HIGH PIT WILMA

Hi Torwood,aal try and find that pic,and post it if a can.Welcome by thi way!! Aa used ti gaan doon ti Cambo Ave.,ti seek me friend,Terry O' Neil,and as the years went by,Tom Richardson,whose Brother Jimmy,played bass-guitar in the "Night-hawks" group in the 60's. Jimmy was on the bins around Bedlington/Stakeford for donkey's years,a reet canny lad![wondered if ye knew them..]

Careful Ozzy!! ....ya not dealing wi Chip noo yi knaa! Ye'll get thi Ashaa's owa,nokkin on ya door! Nivvor mind,yi cud aalwis send thi buggaa's owa here,and aal yark thim wi me stick!

Lorna Naisby,[correct spelling],is my Brother-in-law's-Wife's-Cousin.

My eldest Son lives in North Finchley,in London. The first time my Wife and Me ["I"..!] visited him,we went for a walk through the local park. Aaa was amazed!!....conkers like tennis baals lying aal owa thi gruund,and the schyuulkids..[little apple-crunchers!],were just kicking them aal aboot..a nivvor IVVOR saa any kid pick any up ti play conkers....that was 26 years ago approx. Aa browt a greet big carrier bag full,back yem,and gie aal thi kids in wor pit raas,a few each. AA was a local hero ti thi kids!!...nae brokken windaes,nae impitince,just aal gud friends![whey it WAS a pit community..wi aal knew each other and worked doon thi pit tigitha...! ....not thi kids like!] These kids had nivvor seen conkers as big,and every year they used ti ask if a was gaan doon ti London ti see wor Dazza! We pitmen doon the three-quarta drift,at Bates pit,used a product caaled "Selfix", in conjunction wi wood dowels,[bIG ones!.....nine feet lang!], ti help control the badly-broken roof strata.. Selfix was like big sausages,aboot a foot lang,and an inch-and - a - half thick,and consisted of a flexible paste resin-filler with a catalytic hardener stripe along the length of the "sausage" skin. When you mixed the two together by inserting the sausages into a drill-hole in the roof,and "drilling " a wood dowel in,using a big hand-held "bulls-head" driller,the Selfix used to harden in seconds,binding the broken roof,and helping to control it. So whaat's this got ti dae wi conkers? One day,when a had fetched a saasage yem,ti fix thi holes in me exaaast pipe,on me aad car,me aadest Son,[then aged aboot 11yrs],cut a conker in haaf,emptied it oot,filled it wi Selfix paste,[ similar ti plastic padding type o stuff],and clagged thi two haafs tigitha again,wi thi string in place.!! NOBODY could beat THIS conker......until...one day....the shell eventually shattered!! ...Whey,thi Selfix was White,sumtimes,other times it was Grey,but nae way did it luk like thi proper colour of wat thi inside SHUD have lukked like!! It was fun while it lasted![thi sort of trick aad Sym wud hae done....a imagine!!.....are yi in there Sym?!!]

.....1962.....courting....kiss me lass gudneet!...10-20pm Raisbecks ....last bus at Grange Park...[ti tek me ti thi Market Place!]....Aaaahhh happy days they were!! Mind,a used ti get it at odd times...[and a mean very rarely....in pouring rain usually],ti Westridge School,a bet when yon schyuul was started,it was a boom time for Raisbecks! Can anybody mind of the queer throb of the aad grey Diesel coach? Aa was ownly aboot 13 or 14 first time a got on that bus,and wi me being a highly intelligent laddie for me age............................................ ......a cudn't help but wonder hoo thi engine produced the intermittent beat that it had..as if it was ganna staal,then picked up at thi last minute..but kept daeing that aal thi time it was ticking owa,while ye were waiting ti get on the bus. A nivvor hord any other engine on any buses that was like that......noo aam aa a queer bugga for noticing summik as trivial as Joe Raisbecks tickowa?!! Nivvor knew Nellie!

