Canny lass

Totally agree Adam. It would be nice to know what we can get warning points for and who dishes them out. Like your new picture!

I seem to be the only one who's got a mention of warning points.I don'y know how I should interpret this. Does it mean that everybody else has had warnings?

What are 'warning points' and more important 'why haven't I got any'? This information appeared yesterday below my informationon the left of the screen.

You may well have bought school trousers here even if you didn't go to Westridge. The official uniform items were those with a badge on - or you could just buy the badges and sew them on yourself.They also sold the blu/white striped blouse for the girls. Ordinary grey/navy trousers and skirts were also on sale here as were plain white shirts. I'm now wondering if we're on about the same Moldens and Feasters? The ones I'm thinking about weren't at Vulcan Place. They were further down the front Street - at 'the bottom end' as they used to say - to the right of the Northumbend Arms in Foxy's Picture.

Spot on! Aprons were the order of the day but I can't remember suits. Shirt, tie and maroon coloured v-neck pullovers is how I remember the man in Moldens.The counters were display cases, with lots of small draws full of everything imagineable.

Forgot to mention, Proudlocks was definitely a bakery but I'm not sure just where it was. I think it was in Bedlington though, rather than at the station. There was one at Ashington as well so maybe they had a few other branches. Might have been one at the station as well.

Feasters and Moldens were sort of connected. They were next door to each other. They had only a very small window facing the street. Between the two shops and running at right angles to the road, was a sort of 'arcade' where they had their main display windows opposite each other. At the end of the 'arcade' the doors to the two shops stood at an angle of 45 degrees to each other. I don't remember any connecting door in the shops. You had to come out of one to go into the other though you were still under one roof. They were the mainstay of Bedlington, as far as school clothes were concerned. They were the authorised suppliers of westridge school uniforms. They were also the last shop in Bedlington selling cross-over pinnies (aprons, to the uninitiated).

They used to be the official suppliers of the Westridge school uniform.

Know it well. That's where my tap-dancing days started. Monday nights there were classes for tap and ballet with June Taylor as teacher.

i think that might be an early sign of dementia Keith.

That's true Adam. It would be a boring world if we all thought the same.

Spare a thought for all the housewives at that time. What a job it must have been keeping your home and children clean.Vacuum-cleaners weren't exactly 2 a penny. Carpet sweepers, at best, were all they had to clean rugs and floors with and they couldn't have been much help in the constant battle against soot. No, it was good old-fashioned elbow grease, carbolic soap and scrubbing brushes that were the order of the day. Keeping children clean and tidy must also have been a nightmare. Washing days were at least 2 days long. Washing machines when I was a child were hand driven and the 'poss-tub' and 'poss-stick' (sometimes called a dolly) were common place. I remember being allowed, as a child to get into the tub and 'poss' with my feet. I thought it was great fun. My mother probably just thought she would save getting the bath out for me later. If washing was a labour of love, then getting the washing dried was even more so! It was almost impossible to dry washing outdoors. Not because of the weather but because of the soot in the air. I remember sitting down to tea in the sitting room/ kitchen and not knowing who I was sharing the table with at times, as there would be a double bed sheet hanging on the line that stretched from one side of the room to the other at all times. The sheet reached down to the table, completely blocking the view. Yet just look at some of the class photos being exhibited here on this site. How well turned out the children were. They were a credit to the hard working mothers of the era. Adam, you say you would like the pits back. You say your grandads would go down the pits again if they could. I'm sure the camaraderie in the pits was second to none and worth returning for but how would your grandmothers like the pits back?

Good try!

Thanks Brettly. the last option sounds the most simple. However, I'm still wondering about this thing with paragraphs that Keith (L) brought up. When I write a text i usually just bash away with Arial font. I complete the text first and don't usually process it until it's fineshed. I know on the last occasion, however, that I changed the font about half way through. I'd realised it was going to be quite long and changed to font of the type used in newspapers and books. It's supposed to be easier on the eye they say, in my profession anyhow. Most of the paragraphs were placed/altered when the text had been completed - as is normal for me. When I pasted in the text in Bedders it came up as almost handwritten. It looked OK so I thought what the heck and posted it. The posted text was entirely different with both the fonts I'd used in the original text in alternate paragraphs. I've had problems when I've sent attachments in e-mails (transferring via USB). If I send the text as an atachment it arrives at it's destination just fine. However, If I just paste the text into the main body of the e-mail it goes all to pot somewhere along the way. It looks fine when I send it off. Could there be something wrong with either my computer or the USB I'm using? One last question, did you mean 'Microsoft' Word? I've never heard of 'Microshaft' Word. Oh how I envy you young people who know all about these things. Thanks again!

