HIGH PIT WILMA

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!

Eggy!!!....you sod!!....they used tactics like that document to torture prisoners in days gone by!!! I now think I better stay off the road,after reading a page and a haaf,cos noo aa daein't knaa one bliiddy roondie from anitha!! FIFTY ONE PAGES!!!.....heh heh!!!!!!

Hi Pilgrim,thanks for that info,a knew aboot the opencast,but nivvor hord owt aboot thi artifacts found there!! A can mind the notice aboot thi old mine shafts in Hartford woods. There's an old mine addit alang the Free wood on the Blyth side "top path",and the rails were still visible amang the tree roots and overgrowth. We kids used to poke lang sticks inti the orange waata wat was lying aal aroond the entrance ti thi drift...pure orange it was....Ferric Oxide?[from the Iron-stone strata]....wud it have been from the old ironworks mining the ironstone maybe....or older? The waata at Choppington High Pit was very high in iron content similar to that in the woods.

Late as usual,but hope it's a success!....wi thi weather we've had lately ,thi till shud be still tinkling like hell! This canna be the same Theresa who tuk Ken's ice cream van owa who used ti cum doon West Terrace Stakeford,a few years ago? All the best to the staff! Great pic Foxy! Potty,welcome to the forum!

Streetlife....Welcome to the forum!

Whey a aalwis seem ti be thi last....but nivvor mind!....Happy belated boithdi Foxy.....hope yi hae menny mair.....!! [Mr Marley wud tear me tung oot if he hord me taakin noo!] Danny's favourite was the red square and his sandshoe owa ya buttocks!

Er.......Eggy,aam a bit slow sumtimes wi wit,so when a see a trillion excl. marks after a statement...a assume a musta missed summik! Wat hes Barry Elliot got ti dae wi it?and who is he? The ancient articles aa was reading[as quotes],showed up the meaning far divorced from that which seems ti describe the origin of Bedlington's name! Hence my curiosity! Did anyone ever watch Pugwash wi tha wee'ens in thi aad days? Or the competition on the back of the Corn flakes boxes,a year or two ago,to win tickets ti see the latest..[at thi time!] Star Wars film? I leave you to ponder!

Hi Folks,just been reading a bit of historical literature about the origin of the word Baedling............!! Who decided to name the Manor at Bedlington Market Place.........er.......and why? Any idea Malcolm,or Adam?...or enybody else...? Cheers! P.S. it was a letter to the Editor in the News Post Leader that made me curious.

Hi Tony,very sorry to hear of your sad loss. Good to see you back,and hope whatever you decide to do in the future,is right for you. Good luck!

REEDY!....The Doctor Pit Drift wadn't see thi light of day after the forst 50 yards! Us kids played aroond the entrance,and ventured doon less than that distance,[when I was aboot 10 years aad!],but as years went by and I would have a bit snoop aroond,and with all my mining experience driving drifts like that one,it was probably on a gradient of 1-in-6....which was aboot the steepest gradient comfortable to get down to the seams quickly with a rubber conveyor belt running up it's length to bring the coal oot. The steepest gradient I ever worked on was a 1-in-1,then a 1-in-2,and also vertical staple-shaft. My point is,by the time the drift ran under the Market -place,it would have been aboot 100 feet down under![roughly!] A canna see why the tunnels shud be regarded as an urban myth ........the Monks were working shallow seams of coal wi nae tools other than wood shuvels and very primitive picks ,artifacts as such were found aroond the Bedlington A pit site years ago,then more recently when Bower Grange was being developed..a JCB was digging the foundations and fell into some aad workings aboot 20 feet doon![aroond 1980-ish],what the old monks had left!

A bit late of coming back to this topic aboot St Cuthberts Church! A was at a Christening on Sunday gone,[ 4th June 2017],and at the beginning of the service,the female with the Dog Collar on,[NOT the vicar...cos she referred to the Vicar occasionally],was very pleasant,and began by welcoming us all to this very fine OLD Church,WHICH INCIDENTALLY!...... was 1,96..? yrs old on that day!![She told us all..] That makes it older than what any of us have been led to believe ,by a few hundred years! She did say.."or thereabouts....cos we can't place an exact date on it..." after saying it was on Sunday. It made me think that very old secret documents lie in the church vaults,which are only available to the "Priests"...is that the correct term for a Protestant church employee?....if the lovely lady wasn't the Vicar,what was her title in the church domain then? She seemed to know a lot about the history of the church,cos I had a good crack with her,sitting in a pew,after everybody had gone.!