Heh heh! .....search box....!....my little bit of lead balloon Sym!! Noo dinna tell me ye went aal thi way wi Fanta.....................!!!!!!!! Noo!....just think when ye start croaking,and ye hae ti be weshed ivery day by some kind,innocent little nurse............!! My memory at 14 yrs old,was,that it wasn't painful,just a mild stinging,loads of blood running doon me arm mind,whey it wud,at 14yrs aad wudn't it....fresh as a linty!

Pil,your philosophy is spot-on....I have said that for years about things like marketing strategies etc.......ask for more-settle for a little less - everybody's happy.....but you are the winner! That's what haggling is all about!....[isn't it?]

Well,my opinion isn't worth a chut,not being politically motivated,but,having worked with,and once paid,Ronnie Cambell,when I was a young pit Deputy,in the early 1970's,and knowing him to be gud union man,and a gud honest worker,I said to my Wife,26 years ago,when he was elected Blyth MP,that we COULD see Ronnie as a future Prime Minister,[before Ian Lavery came alang,],and my Wife,AND my Marra's at the pit,at Bates,aal ridiculed me,right owa the years.... He's daeing weel up ti noo,but those who read papers,which are trash reporting,and don't really knaa the man,are totally mis-guided!! A canna speak for Lavery,cos a divvent really knaa him,only a passing word or two between us owa the years. Time will tell!! A bet Tony Blair's marra's,at work,and he's band-mates,nivvor thowt HE wud get anywhere!! A funny aad world we live in! As for slang reporting....."let he who is without sin throw ......etc!!" Naebody's perfect!

....................search................search.........!!!!!.......where are you?????????????????????/!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The laddies must be using the beauty shops.....cos every lassie AA see, is covered in bloody ugly macho tattoos!!!!! Mind,aam nae bugga ti taak,cos aa hae a tattoo on each fore-arm and a swallow on each wrist...! BUT.....in 1958,when aa was 14 yrs aad,and had nae money whatsoever,[cos no pocket-money for us],me owlda Brother,who was working at the Aad pit,at Bedlington Station,and is 3 yrs owlda than me,tuk me doon ti blyth on shanksy's,and paid for me tattoos,put on by Charlie Dick,opposite the shipyard. Nae infection control,except a quick wipe wi an alcohol-soaked rag,used on ivry buggaa's bodies,mostly sailors and soldiers,in them days. A vividly remember a soldier and he's marra's,in uniform,being tattoo'ed,on he's arm,smoking a tab,sweating like a pig,swearing,drunk as a newt,and he's mates encouraging him to stand the pain,patting him on the back wi remarks like..."ya deaing weel man,ya still alive...." Me and me Brother stood watching this spectacle,both of us thinking....HE'S gaana be a lot o' gud in front o' the enemy if he's gaana pass oot owa this!! He had ti get up and gaan ootside to throw up halfway through the session,while he's marra's laughed their heads off!!...So!...aa sat doon.... Charlie Dick asked me if had consent off me parents ,to which me Brother nodded,so Charlie took aboot five minutes ti put me first tattoo on. Typical entwined hearts and sword with scrolled "True love...Mum...Dad.." Me arm was twice it's normal size with the red line running up by the next day,doctor came,blood poison,gave me a gud taakin ti,...off school for a week...Danny Douglas gave me grief for not tekkin part in P.E. cos a was bandaged up. Lost part of the tattoo wi the infection. Charlie Dick said "...unusual....a hair must have gone in wi thi needle....." !! Lucky a didn't catch AIDS or some otha STD through transmission of other peoples ' body fluids on the needles! Looking back,it was unbelievable how tattooer's got away with the set-up! A few pots of coloured inks,standing uncovered for hours,thick needles,standing in a jar of alcohol,a few cotton wool swabs,wiping the blood away every few seconds,when it obscured the artwork,same swab every time till it was soaked and had to be slung! Everybody,including Charlie,smoking inside the small cramped shop...as they did at one time! Happy days eh? This was just ti start a new "craze" amang the kids!![..mind,WE were the ONLY kids that did this,ivry bugga else had mair brains!],and each time we went doon ti get another one on,it was aalwis full of navy/army personnel!

