Canny lass

Mercury, believe me when I tell you that there is not one word in the english language, or any other for that matter, which is unnecessary, not even the taboo words as even these have a function. By 'taboo words' I mean those dozen or so words that people avoid using in public because they think of them as harmful, embarassing or just plain offensive. Some might call them swearwords others might call them abuse.There is a lot of research both within linguistics and psychology which shows that there is a place within each language for these words and that in the right place they are totally acceptable in that they have a function (research has shown for example that swearing can be just as effective in pain management as traditional analgesia)! That which can at times be wrong, however, is the situation in which these words are used. Taboo words, abuse and swearing are not necessarily the same thing, though the three can overlap at times. However, swearing is often used as an all encompassing label for many kinds of bad language - whatever its function - but from a purely linguistic point of view swearing refers to a strongly emotive use of a taboo word. It's an outburst which gives release to a surge of emotional energy. It has a function as a substitute for an aggressive bodily response and it can express a wide range of emotions from annoyance through frustration to anger. Swearing isn't however confined to being an emotional response. Swearing has been shown to have a well defined social function. On the one hand it can be used to mark social distance such as showing contempt for social convention by swearing loudly in public or writing obscene graffiti on walls. On the other hand swearing can also be used to mark social solidarity, that's to say a whole group takes on identical swearing habits. i think it's this phenomenon you are seeing in the pub Chris so you are not too far from the truth when you say that "foul language and fashion are the order of the day". When anyone joins a new group they are, consciously or otherwise, very much influenced by the group's language - swearing included. If the gang swears and you want to be one of the gang you swear too. There's plenty of research to support this. There is however one very significant difference between the two types of swearing I've mentioned. Swearing as a marker of social solidarity, by far the most common, is dependant for it's effect upon an audience and furthermore it has been shown to diminish in the presence of non-swearers. You, Chris, think that bad language can be attributed to "a lack of education and the failure of multiple governments since the 1970's to police and to keep the English education standards high". A certain amount of prohibition in the use of swearwords does already exist in the English language. At times that prohibition is quite explicit. In the law courts, for example, it's called 'contempt of court'. In the houses of parliament it's called 'unparliamentary language' and in the media there has long been a group of words which are officially banned until after a certain time in the evening in order to prevent children being exposed to them. Even in everyday language there is an unwritten understanding of what's taboo between people and this at times becomes explicit in the form of a correction or a comment by the listener or even the user himself/herself. I should mention here that what's taboo for one person may not be taboo for another, as the situation in the Black Bull bears witness to. That is to say, a mild expletive like !*!@# may not be considered as swearing by someone who allows the c-word to roll off their tongue at the drop of a hat. Because of this it's not always clear to the user of taboo words whether or not he/she is being abusive or offensive. I cannot agree with you Chris when you say that lack of education and governmental 'policing' on the language front is the cause of the sittuation you describe. The real problem, I believe, is that we ordinary people have lost the ability to make explicit that unwritten understanding which I mentioned earlier. In other words, we simply don't point out for people, in a nice manner, when their swearing is not acceptable. It doesn't need a school education. Both inside and outside the schools we'll still have social groups forming. Some of these will inevitably swear.´and if they don't know they are offending people, and nobody marks the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable they will continue. You, as a landlord, have the perfect opportunity through your regulat´r contact with young people to point out for them that language needs at time to be modified to suit the surroundings, that swearing is not always acceptable, that you and other customers are offended by it and that it is undesirable in your pub. If you make it known that you neither like nor accept bad language in the Black Bull then your regulars will modify their language accordingly. Of course you may lose the odd customer but on the other hand you'd be making way for people like Mercury who prefer a pub without coarse language. It's a win-win situation for you. On a parting note, (thank goodness I hear you saying!), I must just add that my sentiments lie with Foxy. I agree wholeheartedly that it was a mistake, or even totally wrong, on Chris's part to tar everybody with the same brush in relation to their drinking and swearing habits. Mercury doesn't appear to belong to that group - and presumably many others with him, unless the Red Lion is managing to stay solve´nt with only one customer.

No, I was thinking of The Folly

Couldn't agree more Foxy. Almost as bad as calling them the C-word!

