Vic Patterson

No ring mains or switched, fused shuttered sockets here! lights and plugs on the same circuit (in the same room!) plug pins thin and bendy (quite femer!) light bulb sockets neutral (ouch!) but only 120v...

I get very annoyed when I hear the exaggerations “the town is reeling in shock, stunned or everyone is devastated etc” No we aren't, we may be annoyed or surprised etc but the use of the exaggerated words to imply everyone is almost incapacitated when in fact not everyone knows or cares of incident.

I never could understand the “rules” of our language but I recognise they are needed so we are all on the same page. I find it very annoying when the people who use our language for a living, like the newspapers use it so badly and to having to read headline over and over to try understand what they are saying.

It used to annoy me how the Americans change (use, abuse) our language (and spelling) but then it is always changing and as long as it is effectively communicating is it all that bad! But politicians seem to have their own language!

6 hours ago, Canny lass said:

Thanks Vic! Is the term 'sprag' still used in mining today or has it been totally replaced by pit prop? I mean, when you say HPW set them only" when he first started working" do you mean that  it's an old mining term or that this is/was a job for an inexperienced young man or an apprentice?

Also, can it have any other meaning? The explanation I found went on at length about wheels and inclines but I didn't understand a word of it.

Hi Canny lass, Pit Props are/ were usually called timbers, and it was usually the young rookies job hauling and setting the timbers, placing them in areas needing support, quite the job for a young 15 year old, thats were they learned mining and miners! nothing like hard work for the old timers teaching the youngsters to be be humble.

HPW would know a lot more about the wooden timbers, today (at least over here) I think they mainly use steel arches and hydraulic rams etc but wood has a bit more "give" in it.

1.a simple brake on a vehicle, especially a stout stick or bar inserted between the spokes of a wheel to check its motion.

I had heard the expression spagging the wheels but just thought it meant using a piece of the timber to wedge the coal tub wheel, but it was a bit more than that, this would explain the "wheels and inclines."

I know it as a pit prop, keeps the roof up or (floor down!) A Spragger would be HPW setting them.... (but only when forst started workin)

Happy birthday Brian, hope your having a good one. 

Thank you Pete and Malcolm, only a skiff last night it keeps the place nice and bright and the cars all clarty, we didn't get a lot this year I think our Eastern Provinces got most of it.

Pete the Oilers like Newcastle lost! " rebuilding"I bet you've heard that a few times, there is always next year, at least in hockey we don't have the relegation threat.

Canny lass your cat is the double of our Lippy! but he's strictly an indoor cat (sorry Eggy) lost too many to the coyotes etc

Thanks Foxy, it's snowing again, but I'm not going to shovel it, spent the afternoon watching Newcastle, they deserved at draw, now to watch my Oilers hockey game in an hour. Yes life is good.

I see it's a pea super in Bedlington tonight

Maggie I'd make sure they know why I'm going elsware and hope they find their next job answering phone calls more satisfying than dealing with real people! Thank for the birthday wishes.

A few years ago getting ready for retiring we re did our house decoration, wood floors and our kids convinced us to paint the walls, lots of paper stripping and wall preparation then painting, shortly after we re papered! Yes expensive and it all came from Cramlington! Pre battered... No borrowing a batter table and mixing the paste, it was even pre edged, (how many hours with the big scissors) almost as bad as holding the hanks of wool when mam wound into balls! 

Thank you for the kind wishes, not MUCH snow shovelling just spreading it to help it melt, +3c and t shirt weather.  

I hear you Maggie, but that is often the way today, I have a friend who does carpentry mostly kitchens, he spends many hours designing and costing giving alternative suggestions, give the customer the quote who then shops around using his work only to be undercut! By a few cents, and often returns to be helped out when the cowboy has collected his money.

Sad but it seems to be the way some unscrupulous people operate! I'd go back and give your opinion and use there service even if it costs a bit more to stay local.

Okay here!

Happy birthday, hope your having a great day!

Yes, she certainly was, Elsie was seen pushing a shopping cart with a tv in it, she was asked by the manager what she was doing, "oh I got it for the Sunderland team" yer was ripped off he said!

Met the chimps when we opened Woolco at Washington, (along with Else Tanner and Sunderland FC.) 

