HIGH PIT WILMA

Jukebox?....! Dinna tell me the aad juke is still gaanin strong.......naa....it's gotta be a newer one! Aav got pics of thi juke that was in there,what was tekkin' in thi mid-sixties![mind,it was accidental,that the juke got itsel' in thi pics!] Anybody mind o' big Derek that had thi Wharton in the 'sixties? Am a teetotaller aal me life,but Derek kindly let me and me marra's practice wa repertoire in the big room on neets when it wasn't being used.[in the days when a was a lang-haired rocker from Bedltn!][noo aam a baldy-aad biker from Bedltn.....some things nivvor change......!] A remember it being a cosy little place,and in the days when we were a proper mining community,aal thi pubs and clubs were usually full. A think,the aad juke was a Bel-Ami,but a wud hae ti sort me pics oot ti confirm if aam reet. So what sort is in there noo?

Hi Threegee! Aav just reluctantly passed wat lukked like a fake £2 coin,ti the lass on thi till at me local Supamarket. A say reluctantly,cos a was on me way ti thi bank at Blyth,and a was gaana ask if it WAS a fake,when a pulled it oot me pocket wi other change,and away it went,afore a realised! Like yi say,it was stamped off-centre,rubbish-like,was very sharp-edged,bright yellow,with a distinctly different soond when dropped onti the bench. Only one aav ivvor seen,mind!

Aye,but yi see,why Ian and his team are a massive success,is ,cos when yi gaan in,even just ti browse aroond thi bikes,Ian,or Ron,[if Ian's busy],will treat yi as if YE were thi ownly customer they had.THAT'S the secret ti daeing gud business,aa think,an aaa knaa from porsinal experience! Aam a born-again-er,after being off thi wheels for 46yeors,and BOTH thi lads went oot their way ti mek me feel comfortable in the shop,and on me forst bike,after aal them yeors....[a used ti deal wi Ian's Dad in thi 60's...a lang time ago! So yes,a BIG congratulations ti Ian and aal the staff for putting Bedltn on the biking map,both as a businessman,and a race-winner,alang wi Carl,his Son.

Heh heh! Reminds me when we were kids,we used ti gaan doon Bedltn bank owa the bridge,and up inti the private blackberry hill above the Ha-apenny-wood-hoose,on the bebside side of the bridge. We filled two big Ostermilk tins wi blackies,in an hoor,raced up the bank,selt them aroond wor doors in Hollymoont Square,for usually,thruppence a pund!! Whey each tin might haad aboot three punds o' blackies,so we got rich by the end of the shift! Mind,we might hae picked aboot six tins apiece,so it tuk langer ti sell them,once ya regulars were blackied up! If yi tek inti consideration thi trek doon thi bank,climbing aal aroond the hill [which was aboot 1-in-3 gradient],bak up thi bank,trekking thi street carrying aboot six punds o' blackies,then stryght bak doon again for more,at age ten or eleven years aad......it was hard earned cash for us kids!![nae sign of boredom...the word hadn't been invented!] Noo,aav noticed loads o' places this year,where nae bugga's been at aal!!...not even thi aad timers.....! What's happened?

My Grandmother was one of a team of young girls employed as an assistant to help the shaft sinkers at Ashington pit,in the 1800's.The sinkers drilled and fired the shots,and the young lassies had to fill the buck[kibble...skip...etc]with the loose stones. Check it out John,see if there is any truth in the story,which came from my Mother,and which i don't doubt at all.