Have you as landlord tried politely asking the drinking fraternity in your pub to "tone it down" a bit? I remember in the 80's a pub just outside of Bedlington where swearing was frowned upon by the ownwers. When they heard anyone swearing - the coarser words - they were politely asked to "tone it down a bit for the sake of the other customers" or because "there are ladies present". Most often it worked but should the owner need to repeat his polite request to "tone it down a bit", the offender was pointed in the direction of a "swear box" on the corner of the bar and invited to deposit a donation to St. Oswald's Hospice or leave the pub. There was always a pleasant atmosphere and St. Oswalds got the occasional TV. Just a suggestion.

That just about sums up the situation Malcolm, but hasn't anybody taxed breathing yet?

Are you serious? You are asking stonemasons how they can HELP with repairs to headstones which they have erected over the past FIVE years! Shouldn't you be TELLING them to PUT IT RIGHT!! I'm quite sure the average life expectancy of a gravestone is more then 5 years. The relatives of the deceased should be asking for their money back. I agree with Merlin - it smells of shoddy workmanship!

Who knows what, if anything, goes on in the head of a cooncilla Merlin! Maybe they think that nobody visits the graves in the old part of the cemetery - It would probably never occur to them that children could possibly play there or walk their dog there - or maybe the stakes were from a cheap load of off-cuts all of which were under 2 feet in length. I have to agree it's odd. Like you I would have thought that gravestones which are 5 times as heavy,, and possibly 5 times as old, as those in the new part of the cemetery would be those most likely to topple over. As matter of interest has anybody asked why these stones have become unsafe? Do you think we should go back to the old days when you had to wait quite a long time, 6 months I think, before putting up a headstone so that everything had a chance to settle back into place.

Hope the reading goes well Paul. To everybody else out there READ THE BOOK! I have and it's a great read.

Thanks for the pics Malcolm. Like yourself and Merlin I'd also opt for the word desecration. However, if a group of youngsters had done that it would be called vandalisation! That fits the bill quite well too. I fail to see how the level of safety can possibly have been improved by these measures. Would those structures really prevent a stone from falling over? I find it hard to believe. I think those posts would be ripped out of the ground by the shear weight of the stone against the tie wraps. Thank goodness nobody thought of that solution here! Much better with headstones laid flat on the ground until safety can be restored. Perhaps you should just lay the cooncillas flat on the ground until safety - or sanity - is restored.

I'm trying to imagine the scene with stakes and tie wraps. It sounds a bit like a cure for vampires. However, in all fairness a falling gravestone can cause more damage than a claim against the Cooncil. Just a couple of months ago a 10 year old girl was killed here when a gravestone fell on her. The interim solution here was to check the stability of ALL gravestones nationwide. Those that were found to be potentially unsafe were laid flat on the ground until safety can be restored. I can add that in some cemeteries this was the majority of gravestones but the result was in fact quite pleasing to the eye while at the same time reducing the risk of other injuries to churchyard visitors. Perhaps this could be a solution in Bedlington.

I second that!

OR you can go to http://synergyradio.co.uk scroll down and click on listen live. Add it to your favourites and you can listen whenever you like without going to the community page. Works great!!

Happy Birthday from me too Vic.

A woman brought a very limp pet duck in to the vet. As she laid her duck on the table the vet pulled out a stethoscope and listened to its chest.After a few minutes he shook his head and said sadly, "I'm sorry to have to tell you that your duck has passed away". The woman became distressed and cried out "are you sure"? " Yes", said the vet, "I'm quite sure". "How can you be so sure", said the woman. "You haven't done any test or anything. He might just be in a coma"! The vet rolled his eyes, turned and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a magnificent black Labrador. The duck's owner looked on in amazement as the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from head to foot. He then looked up at the vet with very sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. He returned after a minute with a black cat. The cat jumped onto the table and delicately sniffed the bird from top to bottom. when it was done it sat down, looked at the vet with sad eyes, meowed softly and strolled gracefully out of the room. The vet sat himself down at the computer and after typing a few words he printed out the bill and handed it to the woman. Still in shock, she took the bill, glanced at it and cried out "£350". "You're charging me £350 just to tell me my duck is dead!" The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry" he said. "If you'd just taken my word for it the bill would have been £50, but with the lab report and the cat scan it's £350".

"17 to start, then renew @ 70" - does that mean you have to take a driving test again at the age of 70?

