HIGH PIT WILMA

Belated greetings Andy,bet yi canna mind wat yi did that neet!! Aal thi best Marra!!

.....were the Airey's being built in 1949 Eggy? Got me puzzled!..mind a dae knaa tha was a massive building programme gaan on after the war got owa,wi West lea,Hollymoont Square,the Grunds,then Grange Park...when ye left schyuul,it was eetha the pits,or thi Cooncil Buildings for them that warn't brainy enuff ti gaan ti grammar schuul....like me!!

Heh heh! Thanks Eggy,still very interesting! My Wife says the grassed area you mention is where the raa was,but she canna mind the raa being pulled doon,cos she was only nine when her Family moved into the new Cooncil hoose at Grange Park. Aa remember when the Cooncil laid the tarmac paths and roads leading from Stead Lane into the "Grunds"[slang nyem for "the Grounds"].....still beats me why it got that nyem like!,when they started building the Airey hooses etc,cos a was aboot ten yeors aad,in 1954 [July],[might hev been the following yeor like!],and the craze at that time was .....not mobile phones......[!]......but mobile wheels!!! Aye,ivry kid worth he's salt,had a pair o' roller skates for Xmas one year,and they were either Milbro,or AW,noo a canna mind wat the AW stood for ,but that's wat mine were. SO!!,why a mentioned aal that drivel,was cos word got roond the kids owa Millfield,which was passed ti thi HollyMoonta's,then doon ti the Beattie and Haig crews,and some of the Parkies,[them that lived doon the terrace from the Whitley Schyuul,facing onto the park..],and before lang,ONE MASSIVE snake of skaters went fleeshin doon from Stead Lane onti the new -fangled Tarmac,which was as smooth as a babby's hint-end,and quiet and easy on both your skate wheels,AND ya bones!! THAT new set of roads doon theor became the place ti gaan skating efter schyuul!!,cos it was cheepa on wheels...the rough concrete roond Hollymoont wor the wheels oot in a fortneet!![and skatin' on the paving stones was ten times worse!!] Jimmy Milne sowld them for a haaf-croon each..[25 pence in today's money,but a fortune when ye had ti pick blackberries aal weekend and sell them roond the doors ti get money ti buy a wheel!] Noo! aa was ten in 1954,so if they were building,and developing aal that surroondin' area they wadn't want an eyesore of aan aad raa caaled Puddlaa's Raa,ti be left stannin dilapidated wad they,so aam thinking,just thinking mind,they mebbe pulled them doon as soon as they were aal empy!! Me Wife was nine in 1955,when she shifted,aa was eleven in July that yeor,so mebbe that's when they went!! Lang draan oot story as usual,but the subject just set me reminiscing.......!! P.S. Strange fate that a few years later,as we got inti wor teens,and skates were a thing of the past.....until the day me Motorbiking Marra's[who were also me marra's doon the High Pit!],one day sed ,"Wilma,dae ye fancy gaan doon ti thi Skating Rink at the Station?" "Skating Rink?????????Wheor thi hell is tha a skating rink????"!....[aa hadn't been owa the plate-ends till then!!] So we went and the rest is telt elsewhere on the site!!!!!

Hi Elaine! Welcome to the site! My Wife is the Sister of the fella who kindly shared these very rare pics with us,and she was nine years old when they moved out of the Puddler's Raa,to the new Grange Park Estate. That would have been in 1955..I have always assumed the Raa was pulled doon then....not in the 1960's? When WERE they pulled doon exactly?....anybody knaa?!!

