Is the world, I ask myself, ready for a second post today. Particularly a second post dealing with postcodes.

If you aren’t, you may want to pass on this. If you are thirsting for more of the tour of Britain through the medium of random post codes, read on.

Today we have WN7, SE16, FK4, WN2 and CF83.

Have I told you about the way I select them? I just sit there and as people order items I use the first part of the postcode as the subject of the visit. Simple as that.

We will go to Wigan first.

WN2 covers Abram, a village that was once in Lancashire but is now in Greater Manchester, which is not a county but a an example of how politicians have no respect for ancient tradition. At the same time I found myself moved from Huntingdonshire to Cambridgeshire. I still lived in the same house but it suited the powers that be to mess us about.

Anyway – Abram. On 18th August 1908 there was an explosion in the Maypole pit.This killed 75 men and boys and the last bodies were finally brought to the surface in November 1909. It left 44 widows and 120 orphans.

It was caused by a build-up of gas and dust and triggered by the use of explosives. We joke about Health and Safety these days, but it can be a good thing.

Reference to the church war memorial indicates that there were 46 fatalities in the village in the Great War. It puts the pit explosion into context.

There are a number of sites with details of the disaster, but while I was looking at them, thinking they were too depressing to inflict on you, I found this account of a strange event at Abram.

WN7 covers Bedford. After living near Bedford for years (the one in Bedfordshire) I was surprised to find that there was one in Lancashire too. It merged with Pennington and Westleigh in 1875 to form the town of Leigh.

CF83 is a Cardiff postcode which relates to Caerphilly. There has been a fortress in Caerphilly since Roman  times and it was the site of various military expeditions until the around 1405. Since then it has relied on coal and cheese, and hosts a food fair every year.

Question: How do the Welsh make their cheese?

Answer: Caer-philly.

Not the world’s greatest joke, I admit.

Eventually Caerphilly cheese production moved to England and stayed there for many years before the resurgence of interest in cheese and its proper production. There are, it seems, 700 British named cheeses, and no time to waste!

Have to go again – Julia is calling for sustenance and I need to tell her we have 700 cheeses to find.

I will be back.