paul mann

Where at the Top End was that Paul?

It was next to the newsagent's and sweet shop, behind the bus stop where'd you'd catch the 3A to the toon.

Can anybody mind the Jubbly machine at the Top End that used te gi' oot orange flavored haff bricks?

Did anybody ivvah get a clip on the lug from Jimmy Mann the Polis? If ye did ah just want ye te knah he was me fatha.

Cheble - ah, that's brilliant. I can mind some beers had a soapy taste - quite liked Double Maxim though when ah got roond te it. Me an' a mate used te buy Broon Ale at an off license, say it was fo' wa mam an gan' inte the woods an' drink it. Fed was the best draught pint though. Ah was happy when a got me club card an could drink Fed cheap.

Wee can mind tha forst pint? Mine was at The Gardners Arms when ah was 15. Ah can still smell the place, all wood, sawdust, beer an' Woodbines. The young lads knew te gan in the back room an ask Ned for a pint owa the stable door. One time ah had te shoot fo' Ned so ah tried te soond ahder. Ah came oot wi' a voice like a foghorn and the blokes in the front bar nearly wet thasels laughin'.

Who the hell would pretend to be a Geordie and for what - all the advantages it bestows?

Ah can mind gettin' a new bike one Christmas at West Lea. Naturally ah had te tek it oot fo' a ride an' show it off. There was nae snah that Christmas an' ah went for a ride aroond the block. At the bottom end tha were some lads playin' an' ah says: "Look what ah got fo' Christmas." An' one o' them says back; "No, ye didn't."

Ah still considah that a great Bedlin'ton type remark.

It obviously has historic merit and Bedlington should do something to hang onto its past. Maybe raising funds by public subscription would help. A good old fashioned petition to save the stables might help if the council realises a lot of locals care about it. That means standing at a busy place with a petition form and collecting signatures no matter what the weather. If Bedlington has no Historical Preservation Society perhaps the restored stables would make a good location.

Thick clumps o' frost on the grass oot the back at West Lea, balaclavas wi frozzin snot an' frost in ya hair when ye woke up in the mornin' an' ahll ye wanted was somebody te light the bloody fire.

That'd curl your hair wouldn't it?

I mind the mad buggers at the bottom end of Westlea who'd fight each other with roman candles for fun.

Like the image of the rocket sticks poking up oot the grund the day after - very literary.

Can anybody mind bonfire neet when it was fun - when wi raided each others bonfires for wood?

Tha were nae pumpkins aroond then but wi had bagie lanterns. Did wi cahll them bagies or snaggies or both?

They were a bliddy marvel o' engineerin'

Can anybody mind the pit prop yard at the Doctor Pit and ahl the tunnels and hidey holes the kids made in the stacks of props? Bloody wonder they didn't collapse and kill the lot o' wi.

I remember the Clayton Ballroom as the most popular venue for punch-ups - all that adrenalin and hormones!

louped - love that word. Another favourite is gowk.

The hoppins were at Newcassel on the Toon Moowah. Ah ahlways called the ones at Bedlinton the shows.

Wee can mind the shows that came te toon for the miners picnic? Some years doon the pit rahs, some years at Millfield; the Waltzer, the shuggy boats and the Oriental Continental. I remember one year blokes deein' a brisk trade sellin' little cornets of willicks at the entrance.

There were plenty of laughs to be had. I needed a bob once for fish and chips so I put me cub scout uniform on and went oot te dee bob-a-job. Ah got a bob at the forst hoose even though they didn't need owt done and they pointed oot it was naewhere near bob-a-job week. Ah felt guilty ahll the way te the fish shop.

Wee can mind tettie pickin' aroond this time of year for a few extra bob? It was hard work but the extra money came in handy.

We'd poach kippers for Friday night tea - stunk up the kitchen ahl weekend.

Remember playing in the old cemetery at West Lea. The old part was like a haunted forest, good for climbing trees and playing Robin Hood. Put my foot through a hornet's nest once in the 'semmie' and got chased all the way back across the fields only to find the back door locked. Taak aboot panic.

On one o' me last trips te Bedlin'ton I went te me aahd hoose at 27 West Lea and was amazed te find the coal hoose and the wesh hoose still intact.

Wee can mind Milne's Coffee Bar at the bottom end when he oppined it next t'is bike shop to gi' ahll the teds and tarts somewhere te go?

This seems to be the only way I can make a correction to this posting. Turns out the freebie isn't today, Monday, it's tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25th. But, you know, computers....