HIGH PIT WILMA

A think a mighta med a blunder wi me comment aboot MAFF..[above]...while a dae knae that it's the UK Ministry of Food and Fisheries,aam sure,[but noo not 100%...!!],that that is also the name of the African Flying Doctor service..or one of them...aal check oot wi me old friend who supports the Chapel,as a member of the Christian Fellowship,at the Chapel.

Aal eat grass if aav med a stupid blunder,and mek the excuse i'ts me aad grey matter failing me!

Aye Jammy,it was exciting for us kids,simple pleasures of life,it's true wat the aad folk used ti say....[ahem...Aad Folk!!]...

"Wi had nowt ...but we were happy.."!,and fowty yeors ago a a used ti say,"Hoo thi hell can ye be happy wen ye've  got nowt?"!!

But noo that aam one of thi aad folks,a can say thi syem thing,we WERE happy..cos we knew nowt else but heving nowt...played doon the woods..my patch was from the picnic field up owa,ti the Humford Baths,then carrying on reet up past the dam and the pipes owa the waata.

Oot aal day on weekends and holidays from schyuul...either the woods or thi Opencast,wat we kids caaled .."thi ootcrop"...

Did ye gaan doon ti the Furnace Bridge ti play in the waata there..?

Depending on your age,ye mighta knaan my Wife's family,they lived in the Puddler's Raa..then they were among the forst families ti move inti the new hooses at Grange Park,when they were still building the Estate.

The aad lamps were better than nae lamps at aal,but by hell they were eerie,a aalwis thowt,as a a bairn,but a think wat med that feeling was aal thi aad black n white pictures at the Top-end picture haal,murders,gangsters...Dracula...Frankenstein...James Cagney..Lon Chaney,Christopher Lee....aal filmed under eerie dark gas lamps of cobbled London streets!

Hi Folks,Jammy , us kids in Hollymount Square were the opposite to you's,we had the same Gas lamp as ye wi thi four tapered sides,and it was built into the wall doon Bell's Place,so ye cud only see half of the standard.

I suspect that the lamp standard was there first,and the owner of the walled land which ran at the top of the gardens doon ti Walkers Apple Orchard,built the wall up and aroond it!

 Noo why were we the opposite?.....cos us little buggers used ti climb up on top of the waal,and pull the wee lever which closed the valve and put the leet oot,so we cud play hidey in the shrubbery's next ti it,in the darkness!!

That lamp,as well as the ones that went doon thi cut ti Cornwall Crescent,and Beattie/Haig roads,aal ran of the Coal Gas produced at the Dr Pit Gasworks.

Canny Lass,the Coffin Chapel is very much alive and kicking today!

The Folk who provide the Evangelical services,are very good friends of ours,and some have tried in the past to convert my Wife and me,but have given up on us as lost souls!!

They,in all seriousness,dedicate their time all through thi year,preparing and filling shoeboxes for the third world and underpriviledged children,in war torn zones etc.

They also raise funds constantly,to support the MAFF Appeal fund,which funds Light Aircraft Flying Doctors to take Medical supplies,and their experience,into  Villages in Jungle areas,or where there are no proper landing strips.

These people are among the Unsung Heroes of the world,and I think it is justified that I go off-topic ..[like...is that unusual for me?!!],for five minutes to give praise ,and a huge clap for them and their Organisation all over,for the gud work they do..and it is even harder work noo,in this global crisis.

....an aam still a lost soul....heh heh!!

Back ti thi gas lamps,aal kids wudda read Wor Wullie Byeuks in thi aad days afore two-thumb generations evolved,and even Wor Wullie swung on thi arms of the four-sided gas lamps!!

Wat aboot Bob Dylan's song..."Gates of Eden"...."The Lamp-post stands with folded arms..it's Iron Claws Attached...."

They musta had the syem lamps owa thi pond in the aad days.....haad on..."Ya nivvor alone wi a Strand"!!...filmed under the syem lamps...heh heh!

