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Just a heads up that there is a long overdue Gallery update coming in February. The way images are added is staying the same but there will be some fairly big improvements in how the images are presented to members. The main changes are the awful screen overlay is being removed and the overview page will be much better at highlighting images that are being commented on.

2nd load went off yesterday from the Community Centre.

I know it's earlier than normal but I keep thinking my PC might catch an omicron variant, 'Desktop Lock Out'. Stay safe. Eggy

Merry Christmas from the cold NE i wish everyone a healthy 2022

Wilf's here! It's officially Christmas! A very merry Christmas to you all. Stay safe and avoid Covid and we'll see each other in the new year. Meanwhile, I've said this before and it's worth repeating:

Have a good one Alan, Merry Christmas to every one and a Happy New Year

Billy Mcglen was my Grandad. I often (on what would have been his birthday) Google his name. This year I came across your post. It's nice to think he is so well remembered.

Wow!

Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas to all.

Merry Christmas to everyone in this group from Bygone Bedlington:-

Happy to pay the necessary earlier this year to turn the old dilapidated building at West Lea Cemetery into a suitable base for the Friends of West Lea Cemetery. Instead of making their Xmas wreaths in their respective kitchens and having pine needles and holly all over their houses to pick up they can now use this. It took well over a year to sort out with the legals themselves taking for ever, but it been worth all the time and effort put into it. Anyone visiting the cemetery and the lasses are there just say “Hi”, I’m sure they will be pleased to chat and I know anyone wanting to join them in their quest to make this cemetery the very best it can be will be very warmly welcomed. And a big round of thanks for all the help off NCC cemetery staff!

Happy Christmas to you all Maggie

Following a long absence on this site I have just become aware of Derek's passing today, sad news indeed. A true gentleman respected by all who were fortunate enough to have the pleasure of his company.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! Hope it's a better one than thi last one was! Cheers Bill.

@ShaunL Hi Shaun. Like you, I've come across this site by accident. I was a seafarer, and studied at South Shields. In 1974 I was parachuting at Usworth (before Nissan goth there) and managed to break my leg. After surgery at Sunderland Orthopaedic Hospital, part of my recovery programme was a spell at Hartford Hall. At the time I lived in Cramlington New Town, but was still admitted as a residential patient. I think it was your Dad at the time who had a VW Beetle, and was having trouble with his carburettor. One or two of us fancied ourselves as amateur mechanics, and spent a happy afternoon diagnosing and fixing the problem for him. I remember Joyce Miller very well: I was once invited round to her house for dinner, and gave her a Bohemia cut crystal fruit bowl and water jug in return (cheap as chips in Poland, and I had a house full). Very down to earth, and loved a good chat. She was a bit of a match-maker, though. One of the other residents was in for treatment for a broken neck, and somehow he managed to slip on a walk down to the river, and broke his wrist. He had a yellow Triumph Sprite, which he asked me to look after, since he couldn't drive. One of the junior physios was a lovely Canadian girl. I was 27 and single, so Joyce tried to fix me up with her by telling me to take her home one evening. Being naive, I assumed she only wanted the lift home for a chance ride in the sports car, so dropped her off like the gallant gentleman I was, and drove back to the hall. The next day Joyce gave me a right going over for not asking her out. Those were the days! For my sins, I ended up doing a second spell at the hall in 1975, after a further operation, and this time it all worked out OK, so I have some happy memories of that place.

Have a merry Christmas and happy new year to all.

https://www.northumberlandline.uk/post/bedlington-works

Merry Christmas to all my gud friends on wor great channel!...Nice ti see ye back Brian..mind aav been idle an aal...but aam chinkaplonka,it's looking after Cath full on noo,that limits time for me..nivvor mind,one thing a wud like ti remind ye aal...if ye get tipsy,keep ya phones switched off!!...aam a teetotaller,so aam fully aware constantly......aav had aboot a dozen scam texts and calls owa the last few months,more so this last few weeks..from Lloyds Bank..[supposedly!],Royal Mail wanting 2 quid for a parcel ti be redelivered..[nonsense!]Hermes,[same thing],and just last week and today,a text saying "I think you are in this Video"..beware that one,my marras have fallen for it,thinking it was from old Pit Marras,but it scans all your contacts....I dont know if this has been covered already,apologies if it has,better be safe than scammed! Cheers and all the best folks! Bill and Cath xx

