HIGH PIT WILMA

Set'di aftanyuun matinee,if ye were lucky enuff ti get a treat,Roy Rogers,and ivry bugga slapped tha arses aal thi way doon the street from thi top-end pitcha's!! Mind,even at a very young age,it was H.G.Wells for me preferably...aa was aalwis fascinated by space after Sputnik was laanched. Robbie the Robot!!...a used ti fantisize wat it wud it be like hevin a robot runnin aroond the hoose,and nae bugga wud pick on yi ootside! Jim Bowie and Tarzan,kept the Sheffield Steel industry inundated wi orders for Bowie knives.....musta dun man!! Us kids used ti gaan reet doon inti thi oppencast cut,and play on the Draglines feet and aal aroond the other machines...nae security then.....didn't need it....naebody damaged owt.......if a set of ten-eleven year olds were gaana damage Bucyrus Erie's bucket,or any of the Euclids,a divvent think they wud be much gud for howkin oot thi biggest Man-made hole in Europe in 1954! They were lang happy days !!

Hi Christine,my Wife has corrected me,and it seems my memory has let me down for once!! Tommy lived in West Terrace,not the East side,and I am,according to my Wife,mistaken about the reference I made to the colour of his Wife's hair,and name! Hope someone else can be of more help luv!

Merc,if you had looked out of your back windows in the 1960's,you would have seen the second biggest man-made mountain,next to Bedlington A pit's pit- heap!! They were enormous and always on fire at the top,smouldering embers fanned by strong winds made them glow ghostily at night !! Sulphrous fumes hung around all over on calm nights......ahhhh the gud aad days eh?!

I forgot to say many thanks for your kind words ,Merc!,I used to live just over the Bridge on the left side,as you go up the bank,to thi Barnt'n road turn-off. Storey's Buildings was a terrace on the left side. I lived there from almost birth till I was aboot three and a half yrs old1944-ish to 1947-8 -ish. I was christened in the Church next to you,St Paul's.

Right!,Merc....! Stand on the path ootside your hoose,and face the road leading up the Whinney Hill ti Guidepost. Waak alang sae far,and ye will come ti the opening driveway,that takes yi ti the welfare building on the right side,[up this side opening on ya left,mind!!] If ye keep waaking up that drive on ya left,off the main road,ye'll come ti a gate leading inti Choppington Woods. THAT ROAD ya standing on,was the entrance ti Choppington A Pit...[referred ti as the "Low" Pit] The pit was set back off the main road,aboot a hundred yards or so,mebbe not even that far. If ye waak reet up the path up the woods,ti thi far end,ye cum ti thi place where Choppington B Pit was..[referred ti as thi "High Pit"]....and THAT'S where aa started as a 15 year aad laddie from schyuul!! Rake aroond on thi groond wi ya byeuts ,and ye'll find bits o' coal,and bandy stone,which is the remains of the pit heaps after they flattened them wi heavy plant machinery. Yi might find bits of coal wi a lot of yellow bands in them,[sulphur],which came from the Beaumont seam,[at 10feet high,there were more bands of shale, and ironstone,than there was coal!!] Noo if yi waak doon the aad tarmac from the woods,[remains of the original High pit road,which I travelled on every day for six years!!],yi cum ti thi main road leading ti Morpeth,from Guidepost. At the entrance ti that aad road,off the Guidepost road,cars might be parked,and there is a big information board,showing flora and fauna which can be found or seen,in the woods. Another info board shows an aerial photo of Choppington High Pit................!...only........it's NOT the High Pit!! ....it may be the Low Pit,but after showing a lot of my old Marra's a photo of it,none of them recognise any of the surroundings at all!! I have zoomed it,and sat for an hour or two,studying the image,and can't place it at all. The reason I am sure it isn't thi High Pit,is cos thi High Pit was a tetty pit,built with corrugated iron sheets,a hundred years ago,and when my Father started there in 1929,[aged 14 yrs],and I started in 1959 [aged 15 yrs],nowt had changed,the sheets were rusted through,and used to bang and flap about in the wind,the Steam winding engine house was old and built with huge blocks of stone,typical of the period.[but a lovely engine within!] The info board pic shows a more modern brick-and -girder - built set of buildings. The layout is totally different,the screening plant is in the wrong place relative to where it used to be,it is just a totally different pit altogether. There must have been no available pics of the High Pit,or else it was too ugly a pit,literally falling to pieces,to attract people to the area! The exception being the brand new Electric Winding Engine house,which was built prior to closure,as a means of deeming the pit "uneconomical",as they did with every other pit in the 1960's....invest where no investment was necessary!! All the electric winder did for thi High Pit,was slow down coalwork,cos the winding speed,and acceleration of the cages,was much,much slower than the fine old steam engine which it replaced. I got a big spanner over my knuckles for thoughtlessly daring, to just lean, on a polished copper cold-water pipe,[by the old winderman.]...[the "Brakesman"]....well....I was still fresh from school,at 15 yrs!!

