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C.L.,a went ti school wi a reet canny lad caaled Eddie Hedley,from Guidepost a think,that was 1956-1959,when we left school,and aa went doon thi pit..aged 15 yrs. Noo in 1963,a was daeing me coalface training at Bedlington A Pit,[the Aad Pit!],and one of me Instructors was a reet canny fella caaled Phil Hedley..fast forward ti 1993-1995,a was noo working as a Cabinet-Maker at a Rothbury based Kitchens and bedrooms factory,and one of me young Marra's,[only aboot19 yrs aad],was a reet canny lad caaled....Phil Hedley!!..from Bedlington Station..a dinna knaa if they were related,,a nivvor thowt ti ask.Just wi ye saying ye were aalwis interested in the Hedley name. A forgot,at Bates's Pit,when a was a Deputy,one of me Electrician's was a canny lad caaled Nigel Hedley..his Dad was caaled Ted Hedley,[nickname was "Lord Ted"..because of his posh accent!!]. Nigel noo has his aan business in Blyth,"Nigel Hedley Solicitors". Anybody related C.L....?!! Cheers! HPW.x

There was one youngin,who went around the roadways by hesel',looking after aal the water pumps,[a Pumper by definition],who ran ootbye scared oot of his wits,saying he had seen a ghost inbye. He refused to gaan aroond on his aan withoot a Marra for company.Aal thi men took thi mick oot o him ivry day,caaling him a q.......[whey Gay..but not in that terminology!].Aa was a Deputy in that District at thi time,and one day ,at the end of the shift,a came oot ti the "Radio Cabin"..[where the underground Loco's were controlled by radio],ti wait for the manriding loco set coming in to take aal the men ootbye.The poor lad was nearly in tears wi being picked on..until aa waaked in and sat beside him.A asked him wat happened,but couldn't hear him for the jeering of aal the men and younger lads.So a asked them aal ti hang on and let me hear the story from the Horse's mooth,cos hearsay was aal a hord.They quietened doon with respect,and thi lad telt me wat he had seen,a telt him a believed him,cos aam from a family of Spiritualist Mediums,and a re-assured him that it's the living..like this lot in here..who will hurt ye,the Spirit winna.THEN,a turned ti aal the lads and said in a loud authororative voice.."Lads,a dafy aal of ye's hoo have been up at 8's district,where the Owaman..[Overman in Charge],Alec Waite had seen an Apparition,ti gaan up by yasel,and come back and tell me ye didn't feel a bit uneasy"...one by one they sheepishly admitted a was right,saying it was a bit weird,a queer feeling of uneasiness...wat they really meant was..it was scary!! But brave big boys usually winna admit this...so within five minutes they were taaking amang thasel's aboot the sighting by Alec Waite, and they left the lad alone.He said quietly ,Thanks Bill,ye are the first one ti believe me.Noo a nivvor knew that Lad's name,and aam wondering if he was the one mentioned in one of the quotes above.A dae remember this lad didn't last very lang doon the pit,after that.

Hi Folks,a wud think it might have been a safety quiz,cos Joe Kryozka won the Safety poster slogan and cartoon competition,Nationally for the Coal Board's safety campaign,and his Posters were up at every pit in the country,in the Deployment Centres,and they were aal brilliant. Noo!..summik puzzles me,is the use of the word "Apprentice" a modern term for "Trainee"?,cos Joe came doon the pit and went on Deputy work if I remember correctly...mind,a wad stand ti be corrected on that one!..he was a smashing natured lad.Eddie Hindmarsh,[the Ginger Fox!],was a smashing Manager,if he wasn't happy aboot owt on the face,he wud tek ye ti one side,quietly,and tell ye..Loads of respect for that Lad!!