Contributor Leaderboard

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.

Wasn't "The Shirt Factory" in the council (BUDC) yard? I can remember the outpouring of girls from there at the end of their shift. It was always a place anyone industrious could get employment. The phrase "she works (worked) at the shirt factory" did have a tiny bit of social stigma in those days, though. It implied that the person might have done better at school. Having said that, it probably paid a lot better than shopworker or clerical jobs. The Rag Trade on TV epitomised this type of work. Work which was steadily eroded by the waves of imports from overseas "sweat shops", but don't get me started on so-called "globalism"! I recall they had a problem with asbestos roofing in the BUDC yard, and some poor worker being killed when the roof didn't support their weight. This might jog someone's memory on the place. I can also remember going into the Barrington establishment to deliver or attend to something, or maybe to seek someone out. At this point in time, I can't remember why I was there, though I have a brief mental image of the offices but not the work floor. It was, I think, a conversion and not a purpose-built factory. Update: Ah, yes, that's it above. Should have scrolled up! Just pointing out the social attitudes (snobbery) of the era, and no downers on the industrious salt-of-the earth people that worked there. A lot of that lingers on in the present day, when the thoroughly brainwashed ex-uni types regard themselves as socially superior and have a right to do everyone's thinking for them!

Miners picnic 1957

Didn't one of those on the left used to be Wemyss (sp?), the wholesale confectioner, back in the mid 1950s? I can remember carting an unstable load of empty crisp tins there on my bogey as an infant. Yes, those packets of crisps with the little blue bag of salt used to come in oversized biscuit tins to keep them fresh. My motive was purely economic - to pocket the deposit on them. Mr Wemyss, however - god rest his soul - wasn't prepared to cough up the going rate, likely embossed on the tins, and all I got was a pittance (or maybe a few sweets) for my trouble. The sweets are long forgotten, but the bitterness lingers on - such is life! 🤣

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!!

My pleasure this morning to give the lasses who are the Friends of West Lea Cemetery their newest award, off our friends at Bedlington.co.uk. This is the 2023 Piper award and given a lot of members on that site are ex-pats it’s nice to know they still keep up with current going-ons in Bedlington. Given in recognition of someone or a group who have made outstanding efforts in the Town over the last year, a well-deserved award. Well done girls.........

It’s that time of year again when thoughts of old friends emerge again and fond memories stir the soul. I hope everybody here is well. Wishing you all good time over the holidays and a safe happy New Year. Sym

.... 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.

Thank you Alan, Merry Christmas to you and yours, Merry Christmas to all members.

Had a bit play and I have come up with this template for this year and future years And for 2023 I added the info + our group logo Still need to look at the dimensions of the certificate to match the dimesions of popular frame sizes.

@Andy Millne @John Fox (foxy) @Malcolm Robinson @Vic Patterson @HIGH PIT WILMA @Bedlingtonian @Pete @Jammy @Maggie/915 @_pauls @James @Symptoms @Mal @Tonyp @Beano @7RIrF @carly @Bill Straughan @oldtimer @Dave Twist @6233jane @threegee @Darren Smith @jfk @B Davison @DJA 24 @anniemarr @Katherine Hyde @Jr6468 @Sheila Prouten @Joe McNally @Patricia Wadsworth @SouthernGeordie @rosco @Linray @lynnewatson @sallywoo1971 I have posted the message and the images onto the Facebook page of https://www.facebook.com/Thefriendsofwestleacemetery @Mal had a think, and clart, on what you proposed re certificate and anything is possible but naturally on something that is normally a pure online award there will be some issues to overcome. These are the tnings I am thinking about :- design and produce a certificate using my Winows Vista + Microsoft Digital Image pro 10 (as that is the only software I have print off the certificate - and as I am no professional that would be to an A4 sheet of paper. What dimensions would the certificate be = what are the standard picture frame sizes, between A5 & A4, that TFOWBC could by to fit certificate into Posting a certificate to TFOWC - looking at their FB page they don't have an address for where to post anything to and if they did it would have to have a letter box wide enough to accept an A4 sheet,8.27 x 11.69 inches or 21 x 29.7 centermeters, wth cardboard support to stop it getting bent/damaged in the post. ------------------------------------------------------ I will let you know if I come up with anything

I have made the 2023 award and as long as all are happy with this years award going to The friends of Westlea Cemetery (TFOWC) I will post the following text and images on TFOWC Facebook page. To the volunteers at The Friends Of Westlea Cemetery. In 2020 on the Bedlington community group (bedlington.uk) it was suggested that a yearly award (purely online) be award to anyone that had helped the group or anything to do with Bedlington. It was decided to name it The Piper Award after Ainsley Piper who bred the Bedlington terrier in 1825 in St Cuthbert’s Vicarage. This December the members of the group have voted for the online award to go to your volunteer organisation that has helped so many people in Bedlington, and beyond. So the members of bedlingto.uk would like to say thank you to the work your volunteers have done.