The only time we got any money,was by picking blackberries,and selling them around the doors,our regular neighbours were always pleased,cos most housewives baked and made jams and chutneys in those days. Then we sold bullrushes,cos they were fashionable ornaments after the war,some painted them with distemper,others ,like us kids,dipped them in paraffin, lit them,and threw them in the night air,like the Indians in the cerbouy pitcha's![canna seem ti find the reet spellin ti convey hoo we sed that one!!] Rose hips was another gud seller........! Me Mutha was Victorian,in her ways,and made us go back and return any little bit of money,[usually a silver thruppeny-bit],for gaan a message for any of our neighbours,sayin"If ye canna dae a gud turn for nowt,then ye canna dae it at aal"! But it was different selling stuff we had worked for!!

Heh heh! Merc,we used ti have a dozen of these badges each,every kid had them,every time anybody got a thruppeny bag o' chips,they got a badge. Me and my Brother never got pocket money,so we either got the badges off Jeannie,[fish shop opposite the black bull],or given by gud friends,or swaps for bullrushes,or other laddie-stuff like that. The slogan doesn't have THE in it!!......disregarding the top line on the badge....THAT isn't the slogan!! I lived through all these first-time campaigns,and this was one of the dopiest ones going!! "Why Ask Me Ask Whispering Fish"....= "W.A.M.A.W.F."........NOT "W.A.M.A.T.W.F.".....doesn't have the same effect does it?[it's musical....if you have a sense of rhythm!!]......rap.....rap.....rap! At the time,in the very beginning,it was a trivia question from kids who hadn't yet got as far as getting a badge...me included,so it must have been a successful advertising campaign for it's time,not as successful as Pepsi,though!! ...........and I'm still waiting..........for the Pepsi slogan.......!!

Noo,why has me post needed approval.....aam a a spy or summick? Mighty queor ti me! tellyiwataamgaantibednoocosaamabootbuggaadaanamnotgaanasitheorinwaitfosumbuggasyenitsaareetwilmaaakaynitenite!!

One day,I was sitting in my small conservatory,enjoying a cuppa tea,in the warm sunshine,when a loud booming made the flimsy old-fashioned conservatory shake. My Wife and I thought it was a mini Earth-tremor. Later on we found out that it was the first of a series of demolition stages,down at the power station. I phoned the police,and asked if they could inform me before each successive stage would be demolished,as I was a bit of a historian,and would like to be there ready with my camera,for posterity. Sure enough,I was put on the list that they reserve for the press,etc. So,I was there in readiness,and captured all the explosions,thereafter. Prior to that,I went down and captured all the buildings,best as I could,from different angles. I used my trusty Halina 35x ,[35mm film],which my Wife,[girlfriend at the time!],bought me for a Xmas present,in around 1963-ish..!! Consequently,I have packs of decent quality pics of all the demolition,plus 8mm videotape,footage of the chimneys coming down. I went and asked the security guard if I could have a quick run over and get a piece of the chimney for a keepsake,which he agreed to,so that is on my little collection of stones from various interesting places,over the years,and it lies on my wee stream and pond wall in the back garden!! This was a day or two after the chimneys came down...not the same day!! They sure are a miss as a landmark to bring you home![better than a sat nav,if you were just travelling around Northumberland!]

