Symptoms

Joe - Brian Cross is right to say that you've many friends here; I always look forward to seeing if you've posted. When the old site closed down I felt disappointed at (this may sound daft) losing a friend. When I discovered the new site, and your presence on it, I was glad. Best wishes.

Forget the ‘flim-flam’ about alternatives being the answer; noddling donkeys floating off-shore, wind turbines preventing the sheep from kipping, solar panels for the middle-class, heated water from the bowels of the earth. They’re never going to be the answer to our insatiable craving for convenient energy. We’re all standing on the future – 300 years worth of coal. I’m not talking about thousands of toiling pitmen hacking aways in 2’6” seams or gangs of sweating stokers chucking shovel loads into open furnaces and million of tons of filth being spued into the atmosphere. Clean coal technology is the way to go! Sure, all the ‘green’ stuff can make a contribution but it can only be a junior partner in this endeavour. Our perception of coal-fired plant has been affected by what they have traditionally pumped out into the environment but the technology now exists to deal with mercury emissions, NOx and SO2 emissions, particulates and ash disposal. The big one for the public however is CO2 and the greenhouse effect; again the technology is being developed to allow coal plants to operate with very low CO2 emissions by, for example, using gas separation filtering. There’s even been a ton of work done on co-combustion by mixing pulverised coal with wood, paper waste, plastic waste, sewage sludge, agro-industrial waste, etc. I say build clean-coal power stations – the Ruskies can’t turn off the gas tap to freeze us in the Winter, the terrorists won’t be able to do 9/11s into nuclear power plants to poison us all,. Coal is the most abundant, safe, secure and economically viable form of energy we have! Of course, the concerned middle-class can still go down to B&Q to buy their roof-mounted wind generators and solar panels, deluding themselves that they’re doing their best to ‘save the planet’ – but hey, where was this equipment made? Probably China – a place soon to overtake the Yankies as the World’s biggest polluter.

Any form of physical abuse is wrong. If a parent has to resort to wacking then they have failed in their relationship with their kids. Mutual respect is the key to any successful relationship. If a child respects (and loves) its parents it is less likely to transgress, just as a parent who has invested the time to explain (not lecture, order or harangue) is unlikely to be disappointed. Many of those who've posted here have correctly identified 'respect' as being the foundation of good behaviour. Most of what we witness is based on 'copied behaviour'. This 'in-your-face' stuff, that seems so prevalent these days, can be traced back to what's been digested from TV. All these !*!@# soaps, where the characters shout, scream, display agressive behaviour of all types, encourage the young to emulate the unacceptable. Ok, but what can be done about those who will not, even after the 'respect' experience, behave? Stocks in the Market Place I say.

Tame stuff - elastic lifelines! There was a lad who did a leap (sans elastic band) off the railway bridge near the Kitty Brewster 30 odd years ago.

How do they dish out school places in Bedlington these days? Do the 5 year olds go to the nearest Primary then when older all go to the same Upper? If so, then if you've got little kids Primary catchment area might be an important consideration in picking an area to buy a house. Where I am parents are doing all manner of under-hand things to get their kids into the 'right' Primary schools - bogus addresses, temp lodgings with friends near the school they want, etc. When I lived in Bedlington (in the 60's) the area around the Riggs had a certain 'something' about it. Maybe it was because most of the houses were privately owned, whilst the majority of places in Bedlington were rented from the Council or NCB. I bet the perception about the Riggs persists to this day even though there are bound to have been many 'new' estates established in the last 30 years or so. When buying a place visit the area at different times of the day and week (noise issues will be different) and look-out for brat-gatherings.

Phew! What a relief to get a second responsible moderator to help missvic to keep this place a welcome place to visit. Firm and fair Mr Darn please. Anyway, well done & good luck.

What was the name of the picture house on Glebe Road opposite the Tankerville Arms? Is the building still there or has it been flattened. We used to go to the Saturday morning shows to see those black & white Ripping Yarn/Great White Hunter type adventures, cowboy serials (Roy Rogers, Rin Tin Tin) and super-hero flics. I can't recall the entrance fee but it might have been an orange. The 'dress circle' was just a boarded-off section of stalls at the back.

They used to have (if my memory isn't playing-up) in the early 60's maybe 3 feature films per week - each showing for a couple of nights then the big show at the weekends. They always seemed to have Elvis Presley showing. I was in the Palace the day President Kennedy got shot - the projectionist superimposed a quickly scribbled slide with the news, over the film; the film was Its a Mad, Mad World - starring Phil Silvers (Bilko), Snozzel Durante, Mickey Rooney, Ethel Merman, Spencer Tracy, the great Terry Thomas, etc. I can't remember when it opened as the Domino nightclub, maybe mid/late 60's, - it was very popular in the beginning but tailed off. I've got a couple of photos of us taken inside - must be 1969ish. I suppose if you wanted the genuine nightclub scene with gambling, etc. then you really needed to get up to the Town - Grey's Club, La Dolcia Vita (S?) and Bob Monkhouse's (can't remember its name) club near the City Walls. There seemed to be loads of clubs to choose from. I think the family who used to live in the big caravans opposite the Palace/Domino used to own it for years - they were friends of my Dad but I can't recall their names. Some well-known acts did appear there, although I can't remember if they appeared on the cinema stage or at the Domino. Amen Corner caused a near riot outside when they had a gig there.

