mercuryg

"I believe the cast iron rails were made here in Bedlington before Birkinshaw." They were, but they weren't the first; Wrought Iron rails were a bedlington first, a la Birkinshaw.

" Maybe I'm wrong, but In this day and age I can't imagine why anyone even vaguely literate would ever need one."] I think you're very wrong!!

The first three Roxy albums are among the best ever made. The debut was truly ground breaking. **Mind, it's telling of the ways of the internet that, when I read the title of the thread, I thought he was dead!

I'm a massive fan of Ferry and Roxy Music.

"Then there are the first ever metal rails..." Not quite, Maggie; Birkinshaw came up with a method of producing rails more efficiently and, thus, cheaply, and also enabling them to be longer and stronger, hence cutting down on the time needed to lay them, and the need for frequent replacement. His method also used considerably less in the way of raw materials. It was, as we all know, championed by George Stephenson, and pretty much the same method is used to produce extruded rails today. That the Iron Works is not celebrated more notably as an extremely important place in terms of industrial development is a mystery to me. "Folk Tales of our region include a tale of King Arthur waiting, asleep in the hills, to be woken in time of greatest need." This one crops up all over the country; your familiarity with Buxton etc begs the question are you familiar with Alderley Edge, in Cheshire, Maggie? The Arthur story is strong there, too.

"I started this 793-882 AD..." You started it WHEN?? Must say you look great for your age Malcolm....

"railway was constructed between Bakewell and Buxton..." Know it well..... "Our County will still be one of the best place in the World after the construction of a Motorway" Still can't agree Maggie! I have admitted to selfishness in this, as I hardly drive these days!

Oh Keith, oh keith, oh keith......

I'm with Symptoms on this one. So there.

Very true, Maggie; I'm just of the opinion that what is attractive is to the south of here, in terms of commerce.

"imagine the benefit in trade for us all." I'm not convinced about this Maggie. Dualling the A1 would make it more comfortable for drivers who use it, but would it bring more trade to the region? I can't see much coming our way from Scotland, really? Selfishly, I'd rather it stayed as it is, as I hate the vast expanses of tarmac that crisscross the land everywhere!

it's been going on for years Maggie; just Putin flexing his muscles and seeing how good we are at spotting those huge, slow, outdated bombers that keep creeping into our airspace! I'm quite sure we do the same to them from time to time, it's a fun game and great training for the pilots!

Brillo, You're not way off at all. For a long time the Duke refused to allow it; I believe that was the last Duke, not the present one.

Indeed, Malcolm, I believe there are several alien craft, and live inhabitants, in a large hangar at Coningsby. Symptoms, these intercepts happen more often than you may think....the Ruskies like to test our response times.

No, just a routine circuit, an every day occurrence here. There are probably more Typhoons within a couple of miles of this house then there are people. I believe Coningsby is the biggest fighter base in Europe. Also houses the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. **Symptoms - sonic booms can cause damage, and are not a regular occurrence. Special permission has to be sought to fly supersonic over land (as in this case); Churchill didn't have that problem! I knew something was up the other evening when two Typhoons roared away after dark; flying stops at dusk, unless otherwise specified.

Nice pic from RAF Coningsby yesterday

"he also told me that there was even bigger bunkers,beneath Tranwell airfield" This rings a bell with me; doing some research on old racing circuits in the North I composed a list of disused airfields - many of which were used for motor sport in the post WW2 years - having been told by a source that Tranwell may have been used in some way. I can find no evidence for such; however, research did uncover the existence of a still-intact underground control centre, so perhaps a bigger bunker for vehicles is not so far fetched? Indeed, during the war Donington Park, in the Midlands, was used a storage depot for military vehicles. Following the end of the war most were simply buried on site; they are still there.

I believe my uncle bought a bass off him....

"my money is on a food outlet beginning with "N" NacDonalds?

Well come on Malcolm, spill!

Didn't see your reply Foxy, sorry!

I would suggest a great number of those can be explained!

I have heard the story about it becoming a mosque but don't believe a word of it! I've seen pictures of the inside as it currently is - the place has been completely gutted.

And just what is that supposed to mean? I can't help being devastatingly handsome!

Maggie you should introduce yourself to me! I'm pretty distinctive!!