HIGH PIT WILMA

Hi Eggy! A can mind of a few groups, but not the Dinosaurs. Might have been after I got married and stopped gaaning ti thi Clayton. Sorry nae help this time. Aal dae a bit asking aroond me aad marra's. Me Wife has had an op. on Friday gone ti hae two new plakka joints put in her hand, so aam caring for her intensely. If a dinna post owt for a while, ye knaa aam not deserting thi forums!

Mebbe it's just LIGHT rain..........! ...not workin' here eethaa!....a naa wat it is ....it's rain stopped play.....!!!

Gud ti see Bedltn gettn an airing on the telly!![and gud ti see the little Bedltn's also!!]

Correction to my last post above,which SHOULD read..."..where I met my Wife,in 1962,at the skating rink,one Wednesday night, in JULY[!]",[and Not February!!]. A very rare slip of the mind by Wilma,and one which wud not be forgiven if the Boss knew I had slipped up!! Heh heh! Gettin' auld's not much fun!

Yi cud set ya aan shop away caaled.." Vic the Veteran"....ner!... a mean...."Veteran Vic's car parts"..........NAA!!!!!,,,aal get it reet yit......a mean....."Vic's Veteran Car Parts"....[Prop. Veteran Vic!]....heh heh! [....another lead balloon!]

Belated Happy Birthday Foxy! Just tuned in noo,late as usual,but aad nicky wor heedmaster at the Whitley schyuul aalwis sed....."Better late than never!"

As an afterthought, Billy who aam on aboot,also lived in Beattie Road,and will be getting on for 74 years noo.....same age as me.

Wow! Wat a blast from thi past for me! Hi Eggy,and all on the forum!First off,Billy McGlenn didn't play in my Rock group,in the 1960's. I have known Billy practically aal me life,and when we left school in 1959,[Billy was at the Catholic school],we both started our pit training together at Seaton Burn colliery training centre. Billy was a small blonde lad,very sociable and a born comedian,served his time at the pit,then left later on to join the Merchant Navy. A canna figure oot where he fits inti thi family tree above,cos he certainly didn't play footie that aa knew of! Last time a saw Billy was at the the Domino at thi Station,in the late 1960's/very early '70s..[not sure exactly],and he had just come yem on leave from the sea,wi a bulging pocket of fivers!![ye canna spend ya pay at sea!] Me aad Marra Davy Holland..[Holly] was starring in the cabaret wi he's chart group caaled "Toby Twirl"...that's hoo a can mind aal this.[Billy got he's eye on me in the darkness and came owa for a natter!] Noo,the blast from thi past continues on,seeing other aad marra's in thi pics,hoo aav nivvor seen for donky's yeors...Jackie Mason lived aside me in Hollymoont Square,and we played tigitha aal wor young life! Ray Chilton and he's Wife are friends of wors,a have seen often,Geordie Elliot was an old friend in the 1960's,nivvor seen for donkey's,a smashing lad...footbaal crazy...used ti be drunk and sobbing like a kid,him and Jimmy Burke,his close mate,when thi Toon lost on a Saturday Aftanoon...in the 1960's!! Geordie's Dad was a Deputy at thi Aad pit,in thi 1960's ,when a went there from Choppington High Pit,and he was the most likeable bloke ye cud ivvor wish ti meet!! Bob McGregor was me neighbour and good friend for the 30-odd years a lived at West Terrace in Stakeford,till a moved away 18 years ago. Nivvor seen Bob Short for donkey's eetha! Great for me ti see these pics,but sorry a canna help in researching the family tree,Rigger!! Hope ye find more success as ye gaa alang ,Marra!

Heh heh !...it's queer hoo time changes your perception of life when you were a kid! That's nowt like the aad Ned Metcalfe I have in me head...he has a coat on...and nae riding breeches or horse whip!....AND...he looks like a canny aad chep! He always seemed ti be in his shirt sleeves,wi sleeve armbands,[ti keep he's shirt cuffs up],and he's aad waistcoat on ...a real figure of dominance wi that whip.... What year was the pic?....[1936 was the year the trophy was presented to the club],cos aam sure that the fella on the right wi he's hand on he's hip was my deceased Brother-in-Law or if it wasn't,then he is the spitting image of him. Very interesting picture of the Bedlingtons....especially the desperate one which is squatting! Looking at Ned,[apart from his unrecogniseable attire!],his stature suggests to me that it would have been mid-fifties,I would have been a kid of nine or ten...