Oh Lord what have I started!!

After reading your comment I'm now wondering if my problem also has something to do with paragraphs. I had another look at the text I posted and the typeface has changed with each new paragraph. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

Sorry Symptoms, you know how it is with women and the gift of the gabb! I'll just keep quiet shall I?

Keith (Lockey) You lost me somewhere between "Hello" and "with regards to". I think Keith's (the otherin's) suggestion of throwing it in a bath of luke-warm soapy water is easier. Only problem is it's hard to find a bath here. Only showers and saunas.

Thanks Malcolm, I'll try that. Now that you mention it I have had complaints from others that some of my texts are just gobbeldygook by the time they arrive.

... might have been on it's whotsit.

Shucks! and there was me thinking it was the hoojackapivvy with a thingamy on it's doodah.

Can any of you computer experts explain to me what's happening when I copy and paste from a word document to this site. I have a laptop for work which I refuse to connect to the Internet (too many bad experiences). However, It's very convenient to be able to write in different places rather than sitting at a desk. I've developed the habit of writing texts on the laptop, transferring to a USB-'thing' (don't know what these are called in English) anything I want to send over the Internet and sending them from another, much older computer. Did this on this site a couple of days ago and it looked fine when I pasted it in, even if it wasn't the same typeface I'd written it in. It was at least the same typeface throughout the document. When it was posted the typeface had changed to a few different types. Is it something I'm doing wrong? Simple explanations only thank you (female, getting on in years and not the least bit technical).

Quite right Keith, we don't know who did it. It may well have been a 70-year old arsonist rebelling about a cut in pensions! However, from a behavioural point of view it could well have been the group we're discussing here. Really we're discussing behaviour and not the burning of picnic tables. I agree 100% that the meaning of respect, whether for other people, their feelings or their property, should be taught at home and during the early formative years. My argument is that this is less and less possible because family life is more or less non-existant today. Home, amid the security of the family, is undoubtedly the best place to test boundaries at an early age. It's there we learn a lot about ourselves and others and the generally accepted codes of conduct in society. I think our generation may have been the last to experience the phenomenon! If a child has that grounding it's not too difficult for a teacher to build on it. However, it is not a teacher's job to 'teach' respect. All teachers are qualified at university level in their chosen subject(s) but, as far as I'm aware, there is no subject called 'respect' to study so how can they be expected to teach it?As you say, very often the first hue and cry is "it's the schools fault" but I think it's this lack of 'teaching respect' they are referring to. I also think that schools can be apportioned a fair share of the blame. Not bacause of what's being taught but because of how it's being taught and to whom. Really it's not the fault of school or the teachers, it's the fault of politicians who's only interest is to shine brightest of all on the European, educational night sky. As for the bad language Keith, don't get me started again. That's another hobby-horse!

EXACTLY! we'll have come a long way in solving the problem when our generation can admit that we ourselves have played a large part in this. Not just because we've been too busy amassing things materialistic - we've also been too busy voting in the wrong politicians.

Couldn't agree with you more, Mercuryg! They are in the minority and as I pointed out very few get praised for the things they are good at unless it's of an academic/theoretic nature. However, I think this minority group could be a lot smaller if schools accepted that children, while equal as far as their rights are concerned are not equal as far as their ability is concerned. if the aim in schools was for each child to develop as far as possible within the scope of their ability, rather than aiming for a pass for all at the same level. if parents were better att setting boundaries if we stopped treating children as adults the minute they are born - or at least by counterbalancing their rights with their responsibilities. Malcolm, I'm not trying to make excuses for these children, or their parents. I'm trying to find reasons for their behaviour. If we don't find the reasons, then we've no chance of changing the behaviour. I really believe thera are many youngsters who go down this road who could be saved the journey if only they had the right map to follow.