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Family trees can be full of surprises. While gathering information for mine I came across a relative who played for Manchester United from 1946 to 1951. William McGlen was born in Bedlington in 1921. His parents were Daniel, a coal hewer, and Mary Ann McGlen who lived at Doctor Terrace and Beatty Road Bedlington. William who served an apprenticeship as a bricklayer served in the RAF during the Second World War. William, a wing half, played for Blyth Spartans and was set to join Notts County when he was signed up to play for Manchester United by Matt Busby in 1946. In the post war years he played fairly regularly at left back or left half (old terminology). In total he played 110 league games and 12 FA Cup games for Manchester United. William scored two goals during his spell with the Reds. After Manchester United he played with Lincoln City and Oldham Athletic. In 1957, he became trainer for Lincoln City where he stayed for ten years before becoming manager of Skegness Town 1967/8. William died in 1999 in Lincolnshire. Are there any other stories of Bedlington men who played for big football clubs?

Planning application for the market place development :- https://publicaccess.northumberland.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=P8GK00QSGF300

Yes, the photo is Mary McGlen- my grandmother. On holiday abroad — will update you next week.

@HIGH PIT WILMA - was it Billy McGlen that was in one of your bands? @jimmcglen :- see the above comments Jim and photo of Mrs McGlen. Is this your relation?

From a posting you know well Rigger - now with all the names :-

Going back to the subject of John Brodie. In 1973 I took a job for Schweppes Ltd. in the North Staffordshire area and moved into my first ever property in Longton. I would sometimes go and watch Stoke City play, but I really enjoyed going to Vale Park on Monday evenings which was where and when Port Vale FC played most of their home games. John Brodie was a regular in that Post Vale team and I would from time to time, bump into him in some of the local clubs, when we would have a chat and a catch up. Sadly, like with so many others, we lost touch and moved on. John Brodie has a page on Wikipedia and the chart below shows his professional football career.

The names of the team above are as follows :- Back Row (L to R) Charles Allen, Terry "Tex" Dixon, Michael Southern, Danny Dodds, Derek Johnstone, Austin Anderton, Paul Cotsworth, Bob Storey Front Row Jack Kidd, Leslie Nicholson, Harry Wilson, Gordon Roll, Geordie Elliott. If this is 1963, then I would be 15 (as would Leslie Nicholson & Geordie Elliott). All the others were a year or so older. This leads me to suspect that this could be for the 1964/65 season, but then I could be completely wrong, I'd be 16 and only played the occasional game.

Ovalteeny, I believe you are correct. The photo with John Brody was taken in my first year with Bedlington Juniors which was about 1963. I started my apprenticeship in October 1962. After that the following season Tex Dixon, Les Nicholson and Harry Wilson played. But it was a long time ago, great photos which brings back the memories.

Good question, I think this was a year ahead of me, but here is a similar photo (same strip) from the following year. In fact I think the photo with John Brodie et al is actually from 1963 ish and the one below with moi is probably1964.

No problem at all. You get a lifetime supply of empty crisp packets from the floor of my car.

Whether or not it will work in Bedlington, I can't say but it can and does work in other places. My nearest town for shopping is slightly smaller than Bedlington with just 15 000 inhabitants. It has three large supermarkets and has had since the arrival of Lidl some 10-12 years ago (a fourth did not survive). The two prior to Lidl had high prices because the majority of goods were Swedish. The excuse being given for this was that 'Swedish is quality' and 'the customer only wants Swedish'. However, along came Lidl with much lower prices and a range of non-Swedish goods that sold like wildfire because they were cheaper - giving low-income families the opportunity to eat until they were full and even have the odd luxury like an ice-cream once in a while (yes, we have those families here as well). Also, Lidl's range was different from the usual assortment making it easier for Swedes to try new things while those with an immigrant background no longer needed to travel 90km to buy familiar basics like dates, pollenta, tahini to name but a few items. My life would be complete if only they could start stocking shredded suet and split peas. We all miss something from home which allows us to make food we've grown up with. The result was that the two previous supermarkets lost many customers to Lidl, which has now doubled in size. However, they didn't go out of business. Having seen what customers 'really' wanted, they started to think with their heads instead of their wallets and bought in some cheaper brands, one even created an own brand. Swedish items are now very few and today, those supermarkets are still alive. Not only are they alive, I also believe that they are doing well. I base that judgement on the fact that all three, during the past 6 years, have doubled the size of their car parking area and they are all packed with cars Thursday to Sunday (popular days for doing the weekly shopping here). Of course, it may have helped that the town centre has had a re-vamp in recent years and that people are positive and helpful, making it a pleasant place to visit.

Really! There's football on the telly this evening? My old man, 3 sons and 7 grandsons ( I've got my own team), sauna going full blast even though it's a heatwave outside, beer, crisps, dip sauces, peanuts, beer, popcorn, a selection of dried susages - and did I mention beer - all over the place. They told me they were having a book appreciation meeting.

I believe there are new retailers lined up, for several of the units including the larger supermarket.

Now I understand

Eggy, I didn't mean viewing the plans. I meant the main page with the list of planning applications, the table is truncated because the website isn't mobile-friendly which, these days, is purely down to bad programming.

Just showed that to the oldman. I thought he was going to choke on his coffee! Something to do with the meaning of the word 'mouse'.

Kim & Trump .....................