Sorry canny lass that my attempted sarcasm that was directed at Eggy offended you, I agree with you 100% I wasn't being serious. Just annoyed. 

Good point Eggy. Is this our answer to the problem of too many old and infirm seniors! We could set them out on the door step, bring in the survivors, until the next storm. Why should we protect those that can't look after themselves, we are just too soft.

So true HPW, we have sent lots of wolves down to the U.S.A. Where the farmers were waiting with their semi automatic elephant guns! 

The argument here is to protect the "endangered" woodland carabou herd, the wolves and coyotes usually keep the heards healthy, the old and sick are their super! So now we will have larger sick herds. 

They shoot the wolves from helicopters, so how many are only wounded? They also poison them and I know one person who lost his hounds to the poison which only supposed to kill the animal that digests it, hmmm! I wonder if they told the Eagles and other carrion birds!

Wildlife management is a great important department but sometimes they appear to make some real blunders.

Brian, Having just spent 25 years with inmates sorry offenders! It doesn't surprise me, but I'm sure the snake didn't mind. 

Looks like the one I nearly stepped on at Port Douglas beach, that would spoil a vacation.

Yes Canny Lass we have moose, lots of them, only problem with them is on the highways, there are lots of deer, elk and caribou which cause lots of accidents / road kill but the moose being so tall and top heavy ride over the hood of the vehicles and wipe out the cab causing major injuries, but they are favourites for the hunters, so much meat.

We don't get boars at all, mountain goats and big horn sheep. In order to protect the caribou heard they are culling the wolves, against everyone's wishes. On the outskirts of town are horse stables, that’s were the lynx and cougar usually hang out, just being aware of where we are and respecting the animals habits and needs is all one needs to remember, only the odd macho hunter gets into trouble.

On 2016-01-28 at 16:42, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

Canny Lass,and Vic and Doreen,it looks gorgeous owa theor,but a bet it's bliddy caad!!

We had a little flurry o' snaa t'otha day and it caased havoc in some places!!....gud job we dinna hae yor winter conditions owa heor...we'd cum ti a standstill in ten minutes!

Cum ti think on't,if we had the 1947 winter again,that wud stop us an aal!,the parapet walls of the Willow Bridge were level wi snaa that winter,but we still got wa milk and grosseries......it teks sum stopping horses and carts!!

Doon thi pit,a used ti be plowing through swaallies of stinking black waata,nearly level wi thi top of the horses' back,trailing heavy machinery bits and girders etc,across bare rough ground,[nae rails in the maingates],and although it was self-made on management's part,wilful neglect,the fact of the matter was,the horses just battled through it aal,as we lads at Choppington High Pit just had ti dae....nae options!

Where ye are,both of you's,looks like a haven for an amateur photographer!!

Vic,dae yi get brown bears smooching aroond as weel,when it gets really rough?....or wolves?

Caad! I’ll say its caad, but that's what the thermostat is for! –5c-10c just right, –25c not so funny but okay, –50c quite an experience, –15c about average but its only from October until April/May. Usually lots of snow but not a lot this year, even sent a bit over for you guys to shovel.

The bears usually hibernate but often wake up during mild spells, brown Bears are also known as black bears they come in several colours, black, brown, cinnamon even white, Grizzlies are the mean ones, up to 800lb, they also often wake up for a snack during warmer spells.

Yes we have wolves also coyotes, cougars, wolverine (they are probably the meanest or them all) fox, lynx, they sometimes come into town and snack on the odd kitty or dog even the the odd deer (that we shouldn’t encourage into town). Years ago there was a bear nicknamed Patches used wander into the shopping mall even the bar! when we first came here it was our only entertainment to go to the garbage dump to watch the bears. We came home one night to find a bear sitting on our deck looking through our window.

A paradise for the photographer, outdoorsman, hunters, fishermen, lots of birds, animals and scenery, a disaster for the shopper! lots on Google!

Have a great celebration Brian, will it be the last before you become a republic?

Oats, carrots and apples.

Ah spotted wor lass right away! 

She was rattling the names off, but missed a lot of them, eyesight rather than memory, you just made her day (needed it)

Great, that makes life a lot easier, (for me) thank you.

Finding the unread topics was alright but getting to the latest unread posts is posing a challenge without a lot of scrolling through a long subject, is there a simple way to set up and save?