keith lockey

TonyP has put this photo in the gallery. I have transferred it her for continuity sake. (Cheers Tony)

Stirling University...happy memories there!!! But if that figure is correct...£4.5000,000,000, why hasn't 'our' government jettisoned Jockland sooner!

So let's get this right, Merc', you have a 'garage' where someone can park his bike in!!! OOh matron. Do as Merc' says, Pennylane, lay claim to it...you'll soon find out who owns it then!!!

Are you a fellow[?] Musician also?....we can start a thread aboot C# 's and B-flat-minor-seventh's...with a sustained fourth......and a diminished ninth.....!!! That's what my ex-girlfirend said I had, HPW, - a diminished ninth and a flat minor!!!! On the subject of the woods and air rifles, etc. Me, Jim Hunter & Bob Barron got chased from one end of the woods to the other by a gang of lads with air-rifles!!! We were just coming up the Giant Steps when we bumped into them. They said we'll count to twenty... What they didn't know was the three of us knew them woods like the backs of our hands. They're still looking for us yet.

No, Symptoms, I think his dad worked at the Power Station. (He used to drive a monstrous Humber if I remember) Jimmy had two brothers and three sisters. The middle brother, David, was manager of Elliot's Garage before it became a piece of scaffold!!!

I'll take an updated photo, HPW, and put it on site. It certainly isn't the way we remembered it as whippersnappers. Can you recall the barber? Short-back and basin cut!!!! I got a crew cut once...thanks to Jimmy Hunter...and my mam went off it!!! If you eventually get down that way drop me a message and we'll meet up...work permitting!!!

Belated wishes, Malcolm, watch all the candles don't burn the house down.

Symptoms, I came across this after you posted that bit on the Waterman's Arms. Really interesting. http://wharferj.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/quietly-famous-the-watermans-arms-isle-of-dogs/

That's a good idea, Maggie - The Bucket of Sh*te Challenge. Let's nominate people to have a bucket of broon smelly stuff poured over them. Politicians first...since thev'e been dumping on us from the beginning of time.

Are you saying you cycled all the way to The Toon, Foxy!!! You'll get your legs slapped when you get back.

No, no, no, Merc'. It was ancient Egyptians who visited Bedlington, (Or maybe one of the wandering tribes of Egypt) Look, here is the evidence...uncanny.

AW darn!! That pesky Merc has got it right away. Well done. Yes, Mike Nesmith is the answer. His mother invented liquid paper He wore a wooly hat on the Monkees. (See photo) And he hat a hit with a song called Rio. PS There is a brilliant documentary about them on You Tube - Behind the Music - well worth a goosey goosey.

OKAY VARMINTS, I'M BACK. These four pictures will connect you to a musician - who is he?

I've got to be careful how I word this because it might not come out the way I want it... I will probably vote for UKIP at the next elections...someone pick Threegee off the floor. But my reason for voting for them might be simply because we need a change. And I don't think that is a correct reason...or good enough reason for voting for someone. I'll try this another way. The Tories seem, once again, to be self-centered. Only a lunatic would vote for Labour...full stop. So we have no one else but UKIP...and having no one else to vote for should not be the reason to vote for them. I have said this elsewhere...I have NO CONFIDENCE in any of the political parties and to say that we live in a democracy is wishful thinking, at least, and delusionary at most. Democracy is just a word...like Utopia...like Shangri La. It doesn't exist. It meant nothing in the days of Pericles and it means even less now. You may have the right to vote but when there is very little hope or substance at the end of that vote then it becomes meaningless. The next election is going to be a nail-biter, I just hope that whoever gets in can be as earnest and honest as possible.

Cheers, Eggy, I remember I used to take a book to work. Ate my lunch in the first 20 minutes then read for the duration of the break.

Who can remember the one-hour lunch breaks we used to get? I worked at several places in the seventies and recall having an hour break for lunch - but when did they stop? Was it an individual employer / employee choice or was it mandatory?

I volunteer to have a bucket of gin and tonic with ice poured down...er...over me!!!

Here's a totally out-of-the-box thought, Malcolm. (Please don't all laugh at once!) What if the Council - or whoever is in charge - leases two or three shops out to the public. (Say for a month's free trial) One person has that shop for one day. They can sell what they want; ie car-boot stuff, junk they have in their attic, books, records or if they have access to other goods then that, too...WHATEVER. It is their shop for that one day. (9am - 6pm) They give a percentage to the shop owner or council and keep the rest of the profits for themselves. Remember; one person's junk is another person's treasure. I know it sounds crazy but why not give it a go...you can't lose anything by it.

There's a lot of debate about online shopping killing off townships and community spirit. Let's look at it in perspective. I can't even buy a pair of shoes in Bedlington. (I know Tesco has just added a clothes department but...come on...not a great deal of choice.) If I want clothes of any kind I have to go out of town...which in my case means bus fares - £5.50 for a day return to Blyth. So I have that added cost. I get to Blyth and find they don't have what I want. So the next day I go to Ashington - more bus fares. They haven't got what I want either...and you can see where this is leading. An Arriva weekly ticket would cost me £25.50 and that's before I even set foot in a shop. On the other hand I can go online...sit in the comfort of my own home and order what I want...normally at a cheaper price than the shops. I can see what I'm buying and know it will arrive within a week. You can bury your heads in the sand if you want but online shopping is fantastic. No waiting for buses; no waiting in queues; no turning up at the shop and finding they haven't got your size in. What I'm trying to say is online shopping is here to stay and it wipes the floor with trudging around the Toon on a cold winter's day. What we need is what Merc' says. Local shops selling local produce at cheap prices. But in case you think I am giving up let's look at some shops that we could really do with in Bedlington... Wilkinsons. Primark. Heron's. (good food at good prices) Shoe Fayre or Priceless. W.H. Smiths. Just for starters. Let's not knock online shopping...for some it's the only game in town.

It's an old political trick...the..."Would you trust a new government at this time of crisis..." ruse. "We are in power...we know the rules of the game...trust us"...yadda yadda yadda. Unfortunately sheeple believe them. Come election time and every dirty trick in the book will be brought out.

I think STOP SHOP POP was 'Pop' Clouson (Clouston?), Eggy.

I can't swim. Besides, I've had too much cold water poured over my dreams.

I think Merc' & Malc' have the right idea where food is concerned. I think we should concentrate on that side of attracting people to our town and now that winter is around the bend people will be getting the broth pans out. So how about opening a couple of brothels in Bedders!! We could turn all the empty shops & pubs into high class establishments and I will even propose myself for consumer tester. Now I know it's a daunting task and will take up a lot of my time but I'm willing to take one for the team. All those in favour raise your...hand...and say AYE!

You're just a Cockeyed optimist, Threegee. (or as me and my brother used to say in our younger days ...:a cockeyed octopus!!!)

So was it "Salmond's enchanted evening."