mercuryg

On this note, my mother (she's knocking 80, so she has excuses) reversed into another car at Bebside tip the other day. She didn't notice it because, while reversing, she was busy reading a sign that said 'Please Take Care When Reversing'

7 year old and 4 year old kid are in their bedroom. 7 year old says to his brother 'I reckon it's time we started swearing; let's do down for breakfast, I'll swear first, then you.OK?' 'Ok' replies the little 'un, so they go down for breakfast. So, Mum asks the 7 year old what he wants for breakfast. 'I'll have coco pops, bitch!' he replies. Smack, the kid is knocked of the chair by Mum, cries his eyes out. She turns to the 4 year old. 'And what would you like?' 'Not sure, but it won't be f***ing coco pops.....' (sorry, I'll leave the building.......)

In fact it's also the name of the football ground, which is essentially part of the park.

Dr Pit Park is the one by the football club.

"Of course it would also help if those who use Bedders as a dormitory, and live the rest of their lives elsewhere, actually got off their backsides and voted!" Intriguing comment 3g!

Well, I begin at Choppington, head to the bus stop and end up at the Lion

I think they should paint naked women on it.

"Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes. A. Premature death." I hope they gave top marks for this. (Malcolm, you've been busy!)

Keith, it's no problem, I'll cc you in to my messages to Bernie. Your route may be better than mine, so feel free, of course, to refresh my memory! I'll reserve a seat at Table 25 for your presentation.

Foxy, do they have tails, or not? I have the route planned: start on Front Street (of course) up towards Lion, left at roundabout for nice high speed blast down towards Hartford, wiggly wiggly over the bridge and up towards roundabout, left there, back through Boghouses, left onto the Horton road - nice fast stretches there - and wiggly wiggly again down the bank and up, back to the start finish line! Sounds ideal to me. I'll send Bernie a map.

Following this announcement - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/10961513/Motorsport-to-be-allowed-on-Britains-public-roads-No-10-announces.html - I'm going to give my old mate Mr Ecclestone a call and suggest a Formula One race around the local streets. It would bring in more punters than your bike race idea, Malcolm, and I am planning the route right now! The administrations office will be, as from today, Table 25 at the Lion, so if you want to talk to me about this frankly brilliant idea, you now where to find me (if it's sunny I'll be in the beer garden). Thanks. ** I forgot - Foxy, if the cars don't want it, perhaps the bikes do? You wouldn't have to go to the IOM every year then!

Google likes sites that have plenty of links to 'reputable' sources.....

Thought you might like this campaign, currently being promoted on Facebook..... http://app.getresponse.com/survey.html?u=k7i&survey_id=120105

Good fun! Will have another go when more time

That's excellent news Malcolm. Must admit this was the first time I've seen the refurbished bandstand up close, was impressed, especially like the way the ground has been built up level to it. Great work and a truly usable venue.

I think there is a worse example of a shop standing out from the rest in Watson's Newsagent, now horribly sponsored by The Sun.....

Good heavens, Foxy, they all turned out for you? I'm around there somewhere, I'm sure!

Indeed, well done to all involved, enjoyable day, great crowd. (some impressive totty, too)

Going off at a tangent a little, but I associate the town with a great bunch of very friendly people. There is still a sense of community spirit in Bedlington that is not found everywhere. The iconic image is, of course, the dog, but perhaps it's time to push some other heritage of note? The Iron Works has always fascinated me.

Keith, the opencast is certainly one bloody big hole! It's lovely up there, great views.

"...Wearmouth Family,who were all Salvation Army members" The Wearmouth family are still involved with the Salvation Army in Bedlington.

"David" I got to know a Davey Oliver, who had spent time in Liverpool, over the past few years, we became good mates. If this is the one you're on about, he took a job last year in either York or Manchester, and is still there.

Malcolm, I think a lot of the stuff about Mr Tesla, a great man nonetheless, is vastly exaggerated. Much of his experimentation did not work, after all, and rumours that some of his work is still classified are believed to be untrue. Granted, he branched out into areas others did not understand, but he didn't really advance things. The problem with the electric car is that manufacturers have jumped on the technology in order to look like they are doing 'something' in advance of the apparent demise of the internal combustion engine. In fact, the motor industry is not worried about its demise at all, and sees it very much as the staple power source for decades to come. More efficient, smaller, turbocharged engines with hybrid energy recovery systems are the way forward in the immediate future, while the hydrogen fuel cell is undoubtedly the engine of beyond that. It's a little known fact that, in the early days of motoring, electric cars were much more popular than ICE powered vehicles. This was largely because they were more reliable. Indeed, the first vehicle to top 100kmh was an electric vehicle, in 1899. It's notable that the range/mileage of the vehicles back then was not far short of that of current electric vehicles. In other words, the electric car is a dead end.

Clever; they know the future isn't with electric cars, but with fuel cell technology, so are encouraging others to push the technology forward for their own good. Tesla makes some great cars, but electric vehicles will only ever be suitable for short run use, and are of no interest to the UK public at large. Still, kudos to them for sharing their knowledge.

Despite having lived her now for over 20 years I only visited Durham for the first time last year (for the stunning Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition). I echo the writer's sentiments entirely, it's a beautiful city. I'm always intrigued as to the ongoing furore about widening the A1; I've used it in heavy traffic up and down the length, and can't see what the fuss is about. Yes, it can be slow at times, but I guess having been brought up in the North West I know what real traffic is!