Just catched up wi this topic........better late than never! My Wife and Me went speshully ti see Holly wi the Toby Twirl group.......GROUP!!!! ..[we didn't caal them BANDS!!...bands played trumpets!!] After they set up and did the soond check,Holly was lukking aroond wi he's hand shading he's eyes ti see if any of he's marra's had cum ti see him. He got he's eye on me and came stryght up ti wor tyeble and sat doon aside wor lass,wi he's drink,till the stage-caal came. As he got up ti gaan,he hoyed a haaf-croon on the tyeble and said Bill will ye get is a Bacardi n Coke for wa haaf-time please.?...[a didn't knaa wat that waas cos a was a tee-totaller...still am!] [naa...aam sure it was TWO haaf-croons....cos a can mind thinking....ye bugga....he must be rich noo!] Whey he came owa and had a gud crack aboot the aad days...[in the early-mid sixties..when we were aal starting oot wi nae gear hardly!],at haaf-time,then he said one last s'lang afore he went ti gaan inti thi van at the end of tha set. He started the set wi "Up-up and away with my beautiful balloon" track....and the group's soond and of course Holly's voice was amazing![ mind,when he was a young-un,he did Mick Jagger ti a T !!..he aalwis waas a gud vocalist..a real pro.] Harry Bryzinsky played in a few groups in the early -mid sixties,and was an amazing guitarist!...even though his fast playing wasn't my style in them days.....mainly cos a cudn't play thi bugga like him!! Aav nivvor seen Holly since that neet at the Dom. in 1968,but wud luv ti hook up wi him again one day,even though he wadn't knaa me noo![ me knickname's nivvor changed since it was forced upon me in 1959-ish...and pretty easy ti remember,...like!!]..... Los Zafiros played there,[aav still got the forst vinyl album they recorded before their tour],and they waaked aroond the audience,as Spanish/Mexican groups did,singing and playing guitars aroond ya tyeble ...porsinall-like,[singin' ti thi Wife....not ME!] ARRGHH! A canna mind thi nyem o' thi strong man who won "Opportunity knocks" [Hughie Green's show]and came ti thi Dom! He myed he's nyem bla'an' het waata bottles up till they borsted!....waas it Mike...summik or otha? He lifted a Blacksmith's Anvil wi he's teeth...and when a local lad and h'e marras were heckling him...[drunk!],he invited the ring-leader up on stage ti try and lift the anvil just wi he's arms..[cos the lad accused him of having stage props,and any bugga cud lift a wood anvil!!] Whey thi clivvor lad got up on stage....and fund oot it WAS a steel anvil..and he cudn't lift thi bugga two inches off the floor....which highly amused ivry bugga.....mebbe some folk thowt that HE was a "Prop",as part of the show.....believe me...that lad used ti kick wor lasses chair from under her in class at the Catholic School,and later ran the Nyeuk!![in Bedlington Market -place!!!] Aye Tom!! A bet ye canna mind o' that lark!! The Ivy League played as weel... Happy days they were!!

Hi Kevin! I'm not much help on this one except to say when I met my Wife in 1962,and started going to her house as part of the family,her Uncle John Oliver,who was bedridden after a stroke,the year before I met her,used to have a visitor by the name of Lambie Bellerby. He used to cut John's hair when it was needed,and he was a smashing fella,really nice natured and quiet. I don't know owt else aboot him,but I also got to know Billy Bellerby,through him being a friend of my Wife's family. Billy worked at the boot factory at the Station...Pioneer? or Rocket? He was also the loveliest lad waaking! Hope ye get some more answers on here! Cheers Kev!

Aaaahh! That's Tommy all right....smiling as always,and the gentlest fella as ever walked this planet. A never knew he had had Alzheimers,sad to hear of his passing away. Thanks Eggy for the sad news. R.I.P. Tommy Easton.

Heh heh!Too true! At Bates in 1971-ish,there was an Overman,[herinafter caaled "thi Owaman"],who was a champion leek grower,and I think,President[?],of the Blyth Rosecarpe society[?],and a well known Judge on both circuits. He was a canny fella,sociable,but he's job was to get work done.....and that he did! Ivry body that passed him got a job of some sort...! Alec Waite was he's name. One day,he came down from 8's district,in the Beaumont seam,and told me he had seen a ghost. He corrected he'sel,and said"Whey it might not a been a ghost,but a definately saa an apparition." Three massive wooden airlock doors,under a LOT of Air pressure,had opened and closed one at a time,and he had seen a "Greyish Mist" come through the last door. Noo these doors were so big and heavy,ye had ti put ya foot against the waal and pull like hell on the handle ti ease the the air pressure,afore ye cud open them ti let a set of three and a half ton mine cars through.[aboot 8' wide x 6' high.] Within two days,me younger Sister came yem from her work at the Ronson Factory,on Cramlington Ind,Est,and sed.."Howw Youngin,wat's this aboot a Ghost at Bates?,it's aal aroond the factories"!! The story made the Evening Chronicle front page! Later on,in fore-shift,one of me Marra's was doon thi pit and the lads got on aboot thi story. Me Marra,[a proper wit!],torned aroond and sed ti thi lads...."Whey haddaway ti hell,if Alec Waite had seen a ghost he wudda givven the f.....er a job"!! The lads aal howled at thi time,in thi pit evironment! For months afterwards,Alec was sick ti deeth of the greetings he got from ivvry body he saa on he's travels doon thi pit..."Halloww Alec,seen any ghosts lately?"!! Pitmen were a hard lot when it came to personal feelings,ye developed skin like bell-metal!