Reedy,the name of "Prime" [5 along from the left],reminds me of a little fella called Jimmy Prime,who was a cutterman at High Pit, in the early sixties,and who was crushed by his coalcutter when the "stays"[wood pit props put between the cutter and the roof to control the movement of the cutter,]flew off,allowing the cutter to swing around with the picks in gear,and crush him up against the only hydraulic face chock in sight of him on a newly won-out coalface. The "Desford " face chocks were just being installed on TB23's face at the time. Jimmy was about 60 yards up the face,cutting it,My Marra's and me were at the tailgate end,in the high roadway,[high...!!!...10ft widex8 feet high...!],when we heard a loud shout asking for a stretcher...there was a man fast in the machine. Big Harvey Tilbury,the pit joker,immediately took charge of the situation,and began barking orders out to all the lads..me included...i was 20 years old,not long face trained. Me and Harry Undeldorf [Polish] ran outbye,in stinking,rough wet conditions,slipping all over the place,to seek a stretcher. When we got back up the coalface,Harvey moved the cutter and released Jimmy,who looked like he was dying,his eyes rolling up and disappearing,and his toungue coming out down past his chin..it was a horrible sight to see. We carried him all the way out to the surface,and even though he was about six stones,wet through,he was a ton weight on the stretcher,after about half a mile,in terrible conditions,swallies of water up to the knees etc. We heard that he had only been in Hospital a fortnight,when he was playing hell with the nurses,cos he couldn't get out for a pint!!! Were we pleased when this report reached us at the pit....we had all given him up for dead,he was so badly crushed...... it was a happy ending after all...now this fella in the pic,at Netherton,closely resmbles what memories i have of little Jimmy Prime,he is older on this pic,which would fit...unless it was his Brother......

John,Frankie Barrat was a Deputy when i was at the High Pit,Joe barrat was colliery Overman,Fenwick,["Fen"]Barrat was the ventilation officer,and Ernie Barrat was one of the "Fivers Men"..a team of specialised workers who could go anywhere and do anything that was asked of them.........for £5 a day.."fivers!"...when the coal fillers had an average of £4-5shillings [85 bob]a day!! They were a really good team,and very well respected by everybody,but as i grew older and gained more experience,I became one of those "special" men,who was,at other pits,just an ordinary development..["composite"]worker..... Lone Ranger knows what i mean,cos he was also one of those "Special" Men....and a bloody good one too..am i right Ranger?!!come on,stop keeping me in suspense! I think there was another Brother,also a Deputy,called Danny,but i am not 100% sure on that one,i could be getting mixed up with another fella i have in mind,maybe Ranger might put me right on that one. Fen Barratt's Son,Raymond,sat in front of me all the way through our school years,in the days when you used to move en-block from class to higher class each year,with everyone sitting in the same desk position.[from aged 5 years] He later started down the High pit,but having all his family running the pit,virtually,it was expected that he would be given a "better" job than the other lads like myself,and so he went on "the lines"..his title becoming that of "LINESMAN". His job was to go down the pit about once or twice a week,with a little jar of white paint,and a paintbrush,drop the Surveyor's strings,sight through two strings to mark off the centre line of a roadway,or coalface,about every 50 yards advance in a roadway,to help the caunchmen,or development workers,to drive the roadways straight as possible. The Linesmen also struck off [or marked off..] the centre line for a new roadway,or coal face,which was to be won out. Adam.....if i had nothing else to do in the day,i think i could churn out a book in every month! But with my commitment to being a full-time carer for my disabled Wife,and all the chores involved,it's been very difficult getting my own life story to the point at which it stands now,awaiting further massive entries to get it finished!! Notice what time every one of my comments have been posted!![by the time i sit down at the end of my normal day,it's always approaching midnight!!]