Aye he takes a canny snap!

"There will be a shuttle bus to get people from one side of the crossing to the other..." Well, I can dream! This one was supposed to be flying by 2018, and it seems there are quite a number of such designs. Maybe it's going to take Elon to bring one to reality!

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/blackstone-completes-purchase-of-britishvolt-site-in-northumberland-for-ps10bn-data-centre-project-4613166?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0ya8d4tRxxamma5ImsnoyZ1H6KT_qxijqdBqn6M-fARwjmQU7-A1470Wo_aem_AeYLWyaO5b51Yrao1ZrkYS_7yL0WUjrfVqEon4mYV9d9EszXApeOxRp7yxp-YT3NHc-wBweraBxzy7Q6DssxyLxH#d90wphi9cyd

Coming soon! This is an interesting family and I've been researching them this week. I'll post soon, probably on John Dawson's thread The Last of the Nailers. It will probably be long so it may need a few posts.

Our Government (Canadian) is giving away millions to foreign companies to come and build facilities for making batteries, we have most of the "ingredients" to make them, but the environmentalists rather we get others mine it, using less friendly methods.

Sorry you've had to wait. It's been a hectic week! Here are the answers to the Christmas quiz: 1. 1. 1920s 2. 7 swans a swimming 3. 221 feet 4. No number is mentioned. The book of Matthew, the only gospel to mention the Kings, doesn’t say how many there were only that they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We just assume that they were three because of the three gifts. 5. Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s so popular you have to order several months in advance or join queues that have started to build on Christmas Eve. 6. Iceland. They’re a canny bunch of lads but if you’ve been badly behaved you’ll just get a rotten potato. They ‘ve got some great names too: Sausage -swiper, Door-sniffer and Window-peeper, to name just a few. 7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 8. Donald Duck 9. Light Emitting Diode 10. Newcastle-upon-Tyne 11. A 50-pence piece. 12. Isaac Newton 13. Capricorn 14. The Indian Ocean 15. December 26 16. Jolly careful 17. c) making a noise. (It’s no wonder that baby was awake!) 18. Paris 19. Donner 20. False. The average gain is 1 lb. I'll take the opportunity of wishing each and everyone of you a happy, prosperous year in 2024. May it be filled with health, wealth and happiness. I'm off tomorrow morning to celebrate an 80th birthday in Scotland. New Year's Eve and a birthday rolled into one. It's bound to be a good one! I remember (just about) the 70th birthday party and if it's half as good it'll be great. Take good care of yourselves and we'll meet again next year.

After I posted the two images - 2023 Piper Award 'ceremony' & Piper Trophy - on The Friends Of Westlea Cemetery Facebook page one of the volunteers has responded on their FB page with this :- Waiting to see what @Mal has done with the certificate image he downloaded.

@Mal there is a fault on the one above - I have corrected it in this one.