It's all going to turn into some gruesome Kafkaesque nightmare (of funny Ealing comedy) where we are all going about living our normal lives when some uniformed brute barks, "Your papers please". Under the proposed legislation is wouldn't be an offense to 'fail to carry' but just wait for a quiet amendment to be slipped in later by a future Home Secretary. Your ID would be scanned by the brute's handheld and your details (including your DNA) checked against the central data-base. You get a mis-match (a bit like Pete's situation) and get lifted then disappear into the system. Forget the 28 day detention period - Gordon Brown is reported today as wanting unlimited detention - yes I know it's for terror stuff but just wait for the quiet amendment to extend the measure to all offenses. Lets not be sidetracked by the spurious arguement that "it's all OK 'cos I've got nothing to hide". Every major IT project commisioned by the Government has, or will fail to meet specification - in other words in won't work properly. You want to trust your freedom to a crippled piece of kit? Your DNA profile will be sold to the commercial sector; so the insurance companies will load-up premiums to individuals belonging to certain groups, jobs will be refused because you belong to some vague group who statistically are pre-disposed to certain behaviour. It doesn't matter that the innocent are harmed.

The health of any small town shopping street can be easily gauged by surveying who is using it. For example, if it is predominantly the elderly (often lacking their own transport, low income, etc.) then there is no commercial incentive for the retail trade to invest in those areas. Nationally, the 'out-of-town' retail parks and supermarkets have done for the local shops. Given a choice, many folks who are able to, will drive to these places, park for free, have everything under one roof, experience a litter-free day, enjoy the piped music, emerge to find that no Parking Ticket has been slapped onto their car and return home satisfied - what a souless experience! The death of the high streets can often be traced back to the actions of local politicians who, as a means of generating revenue, introduced parking restrictions - guess what? People stayed away, the shops lost income, shut down, etc. etc. Those small towns that do still have viable shopping streets are the ones that campained against the retail park infection in their area. I remember Bedlington Front St in the 60's as being a vibrant (maybe that's too strong!) place to shop - there was somewhere to get just about anything you needed. Milne's department store for cataput rubber, records (who can remember the listening booths?) furniture and other household items - who needed Bainbridges in the Town! Fruit & Veg (Patton's?) next to the Top Club, butchers(was there one called Amers or something similar?), bakers, and so on. The point was that people had to shop locally - car ownership wasn't universal and it was a right shlep on the bus to Newcastle and back with loaded bags. I'm afraid the day of the local high street is a thing of the past. Rents can be too high so that freeholders will often only be able to generate a return by developing their holdings into residential units - that's where the money is!

There seems to be 3 or 4 active threads covering censorship topics all of which contain valid views. I made the point a couple of months ago that those who advocate censorship (in any form) need to be challenged, they must be certain of their aims and be able to justify them. It seems to me that the only imperative here (this Forum) is the protection of the owners of the site, against prosecution for the posting of hate stuff which is against the law. All other stuff, however stupid, cutting, inane, pointless, rude, etc. should be allowed. The 'normal' folks here know that the 'village idiots' stalk the site but that they should be allowed to mutter their nonesense un-impeded. Of course, true to village life we should laugh at their state and continue to throw 'rotten fruit' at them. Maybe there should be a 'health warning' to innocent visitors here that there is offensive stuff within. Moderating is a thankless task but I want to thank ours for their attempts

Pete - your memory isn't playing tricks with you about the shows and I'm sure that, judging from your other posts regarding the past, Alzheimer's hasn't kicked-in. Most of the owners of the individual rides and sideshows would have been members of the Showman's Guild who would have had great pride in the appearance of their kit. You're right - their wagons were usually painted a dark maroon or red colour with great sign-writing and pin-striping (usually in gold colour); their caravans were also things to behold. When the Picnic shows were on 20 acres I seem to remember local lads being recruited to help run the rides. There were things like the Wall of Death (I can only remember this attraction visiting on a couple of occasions), The Dance of the Seven Veils (some wizened old girl getting her kit off when what you were promised at the door were exotic ladies of the East - what a gyp!). The best of the lot was the Boxing Booth where the locals were challenged by the barker to go 3 rounds with some evil looking guy to win a fiver. It was brilliant to see all the local 'hard boys', and plenty of pissed pitmen, getting thumped. The last night always ended in a mass punch-up. Ah, happy days!

Churchill couldn't escape from being an Imperialist at heart, he was devoted to the notion of Empire (and all it represented). He did, however, often reveal - in domestic legislation - a progressive streak (Social Security, etc.) Shamefully, he wasn't too keen on the emanicipation of women. An amazingly complex guy who was very much of his time and certainly what was needed to thwart the Nazi hoards - yes, a great War leader. Greatest ever Britain ... on balance ... Yes!