Thank you kind sirs! I am delighted, honoured and humbled to receive this prestigious award. I coudn’t have done it without your help - and the help of Covid which gave me, and you, loads of spare time. There are a couple of others I’d like to mention and thank for their help along the way: My parents, who provided the raw material. The people of Bedlington and Netherton who moulded that material. Friends and colleagues around the world who made adjustments and amendments to the design. The many educational establishments who nurtured my thirst for knowledge. Esther at the corner shop. Tommy the milkman. The colliery pollis at Netherton. The next door neighbours, here and elsewhere. Santa Clause. The Witch of Wookey Hole. Moscardini’s coffee shop. Lidl’s. The staff of Keenleyside’s. The Swedish Government, for letting me in. The British Government, for letting me out. Bedlington YMCA. The Metropolitan Police Force. The Canadian Royal Mounties. The Toon Moor. Newcastle United FC. Morrison’s. SAAB motors. … and not forgetting: Robson’s the printers. Jack, the ice-cream man. Netherton Socail Club. Prestos, Market Place, Bedlington. Jimmy Millne. The French Onion Sellers. The Beano. The nr 48 United Bus. St Cuthbert’s Church. Doncaster Royal Infirmary. … and, last but not least, Old Uncle Tom Cobley (and all). Thank you once again kind people of Bedders.

Greetings and best wishes from Oz. (35 degrees here in Adelaide today). May you all have a wonderful and safe Christmas .

Merry Christmas,and a happy new year to all,if we get that far!! Hope to be seeing you all a bit more next year,past two years have been disastrous ,healthwise,with my Wife. The NHS have been absoloutely MAGNIFICENT ,between Wansbeck,The RVI,The Freeman,and The Mount at Morpeth,all the Consultants and Staff,all the way down the ranks,deserve medals,solid gold ones the size of dustbin lids! My Wife and me hope the NHS gets the Appreciation,and funding that it deserves Nationally. ALL THE BEST! Bill.

Merry Christmas Alan and to all of our friends, followers and families, and a safe and happy New Year.

Just to keep our friends overseas in the loop........

If the project comes off, and I should know better after next week, trees will be supplied.

https://funeral-notices.co.uk/notice/miller/5241321 Those who remember Joyce Miller (and Biffy the dog), please see the attached. She loved Hartford and telling patients “there’s no such thing as can’t - if you say you can’t you really mean you won’t”.

I had it confirmed this week that West Lea in Bedlington will get its new Playzone. This is something I've been fighting for since they were first considered for Northumberland! Originally 12 were projected, none for Bedlington but I managed to get that decision changed! It represents a substantial investment not just in terms of finance but in leisure activities as well! So for anyone who doesn't know what a PlayZone is, and they are not just for football, here is a taster...........

not at all. I have even got a paper hat which was worn by one of my uncles at the celebration

Hi Folks!.Canny Lass,ye knaa me,not a nitpicker,only for correctness,for the education of the uneducated!!...but miner's coaal was never FREE!!..NOR WERE THE "FREE" houses they lived in!!..They were part of a miner's wage in lieu..and speaking personally,Linton Colliery gave the Miners coal which otherwise would be tipped on the pit heap..more stone bands than coal,also full of "Brass"[!!]..Iron Pyrites..which used to spit out onto the clippy mat and us if we sat too close!!..So!!Putters!!..the pic in my gallery on here,of my Father aged 14 yrs old,with his pony,in 1929,is when he was coal putting to his Marra,the older fella who was a Hewer.My Father putted the tubs out to a landing,where the other putters did the same thing..when there was a set of six tubs or more..the Drivers used to drive the set of tubs to the shaft bottom to be taken to bank.Every pit had it's own terms,but putters was generally the term used either for hand putting,or Pony putting.Hope that clarifies the subject.Never heard the term Cartman anywhere in any of the pits I worked at..[5 in total].

1961: The delight of the MINERS' BRASS BAND PICNIC | Monitor 54 | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive John Gibson introduces us to the brass band carnival and the colliery band contest at Bedlington, Northumberland which occurs each year - as a grand occasion for the family - mixing politics, beauty queens and, of course, music. John was representing Pegswood Colliery in Morpeth, Northumberland, which as he predicted was to soon close, doing so in 1969, some 101 years after it first opened. This short film was directed by Ken Russell. Clip taken from Monitor 54, originally broadcast on BBC Television on Sunday 3 July 1960.

You should just be able to drag and drop the video into your post or upload to the gallery. If it's not a playable format inline it will embed as an attachment for download. You can also upload to Youtube/Vimeo and paste the link from there and it will embed inline here. e.g.

I know its a few years since the last post on this thread, but I'm doing some family history stuff and searched 2 gate house... it would appear my ancestors lived there between yours! Mine were there in the 1921 census, and moved on by 1939! Thanks so much for that map canny lass!

