Anyone With Anything To Do With Horses In Bedlington...

[Ms Hair]

Apologies for the earlier Victor Meldrew style rant. I have chilled out a bit more now. However I still think horse owners should be made to clean up the giant messes their horses make on our roads and footpaths.

[threegee]

Isn't it a traditional right, like grazing your sheep on common land? Horses still have priorty on the road.

Why change something that's so quaint and works? Too much namby-pamby hygene these days, and not enough where it actualy matters (hospitals!).

In former times there would have been a race between allotment/garden owners to provide the service quite FOC. Nowadays, I suppose, they burn a gallon of petrol to go to a garden center to pay big bucks for a bag of the stuff (c/w plastic wrappings of course)!

[Joe Rooney]

Isn't it a traditional right, like grazing your sheep on common land? Horses still have priorty on the road.

Why change something that's so quaint and works? Too much namby-pamby hygene these days, and not enough where it actualy matters (hospitals!).

In former times there would have been a race between allotment/garden owners to provide the service quite FOC. Nowadays, I suppose, they burn a gallon of petrol to go to a garden center to pay big bucks for a bag of the stuff (c/w plastic wrappings of course)!

Before (And during the war. Yes, that war, the one with a number on it!) All the kids used to get a bucket from their dad, and go out on Saturdays, or nights, searching for the tracks of passing horses, and scoop it up to take back to the garden, or allotment to add to the pile.

The Furnace bank was a particularly good spot for scooping. The side bank road that ran Wast from just below the brow of the hill up to to the road to Bedlington was often used by the carters since it was a little less steep, and it was in the process of straining to pull the wagons up this hill that the smelly but valuable rewards were left for the early risers. You could not sleep in on Saturday if you wanted to stay on Dad's good side.

My dad, had a garden just down the Furnace bank, below the housing and on the left on the North side of the river Blyth, below the weir. It was a nice little garden. Good soil, its own spring water. And it was here that we grew a lot of the vegetables for the family. And of course, two small plots, one for my mothers flowers, and the other for dad's show leeks. Nobody would have thought of growing just vegetables. There had to be flowers, and they were something to see, and great to take home. You always knew that mum would have something special. And leeks were often the only outlet for any sort of creative endeavour for the men. Leeks were serious business, and often displaced football as a source of enjoyable crack.

Good times, hard times. All gone, and with them the men and women who made us the people we are today. I wonder what they would think of a Bedlington where too many healthy young people would find their recreation in stuffing god knows what drugs down their throats. Or happily accepting welfare instead of work . Thats why so many of us had to leave. We went to find what work we could, to help the family we left behind.

Todays Bedlington sounds like a fractured place. Strangers move in to buy houses we could neve have dreamed of. They sleep here, and get in their cars, and ride off to Newcastle or wherever, coming home at night to watch TV, sleep again , and repeat the process. But do they even want to join the community they sleep in.

It is not surprising that pride and sense of community is waning. All I seem to hear is whats in it for me, and why doesn't someone do something about it.

Well friends, the people who in the past might have tried, (With whatever success!) are old, emigrated, or dead. And you are all that is left. Its your Bedlington now, and you do what you can with what you have got, or continue bemoaning what you want out of life while belittling the efforts of those people in Bedlington, (And there are many of them who still put care and effort ahead of whining ).

So, you can continue with puerile postings about how much more beer you want to drink, or questionable and tasteless attempts at humour. Or perhaps, get off your individual and collective butts, and actually do something for your town. You are all that is left of a very strong and proud people. They didn't have much, nor did they expect it. But they were proud of themselves, painfully blunt but honest. The standards of hyigene were abyssmal, and many of them spent their entire life in Bedlington without interior running water or electricity.

Ask them about local standards, and they would be appalled to think that perfectly good manure would be left to be collected by the council, when any self respecting kid should be out there helping his family, and his community. But that would probably get in the way of never ending computer games, and TV.