Me and me Wife went ti see Los Zafiros,[a Mexican trio wi aal the get-up and wide-brimmed bonny hats!] They waaked aroond the audience haadin' tha guitars high up,as them lot dae,when tha daeing clubs etc...... ....wor lass panicked when they headed for wor tyeble,cos the leets follaad thim,and wor lass hates any kind of attention like that,but me being a fan of theirs,and heving tha L.P.'s ....[aye L.P.s-NOT ALBUMS.....!!!],AAA was chuffed ti hell,cos apart from seeing these guys,[or any other groups like them],on thi telly,aa was nivvor gaana get a betta chance ti see hoo they played the riffs and Rasquaado's on their guitars....as a did frae three feet away,that neet! It was brilliant,cos the three of them stood aroond wor tyeble for a canny while,ye'd think a had paid them ti dae it,but a think it was cos they got response from me,being a guitarist,and requesting tracks from their L.P...[Vinyl!!].....aa wud be the ownly porson in the haal who wud knaa wat they were playing,and who was stone cold sober,that neet!![ me being an absoloute tee-totaller!]

Hi Eggy! Great montage of the Wallaw/E.T.C !! Can anybody mind of Johhny Citrone appearing there at the Domino,in the days not long after it opened? I think I telt me story aboot him on another thread,but I just found an excellent black and white clip of him on Blue Peter ,[on U-Tube], blowing a hot water bottle up,only he only blew it up so far and stopped,for safety.[it WAS a kid's show!] His stage act finale was blowing the hot water bottle up till it bursted with a loud explosion! Nooadays,wi H&S,he wadn't be allowed on a kids show,wi an act like that!!....[not ti mention aal the poses he went through...displaying his physique!![He WAS Mr Great Britain at the time,for body-building]

A bit late, but welcome to the clan, Dawn!! I'm wondering if you are Dawn the "Vampire",who my Wife and Myself see often!

I did my CBT course with Paul,owner of this bike training school in Meadowdale at Bedlington top-end,two and a half years ago,and found him and Helen,[Paul's Wife],to be very friendly and sociable,in their approach to students,like myself,a "Born-again Biker"!...[and an old one at that!] On Saturday,one week ago,I went to re-do my CBT again,having been off the road,[bike-wise],for the last two and a half years due to whiplash injuries sustained in a serious car crash.[ young lass-stolen car-cloned reg.plates]. Jon,the instructor who took me out onto the road,was very patient and friendly,joking and laughing naturally all the time we were out,which put me and his other student at ease,and relaxed. When we got back to the school,Helen kindly chatted with us,asking how we felt now,after a rusty start,saying jokingly,that "Rust rubs off!! She was lovely! Tony,another member of staff,was also very friendly and chatty,with both of us students,so they all made the day easier for us. Anyone intent on going back to biking,or considering starting from scratch,need to look no further than Premier Bike Training!! Well recommended by me,and a few others I know,some who are in the Motorcycle industry! H.P.W.

Well recommended to me by my next door neighbour,who has had a lot of experience with this "garage",on the Barrington [!] Industrial Estate. So I advised my Son to go for his M.O.T. ,which he did,knowing it would probably fail on a couple of items. ....It did,and that was on Saturday gone.The handbrake,and the Catalytic Converter were the items that failed. My Son gave them the go-ahead to do the jobs,without even agreeing a price ! The car was back on the road today,repaired and MOT'D! [Monday!] A member of staff showed me the damaged Cat.Converter,which was falling apart with rust and corrosion. The job was VERY competitely priced,surprisingly low,for the repairs AND the MOT,all in,and My Son and myself were both over the moon with the result! All the staff were friendly,and patient with me,being a bit deaf in one ear and not hearing out the other one!! I would definately recommend them to anyone . HPW. P.S. .....and,of course,the little brown and white Spaniel sitting on my foot for comfort,and giving me a paw,made it a worthwhile visit!![picking my Son's car up for him]

Save a smaal place for my Motorola C 520,which is clipped to my belt every day of the year,and has been for thi last [almost!]twenty yeors!! A knaa!..not a computer..but wud luk cute amang the teley-typers....and paper-puncher machines!

Weel done Canny Lass!! A think we'll start caaling ye "VERA"!.........[ A dinna waatch telly,but aav seen thi film crews knockin' aroond a few times!!...at Blyth and other places!]

