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ozzrahog

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Posts posted by ozzrahog

  1. On 09/02/2017 at 21:26, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

    Hi Haffy!!!!!

    Welcome to the best forums on the planet!

    As a young miner with a family of one 2-year-old Son,back in 1970,and having lived in post-war newly -built houses both at home,and later with my Mother-in-law,in Bedlington,it came as a huge culture-shock to acquire my first property!

    This was a three bedroom,[huge!] terraced house in Stakeford,on the main road,in a street called West Terrace, Bomarsund.

    It had stood empty for over a year,was a filthy hovel of a place,totally neglected by the N.C.B.,who owned the property,and had to be stripped totally,to re-decorate,after repairing huge areas of [early 1900's] horse-hair and lime plaster,which dropped off each time you went to pull wallpaper off.[not to mention sliding sash draughty,rattly windows,and an antiquated ootside toilet..[[netty!]],which used ti freeze up in the bad winters we used to have back then!].

    It had a huge "Triplex" range fireplace,[ coal oven..] and Adams cast iron fireplaces upstairs in the bedrooms.

    I spent a lot of time replacing all the windows with modern ones which I made myself,at my own cost,and all the doors and frames also.[I had to work loads of weekend shifts to pay for this work]

    Each time the Coal Board Plasterer's came to repair the walls,the boss wud come over with his little bit of chalk,and mark off a square yard,maybe even two,if you were lucky....talk about being tight!!

    I had to learn to plaster and brickie,so I could do repairs to my own standards.[mind,I wasn't alone,several of my neighbours had to do the same thing,so we helped each other out where we could.]

    I repeatedly wrote to the N.C.B Chairmen,in succession,and even Maggie Thatcher,requesting the right to buy the property,on the grounds that the N.C.B were neglecting the property,so if I could buy it,I would go ahead and modernise it.

    I received nice replies from everybody,even 10 Downing Street!,saying that they were held by ancient long-standing agreements with the Unions,which dictated that the houses were to be kept for families of miners in the future.....[as I said before...nobody wanted them at the finish!...cos they were hovels!]

    However,in 1984,Thatcher gave the N.C.B. orders to sell the properties it owned,not just houses,but farms and open land as well.

    So I was the first to accept and buy my house,which,after 14 years of hard slog,working till the middle of the night,as well as a hard shift underground,I had turned into a very well-presented home,which I was proud of.[no thanks to the N.C.B.]

    Some of  my neighbours thought I was crackers,saying they weren't worth buying,as they made their way across the road to go to the "Roughton" club,on a Saturday night!!

    Once folk saw my house being modernised,they all,one by one,followed suit!!

    My builder,a relative of my Wife's family,was in the street for over five years doing one house after the other,sometimes a few at a time!

    SO,in a nutshell,the older pit houses,like those in Bedlington Doctor Pit,and Bedlington A pit [at the "Station"],were demolished,and those such as in Bomarsund,and many other pit villages,were bought by the tenants,where possible,and those that were not purchased outright, were taken over by trusts,formed from Union,and council members,to run and maintain,and also to take over the letting side of things.

    This remains to this day.

    Lang-winded reply,but nowt unusual coming from H.P.W.!! [a just like ti paint a clear picture of a situation wherever I can!!]

    Cheers,Haffie,hope aav med ye happy!

    he ganns on a bit, but i've papped in that ootside netty and he is right it was bloody cauld in the winter 

    • Like 2
  2. that will be right with Slavery Lavery. off topic he likes silk boxer shorts, in the 80s he used to buy them from Selfridges in London. How do I know this?     I took his phone orders!

  3. Hi ozz! Does the nickname of a teacher called "Chip" mean anything ti ye?

    If it does , tell me how he got the nickname,and I will confirm a very close link with you and your family,if I have got it wrong,then I apologise!

    Did the factory make jeans for M-N S in around 1991 ?

     

    Dont know about making jeans

     

    Chip aka Mr Douglas was named for pinching a chip off my dinner at the middle school 

     

    (just seen this hence the late reply)

  4. I went to West Sleekburn Middle School77-81 and I think a lot of the teachers were ex Bedlington Secondary Modern/Grammer.

    Certainly Mr Laverick, who was my science teacher and Mr Johnson the woodwork teacher (who had taught my Mam) I think Mr Appleby & Mrs Greener also came from the Bedlington schooland

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