family because the town has changed so much for the worse that it's a grim soulless place today. Everything good about it has been pulled down or shut down and all we have left is a dissolute, fractured town centre. All the industry has gone. The traffic flow is nonsensical, the empty and once bustling town hall area is a useless deserted space which once was the focal point of the town. The parking situation with the ever-visible blue or yellow wardens is a nightmare for anyone foolish enough to park their car and the boarded up shops make the place look seedy and abandoned. I used to love going into town from the 50's onwards, today I go only if I have to.

[tessmop]

DITTO Kizzy you are so right town planners have knocked the stuffing right out of St Helens,It was such a lovely place to shop around with my Mum in the fifties and sixties.

[gypsygeoff]

I was never going to stay in St.Helens,I was brought up in Rainhill and Sutton Manor,itchy feet syndrome,we decided to sell up in 1975 and go to NZ,went back the Uk in 1988 when the kids were little,then again in 2003.
England will still be were I came from,I'll never knock it, as it gave me a great start in life,however it has not been my home for 30 odd yrs, out of sight out of mind.However I do miss the humour,and the history.
We still have a roast turkey at Christmas,as we have had done for 36 yrs,you just turn the aircon down a few degrees.Living down under is not for everyone,its suited us.Then we did it again in 2004 and came over to Oz,should have done this yrs ago.