Hi all you kind folks on the site here! Your greetings are really welcomed and appreciated by me!! I am still recovering.and getting better each day,and as i always maintain...there are a lot of people in the world who are much worse off than any of us..so that helps to perk me up a lot,while i have the deepest sympathy, especially for those poor people where disasters have struck across the globe. Noo..!....Lone Ranger,a while back,i had you all but pinned down,and gave a lot of reasons and clues as to how i deduced your name,but you never sort of let me know that i was right! If you check out the Durham mining museum link to fatalities at High Pit,you will find the name of the shunter who was killed at the High Pit in the mid-sixties. I can remember the lad as vividly as if he was standing next to me now.He was a big stocky lad,wore glasses,and the reason i remember him so well was because....unfortunately,i have to be honest here,we didn't get on very well,before he had his terrible accident. His name was Ronald[Ronnie] Hunt,and he didn't have the most pleasant nature or attitude towards a lot of people,but he particularly used to have a go at me every time he saw me. I think it was because i stood out from the crowd with my long hair,and the fact that i was one of those "noisy gew-gaa" players,that was starting to appear in every working men's club in the north-east at that time. A lot of the old-timers really hated the young rock'n'roll kids,with thier "noisy ampleeefiiaas"...[as they used to say..!] When i say a lot,it was still a minority,otherwise how did we get return bookings all the time,if we were so bad?!! Ronnie Hunt was 29 yrs old when he was fatally injured by the truck,but he was an "old man" to us young teenagers,at the time!! Now i am 70 next year,and i am one of those "old men" who cannot stand a lot of the young kids' music nowadays!!! I guess every generation has always been the same throughout times gone by. The only difference is that i like to think i am a bit more tolerant than people like my father was,when was young!

Did anybody sit at the rail sidings,getting handfuls of fine coal dust,and spend ages polishing aad pennies ,and constantly looking to find the elusive 1933 penny,which would have made us rich,if we found it!!![talk about being in cuckoo-land!!...well....we were only aboot 10 years aad![aye,we flattened thruppeny-bits,and made bracelets and aal sorts o things,as wel as flattening 6-inch nails ti mek spear-heads with!!]

Aal try and think on to start a "Wilma's pit blog",if a think on,but aam warning ye's aal.....ye'll gaan back ti watching aad fashioned videos on yer ancient vhs machines...cos aal send ye's aal ti sleep.......!!!

Hi folks,i'm back!! Been very ill in Hospital with multiple blood clots on both lungs,and bad pleurisy,now recovering,so gotta bit o' catching up ti do! Thanks folks,like Eggy and other's who appreciate my late-nite ramblings!![i know i tend to wander off-topic but i write like i talk,so i always go aroond Edinburgh ti get thi toon!] Anyway,i enlarged thi pic of Bedlington A Pit taken from up the heap. When you came out of the"DIRTY END" of the pit baths,to go over the railway lines,[or "sidings" as they were properly referred to..],the pay offices were over to your left,across the sidings,and the pit ponds were adjacent and slightly behind the offices. Further over the sidings and beyond the ponds were the "fitting and blacksmiths shops". Carrying on over the sidings,you walked past the "heapstead" and "screens",and reached the time office,where you picked up your tally from the "timekeeper",and walked through into the lampcabin,where you took your lamp from it's numbered rack space and charger,and your "Glennie"..[Flame safety lamp],if you were authorised to carry one.[As i was.] When the "Buzzer" went off,to signify the start of your shift,you had to climb a steep metal stairway,up to the "Heapstead,which led you over to the shaft top and gates,where the Banksman would search you for "Contraband" [cigarettes matches lighters or any contrivance or device which could ignite Methane gas and cause an explosion underground.] Then he would signal to the Brakesman,[winderman],and also to the Onsetter,[at the shaft bottom..] that men were about to descend the shaft in the cage. Noo!A just said all this,to try and present a mental picture of what the open "Quadrangle" of space looked like. The sidings you walked over,were constantly full of 21-ton or 16-ton coal trucks,in sets of maybe a dozen or more,being shunted up the line,over sets of points,by shunting loco's,[one of which was called "Richard"],and then lowered under the screens by the "shunters",a team of men with skills at handling these huge trucks,who went unrespected,undeservedly,as it was a very dangerous job. [One young shunter slipped on ice ,at the High Pit,in the 1960's,and went under the wheels of a 21-tonner which cut him in half,sadly,fatally injuring him.] Great to see a pic like this,brings memories flooding back!