Hi Eggy! Thanks for the P.M.,and a big HI! to you Elaine,and welcome to the greatest forum on the planet!! Sorry to have missed your post , Elaine,I have had a rough time lately..health-wise,but back into catching up on all things domestic which have to be done! My Wife's Parents,and GrandParents lived in Puddler's Row..[known locally as .."Puddlaas Raa.."],and my Wife was nine years old when they moved to the "new" Grange Park estate,around 1955,when it was just being built. She has often mentioned Paddy McCafferty,and only a few weeks ago Rosie McCafferty passed away,she was a close friend and neighbour of my Wife's family at both dwelling places for many many years. Rosie lived next door to Harry Craze and his Wife Bridgie..[ that's what we called her..],at Grange Park,and she was a McCafferty also,but not sure if she was a Sister of Paddy's,or a different relation. Those were the good old days when all the neighbours would give you a shout over the street if you hadn't seen them as you walked by,or if you were busy in the garden,it was hard work trying to just get something done.....due to being distracted by chatting too long over the fence! The McCafferty's were no relation to me or my Wife,but Bridgie,Harry,and Rosie were all so lovely,homely,and affectionate,that they were in many respects closer to us ,as neighbours,that they would have made a lovely family for us! True old saying..."Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves"....!

Hi Jack,welcome to the forum!...that was a blast from thi past...."Woodbines"...[we called them "Willy Woodbines"...when we were bairns...I think we heard the aad-timers caaling them that!] A thowt ye were gaana tell us that Uncle used ti feed he's Roses wi the blood from the Slaatahoose!!![aad gardeners,especially aad pitmen,used aal manner of things ti get gud results in their gardens....even using the explosive pooda ti put aroond the flooers and cabbages ti keep thi slugs off!]

Hi Arlie! Aam sure ye will love Bedlington,Blyth,Cramlington,and aal thi surroondin areas....we have the loveliest County in the Country...best beaches....most castles....finest untouched countryside.....did you see Cragside at Rothbury t'other neet? A forgot ti mention...the frendliest folk in the country! Hope ye find the info you are searching for! Cheers!

A was in Leanne's [Todd's Barber's],thi day gettin a couple o' aggravating hairs cut off the back o' me heed...[waat's caaled a "Haircut"!],and she still has a gud bit crack,very pleasant,while mekkin a grand job o' me heed....a luk like a aad chep noo! Yistidi,a went ti pick up sum Croc Clips at "John's Car Parts",at the Station,[was the aad Post Office wen aa was young],and the youngin who runs it noo,[John's Son],gave me the time of day wi a gud crack also,and a friendly approach! He gaa's by the title of "J.P." Also yistidi,a went aroond ti Barrington M.O.T. Centre,ti ask George,the Owner,if he would check oot a few problems aav got wi me car. Stryght away he had me car up on the Fower-Poster,checked things oot,dropped it doon,gave me a valid and honest opinion, which a accepted,and aam gaana tek he's advice. Smashing team,him and Jean,[he's Wife],and the fitter also. Recommend them ti anybody,me next door Nyghbor has gone ti them for years and recommended them ti me and me Son.

Belated Happy Boithday Vic!! Pleased aa stumbled across Pete's Thumbnail at the side!![a been awol also!] Regards to the Boss as weel!! We got wor Snaadrops and Crocuses up noo...Daffs weel up ready ti open...waiting for a bit het weather!!...

Hi Eggy! Great to get additions from the horses mooth..and Albert is spot on!!..I didn't know Albert is still kicking aboot!! He and my older Brother were great friends,along with Lol Thompson and Alan "Cowla" Cowell. Most of these lads named were in my Brother's class all the way through school at the Whitley. Three years older than me,and the only one on here who sat next to me in the same desk for years is Alan Wilkinson!! He WAS a really gud player,as all these team pics prove....his older Brother Derek was his Mentor ...another team member. Alan Cowell was on Composite work down the Three-Quarter Drift,where my Bates pit pics were taken,and was one of my cross-marra's...a smashing natured lad..really likeable.[R.I.P. Alan Cowell.] Aye,this team was made up from about three age groups,which leads me onto the subject of how Pete Smith was on the Whitley team when he went to Netherton School! I am beginning to doubt my own "so-sure" memory about this one!! Did Netherton School close around the same time as this team was being formed,with Peter being sent to the Whitley,and qualifying for the team within a few weeks of starting at the Whitley? Or are my vivid memories of my next door neighbour and close friend parting company with me to go for Raisbeck's bus,[to Netherton],as I walked down Vulcan Place to the Whitley... just my imagination playing tricks in old age?!!!!! I'll have to ask my Sister-in-law ,who is Pete's older Sister,and who is married to my older Brother,and SHE will clear my muddled mind!! If I am all muddled really....I will be the first to come on here and tell the crew I was wrong !! Heh heh! To re-cap , in 1954, Alan Wilkinson [and Me!] were 10 years old!! Lol Thompson,Albert Glenton,Alan Cowell,Paddy Gore,Brian Palmer,..were all 13 years old!! At that age,that was a canny difference in size and strength,to be matched against opponents of similar statures!! Alan Wilkinson wasn't a very big lad,but by hell,he wasn't half fast with the ball..!! Eggy,seeing as aam not on facebook,could you please pass a comment from me to Alan,or his family,for them to pass onmy best regards to Alan,and would love to hook up with him to natter aboot old times doon the woods,and daeing daft things as laddies did in them days!! Cheers!