Jack Antoniho came aroond Hollymoont Square from the days when the square was still being built..and my family moved into number 13 when aa was aboot three and a haaf yeors auld...that was aroond 1947-8. Us kids that had nowt but the claas on wa backs,used ti cadge lifts on his cart aroond thi square,and he used ti gie us a haaf-dozen wafer biscuits ti keep wi happy!! He was the kindest "old" [ti us!] man we ever knew. As time went by,me Faatha used ti send me oot ti get ice-cream "Sammidges"...the wafer biscuit type..not cornets..for aal wa family...a once-a-week treat! So auld Jack knew his business!!....treat thi kids reet....nae bother gettin' mair business as a result! Oh.....!....and nae historic claims of child abuse wi aad Jack! Great ti see these pics of Jack.

"......waits excitedly......waiting....waiting.....for the rest..."...! ....but nae bugga seems ti knaa it,so howeh, Trekker,tell wi!!!

Well!!Exactly one month since my rant over acts of vandalism...and it seems to have killed the thread! But it hasn't killed the vandalism.....another seat burned to a large pile of ashes up the Black Path,from the Furnace Bank car park. The seats down by the river went a year or two ago,the one adjacent to the car park was attempted to be burned down a while ago,but is still there ....unsightly....being charred black at each end of the seat,next to the Longridge information board.....the one just up the path,about 50 yards....just a heap of charred pieces amongst the pile of ash and rubbish....[a while ago],and in the last three or four weeks,the next one up the path..just fine ash and the metal holding brackets left![oh!....and, of course,the obligatory Vodka bottle and beer cans.....empty of course......they carry them there full...and are too lazy to carry them home or put them in the bin!] Bins!!!!....the Council no sooner put bins everywhere for public use,and within a week,the one at the Red Row junction,was literally riped off and vanished,leaving the pole and twisted metal brackets. Most every other one I come across,seems to be twisted around as if the intention was to rip them off and been a failure....maybe by kids too weak to carry out their bit of fun.... I took pics with the intention of posting them here and on the County Council site,but haven't been able to do that as yet. When will it end? Rich,you want to hope that you die young and quick,and never have the need to grow old and infirm,with the need also for permanent care.....in a Care Home for the Elderly. Maybe you have a genuine sentiment for seeing Bedlington thrive.....but it sure as hell doesn't sound like it to me!! The very people being cared for,like Matty Hall,who EVERYBODY in Bedlington knew,is in such a home,and it was People like Matty who helped create the Community of Bedlington as we knew it and grew up here. Now tell me....what have you contributed to Bedlington? Rant over for another month! Back ti me aad sel' agyen!!

Very reminiscent of the old Miner's Picnic days on the twenty acres,and Attlee Park....in the 1950's n '60's! A great atmosphere!

Canna find a zoom tool John!

Aah Alan?! He was always a smashing natured lad,quiet as a moose at school,and very likeable..a fellow musician one time..and I saw him a while back ,for the first time since the 1960's,and cracked on immediately,pity he was on Council business so hadn't time for a long one!! If you see him again,John,please pass my regards on! Thanks!

Prospect Cottages Bomarsund....pavement outside No 7 and 8 requires total stripping and relaying with concrete,pothole over a foot deep,and getting deeper as time goes by caused by indiscriminate parking,and subsequent Brands hatch take-of back onto the road usually strangers,and van drivers,stopping to use their mobile phones as they come into the 30 mph zone from Bedlington Station...it's a wider area so drivers use it for convenience with no consideration for pavement users. When raining,the pothole resembles a small pond..with no indication of how deep it is,and only last week,a small child was flung head over heels from his micro scooter and landed headlong into the hole....luckily not seriously hurt,but he could have broken his neck,and I would have had to be chief witness. The whole street is concreted,except for one grass patch,and the patch referred to which is red whinstone chippings,was laid down decades ago.

Captured perfectly Foxy! Cudna dun better if a tried wi me aad "Halina 35X" 35mm.....circa 1962-ish! We been ti Rothbury thi day,caad and showery and windy! A think we shudda stayed in Bedltn! A cud hear the last bits of the show from me back garden in Bomarsund! Pleased it was a great success for the organisers...and the artists.....and the crowd!