Anybody noticed hoo once a get wound up,a tek sum stopping!! A write like a taak.....!Sorry if aav hogged the channel....[C.B.-speak...circa 1981!]

Having worked in the most atrocious conditions,at Choppington High Pit,for six years,from age 15years,straight from my school desk,it was a pleasure to find that,generally speaking,conditions weren't too bad at Bedltn Aad pit. The first day doon,we[me high pit marra's and me..6 of us in sets of two's],went in ti thi Harvey Seam, it was a bit damp roond the edges of wor byeut soles,and hellish thick wi dust on the groond in some places. We stopped haaf way in forra blaa,[ a rest..]cos it was very warm,with poor ventilation,making breathing difficult,as the dust was kicked up into the air,by the boots of all the men in front. As we got our breath back,and cooled doon a bit,one of the aad pit men turned to us Choppington men,and said...."Was it as rough as this doon thi High Pit?...!" Me and my marra's all started laughing,and thought he was just winding us up!......He wasn't!! Those men at the aad pit hadn't seen any other pit from them leaving school,so they thought they had bad conditions...... Of course when we said this pit was like a palace,[a weel -used pit term!],compared ti High Pit,we were met with loads of abuse instantly,as you would expect,but it was true. When all thi other pits like North Seaton,Hartford,Hartley,Seaton Delaval,Choppington Low pit,Seghill, closed,the Coal Board transferred small pockets of men from each pit to Choppington High Pit,and every man from every pit said the same!..."They closed thi wrang bliddy pit...this is just a tetty pit,a pig-cree would be better than this......" There were men being hurt or fatally injured very frequently,like i never saw at any other pit i worked at since.....it was so bad. My Father started the High Pit aged 14 years,from school,in 1929,and he told me when i started,that "Ye'll get bliddy killed doon that bugga,it's aal rough and ready.....ya not gaan doon theor,aal see ti that...!" Whey,he didn't see ti that,cos a did gaan doon that bugga,and yes,i did get injured many a time,but fortunately,aam still here ti tell the tales aboot thi pit!

I worked at that pit for six years,and knew most of the 900 men that also worked there,some only by nickname....as lots of the men only knew me by Wilma,i remember all the workings,especially the latter years,cos i was on composite work,[or development work as it was also known as....],and i was on winning out all the new coal faces. Jimmy Gallagher,[sadly Deceased..R.I.P.Jim..],was the fastest winderman at the pit,and when you worked at the shaft bottom,as i did,at times when our cavil was off,you knew without being told!!The cages came down as if the rope had snapped...so fast! This meant that in his shift,he would wind more scores of coal than other windermen,with no disrespect to any of those other lads,cos they knew it was true!....and he only had one eye....smashing lad was Jimmy,also my Neighbour for a lot of years. Sadly missed by all who knew him.

Aye Eggy,it's queer hoo sum things just dinna cum ti mind when yi want thim tae! Aam writing me life story,from as far back as a can remember,aboot two years aad,noo ivry detail aav put in me story is fact and as accurate as me vivid memories allow,yet a canna mind sum simple details! Book one is finished,which charts me life up ti starting the pits from school aged 15 years. Aav covered aal the things we did as laddies growing up,like playing owa thi opencast,at Bedlington,in 1954,gaan doon thi free woods at Bedltn,pinchin' apples,catapults,peashooters,paper aeroplanes,yi naa thi stuff laddies did post-war! Aam just at the start of book two,which is charting me whole 28 years mining experiences,and aam just up ti thi age of 17 years,with aalriddy owa 200 pages!! Tha'al be nae bugga alive on earth ti read me byeuk,by thi time aam finished it,so aal caal it Doomsday No 2!!!!! Will anybody be interested in reading wat an aad bugga like me did in an 18" coal seam,soaking wet,and at risk of being crushed by roof falls of stone,evry day??!!

