Old Photos of Bedlington

[tonyg]

Trustee Savings Bank now Bedlington Community Centre

[Brett]

Has that annex you can see in the image been replaced with what is now the new porch?

Edit: It would appear so.

[James]

The TSB was on the ground floor.

The top floor was the 'chute' (the Dr Pit Mechanics Welfare Institute). It had 3 billiard tables, a small library and a caretaker who ran the 'chute' with a firm hand and was quick to throw you out if you were misbehaving in any way. Can anyone remember his name?

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Heh heh!
Teks me back ti wen a wus a skittering yung ched wi a snotty beak!

Me best mate,[who aav just gettn bak in touch with after 50 years exile in S.Wales.....through this forum!!],who is Welshconnect,tuk me up ti thi "Chute",one day,when we were aboot 14 yrs aad,cos he was gaana hae a game o' billiards.

Whey aa waasn't interessent in owt like that or sports of any kind!

Aa just waanted ti clart on wi electricity...and transformers...mekkin high voltage carbon arc devices,and clartin aboot wi aad wirelesses..[pre-war monsters they were!]

So,anywheh,we went up ti thi 'chute,[which completely baffled me cos aa thowt a chute was waat they teemed coal doal doon,inti thi ships at thi blyth docks!!]

Jim paid for a game o' billiards,and gie me a bent bit o' dowellin,queer-shaped,wi a felt tip,and a little cube o' blue chaak.

He telt 'is ti rub thi chaak owa thi tip of thi stick,and gie him thi chaak afta aa was dyun.....which aa did.....[sumwat bemused,and a thowt he was windin' me aboot thi chaak!]

He tuk forst shot,hit a baal,and sed it was my torn.

So,aa tuk a shot and did an Inspector Clouseau on thi luvly green material on thi tyeble......whey ,nearly,but didn't rip it....mind not far away!

Jim was laffin he's heed off at me antics,cos it ownly med me mair narvis aboot rippin' it on ivry shot a tuk!

A sed Jim,aal stick ti fiddling aboot wi rectifier valves and double-diodes....and thi like!!

Efta that,a used ti just waatch him and he's otha mates playin,and just cudn't see thi point in this queer "game"!!

Naa,aam not a sporty porsin at aal,guitars motorbikes,and me wee black Jess,are my kind of sanity-savers!....oh!,and Percy,me tame[?!!!!],disabled Herring gull!

Been wi me and me family fo' three years noo,since just oot thi nest,moulted three years,and noo a fine young whipper-snapper..comical ti watch at close-quarters,like when yi hing thi weshin' oot on thi line,and he needs he's bait,an he cums aback o' yi n tries ti pull ya shoe off from behind,or yanks at ya jeans again from

ahent yi,ti let yi knaa he's hungry!!

Aye, a must be  crackers!

..........gaanain off-topic again Wilma!!!!!!

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Welshie!!,are yi in there?,howweh,tell ya stories aboot thi 'chute!

Oh,a just thowt,me otha young mate used ti tek me up wen thi bird shows were on,and aa wudda ownly been aboot 11yrs aad then.[1954-5..ish]

A can mind seein millions of cages lined up,and stacked on top of each utha,wi gowldies,greenies,canaries,budgies,and aal sorts of utha bords aal chirpin and cheepin tha little hearts oot.

A used ti wunda hoo anybody cud judge the contest,and pick a winner,cos they were aal beautiful little wee'uns,in my eyes!

Can anybody mind o' the bord shows?

Wud it be allowed nooadays wi H n S ..?

[mercuryg]

On 14/01/2016 at 01:27, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

Welshie!!,are yi in there?,howweh,tell ya stories aboot thi 'chute!

Oh,a just thowt,me otha young mate used ti tek me up wen thi bird shows were on,and aa wudda ownly been aboot 11yrs aad then.[1954-5..ish]

A can mind seein millions of cages lined up,and stacked on top of each utha,wi gowldies,greenies,canaries,budgies,and aal sorts of utha bords aal chirpin and cheepin tha little hearts oot.

A used ti wunda hoo anybody cud judge the contest,and pick a winner,cos they were aal beautiful little wee'uns,in my eyes!

Can anybody mind o' the bord shows?

Wud it be allowed nooadays wi H n S ..?