Whey yi bugga man! Wheor thi hell hev aa been aal this time? Aa just catch'd up noo on this bliddy gud crack....nae impitince ti nae bugga,nae sarkyniss,just gud aad-fashind crack! A divven't knaa wheor ti start..... Forst off,when me yung sun wis aanly a bairn,Sting's bottle waas in thi charts...an' aa cudn't stand it!! Yeors later,a liked his "Fields o' Goeld". Noo! When wor lass caaled me in and cut me chynes from thi kitchin sink,as a waas just finishin' weshin' thi dishis,ti waatch the last ship sails,a might as weel tell yi's aal that aa waas rivvetted ti thi box,welded ti me seat,and thi time just sailed through in a flash! Best thing aav seen for a lang time,and that much impressed that a saved it on me laptop,an' waatch it owa and owa at least once a week! Noo hoo di a agree wi?!!! Whey,a think it's reet wi aal beg ti differ,cos nea buggaa's qualified ti ti decide hoo anybody else shud speak!.......BUT!....... Wor Jackie Charlton bugged me donkey's,an' a mean alot o' donkey's yeors ago,when he still "Pleyed well",and follaad on by sayin'..."it was a gud goel"!.....THAT waas thi start of my porsinal irritations wi Geordies,Northumbrians,whaativvor! Then me two Sons went doon ti London ti worrk,me aadist has been doon theor 30 yeors,and me yungist one cyem bak yem. Thi both acquired accents,through pitman's Son's browtins-ups,ti hae common-sense and decency,and respect for thi poor buggaa's tryin'ti unnastand thim. Imagine thim in an intavue,taakin' like at yem.....or like wor Daz,negotiating a recording contract wi a French or Portugese Artist,like does a lot iv thi time.....he'd be a dole-hand nae botha! WE are the ONLY folk who change wor dialect for thi benefit of others,so they can understand what we are saying,no other breed of people in the UK does that!! A Cockney speaks Cockney! Welsh people speak English as they do,and very pleasant,with a singing lilt ..which I love to hear...same with the Scottish people. But you try and understand every single word without question,that a broad Glaswegian speaks,and you will be unique!! Ner,it's ownly us daft buggaas who change wor twang,an' it's got nowt ti dae wi trying ti be posh,wi me at least,it's just plain bliddy common-sense and decency!! Sym,when a started working oot thi pits,mekkin' fornitcha,a was worrkin' wi lads from aal aroond thi place,in a factory at Rothbury. Thi forst day,a yung lad ,aboot 18 ya aad,sed ti me,Bill,are yi from Bedltn? Who di ye knaa ?.....[a axed him]......... "Cos ye rrrroll ya rrrr's" ,was his reply,then a noticed thi Blyth lads,thi Pegswood lads,thi Station lads,aal taaked a bit diffrrint.......proppa-like.....but diffrint!! Wi cud gaan on aal neet taakin' aboot this an' get naewhere!,but it's LBJ waakies -time,then bak ti waatch.......... WHEN THE LAST SHIP SAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The only thing a think Sting did wrang,was ti tek it ti America,cos even doon sooth,not a lot of people will get the quick-fire gags aboot thi shipyards,"Welding him ti thi deck.."etc Ye knaa,wen aa taak posh ti mek mesel' unnastud,a ownly gaa as far as ti say things who they soond....such as...."Aav godda "PAIUN"..[Pain],in me "SHOWLDA",[Shoulder],Docta,[Doctor],an' it's "Warse"..[Worse],when "A".. "PLAAYUH"..[PLAY] "ME" [My] "GITAR"....!....[not "PLEY"....OR "PEYN".....nowt wrang wi that,aa just divvent taak like that!!] Noo,a divvent say me "Bottom",or me "A....e"..,a politeley refer to me posterior,as me "Backside"...!....see?...it's aal doon ti wa electicution wen wi war graan up! Howw!!,she's bitin' me leg!! Keep this one gaanin,aav thoroughly enjoyed being educashind by aal thi intallecshualls on here.....a refreshin' change frae pitwark!!