Derek Johnstone 1946 - 2022 It is with a great deal of sadness that I recently learned of the passing away of a valued member of this forum. Derek Johnstone, better known to us as ’Rigger’, is no longer with us. I first met Derek when he and I entered class JR1 at Westridge Secondary Modern School in Bedlington about 1959. I remember him there as a rather quiet, well mannered and very intelligent teenager who was very well liked and respected by pupils and teachers alike. He was a good classmate and I can’t remember Derek ever being in trouble for misbehaviour of any kind. I have particularly fond personal memories of being helped by Derek when struggling with the intricacies and mysteries of ’tech drawing’ which in my naivety I’d chosen to embark upon instead of needlework. He had the patience of a saint. It wasn’t just in the academic subjects he made his mark, Derek, a keen sportsman played football for the school team and went on to devote many hours of his time in training and matches with Bedlington Juniors where he was goalkeeper (pictured below in the scchool team, top row, 3rd from left). He became a keen golfer in later years, so his love of sport had clearly remained with him. After leaving school Derek became an electrician working first in his native Bedlington, at the Doctor Pit, before moving to the coalfields of Yorkshire then South Africa before returning to the UK to take up the very responsible position of overseeing safety in the Aberdeen Offshore Oil Industry. He remained in Aberdeen until his death. Derek was a family man. His marriage to New Delaval girl, Patricia (Pat) Brown, gave him three lovely sons: Kristian, Julian and Graeme. Tragically, Pat died very young leaving Derek to shoulder not only his grief but also that of the children and the responsibility for their upbringing. He seems to have done a remarkable job with Kristian now living and working in Dubai, Graeme living and working in Thailand (seemingly having followed in his father’s footseps in the offshore industry) and Julian living and working in Belfast. Derek did remarry but, sadly, once again a caring role was suddenly thrust upon him when his second wife, Irean, developed Alzheimers disease. After many, many years my path crossed again with Derek’s when he became ’Rigger’ a member of this forum. Rigger was not a frequent visitor but his posts were always informative and interesting, sharing valuable knowledge of people and places in and around Bedlington. Helpful as ever, he’d never forgotten his Bedlingtonian roots. Even in other areas of the Internet, Derek has left an an enormous legacy to anyone having have roots in Bedlington. His work ’Bedlington Soldiers Who Died in the Great War: Summaries of the brave soldiers from Bedlington and the surrounding area who did not return from the 1914 – 1918 War’ is a one-man masterpiece. (http://www.newmp.org.uk/memimages//05.%20Enlistment%20Project%20Compiled%20Version.pdf) It is, I’m sure, the result of years of patient research and writing on his part paying homage to the brave men of Bedlington who gave their lives in the Great War. I also know that this work was a tribute to his grandfather whom he loved and admired. It is not just an essay, it is a work of academic standard well worth a read and a valuable source of information to those, like myself, researching family history. Last year, Derek was diagnosed with an aggressive and inoperable brain cancer to which he succumbed after only five months. He died in November 2022 aged 76 years. His person has been described to me by his life-long friend David Cowans as ”a friendly boy and a nice man” who ”had a positive manner and a genuine, easy-going charm”. I cannot other than agree. Thank you for your contribution. Rest in Peace Rigger. Thank you to Derek’s brother Ray, David Cowans, and Glynis Lynn who have provided me with information and photos.

These programmes maybe of interest to members in the coming months .

Yes 100% for it.

Sounds like a great suggestion fully behind it

Excellent suggestion Eggy.............In effect just two lasses spending all their free time helping to make the cemetery somewhere everyone can be proud of. They are currently making Xmas wreaths and all money raised is spent in the cemetery. BTW, Look out for a huge revamp at the Garden of Remembrance and the path behind!

Hope everybody's keeping well,apologies for absences,Hope 2024 is a better year than the last four years!![we keep saying that..!!] Cheers Bill!

hello @Canny lass from Wilf

November 2023 - with a 'Merry Christmas' wish (but same hat and scarf @Canny lass ) - photo from Simon Williams.

Don't you forget to make time for yourself! Caring for a loved one can be hard work at times and you need time for rest and relaxation if you're going to cope and keep your health intact.

Hi David,Dad never talked about his rescue work,well none of them did,and I never knew he had been badly burned..that really was a savage way to be injured..and his thinking about the accident being caused by an illegally lit cigarette,underground,was 99% justified..[at the High Pit that is..if that is where the accident happened..].I never saw anybody smoke in any other pit where I worked..the High Pit was different..I have never smoked in my life,therefore I could,and still can,now,at 79 yrs of age,detect cigarette smoke a mile away. I remember being threatened by one Deputy underground,when I was about 17 years old,to be reported and sacked by the Manager,if I didn't get off my pit horse's back..[okay it was illegal..and a horse carrying me wasn't suffering..it was safety issues that made it illegal!]...anyway,I got down off the horse,but as I did,I blurted out to the Deputy.."Ye report me ...and aal report ye for sitting there smoking alang wi the coalfillers..ye are risking blowing us all ti pieces..ya mad..!" He didn't need to reply to me..aal the coalfillers [a dozen of them],said Wilma,ye better f.... off noo the time thi game's gud or else we'll hing ye.."..[hang you]..I quickly went and got on with my work,and they all went inbye to their jobs on the coalface,they had stopped at the halfway point to rest,as all the roadways going inbye were on a steep rise to the west..the coal seam outcropped over the fields past Hepscot. Nowt mair was ever said about the incident,and I got on well with that Deputy,he was a real canny sociable fella,who was the spitting image of the old Television Comedian ,Arthur Haynes..if anybody can recall watching his shows in the 1960's! Choppington High Pit had very poor ventilation,and was really wet throughout the mine..so wet and with never any evidence of Methane being detected,it was considered safe to smoke..the Chief danger down that pit wasn''t Methane,it was Blackdamp..[more correctly known as "Blackdampfe"...from German "Dampfe"= GAS]...and which miners called "Stythe"..or "Styfe".. it was a dead cert that if the Barometric Pressure dropped sharply..the roadways and faces in the pit would quickly fill up withthis deadly gas,which isn't poisonous,it is Asphyxiating to the exclusion of Oxygen..and therefore men used to just suffocate when the mine got styfed out before they got to bank..[the surface!]...that pit should never have been opened in the first place!! Hope I haven't gone on too long David..Cheers Marra!