Howw ,ye cud gaa on n on aboot these leets!

Nea Catholic Church ivvor at the Station,Wor Lass wadn't o had ti get thi Raisbecks bus from the Station ti thi top-end Catholic School if tha had been!...not that she wanted ti...she was Made ti....!!

Lets keep the entertainment leet...

Hope ye'aal are keeping safe,staying at yem as much as possible,and saving lives..as well as protecting the NHS.

Tha will be a leet,[not a gas leet,]!..at thi end of this lang tunnel,but aa canna see thi bugger!!

Hi  Folks!

Aav been locked in for five weeks , since me Wife had a really serious Seizure ,the worst one she has had for over thirty years,cos for the first two weeks after the seizure,I couldn't leave her for a minute,as the saying goes,it was full on nursing from me at home.

Then the lock-down started,and since then,very good neighbours of mine have been doing our shopping,it's at times like this when the value of good friends and neighbours is very much appreciated!!

Both of us are in the really vulnerable category,so are strictly abiding by the rules for everybody's sakes.

The positive side is,we have gardens front and rear,the front garden is decent-sized but faces right onto the main road,which normally has a constant stream of traffic,but which is now strangely quiet!..I can hear Birds whistling a mile away!,and last night,under the glow of the street lamp outside our house,I was in the drive,and glanced around when something caught my eye,moving slowly in the darkness.

Mr Foxy, [of the four-legged kind!],was standing,brazenly staring up at me,then after a few seconds, ambled away unconcerned,walking on the dry road,cos it was better than the damp grass...[what a pity!]

Nowt like having Elk on your doorstep,Canny Lass,but for Bedltn,it's a lovely sight to see!

Fortunately,wor back garden faces owa thi back fields,reet owa ti Scotland Gate,and futher owa ti Hepscot way,so it's a wid open aspect,wi aal the birds coming in.

So we're fortunate ti have somewhere ti waak aroond,and ti potter on with.

Aav got a wee pond in the back garden,and when a put it in,twenty years ago,a asked me [then] fower-year-aad Niece ti fetch me some Stickleyback fish ti put in,cos a aalwis loved them when aa was a bairn.

She came wi her Granda one day,after been doon the Furnace Bank,ti thi River Blyth,and she proudly presented me wi a jamjar wi fower Luvly Stickly's.

Owa the last twenty yeors,them fower fish have bred,and bred several generations,and aav noo got aboot thirty.[having given dozens away to friends,and released hundreds back into the river!]

So a can sit and watch me fish on a nice warm afternoon,for aboot ten minutes,then back ti thi grindstone![nivvor still!]

Vic,and Canny Lass,a cud live amang the forests withoot any persuasion!![we did for owa twenty yeors,wi thi touring caravan,farm and Forestry Commision sites,from 1977-on..when the bairns were young..]

Aav got me guitars and recording gear,noo that's a hobby that,if a had the time,a cud spend hours and hours...nay..days and days..on a project...multi-tracking,and creating me aan music![which a used ti dae,afore me Wife became disabled,and a became her full-time carer]..nivvor mind,nowt's a bother to me,aam cool!!

Me motorbike is an ornament,nice ti luk at! Same wi thi car!..aam not grousing,a feel very fortunate to not be in the same sad predicament that a lot of families around the world are in.

Then,late at night,to relax,a watch U-Tube music videos,documentaries,or a dvd noo and again.

A divvent watch telly,haven't for aboot thirty years,knaa very little aboot what's gaan on,in the news,except for the latest Govt Briefings,and what snippets me Wife tells me ..!!

Wi me health problems a hae ti avoid stress,and a gaan thi best way aboot it!!

So that's my life story ,Isolation doesn't affect me mentally,aav telt folks in conversation,for years,that aa can easily mix wi folks,or a cud just as easily live in the jungle or an island on me own!![as lang as a had me guitars and me laptop!]

Both me Wife,and mesel,have found aal the comments in this thread really interesting,as ti hoo other folks are coping.