HPW, I recall attending a bird show as described not too many years ago - within the last 15 - in Bedlington, can't for the life of me remember where it was! Your hering gull sounds like a fun fella!

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Hi Merc!

I can write mair stories aboot Percy,than a hev aboot me mining experiences on this site!

It's mair fun watching his antics than waatchin owt on thi telly!!

He can be pecking aroond at thi bottom of thi garden,as this morning answers,and as soon as a show me ugly mug in the conservatory windae,he stretches he's

neck,curious-like,aal oppen thi glass door,shoot oot ti him..."Porcy,howweh get ya bait....!",and he cums up thi garden like a hare,wi he's gud wing flapping like hell,and he's otha wing at right-angles,cos it's deformed at thi elbow,and he canna stryten it oot.

It hasn't been brokken,he was born like that,so will nivvor fly,and they can live up to 35 years.....so at my age,aal be getting a telegram from the queen....[or King?!]

if a live lang enuff!,and he will be doon wi me at thi palace ti get wa medals....!!!!

Aav got hoors and hoors of video of him splashing furiously in he's bath,playing wi aal he's toys..........

Little Black Jess,me little darlin',is frightened noo ti gaan doon thi garden on her aan,unless aa gaan doon wi her,and aav gotta chase Porcy up thi garden, oot thi way!!

T'otha mornin Jess went ti sniff at some scrambled eggs [oota date...]wat was Porcy's bait.

He was up agyen wor hoose windae where he perches aal thi time.

He got he's eye on Jess at his bait,what he wasn't interested in afore this,cos he had eaten he's fill......

Next thing aa knew was...he came doon thi garden like a rocket wi he's wings mekkin a breeze in the still air,and he's viscious beak snappin oppen and shut....

and he went stryt for poor little Jess's tail.....whey she was terrified and a had ti play wi her ti calm her doon!

In the summertime,they both lie in the garden,in the sun...he gets up and starts playin' wi he's aad spongy baal,carrying it aroond and dropping it in he's bath,and mekkin it float aroond....he's incredible man..!

This is a different bird ti what ye see at thi harbours....they are striving ti survive,Porcy's been hand reared, from just oot thi nest at Killingworth lake,where he was rescued three years ago by a gud samaritan,and handed ti Jon who runs the Blyth Wildlife Trust.

Jon asked me if a cud give him a home,after I released four other gulls at different times from him.

He did say mind,Bill,it's a lang commitment,and needs a lot of dedication,but see hoo yi get on and keep me informed of he's progress.

Whey,after three full successfull moults,owa the last three years,he's the loveliest looking herring gull ye'll ever see!!

We've been feeding him on tins of budget dog food,aboot 1 tin every three days,as well as scrambled eggs,fat off any meats I cook,seeds etc,and whatever he feeds off naturally.

Aav twice seen him swallow mice whole sale,seen thi little tail gaan doon last...!!

Aav got video of him chasing a rat oot thi garden like he did wi Jess,and he's beak snapping like hell!

Nae wonder the herring gull has no predators![Google "Herring Gull!]

One day aa was watching him oot thi big patio windae,[floor ti roof,so a gud view of aal thi garden.]

He was on he's favourite perching stone on me little stream,three feet away from me at thi otha side of the glass.

A hord a screech,and in a split-second the sparrow-haak came in like a rocket.....40 mph,straight doon at Porcy........aa was mesmerised!

He stopped short and landed in front of Porcy[Percy....ahem!],aboot three feet away,and spread he's wings and flashed he's teeth menacingly at wor poor little bord,thinkin' he was onti a gud dinner!!

He backed a losser!!

Porcy spread HIS wings,aal four feet span nearly,not quite cos he is disabled,and snapped he's beak wide open and started screeching like hell,then lurched at the hawk,and chased him doon thi garden.

Thi hawk flew up onti the high fence,6 feet up,and kept squawking,Porcy canna fly otha than a couple of feet up off thi grund,but he boonced up and doon screeching like hell,till thi hawk flew away!!

This has happened three times that aav seen close up,and aav nivvor seen thi hawk back in the last couple of years.[a regretted not having me camera handy like a usually dae!!]

He leaves aal thi little birds alone,but chases aal thi big rooks and jackdaws and magpies oot thi garden aal thi time!!