Hi Canny Lass!Long time since we chatted![Health issues with my Wife] Aye,bonny lass,sadly,not many of us are left noo,apart from the last influx of younger lads before the pits were aal shut doon.[They worked the super pits like Ellington,Westoe,etc..and they had machines ripping coal out at the rate of 1 million tons a year..they didn't realise they were cutting their own throats as well as cutting so much coal] Us old timers worked in the little tettie pits like the High Pit at Choppington,where we really did risk wor life every day..often we would be travelling through Scotland Gate,upstairs on the Double Decker United No 47 bus,and we could see owa the fields,ti the High Pit's Headgear,and when we saw the cage wheels standing...we knew we would likely be getting a "Bevan"...[meaning a sharp lowse..early finish..] Sometimes a pit tub full of coal would accidentally override the "Monkey"..[a device on the cage floor which allowed the tubs to roll into the cage,but prevented them from rolling back out..until the Banksmen,or Onsetter at the shaft bottom,pressed a foot operated lever to disengage the Monkey from the tub axles...so allowing the tubs to be rammed out of the cage by pushing two empty ["Chummings"] tubs into the cage.When the tubs came out of the cage halfway up the shaft,travelling at 50 per second ,being wound on coalwork,by the powerful steam winder,the buffers on the tubs used to rip the Buntings and Skeets..[Cage guides running all the way down the shaft,front and back of the cage]...out and render the pit shaft unusable. Because that only left the "Backshaft" [Men only rode in this shaft.]..and one means of egress from the pit..it contravened the Coal Mines Act regulations,and so any men IN the pit had to be got out quickly,as the pit used to "Stythe" out totally if there was a sudden Barometric Pressure drop. On such occasions,we had to get dressed in our pit clothes and clock in as normal,then hang around for a while,and if the Engineer made a statement that the shaft would take more than two hours to repair and test for safety,then we were allowed to clock back out,get bathed and go home with a full day's pay. Well,as a young miner,with other things rather than pitwork on my mind...it was a relief to go back home..one less day to be risking our lives..I tell you,no other mine was ever like the High Pit!!

8 years later... ..and this cool-laid-back is even built in to the software! I did come across a reply to a "how to" technical question on a forum last night posted five years after the question was asked; but it's nice to know that Bedlington.uk is right up there with the best!

I think the focus there is on the females are able to multitask and males aren't - myth. But... if it gets food put on the table at all the right times (etc. etc.), then we really shouldn't knock it.

Now if we had said that Canny lass!!!!!😂😂😂

..... only female drivers then?

"It is strange what Ryanair are doing compared with the other airlines. Could it be that they don't have any spare aircraft to send out and bring holiday makers home - or is it just all about money?" The latter, for sure! It's a completely unprincipled outfit run by a moron! Other ex-pats here say they have no choice, but I've managed not to give him a bean over more than a decade. I hate it when Mrs 3G flies with them, particularly when I have to drive her to the airport at some ungodly hour to meet their scheduling. But she's quite canny and knows exactly how their rip-off charging system works, knows what days to fly, how long to book ahead, so plays the system for the cheapest possible seat. Ryanair: I'd rather cycle it! Steer clear of EU countries in any case, they have only ever been after our money, and will rip you off in an instant. If you want that, and want to be treated like cattle, then good luck to you, but don't moan about it afterwards!

when it gets to 22C I'ts too hot for me. Fortunately the jet Stream has been looking after me for the past few days

That's a bugger as you try and enjoy the outdoor life before this years dark nights keep you Swede's in doors I just another booster last month. Take care CL

It's The Guardian for me every day and The Observer on a Sunday. First started reading The Guardian in the school library when in the 6th Form and never stopped - 56 years and counting. When at Uni in London my Mum used to send me The Pink every week to keep up with Toon's news ... back then you could buy a brown paper postal wrap to roll the newspaper in. So, Sym has set himself up for incoming from the sneering right. Poo!!! As with all things Saxe-Coburg and Gotha I am critical of all their inherited wealth and privilage so switch off anything on the telly about them. Of course, H ain't really one of them - some say he's a product of that liason between his mum and 'Ginger' James Hewitt. His biggest crime as far as the loony right is concerned is taking up with a mixed-race woman.