Abram Lyle has had the answer for a hundred years or more.....just read the small print on his tin,and tell me what you find! Everything on this planet is a killer.......even Oxygen!..............[in the wrong proportions]....... "A little bit of what you fancy does you good"! ........in other words,a variety of foods in moderation,is the key to a healthy lifestyle.... ...it's the same with opinions.....every one on here has a bit of a valid point in their argument..not totally correct in their thinking,but looking at the whole picture,we all agree in some small proportion......just like tetties and torpins[!]........and greazy yorksha puddin's...! Sym,it intrigues me hoo yi picked up aal the sooth foreigners twang,for being a Bedltntonian[!!!!! meant affectionately mind!!nae disrespect!] Off-topic,but just that wor Daz has been doon theor for 25 yeors,and a knaa he taaks aal queer ti them lot doon theor,like clients etc,but the minute he's on Northumbrian soil,[or on the phone],he taaks like he shows he's browtin's -up!!!![he hesn't forgettin' the ootside nettie, and ice layers in the bath,arly in thi mornin,cos o' nae heatin.....just an observation,Sym,ya still a crackerjack!!!

........as the wheels went ro-oond.........!!!da da da da da da daa..... daaaaaa![sorry,a canna put the dots in....!]

Maggie's meks mair sense!! AND it has a localised theme! Weel done Maggie!

Heh heh! Sym,hoo did ye get it,not googlin' a hope.....![cos any daft bugga can find owt by daeing that!!] A wud buy ye a pint, but aam tee-total sacrosanct! Eggy,hae yi got thi badge,or did ye search for it? My Son in London tuk a shoebox wi aal thi badges in,both his and my aad ones,[like the lovely enamelled Esso etc badges],when he moved doon theor. This one was on every kids jacket lapel,sumtimes in plural,in the mid-1950's! It was a big marketing campaign,ti get the public ti eat mair fish [and chips!].Posters up on aal the fish-shop walls etc. Neabody's telt me waat thi Pepsi rhyme was ![and thi story attached......]....aam still waitin'......[whistle whistle........] By thi way,there was no "THE" in the slogan,even if a cartoonist has dropped it in.......otherwise the badge wud have had a "T" in it!! It was simply......"Why Ask Me Ask Whispering Fish" Bliddy daft a thowt,but theor yi gan,it stimulated a bit o' interest!!

Heh heh! Thanks Maggie,I enjoy telling me stories,but me family have heard them 92 million times owa,so it gets a bit tiring,especially for me Wife,every time a meet up with an ex-miner,whether I know him or not,there is a common bond between miners all over,so when the coal starts being flung aal owa the path we are waaking on...me Wife's eyes start rolling stryght away!! It's taking me ages,years,to try and get my life story book finished,before I turn senile!!

Sorry,Canny Lass,very good attempts but nowhere near,although one word is close,but the theme is what you will never, in a month of Sunday's,...guess! Why am I so sure?.....cos the bugga's absurd!![but it was a national phrase designed to boost an already well-founded institution...if that is the correct word to use!!] The whisper is,that Vic seems to be the only contender here!!.....[clue in there!]

Hi Christine,and welcome to the forum! I went to school with Tommy all my school life,starting at the little Village Infants which is in a very sad dilapidated state,opposite St Cuthberts Church. Tommy was always a very quiet laddie,and a canny lad. I hadn't seen him for years,after leaving school,getting married,and moving to West Terrace Stakeford. Then one day he was walking up our street,and I got on talking to him,and he said he had moved into the street,on the East Terrace. As time went by,he had a bad experience in his domestic life,and his health started to deteriorate. I moved in 2000,and hadn't seen Tom for a year or two,then saw him at Bedlington Station,waiting at the bus stop. I gave him a lift home,and tried to cheer him up a bit,reminiscing about the old days at the Whitley School,but was saddened to realise how much worse his health was. I haven't seen him Since. I didn't know his Brother,or any other family members. I would have known you,when you were a kid,but even though I have a vivid memory of my childhood,some events and people in more recent years are starting to slip from my memory. If I'm not mistaken,and I apologise if I am,I'm thinking you were named after your Mam.[a red-headed lass-I think...] I am also 70,Tom was in my class at the Whitley School also. When we were all kids,we weren't stuck for friends to go out and play with....there were the "Parkies"..[who lived beside the park..],the Haig,and Beattie, roaders,the Lily Avenue lads,the Millfielders,the Hollymount lot,[where I lived]....quite a lot of friends to choose from,and we all went to school together, and played out,down the woods usually,or over at the park,...no X-boxes in those days!! I hope somebody else can add to my memories of Tom,in a more enlighting way. Cheers Christine! Bill

Welcome Christopher![you are new to me,but we'll get on aareet!]

....er......the exception was thi Wifey who danced aroond thi hoose singin....."Johnson's are thi polishes for furniture and floors.....it's so easy...."! Irritatin' as hell,and torture to thi ears!

