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16<br />
Golborne Miners, 1979<br />
lads were able to sit with me on the pitch looking after my<br />
photographic gear as I took the pictures. Just to cap the<br />
day <strong>Wigan</strong> won 28-12.”<br />
Frank has a deep affection for his hometown, and he<br />
has probably seen more of the place and people than<br />
most. When asked about <strong>Wigan</strong> he said, “It’s always been<br />
a friendly place and I think it’s quite attractive contrary<br />
to what people outside of the area may think. I love<br />
going for walks around Mesnes Park, Haigh Hall and in<br />
Elnup Wood in Shevington. <strong>Wigan</strong> has also been a great<br />
source of characters, stories, and pictures, happy and sad,<br />
throughout my career.”<br />
And stories are what Frank has in abundance, and I can’t<br />
help but laugh as he regales me with the story about the<br />
time he was at the wrong end of Bernard Manning’s wit!<br />
“You could say that I had the dubious honour of being<br />
insulted by Mr. Manning. He was appearing at Poolstock<br />
Cricket Club in 1973 and I needed audience reaction<br />
pictures as Manning told his jokes on stage. I wasn’t in a<br />
good position at the side of the room to see their faces, so<br />
Orrell v Gloucester<br />
I started to creep along in front of the stage to get a better<br />
angle. I was snapping away happily with my back to the<br />
stage when suddenly Manning stopped his act, leant over<br />
and asked me what I was doing.”<br />
Frank tried to brush him off by telling him he was taking<br />
photographs, but spying the opportunity for a bit,<br />
Manning wouldn’t leave it alone. “‘What of?’ he asked<br />
me, so in true <strong>Wigan</strong> style I responded, ‘the audience not<br />
laughing at your jokes’, then I started to creep away, but<br />
he carried on. ‘You cheeky little toe rag. Bloody hell look<br />
at the state of him, look at the size of his nose, he could<br />
smoke a cigar under a shower’. Of course, the audience<br />
were in stitches and I didn’t hang around too long.”<br />
Another incident that stuck in Frank’s mind was the time<br />
he went to take a picture of a charity cheque presentation<br />
at St. Mary’s Primary School in Lower Ince. Frank<br />
continued, “Nearly the whole school were in the assembly<br />
hall and I wanted to get as many of the pupils as I could<br />
on the photograph, but it was difficult from ground level<br />
so I dragged up a large vaulting box. I climbed on with<br />
camera and flashgun in hand and<br />
proceeded to snap away. Even from<br />
that height I wasn’t quite far enough<br />
back so I stepped backwards without<br />
realising that the box was sideways<br />
on, I tumbled over the back of the box<br />
and disappeared. The whole school<br />
were in uproar at my antics but luckily,<br />
I wasn’t hurt, and my photographic<br />
equipment survived. Just to add insult<br />
to injury as I was leaving a little lad<br />
said to me, ‘That was funny Mister, can<br />
you come back at Christmas?’”
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