HIGH PIT WILMA
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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.
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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!
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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?!
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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....!
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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 .
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Similar type of driller to an "Elliot" machine,whereby the "stand" is ratcheted to the roof,and the drill is wound into the seam by sheer hard work! Note his "Centre - line" on the roof. Note also the rail-ends,which were referred to as "the plate-ends",in the days long before rolled-steel rails came along,they were flat "plates",four feet long,with a raised section running the length of the plate,where the tub wheels ran on. Hence the old pitmatic saying...." A hevn't been nae fartha thin the plate-ends owa the weekend..."!! Meaning "I haven't been anywhere over the weekend.." -
"Riding thi Limmas".....[Limbers...shafts..]. I knew one lad who was riding the limmas,in the 1950's,and his pony "crossed oot" on him,that is to say,the pony went into the opposite roadway to which he should have gone,[say....right instead of left...for instance..],and the limma's nipped his leg severely,causing gangrene to set in quickly,and he had to have it amputated. He played football,cricket,etc,just the same,with his false leg,and in those days,the leg was heavy !! When he batted for runs he used to walk the wickets,and his mates would do the runs for him . Very close-knit community spirit in those days! -
Great!Look at the size of the coals...going to households in them days ..there were usually two coal,and one stone tipplers,two are being tipped together so they will be coal...priority over tipping stone obviously!! Thanks for uploading this from me also! -
Great pic,as all these are in the set!! -
Forgot to add,due to very slow,painfully slow exposures in those days,these men had to keep this pose for maybe a few minutes!!!!...holding a heavy mel in the air like that!! Correct me if I am wrong on that point!! -
This could be mid-to late 1960's/early 1970's. Approximately four feet-six inches high,soft coal,and it looks like a Plough -face,judging by the large coals on the chain conveyor.[A spiral-disc shearer threw very small coals out for power stations.].[also no sign of a cable trough on the side of the conveyor,a plough is pulled along the face by a heavy chain mounted near the floor on the face side and so is obscured by the heaps of coal.] Dowty five-legged hydraulic face chock supports,which,when fully down onto the leg "collars" stood 23 inches high,so you can estimate the height to which they are pressurised to the roof,as about 48- 50 inches high. As we old miners used to say...."She's stannin' like a Palace"!![wish the Three/quarter seam was like this at Bates,or the Top Busty at High Pit Choppington!] .......and LIGHTS!! [what are they...??????????????]!! "D.A.C" phone can be seen hanging on a chock leg. [tannoy system.] -
As in the picture,these men aren't strictly "underground"!.....they are shaft-sinkers,in the process of putting the shaft down to the first available and commercially-viable coal seam. The two men at the right upper part of the pic are drilling a shot-hole,using a ratchet handled drill operated by one man on the left of the drill,while his Marra is holding the top of the drilling "machine"[!],to steady it and keep it vertical...no electric or compressed-air drillers here!...just bloody slavery! At the centre right top,another two miners are watching,with their hands loosely holding onto their "machine".....machine!!!!! In the foreground,one man is holding a steel spike,whilst the three others are synchronically hammering it into the ground,using what I judge to be seven-pound "Mels"..[the most used one in our time were 5-pound mels,with a seven-pound,and a forteen-pound mel,to use for braying in straight steel girder legs at each end of a horizontal roof girder.] Hard,bloody,HARD work!!
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Great pic! Pity it hasn't been rotated,the uneducated [about mining that is!],among us will not have a clue what this pic is about! The roadway size looks like standard... heavy - section 12 feet wide by 8 feet high two-legged arched girders. Braced with 3 feet long steel struts bolted together to make the roadway rigid and secure against shotfiring blasts,and strata movement. Top right shows the spirally wound plastic-coated canvas exhaust fan ducting,which ventilates the roadway by the fan which is situated outbye in the fresh-air stream,and which pulls shotfiring fumes and dust out from the working area,as opposed to a forcing fan which pushes air INTO the working area. In a working environment like this one,and on my Bates pit pics,these systems were pretty useless,and the men worked in fume and dust - laden air all of the shift...no health and safety as we know it now....we wouldn't have gotten into the cage if H n S inspectors were around in those days! These bugga's were lucky here though,they are using an electric materials transporter....in the 60's!! The girder legs on the transporter weigh a ton each...[figure of speech!].....usually a two-man job to handle each one. At Choppington High Pit,the girder-lads trailed them all the way inbye across rough ground with no rails laid in the Mothergates,using their faithfull ponies. Where you couldn't get a pony into a low roadway,you had to hump a leg onto your shoulder,by yourself,and walk away inbye, maybe a quarter of a mile,times four legs for the caunchmen to put the two full girders in after ridding the shot of stones. Every day I used to carry a leg on my shoulder,and carry the two girder-plates with four bolts in,in my free hand,as I had to keep one hand over the top of the girder leg to steady it as I walked. You had to walk like an Egyptian,and swing your hips to counter-act the swing of the girder leg,cos if the sway of the girder got out of hand,it would pull you down onto the ground and trap you there! I had a Marra who only lasted two hours and he had to pack up,after a leg pulled him down and trapped him! It was a very labour-intensive job,and the average human body wasn't made to lift weights like this..they used a crane on the surface to load them onto trams to send them down the pit...then us silly bugga's had to hump them by hand....but that's the way it always was at Choppington High Pit!! The coal looks about six feet high,assuming they are winning out at floor level,but they could have been taking a bottom caunch and keeping the seam,[if it is lower],up in the middle of the roadway. I wish the pic had been a bit clearer,to identify the machine,it could be an early cutter-loader ,which I think it is,judging by the paddle-chain conveyor mounted on it and which is loading onto the rubber main belt...[or an early gathering-arm MC3 Joy-type loader]. -
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!
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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.
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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!
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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!!!!!!
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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.
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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!
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Streetlife....Welcome to the forum!
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