Hi David ,aa get so wrapped up in my recollections that sometimes I forget to add important details.. Aa wud just like to say that aa never knew ya Dad was in the rescue team..till a saw your Dad's pic..aav gotta impress ti folks that these lads were a very brave team..they had to endure some gruesome sights throughout wor mining industry nationally..not just locally,and many a family are greatly indebted to the bravery of these fella's who went inti thi mines..sometimes when it was styphed oot [Blackdamp-Carbon Dioxide concentration in poorly ventilated mineworkings],other times after a fire or explosion..facing the deadly dangers of Firedamp..[Methane CH4],and/or Afterdamp..[result of fire or explosion..CO- Carbon Monoxide],whilst it might have been major roof falls where roadways were closed completely,trapping men in danger of injury or suffocation due to lack of Oxygen. There is a myth that the Rescue Team knew it was time to retreat from the workings when the Team's Canary dropped off the perch dead..even just yesterday,on Radio 2,Jeremy Vine discussing some political topic,used his favourite phrase,which irritates the hell out of me.."Yes,this is like the Canary at the coal face"..he doesn't even knaa wat a coal face looks like!! The Rescue Teams valued their aan lives,as well of the men they were trying to rescue,and the Canary was taken down the pit,because he would detect a drop in oxygen levels,and noxious gases,way before the Rescuers could detect danger,and he would start to get anxious and chattery,and start flapping about..so if ye think aboot it..wud the Rescue team proceed FURTHER..into a danger zone,wait till their bird drops dead..knowing they had to come oot the roadway the same way they went in,and the airflow direction is one way only!...and by then,Oxygen levels cud be dangerously low or even non-existent.. The Teams had their own Oxygen supply on their backs,but the first stage in situations like that,was to improve the ventilation,to dilute dangerous gases..if there was a Methane blower in the main roadway..the danger was..one spark accidentally generated..could set off an explosion,which usually also set off a self-propagating Coal Dust explosion,which would rip through every roadway in the mine,as it did in the Easington Colliery disaster..ripping through 22 miles of roadways underground..and into several seams.. So a think that the Rescue teams were really unsung heroes,and never got the recognition they truly deserved. Dave,ye shud be proud of what ya Dad did ,they were the Miner's lifeline in times of disaster. Cheers Bill. p.s. ...and the Canary was always brought out to safety after a mission,well looked after by the Rescue team at the Mines Rescue Station,at Ashington top end next to the town hall..they kept the Canaries next ti thi window in their cages so they could get daylight and be used to people and a lot of activity..they could be seen by everybody that passed the station!..bonny healthy birds!