Reedy,it's 1-30am,on the 4th of june..[already!!...],and you just made my night!! My Wife was born in the Puddler's raa,and she is gonna be pleased as hell when i show her this list,in the morning! This is gonna bring back a lot of memories for her,so many thanks for taking the time and trouble to post the lists,and also thanks to your Father for his assistance!! I worked with some of these people at the Aad pit in the 1960's.

Thanks John for clearing up my confusion aboot "Piss-pot raa",so it wasn't the slang name for Puddler's raa! Eggy,the street to thi right of this picture ,sloping doon a slight gradient,was called "South row",or,as we used ti say,in the old days...."Sooth raa". I worked with all the Hills family at different times,and different pits,as thi years rolled by. Bobby Hills,and his Brother Billy were Coalcuttermen at thi "Aad pit",in this picture,and Norman,[cousin..i think...],worked at Bates Pit..as well as thi Aad pit. They were all good workers,and nice blokes to work with. For all i have vivid memories of my pit experiences,i'm snookered trying ti think where the Aad pit canteen was!!...a just canna picture it in me mind. A can mind loads of blokes who worked there,when aa was transferred there in 1965,after Choppington high pit closed,aal the way doon from the bath's attendants,time office,lamp cabin,heapstead,shaft bottom,and aal the way inbye,and onto the faces! And that's a lot of names in me heed!

Well,i think i must be getting senile! I could have sworn i sat up late one night,one-finger-typing all my thoughts and reasons for celebrating the witch's death,and now i canna find my posting anywhere on the site..... I remember being a bit strong in my phrasing,but spoke my thoughts exactly how i thought fit and decent,now i was very tired,having just recovered from a serious illness,and being hospitalised for two weeks,so i may have malfunctioned while attempting to post my comment.................. Or was my comments removed,undemocratically? As for people coming onto this site and saying some comments against thatcher-the hatcheter have offended them....... all i can say is, it's a bloody gud job they didn't work down the mines....not for anything to do with the witch,but just generally,anyone who could be so easily offended would have been made mincemeat of,by a lot of the hardened quick-witted and sarcastic lot who used to work in the pits.You started down there as a laddie,and it didn't take much more than a few weeks,before you had to learn to grow up fast,and not to let your feelings be hurt,and shown to be hurt!! We used to say we had skin like bell-metal!!"sticks and stones....."was our motto! My thinking is,if you are offended by other peoples comments,then get off the site!! No apologies!! Now to close......i was pleased to see the demise of the witch,but the one thing that really saddened me was...... ......she died peacefully. I would rather she had went in agony,like the untold agony she caused in thousands of communities through the whole country. I am really a decent person,worked hard all my life...not how i might seem to some folk who pass comments about the miners,and know absolutely bugger-all about the mining industry,and it's awful history under the coal-owners! thatcher closed our pits,then imported "cheap" coal from China and other countries,where child-labour still exists,and over 3000 miners/minors are killed underground every year....but are these facts of any interest to the do-gooders? It's like putting warnings of health risks on cigarette packets.......do smokers take any notice?...same vibe!!

Hi Katy!Welcome aboard! The glove factory must have been there since at least the mid-fifties,cos my oldest Sister worked there when she left school,[not directly after leaving school,but within a short space of time]. She used to bring homework,which consisted of turning all the fingers and thumbs out the right way,ready to be sewn onto the palm sections...and i used to help her,this might have around 1955-ish. ...i would have been about 11 years old,and my Sister about 17 years old. She also worked,as a lassie of 15 yrs,in 1953-ish,for old Doctor Hickey,of Choppington,[who brought me and all my Family,and everybody in Choppington!!....into the world,before and during the second world war!],as his housekeeper. She also worked at the nylon factory,at the Welwyn premises,about the same period in time...can anyone remember that one?!!