Big thanks folks!

[First time aav ivvor  commented withoot ivor mentioning.............COAL!...[drat! ...a just did!]

Heh heh,slip of the mind,CORRECTION!..the weight of the Bucyrus Erie 1150-b draglines were 1200 tons,but nevertheless the calculations were correct!

I have just opened the link above,regarding Big Geordie,and also found an excellent link to an article with excerpts from a seemingly excellent book called "British Opencast Coal- a Photographic History 1942-1985",written by Keith Haddock.

Both are extremely fascinating!

I am gonna see if I can get a hold of the book.

Is it possible or  even legal to copy the Big Geordie documentary to a disc for showing family members who aren't computer literate Alan?

I don't know how to Burn discs..

Cheers!

Bill.

Hi folks!..and to add my tuppenceworth,I used to go over after school,with my schoolmates and the Hollymoonta gang,and watch Bucyrus Erie [as we called him ,cos his name was on a huge plate up on the side of the machine,mounted on the first gantry],we didn't know,at 10 years old,that it was the firm's name!] [that was in 1954-ish].

These two Draglines were reported in the press,[Evening Chronicle etc],as being the two largest walking draglines in the whole of Europe,as was the Acorn Bank Site cut.

At night,in the dark,we used to snipe almost on top of the gang who were building it,and it's a wonder we weren't blinded by the welding arc's,cos to us,it was a bonny bright blue light!!...we just used to lie on the ground and snipe ever closer,and watch the arc,fascinated!

It had a 50-ton bucket.

Now,Alan,when it comes to disputes..[silly disputes an aal!],aa had an argument wi one of me pit marra's,now deceased,[R.I.P. TOM],one day when we were sitting getting wor baits,amang aal the waata and clarts,doon the Three-Quarter drift,at Bates.

We somehow got on aboot the Acorn Bank site,and Tom said he worked there,before gaan doon the pit.

 Aa just remarked hoo we kids used to watch the Euclids bouncing like they were toys,when Bucyrus Erie dropped his bucketfull of stones into the back of the truck,and big stones used to smash doon onto the canopy above the Driver's cab.

That was like a red rag to Tom..he adamantly argued and started getting real ratty,saying the Draglines never filled the Euclids,it was done by the face shovels.

Whey naturally,a argued back saying a used ti watch them man....

Tom shouted ....Aa used ti work there man Bill..ya getting mixed up....so a backed off,cos a hate arguments and ill-feeling...[this was in the 1980's]

Whey,Tom passed away a few years ago,and then at Christmas,a year or two back,I got a DVD which had been transferred from old Cine-film,and it was amateur footage of the Acorn Bank site..[a Sixtownship DVD a think].

Then a started researching aboot the site,and guess what,it explains hoo the Dragline bucket was overloading the Euclids,and damaging the bodies ,so a special hopper was designed and erected,so the bucket emptied it's load into the hopper,and a guy loaded the Euclids safely..and I remembered the name of the hopper,cos aam a guitarist!!

It was called a .....HENDRIX  ...hopper!!

It seems that Tom must have worked at the far end of the cut,where Bucyrus Erie [1] ,was working,and that was a thousand yards away from Bucyrus Erie [2]..and they only had the one hopper.

Trivial story,but Tom was starting to get violent in his attempt to convince me I was wrong.

At the end of the day,it didn't matter who was right ,cos it was history long gone!,but this is hoo misinformation spreads.

My friend's Dad was one of the Dragline operators,a fella caaled  Mr Humble,Bob and Les were his two Sons,who were my mates.

There was no security in them days,no watchman or owt like that,no fences or barriers of any kind,on Sundays we kids used to either walk or ride wor bikes,doon inti the cut,and play on the Draglines feet,which were 44 feet long and 8 feet wide.

We played in the Euclids seats,mekking on we were driving....whey,ye dae when ya ownly aboot ten or elivin yeors aad ...divvent ye?!