Tony!......maybe a bit late in coming back to you,but you seem to have missed the boat!...[unless you were born AFTER it sunk in 1984!] When thatcher-thi-hatchet-er crucified the Miners,in 1984,[the enemy within....],she [it] remarked to her hitman mcgregor privately,that .....

"Time waits for no-one!" .......Maggie,it's a lovely ballad by the Rolling Stones!!

Heh heh!! 1959,1963,1966,reminds me when all the buses were laid off at times,and me and my marra,s WALKED....NO!....TRUDGED......four miles across the thick snow covered fields,from Bedlington ti Choppington High Pit,worked shifts underground,soaked to the skin all shift,freezing caad stannin at thi shaft-bottom waitin for thi cage ti bank,at lowse,bathed,dressed,and trudged fower miles back yem,ready for wa dinner......syem agyen thi next day, for days on end!!! A knaa!! ....cue the violins and hankies!!,but true,noo can yi imagine ANY kids,[or even some adults!] willing ti dae that ti put bread on thi tyeble? My philosophy is....."God gie ye waataproof skin man,wat are ye complaining aboot?.....ye drrry oot thi syem way ye got wet.......tha's people owa thi otha side of thi world in war zones,tsunami's,hurricane's ,desert conditions........THEY have got the problems man,nae roofs owa tha heeds...nae food for tha kids......."....some people find my philosophy irritating,and have replied selfishly that that doesn't help them at aal....!! Whey it certainly keeps MY head on an even keel. I was dying 2 years ago,one phone call,ten minutes later I was hooked up to oxygen,cardiograph,blood monitoring,etc,by the ANGELS on the road wi green claas on,and blue leets! Let the -20 C come!! Aal still be oot wi me LBJ..[Little Black Jess!],dress for it,and it's nae different ti PLUS 20 C !! Heh heh....end of one of Wilma's rare rants!!

Thanks Millbank! You got me working things oot here,cos I knew every family in the 66 houses in Hollymount Square,when I was a bairn. I was living there when the site of number 43 Hollymount was still a row of ancient pit raas for the Doctor Pit men. I was 11,going on 12 yrs old,when the Chiver's moved in,[one of the big lads by then!] Brian was 5yrs old,and a bairn!........5yrs later I was 15 yrs old and working underground,doon the pit,amang men,learning a man's job! It figures that my friends and I who were all the same age group would be roaming fields and woods and Barn'ton tip etc,when Brian moved there. I have no recollection of The Chiver's family living at that side,only next ti the cut ti Cornwall Crescent,and Beattie/Haig roads. Was it a member of the same family who lived in 43,or was it THE actual family who might have moved across the Square,as some others used ti swap in them days. As I got older,there were a lot of changes,but I lost track,cos I spent a lot of time with my lass at her house,who has been my Wife for 48 years noo! As a kid,I spent a lot of time in Millbank,playing wi me friends Alan Wilkinson,and Ronnie Leyland,and my older Sister used ti take me with her ti see her friend [when I about 5 yrs old] who was Millie Madison. We all went ti thi Whitley School.

Pil,the sprightly old Lady I mentioned above,is Christopher's Mother,and they the closest Mother and Son I think I have ever encountered! Chris is a Lecturer at Newcastle University,and teaches teacher's. He has degrees in music theory,plays piano as good if not better than anyone you are likely to hear these days..classical and every other type of music also! Altogether a really smashing bloke.

A hated history when a was 12-15 years old,more interested in electronics,and old valve radios and tv's!! NOO,a find aal this stuff really fascinating,and would love ti spend hours reading up on it....but equally fascinated by the Egyptians,and the Space projects which are all happening noo.....where can a find a few spare hours in a day?................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks,Merc,and Pil,keep posting!

Hi folks! Checked out above publisher,now thinking about self-publishing. Sym,do you know about Grosvenor House Press? £795 flat fee gives you 5 professionally bound copies,retain all your rights,publicity on Amazon,etc......so they say!![looks a good deal.....but any catches....I wonder!] Any advice welcome from anyboody,bearing in mind I am a LONG LONG way from being finished my book!

