Credit Crunch Pies

On Monday I got news that Pimbletts, a St Helens bakery since 1921, had gone into administration. The shops had been sold to a Leigh-based bakers, but the original bakery in College Street, St Helens, would be closing for good with the loss of 80 jobs. Now, I'm not from St Helens but my parents are, and various members of the family were born and bred there. A trip to the City Road pie shop was part of my childhood routine as it was a regular weekly aspect for my grandparents dating back to pre-war days. Even in 2008, I would stop en route to Goodison to pick up a selection of pies, vanilla slices, egg custards and a fruit tart (for Mum) and I live 200 miles away.

The business had been in trouble for some time, amazingly still family-run. It's seen off many recessions, some worst than the '08 version, war and the blight that badly affected the North West in the 1980s. St Helens is known as the home of Pilkington glass and a top-class rugby league side. It can seem a dour and unimpressive place to an outsider and the loss of a local institution like Pimbletts will do the town no favours and will have left locals shocked. A good illustration of the impact of the closure comes from St Helens' expats. My mother rang me at work having received a call from her bewildered brother-in-law from Canada who subscribes to the online version of the St Helens Reporter. At about the same time, a work colleague from St Helens mailed me the text transcript on the story. He wonders how life will be without another Pimbletts steak pie.