A personal view by Chris Bates
I was born 200 yards away from The Hole In The Wall Oatcake Shop and have fond childhood memories of playing in the streets and back entries nearby with the smell of freshly baked Oatcakes filling the air. In the mid 60's we moved to the `new' houses in Seymour Sreet, but given a favourable wind the unmistakable smell of Oatcakes was still there.
By the time I was 21 we had moved away from the area, but who would have thought that by the time I was in my late 30's I would return to that same area with a wife and twins to the street I was born in, buying my very first shop.
All those years later and that fantastic smell of the Hole In The Wall Oatcakes was still there as strong and inviting as it ever was. Every morning, even in the depths of Winter with nobody else around, Oatcakes were being made ready for the breakfast rush.
In 1994 we had a daytrip to Blackpool and like lots of parents played games with the kids on the way to pass the time but this time it was slightly different. Yes we played the usual very entertaining game of who could spot Blackpool Tower first and as usual both the kids said they saw it first, but the second game was who could think of the best name for our new shop.
After a thoroughly enjoyable day the kids had seen about twenty Blackpool Towers, the first one just outside Stoke (bet you never realised you could see it from there) and we all agreed that Hiccups was a great name for our new convenience store and Off Licence, which just happened to be right opposite...you guessed it, The Hole in the Wall.
That smell! It was still there, and now not only me but my kids also loved the smell, and of course the taste.
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