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Hi! I lived in Storey's Buildings,[right side of the road going down to the Willow Bridge from Bedlington],from about 1945-48-ish. At a time before the pits were nationalised,and miners went through really hard times due to the viciousness of the coal-owners,the idea of even a suggestion of a golf course in the front fields would have been ludicrous! Who would have afforded to play on it? Choppington was an infant village totally centred around the two pits.[but mainly the Low pit as it WAS in the village!] Those fields had huge ponds along them as a result of the Willow Burn flooding in bad weather.the fields were wide open,with no plantations then,apart from the Willow saplings that grew along the banks of the burn. The Black Bridge was a couple of hundred yards up the burn,from the bridge,and carried coal from the Choppington pits[ A and B pits.],to the main line. The first golf course I ever saw was constructed at Acorn Bank,Hartford road,in Bedlington,after Costain Mining opencast re-instated the land after mining operations ceased. Mind who am I ti taak aboot golf,when,in those days,I and a think most hardworking miners also,wouldn't even have known wat one waas! Even in the late 1960's,it was well-known that the Bedlington Golf Club members consisted of businessmen,Doctor's,Lawyers,and such well to do people! Eventually,my next door Neighbour and pit marra,at Bedlington A pit,managed to secure membership,to the amazement of aal his marra's,and he had loads of mickey-tekkin aboot being in wi thi "Nobs"!! The Barrington pit ponies were aalwis in thi back fields,nae golf there....unless this rumour went back even further than before the pits came alang...1700's maybe? Intriguing suggestion!! Mind,I used to take my family up the Cheviots with our little touring caravan,for nearly twenty years,most weekends through the year,[from around 1977-1996], and it was not long before I had to give up the Caravan due to my Wife's ill-health,that I found out from the locals,in conversation about the history of the surrounding countryside,that there was a golf course on top of one of the hills on a plateau!![Doddington golf course] It was madness trying to walk up to the area,never mind play a roond of golf up there!!...ninety mile an hour winds......etc!![seriously ill-exposed!] So!....in context,maybe there might have been an amatuer course,owa the fields,at Chopington, for the lads who might have used a stottie baal and a hezzel twig,or a willow twig,for a club!! We used ti play quoits at bait-time,doon Choppington high pit,for ten minutes or so,[You were only allowed twenty minutes bait for a whole shift in stinking wet conditions],and we used ponies shoes for quoits!![ improvisation by way of example!] I would love to see any pictures of the bridge,as I used to play in those fields and watch the coal trains going over the bridge very frequently....very exciting for us little whippersnappers in those days!...we were used to seeing horse and carts,so a tankey was like a hero of a thing to see!

Your probably right Maggie but at the moment there are lots of people who aren't using the car parks, I've never known a town with so many individuals who prefer to park on restricted areas of the front street and cause mayhem.

So you mean Cameron's porn filter didn't work?

Saw this shop the other day called "Islamic Books & Souvenirs" so decided to have a look inside, almost immediately two men dressed in dresses came over and asked what I wanted, I said 'Do you have a copy of the book on Great Britain's policy regarding deportation of immigrants? One of the gentlemen said, "F**k off get out and never come back", I said "yes, that's the one, how much?"