HIGH PIT WILMA

Er..! .....just for the record,Malcolm,and everybody else, I wasn't inferring the date of 611AD as the date St Cuthbert's bones were rested there,mind, but as the date that that ground was consecrated. If that is correct,then it wud be logical for the monks to come back to that place to rest,probably in a mud hut,or similar abode. What do you think?

Aye Maggie,the Gospels spring to mind...... Owt we hev is aalwis tekkin' awa' from us.......! Queer hoo tha was nea records of the find....wat museum wudn't have a records dept?!

Hi ozz! Does the nickname of a teacher called "Chip" mean anything ti ye? If it does , tell me how he got the nickname,and I will confirm a very close link with you and your family,if I have got it wrong,then I apologise! Did the factory make jeans for M-N S in around 1991 ?

So sorry,my dear Margaret....[?].....my lips will be forever sealed from this second on,never to slarver on ever again,whilst in your presence,to avoid any unnecessary annoyance to oneself,ever again....I will try to be the perfect gentleman from now on.......!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOO,YI BUGGER,WAT WAAS AA ON ABOOT AFORE AAL THIS YAKKIN' ON ABOOT SLAAVARIN........!!!!!!!!HEH HEH!! OH....! HI MAGGIE ....! Hevn't wi got a grate way o' taakin?.....them buggers doon sooth,thi aal taak funny,when yi gaan doon theor,neabugga taaks ti yi on thi trains a owt! When me Wife an me used ti gaa doon ti wor Daz's place,and gaa on thi tube trains,ivry bugga stared at yi for yi chatterin on...as if yi wa stupid a summik...! John,aav just re-capped ya dictionary again,an mind,yi desarve,alang wi ya secrortarry,a pat a two on thi back,cos mind,aam telling yi summick an aal,fo' nowt,mind,yiv puttin a helluva lot a graft in theor,for thi benefit of them that are forenna's ....an deain't knaa wat wa slavverin on aboot,haaf thi time! An Maggie,ya a star an aal,fo' being a very wise diplomatic and undastandin lassie!! Wat a great site this is!

New one on me,and a knew lots of Choppington people,but if it was in thi sixties,then a wud've been oot o' touch by then,and living at Hollymount Square, in Bedlington. Where was the Nurse's hoose then,please?..was it still in aad Dr Hickey's hoose and surgery..maybe? Crowe....very unusual name,my eldest Son's Partner,in London,is a Crowe,and her family is extensive,but they originate from Shropshire. Aal have her asked if she has any distant relatives up here,could be...in the same way my Son has...!! Slightly off-topic,again!,but twenty years ago,when my Son moved to London,working in the recording studios as an engineer,he went up Finchley road where he lives,to go to the local printer's to get a print job done for the studio. When he went into the printer's shop,in thi high street,thi first person he set eyes on was Tommy Liddell's Grandson,Peter!! [Tommy who had Liddel's garage alang here at Stakeford for aboot two hundred years!!!!]what a co-incidence ti meet up after being at school together years before!

If anybody here went ti Lucy's in the latter years,up until it closed down,ye's wud hev knaan me big aad Marra Bill,who was on thi door for a canny few years,even when he was still workin' at Ellington pit. He was owa 60 years aad,and hoying drunk youngins oot,who were battling on,sumtimes one in each hand,cos he was, and still is,strong as an ox!! That's him on me pit photo's on Flickr,sitting at thi handles of thi coalcutter,for those of you who might have visited the site,and checked oot High Pit Wilma's photostream,of Bates's Pit.[Adam's Dad's up on thi cage wheels heedgear!]

Apologies for drifting off-topic,like I always do,that's hoo a taak...! A can mind being in the Gaff when a was aboot three years aad!Me aadaa Sister used ti tek me and me other Sister and Aada Brother,on the Sediti eftanoon Matinee.."Fatty and Skinny" flics,Charlie Chaplin,and cartoons.....a used ti faal asleep and get carried yem,whey,it wasn't far back ti Storey's Buildings,doon the Willow Bridge Bank. Bliddy hard planks an aal! A was aalwis fascinated by the projection light beams flickering,and wondered what it was...inquisitive little mind a had even at that age.... ...that's hoo aam a genius.....and that's hoo a ended up doon a black hole!