It is my deepest regret that I lost all of my friends and family, and more importantly my place in the Geordie community when I left to find a better life for my family and I. I did find that better life, and I am extremely proud of the children and grandchildren who more than met our expectations of a better future.

But reading this journal has left me agreeing with the statement posted earlier. People say more, but mean less. (Or something like that!)

Bedlington would probably be a great disappointment to me, were I living there now. And that is very sad. It was always a place of community, faith, honesty, and belief in work and sharing. What in the name of god is it now. Do the majority of people believe in this shallow cynical, "Me first and last" attitude.

Or do the thoughtful intelligent caring people stay off this site to avoid exposing themselves to anonymous ridicule for daring to think like members of the community that their ancestors made into Bedlington.

In the words of one of our more intelligent young women members, "The rant ends here."

Regards, Joe Rooney

[Hamburger Pimp]

Joe Rooney is right.

They should get small children to clear up the horse droppings.

He's probably right about the "this town got no soul, modern folk are no-goodniks" thing too.

Good to have you back, JR.

[Dave]

Great post JR (might be a bit long for some of the members to get through like) I agree ..people complaining about not having their rubbish cleaned up more often .. whats that about .. i mean its your fu*king rubbish !! Its the by product of years of " Progress " .. mollycodderling everything for nothing lifestyles. Well we're all for a big shock if you want my opinion . I think JR should get a column with the Leader... all in favour say Aye!

[Sw@lnalla]

Todays Bedlington sounds like a fractured place. Strangers move in to buy houses we could neve have dreamed of. They sleep here, and get in their cars, and ride off to Newcastle or wherever, coming home at night to watch TV, sleep again , and repeat the process. But do they even want to join the community they sleep in.

It is not surprising that pride and sense of community is waning. All I seem to hear is whats in it for me, and why doesn't someone do something about it.

Regards, Joe Rooney

You don't know the half of it Joe, according to the 'Council' Bedlington is now classified as a deprived area, litter and !*!@# are a major problem and also many complaints about rats. CK's uncaring and cynical attitutude is probably typical of the town now.

[Denzel]

Apologies for the earlier Victor Meldrew style rant. I have chilled out a bit more now. However I still think horse owners should be made to clean up the giant messes their horses make on our roads and footpaths.

If horses are on the road they should pay roadtax. And don't come bleating to me when 'Poppy' or some other equine is flattened by an Eddie Stobart wagon.

Sod horses, they stink of poo.

Rant over.

[normaL]

If horses are on the road they should pay roadtax. And don't come bleating to me when 'Poppy' or some other equine is flattened by an Eddie Stobart wagon.

Sod horses, they stink of poo.

Rant over.

your a sad man ?

[Ms Hair]

For once I agree with Denzel. They are only good for one thing.. that's betting on.

[Guest missvic]

i don't really mind the odd clippedy clop going past me window, the fluorescent jackets they wear arent that offensive and even the mess they leave... well, it's just nature... i do get annoyed, however, when riding schools take out 20 or 30 kid with little experience out on the roads, its both dangerous to them and to me... twice in the last 5 years have i had car encounters with mad horses trying to jump on me bonnet, if they were rotweilers they would be put down...

oh, and as i like a bit of nostalgia, i believe theres a a plaque down in the woods at the bottom of furnace bank, its unreadable, but i found that its there in memory of a man who's horse pulled him (attached to his cart) to his death in the river... horses have always been a bit mental, the case is proven... it's not all fertilizer and rag and bone men...

[Denzel]

your a sad man ?

Learn the correct use of English and I'll take your opinion seriously.

[normaL]

Learn the correct use of English and I'll take your opinion seriously.

sorry .... you're a sad man it is usually the car driver at fault, driving too close or revving the engine when passing horses

[Dave]

Learn the correct use of English and I'll take your opinion seriously.