One thing I read,recently,which really interested me,was the footprint pressure of the central hub which the crane sat on when in operation....2500 tons weight,[if I remember rightly!]..and the pressure on the ground was ....5pounds per square inch!!

Incredible engineering..like an elephant,s gentle footsteps from such a heavy animal!

I sat one day,for fun,and calculated it out in my head,and it was spot-on..even with simple Maths!

[another trivial story!]

Maggie,thanks for posting the pics,brought back many happy memories..that place was part of my childhood!

Alan.."We gotta get outa this place"...[The Animals 1965-ish?] for number 11..!...[till a think o sum mair!]

A went for me quaataly hair cut [it's aalwis the same one...growws owa me eye..!]..last Thorsdi...Leanne was off work ill wi Flu.

She has a luvly natured bonny lass helping her oot caaled Kirsty.

She was very pleasant and chatty,and did a great job wi me owld heed.Five stars again ti Todds Barbers.

It's a bonus ti just gaan ti hae a luk at thi montage of pics of aad Bedltn on thi waal!

No  12 ..."Stay" [Hollies...1960's]

No 13...thinkin......!!.......still thinkin'!.......

Thanks Alan...much appreciated!

Thanks again Alan,a wonder if Davy Shepherd is my good friend's Brother,who is now very ill,a haven't seen Davy for a while,wud ye just say Halloww ti him from me,and if he is Mick's Brother,he will knaa hoo aa aam.

Thanks Marra!

Bill.

Hi Alan ,again!..also please pass thanks to Peter Jones as weel for his comment.

Cheers Bill.

Hi Alan,thanks for the info,so my memory isn't as bad as a a thowt it waas!..a cud picture the fella wi thi tash..it was a really tick tash,and a mop of corly hair,but his voice soonded like he was diluted ethnic,but aa cudn't put me finger where he might have have been from.

A dae knaa that he was a fast taaka but as far as aa was concerned,nowt was a problem ti him,he used ti say repeatedly..."...This is how I do business my friend,it is no good for business if I am not nice with you...I will change your tyres for new ones ,no problem..and if you are still not happy..you come back and I will give you your money back....."..he came over as a real genuine guy,but maybe others might not agree if they had a bad experience with the guy!

Cheers Alan,divvent forget where a live,if ya passing and the motor is there!

P.S. Please pass my thanks on to Alan Dickson if ye dinna mind!!

Hi Alan, aa was transferred ti Bedltn Aad Pit in 1965,from Choppington B Pit. Bob Muter and his Wife and family are very good friends of ours. They were our next door neighbours for decades, till they, and us, moved from West Terrace. Ken Sellick and me worked together at the pit, then Ken worked in the Medical Centre at thi Aad pit, aa went onto Coal cutting, hand filling, then on the mechanised Shearer coalfaces. A divvent knaa the other two.... aa was aan aad timer (21 yrs aad!) when these youngins came alang!... apart from Sellicka! When they were daeing aal this, aa was on the coalfaces, working different shifts, so a lost touch wi thi young recruits just afore a transferred. Great ti see this pic! Cheers Alan, and thanks for posting it! Bill. 

Can anybody remember a small shop on the Choppington bank,in Storey's Buildings,[where a lived in 1947],what sold budget tyres with the brand name of "Colway" on the sidewalls?

The guy was as straight as a die when it came to taking a faulty tyre back,nae messing aboot....changed as quick as a flash!

A think he might have been the forst one ti deal in budget and remould tyres in this area,even before Gerry's Wasp in Ashington!

Alan Dixon will knaa,cos he lived there then,aam sure!

Come in Alan ,wheor are ye!!

A got two of the Colway tyres put on me wee Ford Anglia 105E  997 cc in aroond 1970-ish...![ a think they were aboot a fiver each,or summik silly like that!]

Happy New Year to all me Marra's on this great forum!