Me neighbours cat slinks doon thi bottom of thi garden,under the bushes,wide-eyed,and meks a fast bee-line for thi other side and oot!!...and that's nearly every day!

When he waaks inti the kitchen for a leisurely stroll,like an aad hen,he sqwaaks lood as hell as soon as he sees wor lass, cos he thinks he's ganna get an apple gook,which he usually does!

He doesn't eat the gook,he only gaans for the apple pips,which must be like caviar ti him!

Thi behavior wi aal thi animals and otha birds will happen every day in thi wild,unnoticed by humans,but it's fascinating ti watch from a few feet away,in ya aan garden,which Porcy has claimed as HIS territory,naturally.

In the summer,when we sit oot in thi garden,for a cuppa,he cums owa and drops doon in front of wor feet,like a little duck sitting there,watching ye..and if thi nybors hear me Wife and me taakin away ti him,and little black Jess,wor Labrador /cross,they'll think we are both crackers!!

Ye only get confidence from bords and animals by taaking ti them aal the time.....it's voice vibrations that coont,not the pitmatic twang!!

.....

IMGP8387[INQUISITIVE PERCY!].AVI

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

That was when he was still only aboot a year old or more..with his little black beak....you wanna see hoo big he's gob is noo!!

He swallows whole fish like it wud be an impossibility to get it doon,but he oppens he's gape,....... a tennis baal wud gaan doon it!!Here he is noo!

Off-topic again....a get carried away....hoo dae a start me aan thread ti keep it fair?

Cheers for putting up wi me , folks!!

[Merc!!ye wad set me away!!]

IMGP9665.AVI

[Canny lass]

I WANT ONE!

[Canny lass]

Lovely garden, HPW. Percy must Think he's arrived in Paradise!

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Heh heh!

Thanks Canny Lass!

It's not easy mind,he has ti have he's bathwater changed almost every day,sumtimes twice a day when he moults,and also when he pollutes it with bread thrown for thi other birds,and fish particles etc.

If he's water isn't clean,he won't go in to bathe,which he has to,being a seabird,several times daily.

Thi first two years of being a juvenile,I had to put him away in a big dog cage at nights,lined with straw which Dave,the farmer just across from me,let me take oot his fields after the corn was taken in,I filled several bin-liners with the dry straw,and it lasts all winter,having to change the straw bedding every two or three days.

I used to put the security light on,aboot midnight,say quietly to him...."Howweh Porcy,it's bed-time..",and he used ti toddle away in front of me and hop inti his cage nae bother,[after initial period of guidance and patient training!]

A had a cover owa his cage aal sides and front,wi plenty ventilation,in case Foxy came in and terrorised him,but that never happened.

A didn't knaa then,that Herring Gulls have no direct predators,other than when they are in the egg,or just hatched.

Even then,it's the Black-backed gull which predates the nest,but not the Adults.

This year,a took his cage away,in the spring-time,ti see hoo he wud fare up,and he just perches on the stream stones reet ootside me big patio windae,aboot three feet away from the glass.

Thi minute a show me face in thi morning,he struts across ti thi conservatory door and pecks on thi glass repeatedly ti tell yi that he is famished!![a tin of cheap Sardines in tomatoe sauce noo and again,as a treat,meks ye he's friend for life!!...he LOVES them!]

He is a fully-grown adult noo,and me Wife thinks he is a lot bigger than the wild ones at the lakesides,due to being fed and not getting flying excercise.

He does try and fly aroond the garden for a few minutes at a time,flaps his wings furiously,mekking his feathers fly oot!,and then rests for a while,in between playing inquisitively with bits of sticks and he's stotty baal etc!!

It takes a lot of dedication,but it is worth it to know he was saved from certain death if he had been left to fend for himself.

When he is really hungry,and I am hanging washing on thi line first before feeding him,he comes across and pecks at my shoes from behind,and pulls at my jeans around me ankles....I have ti watch him like a hawk,cos I am on Warfarin,and cannot afford ti risk being punctured by his strong beak......seeing as he can pulverise a 2lb Codling's bony head in two minutes flat,by stabbing repeatledly like a woodpecker at it!!

He was on Radio Newcastle Jonathan Miles breakfast show,a couple of years back!!

That's another lang story!