HIGH PIT WILMA

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.

Heh heh ! Canny Lass,aa musta had a brain-storm......!![have a got a brain?!] Naa,ye see,ivry bugga else in this country nivvor change tha twang,ti help other folks ti unnastand thim,like a Cockney,or a Scotsman,for instance,but we were browt up wi manners,an' larn't ti hae pity on poor listeners from utha fields.....so WE TRY!...ti taak "polite",but gennly end up mekk'n an ass o' wase'lls.....if ye knaa wat a mean....like....!,and aav tuk notice in me travels roond wor countries in the UK,[cos aav nivvor ivvor been abroad....except ti the Isle of Skye.........in the days wen ye had ti get on a wee boat!!],and we're the only ones who dae that,cos if we didn't,knae bugga wud knaa wat thi hell we were taaking aboot![ Cussing is hoyed in fo' dramatic effect!!] Hoo dae ye say "Hello" in Sweden,Lass? A can tell Lars and Jennifer ti say "Bora Da ",when they get ti Wales!!! Nite nite!

Aahh!! I forgot to say what a gorgeous little friend Nova is! They are so lovable natured,but fierce as hell when they say go!!Well, they wouldn't be Terriers if they were wimps! Give him a big hug and a gud scratch behind the ears from Me and LBJ![ "Little Black Jess"...my poorly Labrador x ...]

Hi Lars,Jennifer,AND Nova!! Sorry I am not able to offer practical hands-on guidance,due to my personal commitments at home,but thanks to the hard work done by Eggy,in bringing my Bates Pit Photo's to this site from FLICKR,[the photo-sharing site],I hope you might gain a wealth of information,and enjoyment,reading a few of the many and varied comments,under each photo.[mind,get a strong cup of coffee before you start,cos I write like I talk.........!![non-stop some folks say!....but I just like to paint as good a picture as possible with words,as to how we lived and worked 1000 feet underground and many miles out under the north sea.....heading your way in some roadways!!] Hope you both enjoy your stay in Beautiful Northumbria,as well as the rest of our lovely country! Noo...! ...waat's Swedish for .."Waatcheor Marra's!" ....or!..."Waatchwatyadaeing Marra!" Bill.

Hi Eggy! ...when aa was transferred ti the A pit from Choppington High Pit,in 1965,Foster McKenzie was wor Union Chairman,and Mick Gallagher was wa Union Secretary. Noo a canna think that aal the Station lads,like Foster,and the Temple Brothers[?],would be at the Dr Pit Welfare Park....... ...aam glaaky...!! ..they CUD hae been playing the Dr Pit Team![and Foster looks aboot the age he was when aa forst met him..] Aav aalwis had it in me mind that the Dr Pit Park pavilion was made wi wood, painted Blue...unless that was just the front steps and balustrade..,and a divven't think there was any shrub beds at each side like on this pic. A dae remember that when ye looked doon the path past the tennis courts,the Pavilion was prominent,with a few park bench seats alang the edge of the bowling green,and aal the lovely flower beds,very picturesque. Aam tending ti think that this was the Station park Pavilion. A worked wi Jimmy Temple on the shearer coalfaces at the A pit ,in the mid-sixties,lovely fella,very serious,hardly ever smiled,but very sociable,and an Amateur Radio Ham,in the days when the Hams built a lot of their own radio gear,cos it was cheaper than buying it new.Me and him had some gud conversations aboot Q.S.L. cards, B.F.O.'S and Local Oscillators......etc! Were the Temples three Brothers?,cos I only knew Jimmy..and yet Harry's face is very familiar...maybe he worked at a different part of the pit,from us . Naa!The mair aa study this pic,the mair aam sure it's the Station!....it doesn't feel warm ti me sumhoo......... Canny Lass,they were happy days,wi simple pleasures,in the days when ,for my family,just gaan ti Blyth beach,was a really happy day oot...or Newbiggin aan aal,and that wasn't very often!we had a saying in thi pit communities..."Nae Mun-Nae Fun"!! Most miners used ti crack...."so where ye gaan fo' ya summer holidi's...?"......"Worgit"..."Wheor thi hell's that?"...."Wor Gate"!! and also...."Wheor yi gaan?....etc"...."Seehooses"....."SEAHOOSES?!....BY HELL,EE MUST HAE SUM MONEY!......HAE YI GETTN A TRIP UP?"....."Naa....it's ownly a few yards away!"......"Whey ye sed Seahooses,it's a canny lang way up the coast"..."Ner man....wa gaan ti see thi hooses...!" [new cooncil hooses being built aal arroond!] Aalwis a bizzarre sense of humour!

If wor Parkie had seen blokes and lasses as auld as this misusing the high-flyer,he wud hae been at them like a dog at broth....!! Was it a Gala day aam wondering?!

Canny Lass...the "Shuggy-boats" we knew were at Blyth beach,where each "Boat" sat two people. There were two ropes suspended from the overhead beam ,and hanging within each person's reach,but offset to each other. Both riders would pull on their respective ropes,to set the boat in motion,and pretty soon the boat would be "shuggying " back and forth,like a conventional swing,getting higher and higher! Cheap entertainment ,bliddy hard work for little kids,and gud excercise!![and many years later,happy memories of tekking ya aan bairns ti Blyth ti gaan on the "Shuggy-Boats"!] A think aam teaching me Grandma how to whisk eggs,Canny Lass,so ti speak,but some younger folk might have needed an explanation....!