When i was just 15 years old with no money,cos my 5 bob pocket money from my pit pay,used to be spent on a Rossetti Lucky Seven,which i couldn't take out of the shop till it was paid for,i used to stand and drool at the guitars and Selmer Truvoice Amplifiers inside the shop,at Kitchens. Bert Weedon used the Truvoice amp,[blood and custard model]and it always sounded gorgeous on records and on radio,and telly. They were 15 watts at first,and were about 50 guineas. I later bought a Selmer Thunderbird 30watt twin 12inch speakers absolutely gorgeous looking,and sounding, amp. That was in about 1963-ish,at Jeavons,where i also got my Watkins Dominator mki 17 watt twin..amp,and my red Futurama 3 guitar. No distortion in those days,we endeavoured to produce as clean and perfect a sound as was possible! Happy days!

Eeee,a cud tell yi an aaful story [aaful for me...that is!]aboot P.C.Mann.......!! Noo let's think...hoo can a put it nicely...! The year?-1954-ish...[i was ten years old] The place?-Whitley Memorial School The story starts... I asks teacher if i could go to the toilet,and gets permission to leave the class. In the cloakroom area i see a letter and envelope lying on the floor..important-looking. I pick it up,intending to give it to my teacher,but forget all about it and take it home..my Mother puts it on the sideboard under the old huge pre-war radio cabinet,which has never worked ever..that i knew of...just a bit of furniture. Next Morning,Mr Nicholson,Headmaster,announces a theft from the cloakroom,[during his morning assembly speeches],that had taken place the day before. Being a well-brought -up laddie,i told my Mother about it and she freaked out with me,for not handing the letter in straight away. So i took the letter after dinner-break to Mr Nicholson's office personally,and got a pat[!!!] on the head from the one who usually terrorised us with his caning behavior. Later that afternoon,Mr Nicholson sought me from my class and took me to his office,where two men were sitting smoking. They were dressed in detectives typical caped-back macs,and their trilby hats were on the table by their side. They said who they were,C.I.D.officers,and they informed me that i was under suspicion of stealing a pound note from the envelope,before handing it in...[ 10-years-old...nobody with me like my parents to be with me...][and a pound was a hell of a lot of money in 1954.] The letter was an invoice for Orange's Garage's,for payment for car repairs to a lad called Morgan Dawson's Dad.[any relation John?] Well,i was cross-examined for the rest of that afternoon,accused of lying,told by these two men to admit i stole the money,and spent it on sweets...i was literally shaking all over,in tears at the finish,I had to stand outside the office in the cold corridor,in winter,freezing,shaking,to"think it all over very carefully,then come back and tell us the strory again" I did this about a dozen times,then was sent home..no letter,no escort home cos everyone had already gone home and i was late. I told my Mother about it and she went beserk with me,threw my jacket and shoes back on,and physically dragged me off my feet to the police station,all the way to the top-end from Hollymount Square...a canny hike for little legs. She barged into the police station like the proverbial bull..demanding to know what was going on,and what proof,or rights,did they have to accuse her Son of this crime. The C.I.D. men were there,and they did a repeat of the performance earlier,in the Headmaster's office. At last,to my relief,one said,[and i rember this event traumatically],"i think the boy's telling the truth,he's certainly sticking to his story.." To which the other one stood up,ten feet tall to me..it seemed...and said.."Well it's obvious that the Boy is telling lies,...."to which he got no further...!!!! My Mother,and i can picture this clearly,flipped her lid,and clasped her hands around the detectives throat screaming.."Aal bliddy kill ye,if ye caal my son a liar,....the bairn's