What religion were the Anglo-Saxons?,and why did they build the first stone church there?.....the original Saxon Chancel arch still takes you up to the Altar...even to this day....and the Saxons came in the 600-A.D.'s

Whey,aav just been owa ti see John in Forresters,at thier new unit,and it is great,plenty of stock,very well laid oot,and brightly lit,and it gaans withoot saying,great friendly service from John and his family who help him to run the business! It was the best move he has made!

Thanks Maggie! ....and Sym,ye bugga,ye leave me stannin' when it cums ti wit! A cudn't hae worked that one oot in a month o' Sundays......aam too much doon ti earth ti think like that....nice one!![..mind...aam still just a bairn when it cums ti wor royalty's history,a divven't knaa whoo's hoo!!] Aam ganna get in contact with a local Publisher tomorrow,who a was advised ti hae a crack with. "Ticketyboo press" is the name,so a might be a bit wiser after speaking ti this lad,who is local,apparently!

Hi Millbank! The Chivers family lived in Hollymount square,2 doors from the cut into Cornwall Crescent/Haig/Beattie Roads.[adjacent to old Hollymount hall] That wasn't the Park cut,the Park cut was along from there leading from the "new hooses" [as we kids called them],which faced over to the Whitley school,and Knoxy's Field.It led straight onto the tennis courts area,with a short walk left ti the swings,and continuing through ti the main road and the Whitley School. Old Frankie Latimer lived right on the cut at the right side,and he always chased us kids if we even showed our faces,not even daeing owt wrang!! My earliest memory of little Billy[?] Chivers,was him hitting me,when I was aboot four yrs old,not yet at school.and me faatha gaan aroond wi me,and telling me ti hit him back harder or HE would belt me!! I vividly remember that traumatic day,having to run down and hit thi kid back,which was totally against my grain,cos I wasn't a fighter then,and I've never been a fighter in my life since....am aal for a peaceful life!! I don't think they lived there very long after that incident. My Parents were given number 13 Hollymount Square,as soon as it was completed being built,and the wall plaster was still not dried oot!! In aboot 1948,as it was,there was nae waalpaper !!....aad-fashioned distemper stippled onti aal thi waals when they finally dried. Ye taak aboot giving families chest complaints!!...thi new hoose was damper than Aad Storey's Buildings at Willow Bridge,in Choppington. We had the end hoose,of the first half of the building programme,and they were still pulling the old colliery hooses doon,in Bell's Place,to allow for the completion of the square,a year or two later.

Howw,eez lot!!,ya ganna wear me aad bones oot heor thi way ya taakin!! No,a really DO appreciate all your kind words of encouragement on the subject of my life story!! This past week,I have been proof-reading books one and two,and believe me,I have been unable to put them down!! Naturally,after not reading them since they were started in 2009,it's been a nostalgia trip,stirring up more memories for me to write about!! Considering book one is about my life from earliest childhood.....just over two years old,[i can remember my little brown leather and sheepskin reins!!],and includes silly little things like us laddies playing bays wi the lassies.....etc......rambling over the fields and woods,plus loads of stories you have already read about on here.......would it REALLY be interesting to the wider uninformed reader? [not forgetting I try to write as dramatically as possible without exaggerating or distorting facts]. Each book has 200 pages,[A4 size],and in book three,I am just covering my first years down Choppington High Pit,with as many interesting facts,and events that I can clearly and vividly recall,and still have my life at Bedlington A pit,Bates Pit,[including my 7 years as a Pit Deputy/Acting Overman...on occasions],my visits down Lynemouth Pit,Ashington Workshops,and a coach outing to Craster Bay,to see the geological aspects of the Whin Sill,and it's effects upon the adjacent strata,as part of my Deputy training course,and finally,Ashington Pit,whereby my Mining career came to an end!.....[to be re-trained as a skilled Master-Craftsman making very expensive hand-made furniture..the old-fashioned way!] How am I possibly gonna sell all that?.....it's gonna be thicker than a stack of encyclopaedia's! Heh heh,every time I meet any of my aad Marra's from aal thi pits,and tell them about my book,they aal ask thi same question!.....["a expect AAM in ya byeuk Wilma,mind!!",followed up with....."get it done,and AAL buy a copy.."!]. Whey , folks,Little Black Jess is staring at me with those appealing big brown eyes,[waakies],but a hae a stack o' dishes ti wesh and dry and put away,so if ye dinna hear from me for a day or two,ye'll knaa that aam cracking on as best as a can wi me clerkin' !! Once again, a big thanks for your kind support,wi sum gud ideas![mind,Sym,aam lost on Betty Saxe and Co.....?? !!]