Aaah..sorry to hear that,Keith.No doubt the inquest laid blame on him saying lack of timber in,or something like that. When you go to the Durham mining museum's archives and records of fatalities,whatever the job the poor fella,or in some cases,very young boys,did,it was always some "infringement of the Manager's rules",that was the blame for the accident. I was a coalcutterman,Keith,and cutters hadn't changed from them being invented,to the ones we used right until the pits all closed under thatcher-the-hatcheter...they only got more powerful,and more vicious. I have told everybody I ever spoke to,about coalcutters,especially young trainees who came under my wing to learn how to cut coal,that the coalcutter was the most VICIOUS machine,ever invented,grossly over-powered,and under-weighted,with the ability to throw itself around like a "Jumpy-jack" firecracker. Three and a half tons,with a long jib full of picks similar to a giant chainsaw. When the picks were in gear and you were cutting the face,it only took a really hard piece of stone [maybe from the roof breaking up,to be carried into the cut,and the back of the jib,to throw the cutter out of the cut,and start it dancing around like a toy,drawing timbers out,closing the face,etc. Frightening to see for the first time,but you got used to the dangers,and expected the unexpected,when you were cutting. My heart goes out to your family Keith,and every other miner,whatever part of the world they live and work in,we all faced the same dangers....with very little,if any,thanks,for doing a dangerous job.[we faced mostly unjustified critisicm from most people,due to ignorance...]

It's on thi "Sierra-hire Nissen Hut",thread,but a divvent knaa hoo ti move it ti here!!

Eh!...just thi otha neet,a posted a greet lang story aboot me next door retired-miner neighbour,who,in the mid-sixties, took a part-time job,doon at the Nissen huts at Cambois.[He had ti sign thi official secrets act!as a store-keeper!!] They used ti hev the words"British Sugar Corporation"written in huge letters,on the sides of the huts,easily seen from the air,and which,I suspect,was a code-word during the war. Aal find where a posted the story aboot the huts,and re-post it here.[a think it was in the thread aboot the Nuclear bunkers...]

I worked with a lad at Bates,who was a really powerful,strong,and also strong-willed person.Great to work with,and the most hilarious sense of humour you could imagine,with a character that was well-known wherever he went. After the strike was declared over,and on the first day of our return back to work,all our Marra's were unanimously voicing our opinions on what we would do with thatcher-the hatcheter.......!!! Keith,[aye..another Keith!..]spoke out in his very powerful voice,above all the chatter of the lads..... ...."Whey aa think she's a wonderful woman....."..!!!!..."a wadn't mind xxxxxxx her"!!!!!!!!! There was an uproar,and if it wasn't for Keith's character,and his build,I think somebody might have been incensed enough to have a go at him,bearing in mind all the tensions that were still present,what with those that had returned earlier,having to work with the "loyal" ones. He kept this winding -up going for a day or two,till everybody finally realised.... He would say.."Luk wat she's done for ye...better pay...better conditions".....[we were working in the wettest part of the whole pit,in the Three-Quarter seam]...etc! Badger,was certainly a queer bugga,but a smashing marra![er....queer as in "funny"...just for correctness!!].

WINDEY-WINDEY....!!!!!!!!!!!HEH HEH!!!!!!!!!!

I think,in those days,the nickname of "Pop" was given to any lad with the Robson surname,because of association with that of the soft drinks manufacturers in Morpeth,bearing the same name.

Spot on Keith! The Clouson family lived around the corner from my Family ,in Hollymount Square,from Hollymount being built,in approx 1948-ish... Pop Clouson had the travelling shop,canna remember if he started with horse and cart,like everybody else,mind. Then later on,he had the shop at Allgood Terrace.[from the mid-1950's-on]. If "young" Pop is still with us,and he comes on here,he might confirm the age-old story that was passed on to successive generations attending the Whitley Memorial School. That story related how old Mrs Molden was reprimanding Pop,[who was a very big lad,aged nearly fifteen years..],and he got out of his school desk,lifted Mrs Molden up in the air,[shouting and bawling going on between them],and dumped her into the large waste-paper basket in the corner of the classroom.! The baskets used,in those days, stood about three or four feet tall and were narrow at the base,and wider at the top,like a giant flower vase. Pop had to go to see aad Nicky,the Headmaster tyrant,to have both hands thrashed with the cane ..."which is really going to hurt..."