Before a gaan ti pile sum ZZZZZ's up,a thowt a better clarify a previous comment aboot the Canteen Lasses on Area bonus,me comment wasn't meant ti soond derogatory,cos them lasses did a gud hard job,at a pit like Bates,wi 2000 men! Naa,me comment was meant ti include AAL surface staff who were contracted on the area bonus scheme,which was the average of the bonus's of every individual pit in the area,and included Wages clerks,Time office staff,and aal them[thoosands of them!!]...at the Area Headquarters at Teems Valley Gateshead. People in the offices,nae disrespect,cos we wud be badly on withoot them,but it made us sore,ti knaa they were getting £40 a shift,sumtimes when we were gettin hurt in accidents,roof falls of stone,soaking wet,coming oot the pit wi arms hanging doon like a gorilla,tired oot,after filling two "Shots" of coal,humping heavy girders,etc,soakng wet,dust,fumes........for sumtimes 90 pence a shift!!![rant over!!!....purely for educashun porpises...like!!!]

A thowt just came ti me,when aa was thinking aboot hoo we drew cyevils,locally,amang the spare men,ti fill cyevils that were temporarily vacated because of sickness or men on rest days ,or whatever. This was at every pit,and right up till all the pits closed in the Thatcher years after the 1984 strike,from the start of pits! The overman would call the spare men together and say.."Howweh lads,hoy ya tallies in the hat".[this was directly before gaan doon in the cage at the start of the shift.] They had ti wait till everybody had clocked in by the start-time,before draa-in' the spare cyevils. So the owaman wud caal oot "22's face,Shearer-man",then he wud get one of the lads ti pick a tally oot thi hat,or he might pick them oot he'sell'. Whey me point was,me Marra,who was a proper character,weel knaan and weel liked,AALWIS drew a gud cyevil!! One day a said ti him,"Hoo cum ee elwis draa a gud cyevil,and ivry bugga else teks pot luck?" Wi a sly grin,he pulled he's tally oot o' he's pocket and sed,"Wilma,in this world,ye gotta get wise if ye want ti get on!!" "Hoo di ye mean like?" He pointed doon ti he's tally,and sqeezed it between he's two fingers and thumb,bending it inti nearly a right-angle shape,then as he hoyed it inti the hat for the draa,he laughed and sed .."Waatch Wilma!" The best cyevils were aalwis draan forst,so as the Owaman put he's hand inti thi hat,while caalin the cyevil oot,he rattled aal the tallies,fiddled aboot,and who's tally came oot?.........Spot on!! It was me Marra...AGAIN! Whey after a while thi lads started thinking it was a fix between the Owaman and me Marra! So me Marra sed,"A think aal let it gaan for a day or two,ye see Wilma,the bent tally aalwis finds it's way inti ya hand,inside the hat amang aal thi other tallies! Noo ye canna say it was truly cheating,cos ya tally DID get bent noo and again,cos ye were craaling aroond in very low rough conditions,wi mebbe a knife in ya pocket or other bits and bobs...mebbe a drill-bit etc. But the tally clerk wud straighten them ti hang them on the tally-board at the end of ya shift when ye hoyed ya tallies in at the time office,or when ye hoyed ya forst one in ti thi Banksman as ye got inti thi cage ti gaan doon. Me Marra was as sly as a fox,with a gud set of philosophies!

Heh heh! Nice one Eggy! Many thanks Canny Lass!...we're aal part of the team here,so aam grateful for your info on the word Cyevil,aav only ever seen it in pit head documents posted up owa the years and aalwis knaan it as Cavil,but like ye point oot,it's typical of the mining fraternity ti slang the dialect! It's interesting ti knaa that it came from New Zealand,but how on earth did it arrive here,I always thought that it was wor poor sods who were deported owa ti Australia and them faraway places for little things like pinching a stotty-cyek cos the bairns were starving.....and that sort of thing!! Who,would want ti cum here from N Z and why?...aam baffled..!![but mind,tek me away from Pitwark,and aam bugaad!]