Noo! Canny Lass,ahem,[cough cough!],me being a clean-living lad,who nivvor smoked ,nivvor drank,nivvor gammelled,a can HONESTLY say....aam 0 on the shaggy dog scale!....except aam buggaad wi aad age in me bones!!

My New Year's Resolution..[same as last year but broke it for domestic reasons..]...Aam determined ti get oot more on me Bike,since this time last year,a did 40-odd miles,and that was gaan for MOT, and CBT!!!

Aav written it on me calendar as weel as me second resolution,and that is ti try and write more of me book,which a started in 2009!!

Aav been advised by a published Author who me Wife and me met doon Cammis a few days ago,a luvly friendly aad Lady caaled Mary Bowmaker,who has three books on Amazon,and is busy wi a fourth book.

She was enthusiastic when a telt her a was writing me life story from a wee bairn,growing up from the late1940's,ti aal me experiences doon the coalmines.

SO!...it's here in black n white!...we'll see hoo things gaan at yem!

Aal thi best folks!

Whey if John didn't hae sae many connections,A wudda still said that number two was Foster McKenzie!

He is the absoloute spitting image..can we find a pic of Foster ti put side by side...a wunda!!

A did say in the previous page that a thowt it wud be strange for Foster ti be up in the Dr Pit Park,when he was a Station fella!

Gotta mek an appointment wi me Optician methinks!

Wahey!! ...it's noo 2019 ,December 23rd,and aav just caught up with this thread,and there's me Greenheart wood trestles holding the bridge up!!...ye can see by the scale of things,that aa wasn't far wrang aboot thi beams being aboot two feet square!

The top pic shows a " Butters" crane,building it's Marra up,[another "Butters" crane],which ran on rails,along the edge of the cut,and which lifted skips,full of coal,and which then loaded the Euclids,and the later 42-ton coal-haulers.

The middle pic shows one of the two "Bucyrus Erie" Draglines,which we used to play on,when the site was closed,on Sunday afternoons.

I always thought that they were the bonniest designed Draglines of all the ones I have ever seen...including Big Geordie,and the Ace of Spades!!

If I am not mistaken,you can see St Cuthbert's Church tower in the background,and to confirm this,you can also see the smaller line of overburden heaps which were deposited at the top of the Picnic field,and which was a haven for fossil-hunters like me,at 11 years old!!

I spent hours looking among the rocks,finding loads of fossils of Fern leaves ,and tree bark,some which were really tropical,with pineapple "Diamond-cut" patterns on them.

My goal was to find a fossilised Insect,or Animal remains,but sadly this never happened.

I took loads of fossils to the old Whitley School for Mr Davidson,wor smashing teacher,and a often wonder what happened to them..they were historic examples which would never be available ever again,once the Opencast site was re-instated to it's former state.

Thanks for uploading these great pics,Alan,and thanks also to John Brown for sharing them.

Brings back loads of happy memories!

Heh heh! Great interesting discussion, ye two bonny lassies!

The only bits aa remember wat was ingrained into us were the 611 AD consecration,and the sleepover of King John at thi Old Hall Tower

at thi Market Place,before the signing of thi Magna Carta.

When I was a kid,aa coudn't stand History lessons,cos a didn't see thi need for it...a wud rather be fiddling on wi me Electricity experiments in me Mutha's wesh-hoose....[at 12- yeor aad!].

Noo,aam fascinated by History,fortunately we hae thi technology nooadays,ti larn of those who are more edicated...like ye two bonny lassies!! Heh heh!

Hi Maggie!...lang time no read/see/ hear...from!

I was brought up at the Bedlington village infant's schyuul from 1949,and in the early days of starting there,the teacher took us across to the Church,to learn about the history of how it all began there.

We kids were too young to know aboot the Anglo-Saxons,but persistent teaching throughout every class,and on to the Whitley schyuul,ensured that the St Cuthbert's Church history,and also that of Bedlington Village,was firmly embedded in our minds!