Giffo,it's H.P.W..[..HIGH PIT WILMA ],Choppington B pit..[the "High Pit"],but you will know that by now,cos aav sent ye a private reply to your message. Thanks,Giffo,I knew every man and youngun,at the pit,in the early Sixties,cos I was a transport lad,working with John Wardlow,and John Dickinson,and travelling every road in the pit,tekking heavy machinery inbye. Canny Lass,and Sym,Spot-on........!![Owen's eyes lit up as he lifted his pint..!!!!] Great old adverts in those days....and I am a tee-totaller...! "Best buy McEwan's......"!! etc... But Cadbury's Smash's little Martian's still tuk thi biscuit!

Wimps! Get them doon thi black hole wi me for ten minutes,in an eighteen inch high coal seam,wi a big George Rock shuul and a six- foot cutter jib,amang waata and clarts,and bad stone roof,and they wud be crying for thier mammy's!! ....divven't knaa tha born man! Seriously,we can manage physical stress,by hevvin a blaa noo and again,but mental stress is a real killer. When a was a young lad,strong as a horse,and deaing aal that wat a said,nowt wud stand in me way. Noo aam older,and hopefully ,wiser,a realise wat mental stress can dae ti a person,and have a Son in London,and a Son at home,both have mentally stressful jobs. Me lad in London lives for his work,has his own recording studio,is a respected[in the industry] record producer,but always says,"Dad,aam not filling twelve yards of coal off ,like ye used ti dae,but it's mentally draining,seeing a project through,even though a enjoy daeing it......" Me youngest lad comes home mentally exhausted,after 8 hours in a recording booth also....no fun in his industry. So we should sympathise wi anybody who suffers like this lad has...not ti mention wor lads owa thi otha side of thi world,fighting a losing battle against evil.

Whey,me last post was on 15th of March. Neabody's responded,doesn't anybody love me anymair? [toys oot thi cot!!] Scientist's deciphered the Heiroglyphics in the pyramids,Ye knaa we,deciphered the Enigma codes at Bletchley Park,but NAE bugga can decipher HPW's little ditty's....not even Family who knaa me....not even me aan Wife!!! Only me Son! [....mind....aa had ti re-read it a few times,mesel' ti figure it oot...cos it's a while ago since a wrote it!!]

A bit late in catching you up Steve,welcome to the forum,and if I had known you were gonna be interested,I would have told you ages ago,cos I've chatted wi ye a few times when aav dropped me Wife in at Liz's hairdresser's next door ti ye!! Aal gie ye a shout again next time we cum alang!!....and ya not saying nowt oot o' order, here,cos ye are a canny lad,wi loads of advice,aaa knaa!!

Long time in catching up Paul,Dave did live in Millfield,we went to school from 5 yr old infants,right through to leaving at 15 yrs old. I have a class photo from our first year, at Bedlington village infants school,which is the the dilapidated wreck of a building,next to St Cuthbert's church. Dave is on the photo,unmistakeable,cos he never changed! I will try and fish it out and post it on here. Sadly,a lot of those on the pic,died at an early age,some you would have known. I worked at Bedlington A pit,and Bates's pit,and knew your Dad well,both as a miner under his charge,[he was a deputy],AND as a fellow Deputy myself. Dave would have been 71 this year,we were the same age.As I said, a real canny lad..R.I.P. Dave.

Welcome to the site Marcia,best of luck with your search. I worked with a few Dawson's,and Richardson's,at different pits,and they are very common and widespread around Bedlington,and Choppington,also Newbiggin,where the Dawson's were Coble fishermen. Check out the electoral rolls for more info maybe?

Malc,you have a great collection of music!! Jmagic,when I was 15 yrs old,[in 1959],one of the pit instructors was a lovely friendly guy,well-liked by all thi young trainees,whose name was Mr Alldis. He carried two sugar-cube - shaped sponges in his coat pocket,and ivry noo and then he would pull one oot ya lug,and mek it appear up ya nose,or summik funny like that!! He would make them disappear,and re-appear under your lapel.......shift from hand to hand,loads of little fast tricks,so fast you couldn't keep track of his movements!![and they cost nothing,gud cheap enterainment!] I'm sure he was a member of the Magic Circle,is that checkable? I wud love to know if his family kept the tradition up..