Don't mess with Denzil he sounds rock hard ! And i've got the feeling he only takes his opinions seriously

so don't be upset. Plus he spouts more !*!@# than any horse ive ever eaten.

[normaL]

Don't mess with Denzil he sounds rock hard ! And i've got the feeling he only takes his opinions seriously

so don't be upset. Plus he spouts more !*!@# than any horse ive ever eaten.

good one

[Pencil_Neck]

sorry .... you're a sad man it is usually the car driver at fault, driving too close or revving the engine when passing horses

I need some glue......

Great post JR (might be a bit long for some of the members to get through like) I agree ..people complaining about not having their rubbish cleaned up more often .. whats that about .. i mean its your fu*king rubbish !! Its the by product of years of " Progress " .. mollycodderling everything for nothing lifestyles. Well we're all for a big shock if you want my opinion . I think JR should get a column with the Leader... all in favour say Aye!

I'll get back to you on that one.........

[Joe Rooney]

Joe Rooney is right.

They should get small children to clear up the horse droppings.

He's probably right about the "this town got no soul, modern folk are no-goodniks" thing too.

Good to have you back, JR.

Hi CK,

I did not suggest that small children be sent out gathering manure. God knows what would happen to them in todays traffic, But kids in groups aged from about six to early teens did do this on a regular basis, most of these same kids then went on to work at age 14.And this , as in many other circumstances was of help to their families in the days when kids, and parents seemed to have had a much more pronounced expectation of mutual help, to and from each other.

Nor did I wish to imply that todays citizens are all worthless. There are far too many worthless people in modern society who expect much, and give as little as possible ,unless society forces more from them. And this is the root cause of much of our present day societal dysfunction.

If you bring up your kids with an unchecked sense of entitlement to everything their avaricious little hearts could wish for, from an out of control welfare state, then, in a few years you have a large portion of adults who see the state as what you neatly call the"Nanny" state. There are far too many adults and parents who live with their hands out, but in my naievete. I would hope that this is still the minority, albeit a significant one.

As to the lack of courtesey, this was succinctly covered in a private email which I received shortly after my

posting appeared. The sender, whom I shall keep anonymous for the sake of his or her privacy, had some experience with this site where simple, everyday, comments were ridiculed and made the butt of offensive attemps at humour in several of the replies.

As this person states, and I know of from recent personal experiences, there are several local sites in the UK and elsewhere who treat all posts with the courtesey and respect which we all expect, but don't always receive. For many of us, in the UK or throughout the world, this site and others like it, is a welcome and social connection with home, or the home of our ancestors. I refuse to believe that the majority of members are in agreement with having a small minority greet visitors with contempt, and cheap sneers.

In my reply to this person, I simply stated my opinion that this over vocal minority do offence to the visitor, and bring shame to the image of Bedlington. I finished by expressing my opinion that this site will die of abuse, or will renew itself when the fair minded majority get off their collective butts, and express their personal distaste for this disgraceful behaviour.

If we don't make it plain that this is not the Bedlington spirit we expect, then the scum will win, and this site will be just another waste of time and interest.

We all have better things to do than continue reading the rantings of a few foul mouthed anonymous bullies. Surely they have more to do than glorify beer, pizza, and sexual innuendo, while belittling the thoughts and opinions of other members.

If this site dies, then we killed it. We never stated our opposition to mediocrity. So that is what we will get.

Too Bad!

Joe Rooney

[Denzel]

sorry .... you're a sad man it is usually the car driver at fault, driving too close or revving the engine when passing horses

I beg to differ - why should Dobbin be allowed to use a public highway when he doesn't have a tax-disc? And to say it's usually the car driver at fault is a fallacy. On numerous occasions you'll see a large group of horses and often very young riders on carriageways that are completely unsuitable; an animal that is easily spooked shouldn't be in a situation where the X31 is tearing past it a matter of metres away.

