mercuryg

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!

"a coup of coffee" You successfully overthrew the dictatorial Nescafe? Sorry, couldn't resist......

"Looking into my family tree, iv discovered my mams family moved from cornwall to cramlington." My grandfather's family also came from Cornwall. I believe Great, Great grandad was a shaft sinker, and made his way up here after the Hartley disaster when such skills were in high demand.

I like Bernie, he's a cool cucumber.

"What has Sky got that you can't watch elsewhere" Most of the live Formula One races, and I refuse to pay.

"unstoppable international indecent" Plenty nudity, then?

"Also search on Roku. Sky is toast!" Interesting; I'm assuming, however, that you still have to pay to access sky channels?

"ChromeCast" What's one of these? Sounds interesting...

I didn't want to say, but this was inevitable. If you're interested I know a man who has created a set of authentic stocks (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Made-Evil-Furniture/209965445839267) ; put them in and we'll throw things at them.

4/13. There was nothing there about beer.

Missed this, hope you had a great day Adam

One that was doing the rounds on line yesterday, had me chuckling...... A burglar climbs into a dark house through a window, looks around for valuables, then suddenly hears a voice in the darkness: 'Jesus is watching you!' He freezes, waits a few moments, no more noise, so continues across the room. Again, he's disturbed by a voice: 'I'm telling you, Jesus is watching you!' Baffled, he turns on his torch, slowly casting it around the room, and alights upon a parrot in a cage. 'Did you say that?' 'Yes' says the parrot 'I just think should know that Jesus is watching you....' The burglar laughs. 'Yeah, right! What's your name then?' 'Noah' squawks the parrot. 'Noah? What sort of people call a parrot Noah?' asks the burglar. 'The same sort who call their rottweiler Jesus.........'

Oh, forgot to add, Mr Cowell going on about 'work ethic' is a bit rich, when myriad kids today believe that they, too, can get rich quick by becoming a pop star on a TV talent contest. Who is it that's behind that, I wonder?

"Simon Cowell will not give his son a penny and he is a multi millionaire." Adam, with respect, that's not what he actually said: he said his kid will not inherit his fortune. He didn't say he won't pay his bus fares and nor did it say he won't pay for his education, etc. The lad will be party to plenty of Mr Cowell's money across the years. On the subject, I'm not sure how to see it. Keith's right, transport is an expense and, for job seekers and many others, an essential one. Whether concessions should extend to children over 16 I'm not sure.

I'd give her one....vote,of course

We do have some sort of mining here, in several locations. It's on the surface, not underground. I don't know if you've taken a look at Shotton from the top of the sculpture, but it's huge.....

It's interesting; had I seen the person go down I would certainly stop to help; If I walked past someone lying on a busy street like that I would likely assume they were drunk. However, I like to think I would still stop to see if they were OK. A number of years ago a girl collapsed at the bus stop just as the bus was pulling up. I stopped to help her, despite the bus driver's insistence 'are you getting on or not?', called an ambulance for her, rang her father, the only number I could find, and waited with her to make sure she was OK (she was, she's still round also and a very nice lass). I was astonished that the others at the stop - two mature adults, one a woman - got on the bus. Is getting to work really that important when someone is in quite obvious trouble? When I explained my late arrival it was, of course, fully understood. What's a few minutes to help someone out?

I must confess to living in something of a pop culture vacuum these days, and had no idea what X Men were until I watched a film, by accident, last night. I am, apparently, Beast. Suits me.

Keith, you didn't think I was playing did you? Where would I stand my pint?

If it's the same cricket club that's there now it still has a bar, I was in it not long ago.