Vic Patterson

Young offenders and community hours! give them bright orange coveralls and push mowers!

Your definitely right Adam and Keith but I think the dangers are little bit overblown!

Asbestos! bit like PCB! bad stuff to be around, but far too much hype about the dangers, I worked at Blyth Power station for several years during it's construction, I was always covered in asbestos, breathed it, wore it and probably eat a lot of it! PCB's were everywhere, (I was an electrician) it was in motors, transformers and capacitors etc, we were always covered in the stuff, the underground miners used it to clean off their hands! yes it is bad and can cause many medical problems, and it rightfully should be handled with care, but its dangers are a little bit over exaggerated!

Nancy Molden and her brother owned the Molden shop, Nancy was also a teacher at The Whitley Memorial School.

Proudlock's was a bakery in Ashington and I think they took over Newman's bakery across the road from Blyth bus station.

The pits in the past were terrible places to work but like almost everything else conditions have changed. Modern pits have improved in safety, health and production, (unless you live in China!) and are very little different to working in many other heavy mechanised industries.

If pits were to be opened (or re-opened) properly while considering the miners and the environment they could provide a lot of needed employment directly and for support industries, I'm sure it is straight economics that closed them and keep them closed!

The camaraderie of miners is second to non, when your life is constantly in each others hands it has to be strong!

Posstubs, backlane washlines, proggy matts, wireless accumulators, outside netties, tetty picking, picking wiliks all great memories, but thats how I like it, memories!

"One councillor actually defended having long grass because she believed it "would soak up all the rain".

I like that one!

in the streets at night when it was damp you would get covered with black soot that hung in the air both from the heaps and the smoke from the chimneys of the houses, it was not practical to take a bath every night since you may have used the old tin baths that you had to heat up the water in the fireplace, a wet cloth to wipe off with was all we had, every one was exposed to breathing in the smoke, it was just the way it was.

Correct! "Whey aye†wor lass says! ah remember them, doon threw the park doon where Eddie Clooson used to live...... Being from Bly*# I wouldn't know any better!

That must have been quite the experience being brought up in a large family, I was the last of five and thought that was big, being the bairn I loved ever minute of it!

Hi Vic, is your wife on the photo? If so can we have a name please. Cheers.

Hi Keith L, My wife was 2-3 younger but is still very good friends with his sister, I worked along side him at Blyth Power Station in the mid sixties.

My wife also thinks that is Jeff.

Not read through it properly yet Adam . Dry stone walling, Blacksmithing and Hedge Laying . 3 cracking trades. To lay a hedge properly is one helluva a skill and if done properly as with dry stone walling, will out last a fence by generations. Good money can be earned by those skilled in both of these trades. The skills of a good blacksmith will always be appreciated (not to be confused with a farrier). Could even make some new gates ..................

.... or non-flammable picnic tables

You're absolutely right about not being taught respect, Vic, and watching in your face aggression on TV is not going to help either. But at the moment I am actually caught up in the system where I am unemployed and cannot get the training I want because of Government cuts' (I have spoke on this on another site in depth and I am not going to repeat it here.) It is a vicious cycle and I am frustrated by the lack of empathy in many organizations, but I would never dream of setting property on fire just to vent my spleen. I reiterate, some people are just bad, it's in their blood, they would do what they do regardless of whether there were facilities in their town or if they had a job. Remember that Panorama documentary where a care worker was caught dishing out violence to the residents. You can't tell me he was doing that because he was on handouts. He had a respectable job! So what was the cause there? Upbringing and respect have always been important but there's very little of that shining through at the moment and I personally can't see it getting any better.

I certainly don't mean to imply that only the unemployed are vandals or all workers are not vandals! but as Stephen said if your paying for it your not likely to set it on fire! I see generations of family's that do not look for work, have never even tried, they expect handouts, houses etc, they rely on the conscientious workers paying their bills.

I can sympathize with you in your employment situation (bin there, done that) but things will change if your determined to find work, I travelled all over the UK to keep working, but ended here in Canada so I could get home and see my children every night! don't give up.

Good luck in the job search.

Keith L,

I don't think I would class these people as evil, but just calling them bad would also be a mild statement! vandalism I believe stems from not being taught respect or pride which I think comes from being a productive member of the community, working, paying taxes, brining up a family etc instead of standing in line for a handout!

The previous discussions regarding the lack of fair distribution of facilities, sporting and leisure etc highlights the frustrations of the youth who don't have many employment prospects, it makes them feel like second class citizens! I think work and good work ethics would solve most of these problems!

Symptoms.

So true! parent teaching is being replaced by the "new media†TV, Movies and games!

IMHO, RESPECT! Parents are not teaching it and school isn't allowed too! Yes it is much more than a few kids misbehaving, how do we stop it? Corporal punishment! Fines! Jail! Education! I don't know the answer but I do know and believe most working people don't commit many crimes!

Respectfully submitted!

I managed two conversations, after that I would go in and not get any response from the person already there, I assumed that they were elsewhere (reading the latest postings) and not monitoring the room (or the little red indicator box!) Is it possible to get an audible or visual notification that some one else has entered or responded? just a thought!

Well done, excellent video, after first watching the parade I watched it a few more times looking at the Town, shops etc, (even that guy up on the Nail!) It's a pity it rained but I don't think it spoiled the enjoyment of crowds, certainly reminded me of the Picnic!

Thank you!

Happy Birthday Foxy, have a great day!

Couldn't agree more. There's a couple of good reasons why verges in Scandinavia are so nice. First and foremost it's to help reduce accidents caused by elk and deer running on to the road. Verges are generally speaking quite wide here and the vegetation is kept very short to give motorists a better chance of seeing wild animals before they reach the tarmac. It's easier to take avoiding action if you see the animal before it gets onto the road.

Another reason why verges are so nice is that we have spring cleaning 2 weekends in April/May every year. The government pays a small sum of money to all clubs and associations who participate. The members take care of a stretch of road and get paid by the kilometer to pick up and bag anything that shouldn't be there. Bags are provided by the local council and when filled are left on the roadside. These are then collected by the local council within the week. The clubs get a boost to their funds and the members get fresh air and exercise. I think it's a great idea.

It's also like that here Canny lass, come rain, sun or snow the 4-H club clear all of the highways on the first weekend in May, (thousands of kilometers, orange garbage bags every km!) and in town there is a local competition between businesses and groups to see who can collect the most bags around town! The city of St Albert bring in sheep to their parks to keep the grass down (fertilize for free!)

I think that would be Mr. Humphries from the TV show "Are you being servedâ€

Happy Birthday Adam, hope your having a great day!

(nice one Canny Lass!)

1110 squadron Ashington around 1959.

Happy birthday Micky!

Happy Birthday Brettly, hope your having a great day!

I'll give that a try, thanks Paul.

Thank you John, but unfortunately it is only the electronic version, (need a Kindle reader) still no luck locating a hard copy.

Where is the book available online? I've tried my usual sources, Abebooks.com and Amazon.com without success. Good luck but sorry Paul, just can't make it on the 27th!