[Pencil_Neck]

Hi CK,

I did not suggest that small children be sent out gathering manure. God knows what would happen to them in todays traffic, But kids in groups aged from about six to early teens did do this on a regular basis, most of these same kids then went on to work at age 14.And this , as in many other circumstances was of help to their families in the days when kids, and parents seemed to have had a much more pronounced expectation of mutual help, to and from each other.

Nor did I wish to imply that todays citizens are all worthless. There are far too many worthless people in modern society who expect much, and give as little as possible ,unless society forces more from them. And this is the root cause of much of our present day societal dysfunction.

If you bring up your kids with an unchecked sense of entitlement to everything their avaricious little hearts could wish for, from an out of control welfare state, then, in a few years you have a large portion of adults who see the state as what you neatly call the"Nanny" state. There are far too many adults and parents who live with their hands out, but in my naievete. I would hope that this is still the minority, albeit a significant one.

As to the lack of courtesey, this was succinctly covered in a private email which I received shortly after my

posting appeared. The sender, whom I shall keep anonymous for the sake of his or her privacy, had some experience with this site where simple, everyday, comments were ridiculed and made the butt of offensive attemps at humour in several of the replies.

As this person states, and I know of from recent personal experiences, there are several local sites in the UK and elsewhere who treat all posts with the courtesey and respect which we all expect, but don't always receive. For many of us, in the UK or throughout the world, this site and others like it, is a welcome and social connection with home, or the home of our ancestors. I refuse to believe that the majority of members are in agreement with having a small minority greet visitors with contempt, and cheap sneers.

In my reply to this person, I simply stated my opinion that this over vocal minority do offence to the visitor, and bring shame to the image of Bedlington. I finished by expressing my opinion that this site will die of abuse, or will renew itself when the fair minded majority get off their collective butts, and express their personal distaste for this disgraceful behaviour.

If we don't make it plain that this is not the Bedlington spirit we expect, then the scum will win, and this site will be just another waste of time and interest.

We all have better things to do than continue reading the rantings of a few foul mouthed anonymous bullies. Surely they have more to do than glorify beer, pizza, and sexual innuendo, while belittling the thoughts and opinions of other members.

If this site dies, then we killed it. We never stated our opposition to mediocrity. So that is what we will get.

Too Bad!

Joe Rooney

Indeed, I don't see many swearing in this fourm. All of the above is glorified to the max by society, we're

simply following Blyth......I've got my nose ring in....lead on sir

[Sw@lnalla]

Hi CK,

If we don't make it plain that this is not the Bedlington spirit we expect, then the scum will win, and this site will be just another waste of time and interest.

If this site dies, then we killed it. We never stated our opposition to mediocrity. So that is what we will get.

Too Bad!

Joe Rooney

Well said Joe, I wish I could express myself as well as you. I remember. the disgusting few who destroyed tthe original forum, maybe they are still at it? Do you remember the disrespect on this topic Joe?

[Denzel]

Well said Joe, I wish I could express myself as well as you. I remember. the disgusting few who destroyed tthe original forum, maybe they are still at it? Do you remember the disrespect on this topic Joe?

Halcyon days!

[Guest missvic]

Well said Joe, I wish I could express myself as well as you. I remember. the disgusting few who destroyed tthe original forum, maybe they are still at it? Do you remember the disrespect on this topic Joe?

"god gave us life so that we could take sweets off strange men in big cars and get driven to the woods to stroke non-existent puppies" was always my favourite half man half biscuit lyric

[threegee]

I remember the disgusting few who destroyed tthe original forum...

None of that ****ing four letter stuff on my watch!

[BarLassofBedlington]

Well I have to say that I have rode horses since I was 3 years of age, now nearly 21 and I would never dream of taking a horse on the roads that is not 100% bombproof on the roads(in horsey terms it means that if u cud drop a bomb at its feet and it blew,the horse would not move a muscle).Not just for our safety but for other road users as well.