We learned all aboot the Chancel Arch being the only remaining Saxon -constructed part of the building,the ancient Font, the Leper's Window, the Gothic Wing,the Norman's influence...

Noo, many yeors later,a hev a very well-read Son,who adamantly educates me into the history of the Anglo-Saxons,saying they never ever set foot up this part of the Country!

Aav argued the point that we were taught from five years old about the history of this lovely old Church..[  Watson's Wake!...another one I forgot to mention!],and it is gonna take some shifting ,to convince me that all me Teacher's,and History books were wrang!!

We had a discussion on this forum,a year or two back,regarding the origins of Bedlington and the Church,and it started off some disagreements when I said that we were taught that the land on which St Cuthbert's Church stands,was consecrated in the year 611 AD.

Do you know anything aboot that Maggie?...as a kid,I couldn't have made this information up!

Cheers! ...if I don't hear from you,[bad time of year when ivrybody is rushing aroond like madscabs getting ready for the festive season!],I hope you have a nice Christmas and a happy new year!

Hi Steve,welcome to the forum,a canna help ye,but hope others can.

Wasn't it a bit daft wat the kids did in them days..if they saw a too-too coming,they would fly up them steps to get among the coals smoke and steam,laughing and giggling!

Pure and simple pleasure,which cost knowt except probably a year or two of their lives!..intense heated coal tar,Sulpher,and a million other nasties straight down their throats and lungs!! aaahh...happy days!

Duncan,I had just come to this page after switching my laptop on,and after posting the light-hearted bantering comment above,went looking for the photo you seemed to be referring to,in your comment above.

So I went back one page,and saw the photo's of Geordie,and the comment by Alan Edgar,informing us here on the forum,of George's passing.

After reminiscing about him,then seeing this sad news,brought me down,and all I can say is I am sorry for you and your family,and if Florence is still with us,then please pass my condolences to her.

I will private message you if I can Duncan.

R.I.P. Ju-Jitzu Geordie ,a smashing fella.

Hi Duncan,welcome to this excellent forum!

If you are talking about Ju-Jitzu Geordie,then you have come to the right place!

I was transferred to Bates pit in 1971,from Bedlington A pit,when it closed,and the Manager Mr Fenwick,[an old friendly fella who was my Manager at Choppington High Pit,in 1959],asked me and Alan Dixon to go onto the next Deputy's course,which we did.

We were both sent to Bates,and Alan was posted up in the Plessey seam,while I was posted to the Beaumont seam.

As time went by,plans were laid out to drift down to the 3/4 seam.

My first impressions of Geordie,[he was also a Deputy ],was that he was a cocky bugger,always laughing and carrying on,but sometimes a wee bit sarcastic to us two young Deputies...we were still green,dinna forget...I was only 27 yrs old.

Anyway,after 7 years, Alan and me both packed Deputy work in,and Alan went to Ellington,and got set straight on back in the NUM.

Aa waanted ti stay at Bates,and Mr Hindmarsh,and both the NUM,and NACOS,agreed that I could be accepted back into the NUM at Bates..previously unheard of!

Aa went onti Composite work doon thi drift,and by then,aroond 1978-ish,maybe a wee bit later,Geordie became Owaman in charge of me and me Marra's,as we won oot aal the new roadways and coalfaces.

Geordie was the fairest guy you could meet,if ye worked doon theor,then ye shud knaa thi score aboot yardages,and paypoints....nae botha if ye dinna knaa.

When ye settle a bargain wi thi Manager,we'll say 20 yards a week advance,from the start of the bargain..or Cyevil,that is ya starting point for bonus.

Ye got paid for ivry increment of a yard after that.

Noo let's say we got 25 yards advance one week,a gud week,cos the belts were gannin aal shift,and nae delays,like the juice being off or a bust cable.

We wud ask Geordie ti just book 23 yards in for us,and keep two yards back,in case we had a bad start the following week.

The next week might be disastrous..bust cable, waata teeming in,bad stone,slaa progress,ownly 18 yards advance,Geordie wud book 20 yards in,[which included the two yards we held back the week before],and that,at least paid us,we didn't loss owt.

