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@HIGH PIT WILMA Gan on as much as ya like marra Unfortunately, like many others we knew, Norman died of throat cancer about 20 years ago. Why I have the photo of Norman and Jas, along with a few others of Bedlington lads from the 1960's, is that that three of us had a 50 year reunion last Friday and Jas brought some old photos that he just collected from his cousin that still lives i Bedlington Station - Jas has lived abroad, a village near Malaga for 20 years. Jas came over to England, for 3 days, as he had a meeting with a company in Edinburgh. Stayed at his cousins on arrival - Edinburgh all day the next day and then came over to see me in Seghill on the Friday. As he didn't have transport Ovalteeny picked him up and they came across to my house. So what we had in our house was three lads that left Bedlington - Jas Dec 1968, Me & Ovalteeny January 1969 that headed for the London high life - sex, drugs, flower power etc. Fortunately there were already other Bedlington folk in the capital so there were a few that understood what we were saying. After many adventures - even sat around Eros (The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain surmounted by a winged statue of Anteros, located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus) spreading peace to the world! We weren't really hippies but in the summer it was a good place, and a good crowd, to hang out with. After about a year we had all moved on through different employment and last Friday was the first time in almost 50 years that the three of us had been back together. The three of us sat around my Rise & Recline chair, both reminiscing and looking forward. So that brief (but for me gannin on quite a bit) ramble above leads me to another photo Jas produced of another 'mate of ours that you may remember from the 'A' pit - Davey Bower - a lad of short stature, bowed legs but was admired by what he swung around in the pit baths. Jas & Davey (on the left) c1967

Hi Alan!...wheor dae a start?!! Forst off..big thanks for posting this one....gives me a blast from thi past! Aa started thi Aad Pit in 1965,and a got ti knaa a whole bunch of canny youngins,of which Norman was one of the canniest you ever wish ti meet..not just canny,but a really affectionate warmth aboot him. Aa was ownly 21 mesell' but a was face-trained and had been coalfilling ,coalcutting,and everything in between,at the High Pit..[cos that pit management sent the youngin's for face training as soon as they came of age,whereas the aad pit lads didn't get trained till they were in their mid-twenties! Enywheh!As time went by a got ti knaa Norman's family,"Thi Hillsies"..ie Bob Hills and Billy Hills,both coalcuttermen at thi Aad Pit,and Norman Hills,cutterman also,but worked at Bates Pit....my problem noo is,a canna mind which one was young Norman's aad chep!! A can mind that Aad Norman used ti tek a moothie ti work in he's bait bag,and play it owa the "DACS"..[Coalface tannoy system..],so the whole pit,reet up ti thi Control Centre on thi surface,used ti hear Norman playing "Lily thi Pink"...and other songs as gud as Stevie Wonder might have done!!...anybody else might have had ti gaa ti thi Manager's office,but ivrybody knew Norman,and he didn't dae that ivry day,usually aboot this time of year..."White Christmas" ...and aal that,so ivrybody used ti shout owa the DACS..."Howeh Norman,gie wi anotha one."![usually when the shearer was on a shearing run and things were "Quiet",in mining terms! Aav nivvor seen young Norman for a lot of yeors,wonder hoo he is getting on...[Oh!....a "Moothie"..is a slang term for a Mouth Organ..!] Your query aboot the Shafts,Alan..!...thi Aad Pit was a weird set-up..The "Smallest" Headgear,[on the left..] was the deepest and widest shaft,cos it ran both cages conventionally in the same shaft. The shaft was 900 feet deep,and and the lowest seam was the "Harvey",at anything from 1 foot 10 inches high,varying up to 2 feet and 2 inches high.[They drifted down to the "Denton Low Main" seam not long before the Pit closed in 1971.] A think they worked aboot twenty seams from that shaft,over the 145-or so-years of the Pit's life. Noo,the "biggest" Headgear ,[on the right] was that size,because each cage had it's own shaft,sunk adjacent to each other,for some wierd reason which aa canna fathom oot![unless Geological conditions meant it had ti be that way.]...this set-up was referred to as "The Little Pit",and the "Harvey" shaft was referred to as .."The Big Pit". The Little Pit was sunk down to the "Main Coal" seam,when a started,although it might have been down to a deeper level in the old days,and may have had a false "Sump",at the level it was when Aa started.[The Sump was generally at the shaft bottom,below the level where the cage would come to rest,to change tubs,and was a collection point for all of the minewater pumped from all over the pit...Where huge shaft pumps pumped all the water up the shaft and out to what we called.."The Pit Ponds"...settling chambers to allow all the silt to settle out.] The "Banksmen", on the Heapstead",at the surface,and the "Onsetter's" at the shaft bottom,used ti walk a million miles a day,to load and unload each cage in turn,even though the shafts were only a few yards apart![as opposed to a normal set-up where they would only have to step a few feet from one cage to the other.[daily average..winding aboot 25-30 score of tubs a shift....i.e. 25 x 20 or 30 x 20...one score=20 tubs] So the two headgears had three shafts between them! Ye canna see from this angle,but if ye check oot any pics in thi gallery,showing the Headgears fully sideways on,ye wud see hoo the big headgear has the two cage wheels offset,and slung one below the other...and by scaling,ye might can envisage hoo far apart the two shafts were....the average Pit Cage Wheels were aroond 12 feet high...give or take a foot or two!...so ye can judge the size of the headgear...but summick is telling me that them wheels were a bit smaller than average....aa not sure!! Hope ye dinna mind the lang-winded explanation Alan...ye knaa me!! Cheers!

Eh ye bugga,Alan,great ti hear a story from ye ,insteed o' hearing me aan tung gaan on in me heed! A wadn't o' recognised young Davey in this pic,if ye hadnae o' prompted me,cos when aa knew him,ye cudnae see he's fyess for hair!![in the years from 1965-1971..at the pit,then occasionally at the Station,just knocking aroond the place owa the years] He was also a great character,funny as hell,and he's aad chep was a canny aad..[ti me!] ..fella,also wi bowed legs...young Davy waaked exactly like aad Davy![...or "Djevvy"...as we caaled them..] Noo a must commend ye,Al,for ya diligent use of phrase,when referring ti Djevvy's ....er.."Talent"..!!!...let's just say if he fell owa...he wadnae hae needed a waaking stick fo' balance...!! A divvent knaa Djevvy's Marra,Jas...did he nivvor work at the Pit?..in fact,aam wondering if Djevvy is still knocking aroond yit.. A wus wondering if any o' ye's had a musical talent that might o'tekkin ye's doon ti the high life...cos that's why my eldest Son went doon...ti be a recording engineer/record Producer,and that was in 1987 when he went,when the music biz was thriving. What strikes me is hoo smart these kids looked for being so young,when ye look aroond these days....tattooed fyesses,holy raggy-kneed jeans,skinheads almost....and that's just the lasses....!!...a suppose we aal had wor aan fashions...wors was leather jerkins wi upturned collars...Eddie Cochran...James Dean..Gene Vincent..etc..!..."Rockers"! These young kids like Davy Bower,and Norman Hills,were pretty strong youngin's,for their size,whey they had ti grow up quick,working doon the pit,nowt was ever easy..it was aal push,shove,lift....a wad like ti see some of these big lads that come from the High School,at yem-time,lifting a full tub o' coal back onto the way,even just the front end,nivvor mind being fully lanched...[off all fours!]....heh heh! Cheers Alan!Thanks again for another blast from the past!