I dont see why people pick on horses when they are very useful animals. many years ago before cars were invented horses were used for many things to help us humans out so dont see why everyone is so negative about them now.

The thing about the poo is, if we had bridleways that we could use instead of having to use roads and share pathways with everyone then we would. The council say they are bridleways but when you go to the entrance to them you cant get down, I nearly had two accidents last summer with my horse at Plessey woods. I followed the signs for this bridleway and went down nxt to the river there was river on one side of me and a hill on the other, the bridleway started getting smaller and smaller and my horse slipped onto the hill and I went flying into the fence that was next to the river. I was by myself with my horse at the time so god knows what would have happened if I had fallen. 2nd was when me and a friend went down a different track at Plessey, next to the river again started following the trail when we came to some steps that went down then back up, clearly NOT A BRIDLEWAY!!!!

Another place is Humford Woods if you follow the signs for the bridleway you can only go so far then you have to turn back, even though the signs tell you to keep going, theres barbed wire that stops you

So the moral of the story is horses poo wherever coz theres no bridleways for us and that why we need to use paths or roads!!!!

[Dave]

Well I have to say that I have rode horses since I was 3 years of age, now nearly 21 and I would never dream of taking a horse on the roads that is not 100% bombproof on the roads(in horsey terms it means that if u cud drop a bomb at its feet and it blew,the horse would not move a muscle).Not just for our safety but for other road users as well.

I dont see why people pick on horses when they are very useful animals. many years ago before cars were invented horses were used for many things to help us humans out so dont see why everyone is so negative about them now.

The thing about the poo is, if we had bridleways that we could use instead of having to use roads and share pathways with everyone then we would. The council say they are bridleways but when you go to the entrance to them you cant get down, I nearly had two accidents last summer with my horse at Plessey woods. I followed the signs for this bridleway and went down nxt to the river there was river on one side of me and a hill on the other, the bridleway started getting smaller and smaller and my horse slipped onto the hill and I went flying into the fence that was next to the river. I was by myself with my horse at the time so god knows what would have happened if I had fallen. 2nd was when me and a friend went down a different track at Plessey, next to the river again started following the trail when we came to some steps that went down then back up, clearly NOT A BRIDLEWAY!!!!

Another place is Humford Woods if you follow the signs for the bridleway you can only go so far then you have to turn back, even though the signs tell you to keep going, theres barbed wire that stops you

So the moral of the story is horses poo wherever coz theres no bridleways for us and that why we need to use paths or roads!!!!

great

[Denzel]

Well I have to say that I have rode horses since I was 3 years of age, now nearly 21 and I would never dream of taking a horse on the roads that is not 100% bombproof on the roads(in horsey terms it means that if u cud drop a bomb at its feet and it blew,the horse would not move a muscle).Not just for our safety but for other road users as well.

I dont see why people pick on horses when they are very useful animals. many years ago before cars were invented horses were used for many things to help us humans out so dont see why everyone is so negative about them now.

The thing about the poo is, if we had bridleways that we could use instead of having to use roads and share pathways with everyone then we would. The council say they are bridleways but when you go to the entrance to them you cant get down, I nearly had two accidents last summer with my horse at Plessey woods. I followed the signs for this bridleway and went down nxt to the river there was river on one side of me and a hill on the other, the bridleway started getting smaller and smaller and my horse slipped onto the hill and I went flying into the fence that was next to the river. I was by myself with my horse at the time so god knows what would have happened if I had fallen. 2nd was when me and a friend went down a different track at Plessey, next to the river again started following the trail when we came to some steps that went down then back up, clearly NOT A BRIDLEWAY!!!!

Another place is Humford Woods if you follow the signs for the bridleway you can only go so far then you have to turn back, even though the signs tell you to keep going, theres barbed wire that stops you

So the moral of the story is horses poo wherever coz theres no bridleways for us and that why we need to use paths or roads!!!!

Just gallop round a field then!