If we were working for wor summer holiday pay for the following week,and even if we had 22 yards advance,we naturally waanted a gud pay for wa holidays,so we wud ask Geordie ti haad the tape back,[his 50-yard cloth tape measure],and put us a couple of extra yards in,on paper,ti pay  us weel!!

Not strictly allowed!..but Geordie trusted us,as we trusted him,and he knew that after the hols were owa,we wud give him the two yards back,even if we put wasell's "in debt",[paid wasell's short],but which we knew we wud mek up thi following week.

We got on really weel wi Geordie,and he was weel-liked,but he wadn't knaa hoo much at the time,cos as ye knaa ,we pitman were witty sods,and ye had ti stand on ya aan two feet or be trodden on!!

Aa got on really weel wi Flo,when she worked at the Garage aroond the Haaf-Moon....many moons ago!!

Aye,Geordie helped us oot that many times,we had a lot ti thank him for!

Cheers Duncan!...ye just crossed swords wi Bill thi gud taaka...and if Geordie was here noo,he'd be saying.."that bugga's toungue nivvor stops..."!!

A canna mind ye being doon the drift,Duncan,or did ye hae a daft nickname like mine...."Wilma"![or HPW..to you,my friend!]

Hi Alan, gaan through a rough patch, please nivvor think that aav deserted!... (mebbe AWOL!!.. heh heh!) Noo! When a was a pit Deputy, a was in charge of John Bennett, and Gordon,and Dicky, his two Brothers. We all worked doon the Three Quarter seam.. among seawaata n clarts and bad roof stone.. as time went by, after seven years as a Deputy/Overman, I went back into the NUM, as a Composite man, and funnily enough, both John and Gordon WENT onto Deputy work.. John eventually became an Overman, the man who was in overall charge of the face, or the whole seam, but only responsible for Coal Production. The Deputy was solely responsible for the Safety, Health, and Welfare of the men under his charge, and directly responsible to Her Majesty's Government Inspectorate of Mines and Quarries. Not even the Manager had that responsibilty.. no-one except the Deputy..! Anyway, Gordon was our Deputy when I took these pit photos, he was down in another part of the seam, or I would have had him on the pics as well.. he was a great guy.. gud worker.. nice natured.. helped us all thi time... lost a lot of sweat every day... he used to say, it was thi beer coming oot of him! I haven't seen any of them for years. 

Thanks Alan, it's intriguing me noo aav thowt aboot it! 

Another memory was jogged ,on the right hand side,at thi top of the bank,them hooses have a walkway  built -up so each hoose has a pavement ootside their door.

Whey,cos thi bank gaans away doon-owa,and the path is horizontal,a waal is formed,getting higher as yi come doon the bank.

Whey, one day,when a was a wee bairn,me aulder Brother,[by exactly three years,born on the syem day!!],was poking aroond in  thi holes in thi waal,cos Starlings used ti nest in the holes every year.[in the days when we used ti gaan bird-nesting for eggs.]

He got excited this day when a Farthing came oot thi hole alang wi bits o' muck at the end of his stick that he was using as a poker.

Whey Farthings were still legal currency,so he kept on poking at thi hole wi he's black-handled Jack-knife.[ye knaa..thi one wi a blade at one side,and a steel slightly curved pointed "progger",at the other side...very common sight in kids' pockets, in them days!]

After a while,poking thi lime mortar oot wi thi progger,and using his stick ti rake thi hole oot,he got he's hand inside,and pulled dozens of Farthings,just them,nae other coin denominations,oot thi hole!...Buried Treasure!!

We got all  excited and started imagining that there might be Gold and Silver treasure in other parts of the wall,so we started howking oot thi lime where could,but we only ever found old Starlings' nests!!

