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Can I ask why, Adam?

I thought it was generally accepted that Bedlington is a somewhat convoluted corruption of 'Bede's Land' thanks to the links with the Prince Bishops?

Having been a regular at Wansbeck General. for the past couple of months it may be helpful to point out that the football club, just down the road, is the official overflow car park, and is free. This information is imparted only in very small letters on the signs.

Sorry I missed this one - hope you had a good day, Keith

And a grand job she did, too! It was a fine turnout; the only blip to my evening was bumping into a pair of decidedly dodgy characters in Moby Dicks. I didn't now they let them out in pairs.....

hey Keith, glad you're here. I bought a telescope recently, and am disappointed to find out the moon is not made of cheese. Should I complain to the manufacturer, or the sneaky eBay seller?

Malcolm, if you like that, watch this....http://www.ted.com/talks/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate.html (and if someone can make it a clickable link for a technophobe me, please do....) edit; ooh, it is one! ** also, scroll a few minutes in to where the fun starts

"I still can't understand how Anthony Rutherford could not use Solar Power" It's not the power he's interested in, it's the money.

"The real villain on energy prices is the green levies" Nail on the head, 3G.

The shop has been renovated and is up for let. A couple of years ago I looked into it on behalf of a friend who was looking at opening a retail outlet, and that spot was considered the best available. Upon enquiry we were told there was 'a lot of interest' and that there were many parties in line for rental; as a result, the rent went up in a matter of seconds from £12000p.a. to £14000p.a. We - and I suspect others - were not interested in getting into a bidding war. I suspect greed has made it a less interesting option.

Hi Dan, Thanks, it's not necessary, I will drop Viv a line as it's all clicked into place now!

Just a quick question, is this the Viv, my good friend Viv? (I am, for the record, Deaf Steve!)

Daniel, Thanks for the reply. Good luck with your quest.

Daniel, A fine sentiment for what appears to be a fascinating old building; I do have a couple of concerns, however: firstly, what do you intend to do with the building should you secure its future? Also, who will pay for the upkeep or restoration, should either be necessary? Is this building easy to access, and will the public be able to visit it? I'm not sure the presence of Red Squirrels will hold much water as, despite their relative rarity in much of the country, they are widespread around here. Good luck with your attempts, and any information on what you intend for the future would be interesting.

Adam raises a few relevant points but there are other reasons why HS2 really is a white elephant, not least the fact that, given the sheer cost of it, it follows that few people will be able to afford to use it. I know of a number of local businessmen who, when they need to get to London at short notice, fly, as it's cheaper. Perhaps the major issue - as far as I'm concerned - is that we simply don't need it; I know I'm trotting out an old cliche but logic dictates that, by the time it is complete, more people than ever before - and vastly more than now - will be telecommuting; the cost savings speak for themselves, and with high-speed broadband pretty much a given these days it also makes for a much more efficient use of time. Comparisons with high-speed rail systems in Germany and France are pointless; we do not have the distance to cover that exists in those countries, after all. Upgrade the existing networks, by all means, but don't waste money on HS2. One other point - who wants to go to Birmingham anyway?

Foxy, I'll make up for it sometime! Canny Lass, the Travellers is my local, at Choppington. Actually, I'm closer to the Swan, but it's somewhat more expensive!

Maggie, You may enjoy this article - http://www.donmouth....h_spartans.html - about the girls who, working in the munitions factories during the First World War in the North East, formed football teams as a morale booster as all the men were away fighting. I can recommend very strongly Patrick Brennan's excellent book 'The Munitionettes', which is often to be found on Amazon. Bella Reay, Blyth's prolific young striker, was my Great Aunt. ** I forgot to add, after a charity match in August 1917 the players were, and I quote from various online sources, "presented with a souvenir brooch from Herrons, a local jeweler." I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has seen one of these; the location of Bella's is lost in the midst of time, sadly.

Daniel, where is this please? I don't recognise it!

That depends what you are looking for, Canny Lass. Few do food these days, bar the Lion. I guess the closest you get to a 'traditional' pub is the Northumberland Arms - cosy, great beer but very expensive; the Black Bull doesn't know whether it's coming or going; the Market Tavern is bland, the Sun Inn equally so, the Grapes, well, seems to have been left to run down, and the Blue Bell equally so. The Monkey I've never been in for years, the Station I can't comment on, and all the custom goes to the Red Lion (Wetherspoons); so, if you fancy a pint, I'll be in the Lion or at the Travellers.

"One last thing though what Industry has grew though private enterprise since the privatization's of the 80's and 90's?" That's really a moot point (and Adam, 'what industry has grew'? Shame on you young man!) as the world of commerce and industry has changed immeasurably in the past twenty, even ten, years. The Digital Age is driving the markets these days, perhaps more so than you may realise. What the markets needed in the 80's and 90's is considerably different to that required today (and this is, in my opinion, why the proposed HS2 is a white elephant of the highest proportions). While one can contend that UK industry was destroyed by 'the Tories' (and no, I'm not a defender of Thatcherism, I veer very much towards the left) it really pays to dig beneath the veneer and have a closer look; you summed it up, Adam, with this line about Swan Hunter - "The problem with Swan Hunter in 2006 was they had poor management, resulting in delays and cost overruns: Then the MOD removed Swan Hunter from any future Royal Navy project meaning swan hunter stopped building ships and lost jobs." Put yourself in the position of the bean counters at the MOD, or any other customer of an industry affected by poor management, delays and cost over-runs: I'm afraid sympathy doesn't come into it - economics does.

With respect, Adam, a lot of the problem in many of those industries lay in areas other than 'the Tories'. Cost is always a factor, and ships are built far more cheaply elsewhere than they are here. I'm no expert in military hardware, but have an extensive knowledge of the motor industry; what killed British Leyland was, for want of a better word, crap products in the face of better quality from overseas. We simply continued churning out poorly built, unreliable cars with out of date mechanicals at too high a price, while our overseas rivals upped the ante and we failed to react.

Well done Brian, I did consider it but left my bets off at the last minute!

A bit late i know, but yes, you can, either at your local bookies or via one of the online services. I wasn't tempted by Brown Panther! ** That's for the UK only, don't know about elsewhere.

Until recently they did. Now it is difficult to find out when the place is open.

No, they provide the original material, and a sub-editor will helpfully mangle it for them. You have me wondering why you might want one, 3G....