Heh heh!!....memories...! At the Dr Pit Park,through the wee cut down at the bottom end of Hollymount Square,you were confronted by the high tennis court wire mesh fencing,which ..[as proper villains did in them days!!....]....we used to climb up,mek on we were gorillas,screaming and shaking the wires back and forwards,as if we were caged up,to attract the attention of the Parkie,who used ti chase us aal owa the shop!![mind...we were only about 10 years old......and the parkie didnae hae a mobile ti caal for the only copper in Bedlington on the beat....Constable Jimmy Mann...very well-known...][Heartbeat country in them days!!] Around from the courts there was a lovely hedged rest garden,which was always kept immaculate.Keep on the little path,that tuk us ti thi old Whitley School,and the swings etc were doon at the bottom of the kids playing field,which got neglected as did the swings and other things,cos time and money was always spent on the Adults amenties. We had four swings,a "Roondie" [your witches hat],a teapot lid,low flyer , hobby horse,high flyer,and a small playing field. The "big lads" used ti pull on the high flyer till it went up so high,it lifted them six feet off the ground as they grabbed it on the return ready to pull on it again..[as the photo shows...only these seem to be adults playing on that one!!] As always,the vandals gradually destroyed everything in the park,snapping the swing chains and wrapping them around the top bar so they were out of order completely,smashing the wooden slats on the teapot lid and the roondie... One day, there was a lot of excitement went through the playground in the Whitley,at playtime,word came around that the Council were repairing and painting everything...it was great,never saw the park so full for a while after!!..it was like a brand new park again! At the right hand side of the park were the Bowling green and Pavilion,flower beds,aam sure there was a quoits bay,and a grassed area behind the tennis courts,where the disabled paraplegic lads from the Dr Pit,[accident victims],used to practice archery with aluminium Longbows.[extremely accurate,with sights on as well!] We kids used to watch them shooting at the target,then we used to run doon and collect aal the arrows and bring them back to the lads,they were very grateful,and used to let us have a go with their bows sometimes....only we weren't strong enough to pull the arrow back![the lads were all wheelchair-bound,and I distinctly remember how good-natured and likeable they all were , I think they were pleased to be out and doing something creative,and enjoyed people's company,even though it was a bunch of little kids sometimes.] At the far right of the park was the Football field,which still remains only a bit more upgraded to what it used to be back in 1954!! Aye,as aa say.....happy memories!...that's the beauty of this forum!! Big thanks to Eggy as usual for the gud work! P.S. My Wife says there was definately a quoits bay at the Station park,she remembers the auld cheps [my terminology..not hers!],playing there sometimes .

Hi Kalee! Welcome to the forum,hope you enjoy visiting,there's some clever people on here! I'm from Hollymount Square before I got married 50 years ago,and I married a Station lass,we used to walk around the park when we were courting,mainly cos I was skint,and we just had to go out walking. The park was very well -kept in the '60 s,as was the Dr Pit Welfare Park next to Hollymount Square. The park-keeper would chase us aal owa Bedlington,if we just as much as stepped on his precious bowling green!![we were just little kids!] I'm sure if you keep checking ,you will get more help from someone on here! Cheers!

I'm getting a bad heed trying ti work oot wat's between these scumbags' ears...... If they get pleasure from playing with fire,then I think that if they are caught and proven guilty,then they should be sat in the centre of a bonfire,and ordered to light it from the inside.....while being hand-cuffed to a steel spike securely driven into the ground. Yes,I am very religious sometimes....."An eye for an eye....a tooth for a tooth"...."Let the punishment fit the crime"....etc.. I had better get away ti bed afore a start ranting....sickening acts of vandalism like this make me want to kill.

Absoloutely disgusting! Methinks people like this also get into thieir cars and drive recklessy aroond the toon like the one who broadsided me and my Wife two years ago,nearly killing us and LBJ.[My Wife was knocked unconcious and I seriously thought she was dead.] They are nothing but scumbags who should be droonded in the river Blyth. Almost every weekend Little Black Jess and Me have had abuse from drunken [or drugged..] idiots hare'in aroond the roads at Bedlington Station and alang the road past the Welwyn factory,in the early hours of the morning. They wind the window doon,throw GLASS beer bottles oot..smashing them aal ower,risking LBJ getting cut paws,and any other dogs [even little bairns] risk having an accident if they tread on the shards. I just wish I could get hold of a Taser,and a Stinger,to carry in my pocket when I am oot! I have been threatened to be "filled in" several times by idiots on pushbikes late at night ...no lights...dark, usually hoodie clothes,and when I have shouted back for them to come and put their money where their mouth is...not one has had the guts to turn and come back at me....cos' they are all big-mouthed drunken cowards. One day....just one day......!! Now I read about Police Stations shutting up shop early.......Mr Criminal is highly delighted ....Methinks!

Great piece of archive material!