Thanks Folks! Yesterday I went for me bread at what used to be Walter Willson's,at Bedlington Station,and one of the smashing lads who own the shop now,was telling me that a regular customer who comes in often,is a publisher,with many books to his credit. Bill,[one of the Brothers who run the business],said he would ask this guy for his number,and pass it to me,with a view to getting a bit first-hand advice as well. I will keep you posted. Last night I started to Proof-read book one,which charts my entire childhood in detail,my birth-place,the things I got up to as a laddie growing up in the post-war years of austerity,in a coalmining close-knit community. I started to write book one in 2009!,and it has lain a long time,while I have been writing book three,[book two also having lain finished for a few years.] The amazing thing was,I got carried away reading it,from about 11-0pm,and next time I looked at the clock,it was 1-0 am!! I found it so interesting,it was as if someone else had written it about me!! I got halfway through and had to reluctantly put it down and go to bed shattered! How crazy is that! My Wife has suggested that it might be better to try and get the three books published separately, as a trilogy so to speak,rather than put all my eggs in one basket. Each book has over two hundred pages,and I have only just started on my life actually underground!![you have already read a lot of my memoirs on this site.....!!] My Wife thinks I will never ever get it finished,cos I spend what little bit of spare time I have, on me beloved Bedltn Com. site!!,[instead of just pressing on with me book!]

Aye Vic,Ashington pit was the same. Nearly every road was on a slant due to floor heave. Unless me memory is playing tricks with me,I am nearly sure that parts of Netherton pit was also the same.It's interesting to see how roof pressure or floor pressure exerts itself. It's all down to what is known as "De-stressed zones",where,originally,both roof and floor pressure was equal,[before the coal was extracted]. Once you remove the coal,the area becomes a de-stressed zone,and the pressure is diverted to the sides of the roadway,[Pressure-arch theory] It's mighty hard work,travelling any distance through a floor-heaved roadway underground! Your's is an extreme case,Vic,I haven't seen any heave that was as bad as that,usually the floor breaks up at one side of the roadway,and pushes up a few feet. There is a pic somewhere on Flickr,of an old working,with the rails still down,and tubs being pulled along at about 30 degrees! Mind,the tubs used to run like that doon Ashington pit as well!! Nice ti hear from you Vic,gie me luv ti thi boss..as usual!

Maggie,did ye twig on wat a meant by the bloke saying we would evolve with only thumbs and no fingers?[...think.......walking down the street....seeing everybody around you...on buses...even riding cycles on the road,kids going to and from school,or just ambling along,at bus stops,in shops.... ....even actually whilst driving vehicles on our main roads!......two thumbs going like the clappers!!....eyes staring down at the small screens.....!] Yep!....thi bloke was probably right!

Sym,a forgot to mention that most underground roadways will have deteriorated badly,due to being flooded,and with a lack of maintenace,crushing will have occurred. This is where investment would be needed most,re-modelling the access roads,which,at Bates,went inbye 12 miles under the North Sea. When pits were working,they always had sets of "Back-bye", or "Back-Caunch"-men,whose job it was to ridd falls of roof-stone,repair the roadways,put new supports in,or,like Bates pit,and Choppington High Pit,turn bent [straight] girders upside down,and re-install them,with bent side up-over! .....rather than put new girders in! Basic house-keeping,but very necessary,to keep roadways in good shape.