mercuryg

Interesting that Pilgrim. I have cause to attend the Freeman often. The service there is stunning. On moving back here, 22 years hence, my consultant at Manchester Royal Infirmary told me he was transferring my records to the Freeman, and on no account was I to let the Wansbeck near my ears!

"not sure now but at one time you had to have a mine/subsidence survey done to get a mortgage in some parts" I bought a house on Hollymount Terrace approx 20 years ago and had to have one done then. This one was bought for cash so no mortgage needed! Now I've said that, it will probably disappear down a big hole....

There is a line of thinking that says the early Christians built their churches on sites that were already used for Pagan worship. A recent perusal of an old copy of Fortean Times (if you don't read it you really should, it's a mine of fascinating information) took me to an article that stated otherwise, that the 'overbuilding on pagan sites' stuff was a myth. I will dig out teh article when I have time and see if there is an online link to it, as it was a very interestign hypothesis. Quick Google search says Anglo Saxons were initially Pagan but converted quite quickly to Christianity. St Cuthberts is a lovely church;I usually find them oppressive but this one is OK.

"he fundamental fact that over the last couple of decades the EU has represented an ever smaller part of our trade is undeniable!" Not disagreeing with that at all; it simply highlights what I'm saying - there's the rest of the world to consider. The concern I have is that withdrawing from the EU represents just a very small part of the problem. Can we compete with non-EU markets?

I'm not falling for a myth nor opting for anything. I'm simply stating thst the world is bigger than the EU. The graph is a stand alone set of figures. It is a narrow set of statistics that, says nothing in particular, other than giving the anti EU brigade what they want. By the way, at no point have I declared a pro or anti stance.

Of course, to balance this, we have to show what the UK economy would have been like had we not entered the market. Which we can't. As is always the case, a set of figures is no use at all without something to measure it against. Would we have achieved unbelievable levels of export had we not been party to this agreement? I doubt it - after all, what would we have been exporting? Where was the industry to come from? Let's say we remove ourselves from this little party: what happens then? Does the country suddenly start producing oodles of goods that the rest of the world wants to buy? Or would the rest of Europe continue buying from cheaper markets, as they are now? I think we all know the answer. It's rather unfair to compare our exporting prowess now - in 2015 - with the growth achieved in, say, the 1990's, as these are - to coin a phrase - different times. Countries that are now manufacturing powerhouses were not back then. There's a much, much bigger picture here than 'the EU has ruined us'. There's the rest of the world to consider.

Indeed, it is now open; I'm told it's small.....

The whole lot, Malcolm, or just the Tesco buildings?

Missed this one - hope you had a great day Malcolm!

Maggie, where did you learn this?!

Interesting stuff, Paul! A long shot, but did you by any chance know my father, George Turnbull? Looking at the timeline, he would have been a reporter at the Chronicle around the same time you were there, but it may have been earlier....

I have absolutely no doubt you are correct, Foxy. I am simply astonished at the lack of respect these people have for the hard work being carried out by others to highlight the plight of the town. How, in any way, shape or form, has the action taken by MAN4 been unnecessary? It was entirely apt and needed, as nobody else was actively doing anything (excepting Malcolm and his good people at WBTC, of course). Mrs Wallace needs to actually relate to the people, as others are doing. The Town Fair was a brilliant success, by the way, and well done to all who made it happen.

Good to read this; I've just got a new tablet and 8.1 is utterly horrible! Shall upgrade to 10 right away.

""too much unnecessary action so far which has not helped our community" What an utterly disgraceful and misguided comment, especially from someone in a position of authority. In my 20 plus years of residence in and around the town I have never seen anything that HAS helped the community - and has inspired - as much as the MAN4Bedlington campaign; does the councillor pay attention to the constituents? Clearly not, which begs the question as to why she is in the job? I get the impression - and have done for some time - that the reason she, and others, are so steadfastly opposed to MAN4Bed is simply because it wasn't their idea, it was created by an everyday resident with concerns and grew thanks to teh like-minded thoughts of others. I really thought that this lady may have learned from the mistakes of the former mayor's infamous letter to the press....

"we also ran at Dunkirk" What? A wholesale revision of history there, Tony. Start again, at the beginning. Nobody 'ran' at Dunkirk; indeed, it was an example of exxtreme comradeship, something I thought you of all people would recognise. Necessary and unfortunate in one go, but certainly not an act of cowardice.

Mmm, I was quietly incognito in the Red Lion justthe other day when approached by two ladies, one of whom uttered the sectre password 'Are you Mercuryg?' I'm not sure if it was the indentifying signs in the classic spy style - The Times folded under one arm, a carnation in the right buttonhole, and a badge saying 'I am MercuryG' that gave it away, but I must commend Maggie on her ability to unearth the secret. A pleasure to meet Maggie (again) and CannyLass.

You're right Maggie, and arguably that's something of an understatement. It could be saiid that Birkenshaw's famous malleable rail - the 'bedlington rail - ranks as one of the most important innovations in industry in the early 19th century. Its use advanced the devlopment of railways to a degree that is difficult to put to scale these days. Much more efficient to manufacture, considerably longer than cast iron rails and far more reliable, the rail encouraged an expansion in railway installations in the UK and then beyond. Think of it, in relative terms, as something akin to broadband over dial up internet. Incidentally, while I believe the town should and could do much more to capitalise on the rich heritage, Wetherspoons should be commended for the way the Red Lion is decorated with many fascinating pictures and panels on such luminaries as Gooch, Birkenshaw and Stephenson, even Dr Trotter, as well as exhibits on the iron works, the pits, the famous Penny Black and of course the dog. One notable painting is tucked away by the kitchen door and is a quite lovely illustration of the Iron Works as they were - well worth a look.

Good stuff, it really does look great, amazing how detail touches make such a difference

Malcolm, are the railings along the dual carriageway section to be done? Great idea, by the way, even a friend of mine who comes over for a pint from Gosforth mentioned how lovely it's looking from the Red Lion!

Indeed, I noticed a van there yesterday, couldn't see much going on though!

Must say it's looking good all-round, what a pretty town we have!

Quite remarkably (or perhaps not so!) pretty much all of them! Interesting to note they also apply to teh small town in Cheshire where I grew up, except that was actually far more boring than here.

Interesting news, but who will be able to afford it?

Knife grinder still calls here, on his bike!

Porn? What's that?