Whey ye knaa wat!,the beach baal's been spinning for an hoor,and the photo's have only been haaf in haaf,till a clicked me post on,and the bugga's posted,and also displayed hitherto unseen updated names,confirming one lad as Bob short,who a knew very well but just cudn't place his nyem!! That just leaves number 18 noo,for me at least!!John Hale,[Yice],has shot up a lot in his teens from when he was at the Whitley![number 10],so not 100% sure it is him,cos aa thowt he might have been Davey Lees,he's the spit of him in my memory! But on the face of it,John played alang wi the others in Matty Hall's team,and Davey didn't to my knowledge,so on the balance of probability.... Just ignore me argyin' wi mesel,cos Yice was nivvor taller than Ritchie,naebody was,when aa was at school wi' him,and this is early '60's...!! Def. Owen Monaghan. Eggy,would Lillian Wilkinson be Alan's Daughter,and if so wondering if Stephen is her Brother,cos my Son passed my laptop and picked oot Alan as the spit of a mate o' his at the Middle and High schools,my Son is 43 yrs old noo,so Stephen is the same age. Wud be great ti get in touch wi Alan again after aal these years!

Heh heh! Eggy! You just inspired my memory with a flash of gud detective wark!! Definitaly not Bedlington Dr pit Park!! If it was,there would have been terraced houses behind,not semi-detached as you suspect is Queen's Road! My normal sessions here are ,as you knaa ,aboot anywhere after midneet,and tired oot! Noo,wi a reasonably fresh state of mind and memory[!],I just twigged aboot that after seeing only the top 3/4" of the last post you made,cos the photo [revised],is just refusing to load up fully! Also definately Alan Wilkinson,my lifelong classmate,[ and friend oot of school],and def. big Brian Richmond,[Richie],who was the best goalie we had ever seen at the Whitley,and ivrybody used to say,even the owlder lads! Canna def. say aboot Ken Johnson,another schoolmate,but just aboot 90% sure!! Noo wat's bugging me is the lad wi the quiff and the suit,2nd from the left,back row!!,aa knaa he's face but canna place him at aal!,also the lad wi the dark thatch,2nd right,middle row,could,[not sure!],be Dickie Mitcheson,who played for the Whitley Memorial school in Matty Hall's team,alang wi Ritchie,and Wilkie.[Alan]. Some,like Ritchie,and Wilkie,nivvor change wi age,while it's sumtimes hard to be sure aboot others! Pleased ti see this pic!!

Bedies,if you go down the street and stand at Bell's Place,which is the cut into Hollymount Square,opposite the Black Bull pub,then walk back up about 50 or 60 yards,you will notice how the street sort of goes in a bit,then juts back out,forming a little neuk.On the wall there is a blue plaque on the last building in the neuk,telling you that this is where the Gardener's Arms pub was....etc.[can you picture where I mean?] We,as kids,were always led to believe that old Ned Metcalfe bred the first ever Bedlington Terrier,but I really don't know the validity of that story! I always wondered why he ALWAYS! had riding breeches,riding boots,and ALWAYS carried a riding whip,whenever he walked down the street!,cos there were no horses in any of the local fields....only horned cows in the picnic field,in the days before the Miner's Picnic was ever held there! He might have been a real canny fella,but to a ten year old we'en,he posed a very real threat!!....[walrus mustach,flat cap owa he's eyes,a permanent scowl..!!,aye...real scary!]

Good to see the Police taking positive action against these criminals,and I think that this stupid "under-age" law desperately needs changing. If a thirteen year old "kid",knows how to break into someone else's property,and is out through the night doing it,he should be named and have the same slap on the hand as "adults" who commit the same crimes. I pity for the Police,when after a lot of work done to convict these criminals,the offenders just get light sentences,or no sentence at all.