Hi David,life down Choppington B pit [aka "The High Pit"]was really tough..I should have said ROUGH! I left school aged 15 years in 1959,and followed in my Father's and Brother's footsteps,as a lot of kids did in those days,and went to work down the mines.After preliminary training at Seaton Burn pit,The Coal Board sent me to The High Pit..even though at the interview stage,all the trainees were given two choices as to which pit they wanted to go to..I chose Bedlington A pit..[aka "The Aad Pit"],or as a second choice..Bedlington D Pit ..[aka "The Doctor Pit"].. My Father went mad when he opened the letter informing me that I was being Posted to the High Pit...HE started down that pit in 1929,aged 14 years old straight from school also. He told me stories about how it was "Aal rough and ready.."..and how men were being killed or injured on a regular basis..and he was going to see about putting a stop to me being sent there. Whey,he calmed doon and within a haaf an hoor,said Billy,aa nivvor wanted ye ti gaan doon thi pit ,but ye wadn't listen ti me,ye med ya bed hard,so ye can lie in it!! SO,a went into the timber yard at first,and also helped out on the screens,picking stones off the conveyor belt,to clean the coal up..then went down the pit at 16 yrs. By the time I was 17 yrs old,I was on heavy transport and salvage work,doing a really strenuous job,trailing heavy bits of gear like Motors,Gearboxes,Conveyor belt driveheads,200 yard long heavy thick cables for the coalcutters,using my pit pony and tracing chains. Ronnie and Eddie were the Deputies in two adjacent coal faces,which were really rough,with roof water teeming in,constantly,bad roof conditions,swalleys of water 100 yards lang and up to the ponies belly..i.e. up to our waist in some places..men WERE getting injured and killed frequently,I have permanent injuries which I never reported and which have affected me my whole life..also the pit horses suffered cruel conditions and were frequently injured or killed,or had to be humanely put to sleep because of serious injuries. In conditions like this,it is inevitable that tempers were raised sometimes ,and that happened with Ronnie and Eddie at times..they were both in conflict with me and my Marra Keith Cooney..[now deceased R.I.P. Keith].Not just with Dad and Eddie,but other Deputies as well,it was because we were under the charge of Joe Barratt,the Overman,who was in overall charge of the mine underground...including the Deputies,generally.[but when it came to Safety Health and Welfare of the men in the Deputies' charge..the Deputy was the Kingpin!!..Nobody,not even the Manager,nor the Chairman of the Coal Board..were allowed to enter a Deputy's District,until they met the Deputy at the entrance to that district..[i.e."The Kist"].But in practice we went into every district in the pit,cos if we didn't,the pit would close down..we supplied the men on the faces with girders,timber,coalcutters drillers..everything they needed to produce coal!.. SO!...sometimes us girder lads would be trailing girders etc right up to the coal face as close as possible to ease the burden of the faceworkers,and the Deputies would complain that we were "getting in the way of the men"..and would phone and complain to the Owaman..Joe Barratt.. On one occasion,Dad was livid,and spitting blood,so to speak..we were trying to do our job,he was doing his..and we ended up in a confrontation..so when he complained to Joe Barratt,he was told to "Leave my Lads alen..tha daeing wat aa telt them ti dae..ye hae nowt ti dae wi it"..!..Sixty odd years later it seems funny that a row could brew up oot of nowt ,but like a said..in hostile conditions,where everybody's lives were at constant risk,tempers flared,and a lot of shouting went on..but ye see ,David,pitmen fell oot,and a quarter of an hour later,they would have forgotten aal aboot it,they HAD to watch each other's backs for roof falls of stone..Comradeship was second to none doon theor! We had to jump wor horses OWA fast moving rubber conveyor belts ti get them into other roadways..totally against the law,but we were threatened with "wa cards" if we stopped the belts ti get the horses owa..so horses like my Dapple Grey Charlie,who a bonded with very closely...got so seriously injured,trapped between the moving belt,and the steel structure poles,that he had to be put to sleep by the Vet.I was in tears at 19 yrs of age,and still well up thinking about him..he was as close to me as my LBJ..my black Labrador/Cross who was put to sleep four yrs ago..I miss them both terribly. SO,David,life wasn't a picnic doon theor,and aa was pleased as hell when they announced that the pit would close in 1966. Other pits I worked at were rough as well,but nowt like High Pit. Cheers David,every word I write is purely my own experience and every word is true. Hope aav given ye an insight how tough it was! Bill. p.s. I haven't any knowledge about Dad being burn't..maybe before my time even..

1/ I enjoy researching anything I buy, but I don’t think many others can or do, using manufactures information is a good starting point, using several manufacturers can give you a clue to the others good/ bad points. But don’t expect any of them to give the bad points. 2/ Very true about front end loaded, and consider the lack of future maintenance, oil changes, air filters, exhaust etc, THEN there is the eventual EV battery life, replacement and disposal cost. 3/ Hybrids, without a hybrid I couldn’t make a round trip to the airport to pick up family! Especially in the winter, no present vehicle has the range and the lack of charging stations to make it possible. 4/ Good point. 5/ Range is the most important consideration in my location, (see #3) at present lack of charging stations, cold weather reduces range considerably and is further reduced by the need for winter heat, windows and body. With the eventual addition of charging station this will add to the range but a lot of time to journey. 6 and 7/ 100 % of charging will be at home. The cost of electricity has skyrocketed recently (ours has) while petrol prices have also risen, the price of electricity is sure to go much higher as the demand grows. (And the Greener we get)I expect the electrical distribution infrastructure system will have to be improved to meet the new demand, especially in the older housing areas, (most houses don’t have garages, how do you safely plug in? And multi vehicles) we don’t have off peak electrical rates. 8/ 300 mile minimum WINTER (-20c) driving would be my minimum. Newer, lighter and recyclable batteries must come first. Threegee, What improvements have you seen in the four years? What is it and what are its good points? Range? MPG $ equivalent ? Typical trip milage? Any negatives?

.... tanker?