29 replies to this topic

[Mr Darn]

Pete, on Aug 27 2007, 08:33 PM, said:

Yes I remember the Top Club and I remember it burning down. I went into the new Top Club when it was first built and I have been in the present day Top Club but that is not what I am talking about. If you go down the hill on the Choppington road there used to be a pub, its not there now but I can not remember its name.

I am refering to the early sixties (1961-64)

so were talking after the top club, but before choppington?

nearer bedlington or choppington?

i remember their used to be a petrol station on the right as you left bedlington, was it past that too?

[Mr Darn]

AHHHHHHHHHH
"The Tank!"

or the Tankerville it may have been called.

My Mum remembers it well.

[charlie]

Pete, on Aug 27 2007, 08:33 PM, said:

Yes I remember the Top Club and I remember it burning down. I went into the new Top Club when it was first built and I have been in the present day Top Club but that is not what I am talking about. If you go down the hill on the Choppington road there used to be a pub, its not there now but I can not remember its name.

I am refering to the early sixties (1961-64)

A bit before my time but was it the Tankerville Arms ?

[threegee]

Mr Oblivious, on Aug 27 2007, 10:28 PM, said:

i remember their used to be a petrol station on the right as you left bedlington, was it past that too?

That was Begbie's. The late Harold Begbie, and his wife's after he died. There's a daughter somewhere.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Quote

Now why - you might ask - was the road connecting Ashington to the smoke deemed far more important than any of the other roads going in and out of the Town? Answers on a postcard to the: "Let's Screw Bedlington - Again!" Subcommittee, WDC Council Offices, Station Road, ASHINGTON.

Thats right about the concrete GGG, but this road...........I was told it was the brainchild of a certain BUDC official and the plan was to link Bedlington to Ashington by dual carriagway starting at the top end roundabout?

The subway what a bliddy saga! There have been several attempts to get it filled in, one by yours truley, but the answer was always the same, "we need access to the underside of the road to check its condition." Honestly, that was the reason given, what a crock! There was presedence and the cops would have loved it filled in but without "political" support no chance! There is another effort ongoing at the moment to get this dumb arsed thing filled in and it looks like it might actually succeed, especailly after WDC is no more next year!

[Monsta®]

Malcolm Robinson, on Aug 29 2007, 08:24 AM, said:

plan was to link Bedlington to Ashington by dual carriagway starting at the top end roundabout?

thank god that never happened!

[Malcolm Robinson]

monsta, on Aug 29 2007, 04:29 PM, said:

thank god that never happened!

Yeah, it seemed to be going in the wrong direction for me too!

[Pete]

Mr Oblivious, on Aug 27 2007, 09:31 PM, said:

AHHHHHHHHHH
"The Tank!"

or the Tankerville it may have been called.

My Mum remembers it well.

It could have been the Tankervile, Thanks

[Jojo]

I remember the recent Top Club getting built - the one that looks like a space ship. I also remember this subway too - nasty places.

[Denzel]

threegee, on Aug 27 2007, 07:57 PM, said:

It was High Alumina Cement that was used in lots of civil engineering projects - motorway bridges, school roofs etc. in the 1950's, 1960's and maybe beyond. It was used because of the strength and rigidity. What no one knew at the time was that it deteriorated very quickly under certain circumstances. Until - one day - things started to fall down! The Top Club was particularly vulnerable because of the way the architect had suspended the outside walls to extend the floor area and give it an "ultra-modern look".

I'm not aware that ground stability was a factor, but if you are building again on the same site then, as an architect, you'd want to be extra extra careful in order not to get sued. Although - thinking back - maybe that's why many of the buildings on the East side of the Glebe Road were missing long before the Coooncil completed the demolition job (for the totally unnecessary dual carriage way)! And, it's from this (unnecessarily isolating part of the west end from the center) that has arisen all the problems.

Now why - you might ask - was the road connecting Ashington to the smoke deemed far more important than any of the other roads going in and out of the Town? Answers on a postcard to the: "Let's Screw Bedlington - Again!" Subcommittee, WDC Council Offices, Station Road, ASHINGTON.

Hehe, I love this guy.