Hope everybody has a better 2024 than this year!! Aal thi best Folks!!

.... and the same from me! Merry Christmas to everybody. Take really, really, REALLY good care of yourselves and we'll meet again in the new year.

Congratulations Eggy! That hat doesn't half suit you! Does this mean that you are now my 'other ' other half? Thank you kind sirs! I am again honoured and humbled to receive this prestigious award. Looking back over the last year and thinking of people people who have impacted my life in a positive way, you, my dear friends, are some of those people. Therefore, I would like to share this prize not only with Eggy but with all of you and thank for your contributions to the site. Naturally, a thank-you speech wouldn’t be a ’proper’ speech if it didn’t also convey a sense of gratitude to others who have helped along the way. To that end, I would now like to thank, in no particular order of importance: My tap-dancing teacher, June. My OH who listens patiently to my ramblings about all things Bedlington. My next door neighbour (I use the expression ”next door” in its vaguest meaning as it’s 2km away). The people of Ashington, Cramlington, Blyth and Morpeth who nurtured my love of leisure and physical activity. Postman Pat. My father and his fellow leek-growing enthusiasts who taught me that asking two questions was always better than asking only one. My mother, for teaching me to understand that the real honour lies not in winning but in taking part. I’m still grateful to Esther at the corner shop and equally grateful to Geordie Collis the colliery ’poliss’ for something or other. A special mention goes to: My hairdresser, for all her efforts to achieve the impossible. B.U.D.C Billy the butcher. King Charles III The walruss and the egg man. The Encyclopedia Britannica. Tommy Cooper … … and last but by no means least, my cats, Tickle and Pint-Pot. Thank you all once again!

Met recently a chap "Bob Shadforth" in Morpeth Chantry tearoom,& coming from Bedlington. Talked of coal mining of our youth!,Bob at "D" pit, me at Coneygarth drift,Ashington Colliery. Mentioned a fella called James Fish,who was killed using Explosives,in the Sultanate of Oman in the 70's, & coming from Bed D pit earlier. Could not believe it when Bob said he was Jim's marra at Doctor & later Netherton pit, before Jim went to the Sultanate. This would be towards the end of the nasty conflict on the Oman,Yemani border in the Dhorfar mountains,with lots of dissident tribesman"wandering" around. I myself just about replaced Jimmy in 1979,working blasting with explosives for a contractor to the shell/pdo oil company,from when I did 14 years in that land. Such a coincidence that I meet Bob in the Chantry tearoom on Tuesday last,and with this 50+ year "connection.

Enjoy the festive season .

We will remember them.

Hope you and the family fully enjoy your visit. You might meet up with @John Fox (foxy) - @Andy Millne or @Malcolm Robinson if you visit the Red Lion.

You might have missed this............https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-line-rail-plans-approved-24342677

Just so. And I wouldnt disafgree with rosco's last bit of his take!!!!!

Hello to all my friends on the forum yes this is Brian Cross and I’m still alive I’ve been fairly ill for the last couple of years but hopefully I am over the worst of it now I just wanted to say Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all my mates on the forum I have not forgotten you guys that was my eyes Not been real good I haven’t been able to post

One day I will shock you and do the quiz .

I see the Big'un has had her puppies..............

Ex-pats, how about planting a tree? Of course, we'd have to get Malcolm to do the digging - or at least delegate it to someone.

@Malcolm Robinson. LIKE +++! I was up there just before 7 this morning, soo peaceful and good for the soul. I visited Marsh Heslop’s grave while I was there, just to say hello, you’re missed Bonny lass and read the very moving messages left at her grave by her nearest and dearest. I confess I shed a few tears: this world has lost the little rainbow 🌈 which was Marsha. Adding to your list of the living residents of WestLea cemetery, not seen but heard in the evenings tawny owls, visible if you stand still long enough wrens and you’ll hear the little twittering flurries of goldfinches as they bustle about in the hedges. Our place in this life is put firmly into perspective by a visit to the resting places of our dead and, you’re absolutely right Malcolm, the young’ us should be guided to recognise that our own short span of time on Earth should be valued, used well and is ultimately brief in comparison to the bigger picture. The message being ‘don’t waste a single day and stop racing around making lots of noise, because you’re a long time dead . Spend your time wisely“ The Mexicans and the Japanese set aside special times to respect and revere their dead forbears: please Bedlington Council don’t put up a blockade to spiritually healthy meandering through this beautiful space! (However I do recognise that the a******s on dirt bikes do cause a lot of disruption and irritation- instead of closing access maybe just make it only accessible on foot? Regards RoseanneRainbow 😁🌈xxR