THIS letter is going to read like high treason to many Star readers.
It had been many years since I ventured over onto the wrong side of Billinge Hill. And what a surprise awaited!
I think my last proper visit to the town centre was in the late 1970s, when St Helens and Wigan, while having a marginally different feel, could still be described as largely similar, bustling South Lancashire towns.
Last month my aunt died. She had been brought up by my grandmother in a tiny terraced house and on my way to her funeral mass at church, just off Wigan town centre.
I went on a bit of a pilgrimage to see what the place looks like today.
What a revelation Wigan was.
I know St Helens has some superb new facilities like our hospitals, Saints' stadium and Central train station.
But we are talking public buildings here, not commerce. While the heart of St Helens seems to be having its lifeblood sucked away, Pieland is alive and kicking.
The drive into Wigan revealed a buzzing shopping zone. As I strolled around the town centre it struck me what a totally different atmosphere it had. What the reasons for this are, I have no idea.
But I do know many friends say they do not now enjoy visiting St Helens town centre and I am beginning to see why.
Is it too late to stop the rot in St Helens? I hope not.
JL (name and address supplied)
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