NOO! ..there's nae reason not ti think that there COULD be  a cache of coins or jewellery inside the wall,cos we never telt anybody,but there MUST have been a reason for somebody,mebbe a hundred years before,ti stash a whack of Farthings inside a hole in that wall,in the days when that amount would have been a lot of money to a poor peasant,in the days before the  pits came alang!...mebbe the Bailiffs were coming ti tek aal he's belongings and ti kick him oot...like the Coal-owner's heavies did ti My Mother in 1944,when she was in Hospital having me.

I was maybe seven or eight yrs old,at thi time of the treasure trove,probably 1952-ish..I wonder if you could find out when the present houses were built Alan?,and whether them hooses are the original buildings on that plot...mebbe there were ancient primitive buildings standing there before the present ones,even though they are very old.

Cheers!

Bill.

Hi Alan,firstly,the Bates pic,No 7 is Derek Burt,a smashing really weel-liked lad,who went on deputy work and was posted back onto the face in charge of his own Marra's!!...Unconventional for that to happen,they usually sent new deputies to a different face. Derek used to shout and bawl on at the men ti keep the coal coming ...then play football with them all on a Sunday...highly unconventional,he's Marra's used ti say,jokingly,that he was "Crackers"..!!

No 1 looks very much like Davy Wood who took part in the short documentary called" Report from the Northern Coalface",also featuring Alan Dixon,[one of our contributors in the past],and John Douds,who built a model of a pit in intricate detail,which also features in that documentary,and which was on display  at the Woodhorn Museum a year or two ago. It's a brilliant well-made Pro. film Doc, and if ye haven't seen it Alan,it is really worth watching.

It was made by "Crinkle-cut Productions", and it's advertised on the web.

Noo! Thi 1956 pics doon Bedlington main street,and doon Bedlington Bank ,were taken when aa was only twelve years aad.

Aa lived just aboot 30 yards doon the street and in ti Hollymount Square on the left turn in, doon Bell's Place.

A divvent knaa anybody on thi pics,Alan,but a dae clearly remember an older fella,who used to dance side to side doon the road aal the way from the top-end doon ti thi Field,drunk as a newt,and  there is a bit of footage of him on this gallery in one of the short cine films on one of the picnic days. But that fella did that every year!,and he was a lot older,and not as tall,as this lad,in these pics.

A can only remember the one fella daeing that,Alan,a cud nivvor mind of anybody else daeing it..he was so funny,we kids used ti watch ti see where he was going to drop onto the road!!

 Great ti see thi aad Gas lamp on the Bank..nivvor seen that since aa was a wee skittering young ched!!

If ye look closely,ye can see a hundred years..[it seemed!], worth of Graffiti on the big wall on the bank,there used ti be some great bits of artwork,only lads in the old days didn't hae spray cans of paint..not even chalk...it was aal done wi a bit o stone,or a bit of red hoose brick!

...AND!...it wasn't caaled "Graffiti"...it was just "Aal thi writin' on thi waal doon thi bank"...ti local folk....and thi Cooncil weren't bothered aboot it...they didn't mek any effort ti clean it off..the weather gradually did a lot of the clean-up.

After the Wartime rations ceased,and import restrictions were relaxed, My Mother came in one day from Hemsteads,with a few bananas..the first time we had ever seen one,apart from in Bob Hope films at thi top-end pictures!...they were huge things,and as I grew up and started the pits in 1959,me Mutha used ti put 14 sammidges up for me bait,wi one banana!..YE try putting SIX sammidges up wi one Banana noo..!..aa dae ivry day for me midday bait at yem...and these wee banana's are an insult!

Then another day,me eldest Sister,aged aboot 16 yrs,in the mid '50s,came in wi a Pomegranite..the name alone freaked me oot,when a was aboot ten,and it seemed weird to me that we aal sat aroond wi sewing pins,picking sweet seeds oot o this queer-lukkin' fruit!

Aam digressing again Alan,but pics like this bring back floods of happy memories of me yem toon,and that bank was the gateway ti wor childhood living!..

Cheers Alan!