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update re the joistripper. I have spoken to phil joisce and this is the background. "My father produced a tool to enable him to save time when installing sliced bread plant at Proudlocks bakery in Ashington. All the bakeries agreed to introduce sliced bread at the same time but Rank launched early and many bakers, including Proudlocks ended up with van loads of bread unsold, as the saying goes "the best thing since sliced bread"! Proudlocks was one of the firms my father installed/maintained plant for, along with pop factories Waters & Robson in Morpeth and Muters at Bedlington Station, The Bedlington Glove Company (Rema I think they were called who made gloves for M&S etc) Aycroyd's shirt factory in Bedlington and many more. My father installed the slicing machinery AND designed equipment to join the new machinery to the existing production plant in 6 weeks, normal time was 3 months with 3 electricians and 4 apprentices. He managed to do it himself with only an apprentice to help. The time saving was made as a result of him speeding up the installation of the Mineral Insulated cable (Pyro) terminations using what was the forerunner of the Joistripper. Ironically it was a severe back injury sustained when lifting an industrial fridge with seven other workers at Proudlocks that ended his active career. He was forced to find a way of earning a living without lifting heavy items, working outside etc. He picked up his makeshift tool used for terminating MI cable and decided to turn it into something that could be sold to help other electricians in their work - the Joistripper! He never made a fortune, but maintained his independence and managed to bring me up. That is the brief history, I may enlarge at some point, but for a Bank Holiday Tuesday, that's the lot. I'd love to have something on my father on Wikipedia. He also designed and built the Joisce car, I still have the logbook (with Joisce as manufacturer) and many of the parts for the one he ran, one other was built for a good friend of the family, Rex Dixon, who owned Dixons Filling Station at Stannington (the one on the left as you travel South towards Newcastle on the A1)... Kind regards Philip" So Bedlington was home to another innovation!!

Thanks Eggy! I just caught up wi things noo,and hevn't seen these great pics, showing the air-raid shelters,where we played "Lops"! Thanks also ti Simon and Foxy for posting them. Brings back many happy memories of my childhood!

Philip was a friend of our family, and I'm sure did a fair bit of our industrial electrical work too. I can recall some humorous discussion about his cable stripper in the late 1950's or early 1960's, but never actually encountered one of them myself. This info regarding his injury explains a lot. Reg Dixon is another name that passed over my head as a child, along with Bill Orange, Bill Elliott, etc... It was a smaller world then.

Heh heh! Thanks Vic for the info on the Pyrotenax!,ye canna whack a bit o' rambling on man!,ye tuk me back a bit there,a can vividly remember working with the Sparky's deaing H.T. cable extensions,as faces advanced,from age 16 yrs on.....winding the dynamo Meggar handle for them as they they did the insulation [pin to earth,and pin to pin...three-phase] tests,and also continuity tests,even stripping back the armouring wires etc ready for putting the new ends on!Sometimes pitwark was a little bit interesting! Pilgrim,When me Wife hurt her back at work,and Paracetomols didn't have any effect,[20 years ago],Dr Carr did private treatment by "cracking"her back! He had her arm behind her back,one leg bent up,lying on the couch,his arm behind and through the space between her arm and her back,and forced her spine to twist,mekking the most horrible cracking sounds....a thought he would break her back altogether,whey,he didn't,and it didn't work,over a 4-weekly session period,it cost £200 then,[20 yrs ago!!],which was paid for from the one and only lottery win she had before she realised [upon my advice],that gambling is a mug's game..... When a worked for Ray Carlisle,mekking sliding mirror door bedroom furniture,kitchens etc,a made the business plaque for his Solicitor Son,which I fitted on the outside of the business premises,in Blyth,was that Son the one you mentioned above? Jack White,[who we at the High pit called "Bet" or "Beth" after his Dad,who also worked at the pit],was a great friendly character,very well-liked by everybody,he was just one of them sort of characters who naebody could dislike.I got on very well with him. If he has a memory like me,then he will remember young Wilma who was on transport with John Dickinson,and John Wardlow,before being face-trained and going on coal-filling.[cos everybody in the pit knew Wilma,in them days,due ti the nature of my job....I went into every part of the pit,and knew all the men on every face.] I remember his bike,Walter Gobin also had a Triumph,[ T110],so did big Harvey Tilbury,we had some great characters at that pit! Give Jack my regards please! Ye fill me up taaking aboot Cathy Secker,we listened to her on Sundays for years,and she used ti answer the phone during playback,ti tek dedications,if Michael wasn't aroond ti tek calls,and she was the most likeable natured lass ti taak ti,nae rush,and would read oot exactly what ye requested,cos a did a few requests for me Wife's Birthdays,wor Anniversary etc.We were shocked when she died.R.I.P. Cathy.