terrified,he's telling ye the truth........" The C.I.D.man was totally unprepared for the attack,and went back off his feet....... P.C.Jimmy Mann,and Sargent Lucas knew my Mother to be a good God-fearing Mother with four kids to bring up,all with good characters,never in any trouble,till now. Jimmy Mann grabbed my Mother,and did his best to pacify her,saying.."Jean,come on now,we don't want you to get into trouble do we.." The rest went back inside and Jimmy stayed with my Mother,cos she was in a state of shock,and crying,and so was i,with all this commotion going on,and i thought they would take my Mother away. After a while we went home. Next night she howked me back up to the police station again,screaming,"aam bliddy sick of aal this carry on..next time yi see owt lying..leave the bugga where it is for sumbody else ti get wrang for" Apparently,the C.I.D. men had been to see my Mother at home,and wanted to see me again. By now,i was just a jellified wreck,terrified at the mention of the police. I have always been very strong-willed,and an individual,who wouldn't copy others to keep in with them... I had it in my mind that these two big terrifying men in trilby hats like i saw in gangster movies at the Saturday Matinees at the top-end picture hall,weren't going to make me say i had done something i hadn't done. So we went through another two hours of questioning,i think this time it was a bit more gentle after my Mother's outrage the day before! No derogatory comments today!!...."Well, Mrs Allison,we will keep in touch with you......that's all" We went home,me shaking like jelly,and Mother giving me an earful all the way home. A few days later my Mother heard from Matty Hall,my Teacher,that the real culprit had owned up to the crime. Mother got no official apology from the school,from AAD NICKY the headmaster,from the Police,C.I.D....NOBODY!!! I think P.C. Jimmy Mann quietly smoothed out the attack on the Detective,nothing said about it..case closed.. Except for one little matter.......... For years after if i walked up Bedlington main street,and saw a Policeman coming,i would start to shake like jelly all over,and i mean a physical wreck! I finally got to realise my rights as a citizen by the time i was eighteen,and shed my fears. I related this story word for word,to a new marra at Bates pit,when i went there ,in 1971,as a new Deputy,and after listening to me,he got up from his Bait seat,and arrogantly declared that he didn't believe one word of it,who did i think i was trying to kid........the C.I.D. wouldn't have sent two men,for two days,to investigate one-pound theft............ THIS MAN ...was a "Special Constable",which i hadn't known,and he was as hard as hell,he used to talk about shopping his own Mother for motoring offences!! Anyway,little Bedlington created some terror in my little brain for years to come! Before i went out to play,my Mother used to wave the big bread "gully" [like a sword!!]in front of my face,and say.."if aa hear yi swearing,or hear aboot ye being impitent ti anybody ootside,or daeing owt yi shudn't be daeing.......aal cut the skin off yi strip by strip mind ye little bugga's...[ti me older Brother also..],and aal cut ya bliddy tongue oot dae yi hear....?"....."Aye Mother...we'll not dae owt rang..promise." "Gaan on then,get yasel away doon the river,and divvent cum back droonded,or else aal morda ye's...." With that terrifying statement,she would give us a kiss and a big cuddle,telling us she really loved us and would kill anybody who harmed us....and away we wud gaan..oot ti play!! She aalway's said these things,it was almost like saying prayers!...but we took notice of her and never got into trouble. We had the best Mother in the world in those hard post-war rationed times. Aye,me story seems a bit funny noo,but believe me,it certainly wasn't funny then...it was so traumatic,that's how i remember every single word spoken,and by whom!! Thanks for letting me relate this story about Good old Bedlington in the old days!!