Variety is the key I think. I agree with some posting here that a decent biography/autobiography can make a good read, the most inspiring I ever read was Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. Books like Michael Moore's Stupid Whitemen, and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins nourish the hungry mind but must be consumed as part of a balanced intake ('left' & 'right') if that mind is to develop well. I also like to read crime/political/law fiction - Tom Clancy's stuff for example (shallow, I know). I do think that some modern fiction can a 'hard going' - I hated Man & Boy by Tony Parsons, and as for Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, it was an 'easy-to-put-down' book.

Good food, fine ale, plenty of exercise, good books, all keep mind and body sharp for the battles against the Forces of Darkness. I also find a little Mandrax mixed with my pint sends me to the Land of Insight where I see strange creatures, sitting gross and mal-formed in a gloomy cave, bathed in the flickering glow of monitors. These strange creatures only link to reality is seen through these blinking glass eyes; the cave is devoid of any weighty tomes which, if read, might lead to a greater appreciation of the world outside. There is no Marx, Flaubert, Dickens, Wells, Zola, Solzhenitsyn, Tolkien, Balzac, Yeates, Shelley, Keats or half-a-hundred others; all we have are piles of sticky magazine pages.

Dave, Dave, Dave ... the tract was meant to be a metaphor (clumsy, maybe!) to explain how all healthy communities contain a diverse mixture of views and beliefs (however repellent some of those may be) - it was not to be taken literally.

A thousand apologies Ms Hair for not mentioning you ... how could I have missed you out? Your presence around the pond dazzles us all, your magnificent plumes and sweet, sweet call are a joy to behold.

Monsta dear boy ... Symptoms is always watching and waiting, watching and waiting!

Thank goodness the reference is to "monster's hideaway" and not our very own monsta's hideaway!

Pete - I remember they used to have bands playing in the upstairs concert room at the Market Place Club every week; the girls would do their stuff around their handbags on the dance square at the front and the lads would crowd the back of the room near the long bar swilling ale (I have a vague feeling that a pint might have been either 10d or 1 shilling & 10d - ???). I seem to think that it might well have been couples sitting at the tables being 'waited-on'. Funny how the evenings usually ended-up with a 'bundle', fists flying, the cops arriving and all being turfed out onto the street. There used to be a tanner entrance fee up the narrow staircase, although we used to avoid paying it by waiting for a crowd signing-in, slip into the bottom bar and get a pint, then slip past the old guy on the desk whilst pretending to be members (we were under-age so couldn't have cards). Worked every time.

Sitting in the sunshine, sipping my Pimms, and watching the wee beasties flitting around the water, I got to thinking that my garden pond was very much like this forum .... Mr threegee, the pond's custodian, had created a wonderful environment for all forms of wildlife to thrive and co-exist. There is the wise old owl (lets call him Joe) perched on an overhanging Maple bough wistfully surveying all below and dreaming of what the pond used to be like when he was a chick. Then there's the two graceful Grey Herons (perhaps we could call them Colonel and Symptoms) watching with beady-eye and razor-sharp beaks, water rippling arounds their feet, poised to feast on morsels drifting up from the dark depths below. A diverse range of other attractive creatures also share this place (missvic, Mrs Pencilneck and many others) contributing to the rich mix that makes this a beautiful spot to visit. There is, however, a dark side to this idyll; the menace that slithers through the primordial soup at the lowest reaches of this place. Barely formed creatures, monster-like in appearance, drag their wizened bodies through the slime, spewing foul odours and disgusting bile from their mouth parts. Much to their confusion, the graceful Herons occasionally see signs of ambition flickering within these the bitter and twisted forms. Could it be that a graceful Dragonfly will emerge and soar majestically on the wing, impressing all those who witness the start of a meaningful life of contribution and wisdom around the pond. The Herons hope so! Danger lurks however ... the metamorphosis into this dapperly uniformed creature could fail, it could mutate into a belligerent beast who readily attacks the occasional, brightly coloured migrants who visit the pond for respite. The horrors visited on the local creatures by these malevolent beasts fade when compared to what awaits the innocent creatures standing in the way of the September migration through Poland and beyond.

I love you Monsta - all is forgiven. All pretence of me being reasonable is abandoned when considering that filth from The Stadium of Sh*te.

Probably not true. Remember that most child abuse and murder is committed by family members or by those known to the victim - so there could be one in every street.

I remember having my first (under-age) pint in the Railway back in the late 60's - Vaux Gold Tankard - a vile mackem brew! At the time I couldn't understand why blokes liked to consume beer until I was introduced to the Blue Star stuff - Ex & Broon. Of course there was always Fed at the Market Place Club. Ah, happy days.

Clean & smart. The up-to-date look represents what Bedlington should be saying for itself - modern & confident! Good job threegee.