Just to redress the balance a bit, Brian... Why do blondes often have bruises around their belly buttons? Because blonde guys aren't too bright either!

Sorry about the spelling Keith. Little bit of Swedish slipped in with that k (can't have a c before an i without it sounding like an s). However, your right. Mario it was.

Keith, I honestly wouldn't know what a cup of coffee in Bacci's tasted like. Just read what Symptoms has to say about the place! Definitely not a place for the tender gender of Netherton. No, give me Jimmy Millne's any day. He was a great host as well. He went from table to table talking to everybody. Sometimes he'd greet you in the doorway, escort you to a seat, carry your shopping bag and get your coffee from the counter. Made you feel like royalty. Symptoms, In answer to your query about the cafe at the station, that wasn't Bacci's. It was Moscardini's, or Moskies as it was better known. Can't remember the guy's first name. Pete would probably be able to tell you.

And don't forget the coffe bar he opened alongside the department store. One of the best cups of coffee in Bedlington at the time!

Could be the bottom of the saucepan when its been my hubby's turn to make the porridge.

Looking forward to it John.

Can anybody remember : when didthe Coop moved from it's original site next to the pit into the single-story, prefabricated building opposite the Institute at Netherton? when did the coop finally close? when did Esther (Rochester) who had the corner shop at Netherton move into the building?

No, it's me that's Canny

Coughs and colds were treated in our house by placing a dish in the oven containing malt vinegar and 4 or 5 'black bullets'. Anybody remember them? When the sweets had melted the mixture was stirred and used as an inhalation under a thick bath towel. If you had a high temperature at the same time you were tucked up in bed with a shelf, from the coal oven, wrapped in a blanket so that you could 'sweat it out'. The medicine box in a colliery house was very sparsely equipped. Andrews Liver Salts, senna pods and Golden Eye Ointment seemed to be the main stay and these could apparently cure any medical complaint known to man! Splinters, which couldn't be got at using a pair of tweezers, were removed by making a poultice of Fairy Household Soap, warmed and softened then, mixed with sugar. The poultice was left in place a couple of days and drew the splinter out. Perhaps the strangest 'cure' I came across in Netherton was using coal dirt from the pit to strengthen your back. My father never washed his back. He shunned the pit baths when they opened because they had showers, which meant you couldn't avoid getting your back wet. He washed after work in a large enamel bowl on the floor in front of the fire. He often got us children to wash his back but always told us to 'not touch the black bit, just wash around it. This was a patch about a foot square. In the mid 50's my father was found lying on the ground half way between the pit head and home in an unconscious state. He'd collapsed on his way home due to a burst duodenal ulcer and become unconcious due to blood loss. He developed perotinitis as a result and spent several weeks in the RVI after an emergency operation. They saved his life. Was he grateful to these men and women of the medical profession? No - because they had washed his back while he was unconscious. He was not amused and he said his back was never the same again.

I also remember the communal taps in Netherton Colliery. They were set into a white tiled alcove in the walls of the back streets. I can't remember how many there were but I would take a guess at one tap to every 6-8 houses. We were quite lucky and lived only 2 doors down from the nearest so we didn't have far to carry our water. In our house, and in many others, it was the job of the children when they came home from school to fill the 2 enamel water-buckets that stood in the scullery. They were very heavy. I remember going with my brother who was one year older than me. Between us we just about managed to carry a full bucket. If either of us went by ourself we had to make several trips with a smaller enamel 'pot', like a very large tea mug and fill the buckets at home. We also used to fetch water for some of the old folks in Third Street. I particularly remember 'Granny Watson' a widow who lived two doors the other side of 'our' tap. She always gave us something when we collected water for her - couple of Rowntrees fruit gums was the usual but one day she didn't have any sweets at home and she gave me and my brother a brass shovel from her companion set! (was it called a companion set - a stand with fire irons hanging on it, usually a shovel, a poker and a pair of tongs?) Helping the elderly and infirm was an accepted thing which none of us questioned. If one of them called you over when you were playing in the street and told you to go a message for them you just did it. Eventually, I'm not sure exactly when but some time later in the late 50's early 60's, they put cold water into the houses. A couple of families even installed a boiler and a bath at their own expense, the latter under the workbench in the scullery. Others stuck to their zinc bath in front of the fire.