Heh Heh! Thanks John,things seem to have settled doon,aam deaing aalreet noo! By hell,ye brought me sum gud aad memories there noo,Ted Candlish,a used to trail aal the gearboxes,motors,coalcutter parts,conveyor belt installation,everything heavy,wi me powny. Me and me marra used ti work wi Ted,and he's marra Geordie Carr,building up the conveyor drive-heads,etc as weel as aal the other fitter and electricians,like Eddie Hagerty,["Uncle Ed..!!] Smashing blokes ti work with,aal the Nicholsons filled coal in stretches next to each other,they took the whole face up between them!Raffi Nicholson,was [still is!]a big lad,he was timber-leading before filling coal. So did the Dryer family,aal luvly blokes,especially young Dor,who,even though he was a few years older than me,was still more like my age than the old-timers.We got on really great,but then,i got on well with most every man at the pit,considering i was a kid growing up fast,among older men. I knew every man at the pit,when the workforce was only about 300.Bart,John,Harry [Harper],Stewpot,Big Toss,[although some were at other pits where i worked.] My Father worked with Toss and Bart,and Old Salt,Les,["Fingers"],and all the rest,cos He started High pit in 1929 aged 14 years old.

I learned that St Cuthbert's Church was originally laid,probably a wood building,and consecrated,in the year 611 ad.[yes...not 1611....but 611ad.!] The Saxon's built the stone church,and the original Chancel Arch still stands with typical Saxon zig-zag pattern. The Norman's came and destroyed most of the Church,rebuilding it with their own designs. Apparently,with the Norman's,religion didn't play a part in their building work,it was more to be of a grand scale to show enemies and people of the lands they concquered,how superior they were with their building skills.Symbols of power,so to speak...if it's true what you read!! ..Then what about the recent vicar who had the ridulously horrific idea,of burying the historic font in the Church grounds....so future Archeologists could make a sensational find in their day.......[he happened to be an Archeologist!]

Symptoms,i'm the same with distant recall..i can mind right back to the time i played in willow bridge front and back fields,just about two-and a bit..but i seriously canna mind what i did yesterday,or what the weather was like etc. I blame "life-saver"pills i have to take,having had a heart attack a few years ago. Like i said earlier,i can recall practically everyone in my class,and also the positions they sat,relative to each other..and we had up to 43 pupils in our class at any one time! I think that's how i find myself hogging the forum,unintentionally,it's just that i get carried away with my reminiscing! Right!...aam gaana say nowt mair!!.....................

One of my good schoolmate's was Micky Lucas,Son of Sargent Lucas,a massive bloke,and much feared in small Bedlington,in the old days![this was at the old Police Station,at the top-end] Micky was over 6' tall at 14 years old,and the most gentlest,quiet-spoken,good-humoured lad you would want for a school-mate. I often wonder how he got on after leaving school,i can name all of my mates right through school from thi infants..up to leaving....well,almost all,give or take one or two!![that includes girls as well!..including some who came and didn't stay long,to go to another school] Bobby Cross started the village infants school when i did,and is on the class photo i would like to post here. As a ten year-old,he wanted to be a journalist.At fourteen he played Mark Antony in the School Dramatic Society's production of Julius Caesar..[shakespeare],and so much impressed the whole School,[us pupils also-we were thrown over by his performance],that the school Governor went to his dressing-room to shake his hand personally,and congratulate him. Well,he ended up playing a Shotfirer,in the '60s tv series,"The Stars Look Down",about the mines,in the days of the Coal-owners..[late 1800's] I ended up working as a heavy transport lad,down Choppington B pit[High Pit],with,funnily-enough....Bobby's Dad ..[a real live overman-deputy-shotfirer!]....in charge of me,and my marra's!!! Well,the last episode with Bobby starring in it,the men had told the colliery manager,that they were going to "hole through "into old workings,and faced being either flooded out,or gassed ,or both....The manager ignored the men's pleas to abandon the working place and seal it off for the pit's safety. Bobby fired the shots,to blast out the coal to be got,and there was an almighty explosion,and flood,killing Bobby,and all the miners in that district.[based on a true story]. The next day,i was talking to old Bobby,[his Dad],underground,and remarked how good young Bobby still was,as an actor. His reply stitched me up!!! "Whey aa divvent knaa aboot being gud,cos thi bugga ownly fired one shot....and closed thi bliddy place..!!!!" Eh,They were both really nice lads,the two Bobby's,aad Bobby was well-respected as an overman,and very well-liked. A bet yi canna gaan roond most factories,nooadays,and find gaffa's with the same respect and with affectionate remarks passed aboot them from the workforce!!