Luks like Joe Caine to me Malcolm...he' double if not him! K.L, ye should be on stage!!

I was at Choppington High Pit for six years,1959-1965...and was transferred ti Bedlington A pit,a few months afore thi high pit closed. Just ti re-cap,John Arkle was always in night-shift..[5-0pm]..["Mastershifter"],Chris Arkle,[John's Brother],kept the 12-0 midnight shift..[" Fore-Overman"...or.........."Fore-Owaman"],and Joe Barratt kept the "Back-shift"..[which was 8-30am start.]...and he was thi "Back-Overman"...[or ... .."Back-Owaman"] Noo,when yi luk at these three Senior officials,ya lukking at the best of british miners,that could ivvor have come oot o' mining. An awkward sod of an elder miner,at Bates Pit,once said ti me,[when aa was a young Deputy],"Ye fella's ownly gaan onti Deputy-wark,cos ye canna manage piecewark..".......!! Whey,as it happened,after seven years, a chucked Deputy-work in,and was accepted back inti the N.U.M.,at Bates,summik which had nivvor been done before,cos ya regarded as "Poacher-turned-Gamekeeper". And as it also happened,the awkward sods who made these remarks ti me,pulling me doon,had ti come up the coalface,and work with me,and it turned oot,they couldn't tie tha own shoe-laces next ti me!! See,they were taken from their push handles -on-the-mechanised-coalface,back to old-fashioned coalcutting,drilling and firing the coal,and hand-filling 24 tons of coal,a shift,onto a rubber conveyor belt,which was a few yards away from ye,so ye had ti really hoy ivry shuul-full hard,ti reach the conveyor belt. After one hour,some of these so-called.."miners",were literally buggaad!! Nae mair sarcastic remarks made ti Wilma after these episodes!! Ivry dog has he's day,they say,and mind,it's a grand feeling!! Right!,...hoo a got on aboot aal that,was,these blokes would have said the same thing ti these three Officials,and wat a big mistake they would hae made!! Oh,a forgot,another Deputy,who a knew,at Bedlington A pit,came under thi syem category as these three.....a fella caaled Joe Craddock. Noo,John,research this one,if ye can,please! During,or just after the War,[ww2],there was a big drive on for coal,so inter-pit contests were held,ti find the best and fastest coal-fillers. In Northumberland,as I understand it,the final two were Joe Barratt,from Choppington High Pit,against Joe Craddock,from Bedlington A Pit. Both big fellas,and both strong as an Ox. It was widely known that Joe Craddock won the contest,after filling 72 pit-tubs of coal,in a single shift,with Joe Barratt very,very,close behind. ....beaten by half a tub,or summick daft like that. In fairness ti Joe Barratt,he was in stinking bad conditions,as was usual,at thi High Pit,and Joe Craddock had gud conditions,as was usual at Bedlington A pit. So they were probably equal in their amazing ability,and,in later life,as officials of the mine,MORE than qualified,ti tell a man hoo ti dae any job in thi pit! If Lone Ranger is knocking around,he will maybe confirm these facts,or maybe John will help out.

Heh heh! Thanks Malcolm,aam a bit late o' catching up!...better late than never,as aad Nicky,[Headmaster at Whitley School in my childhood]..used ti say.... before he terrorised you,then thrashed you over both hands!!

Aam a bit late o' catching up on this one,[it's noo 2014!] Just ti put yi kind folks reet,the smaal cave yi were on aboot had a Stone -Age burial cist inside it,and it was found in the early 1950's by one of my school-friends.[from the Whitley Memorial school]. The experts came from aal owa,and they took thi bones ti thi Hancock museum. There was also a similar burial cist owa the twenty acres field at Millfield,and them bones were displayed in the wall ootside the Hancock museum for donkeys years....dinna knaa if tha still there noo.

Heh heh! Took me some time ti catch up on this page,but aam sittin' here at 1-15am as usual,wi tears running doon me fyess wi laffin'!! [Especially the sugar bit!]

The question marks above North Row were what we called "the fitting shops",which comprised Electrical,Mechanical,Blacksmiths,Joiner's,Saddler's,in the days when all the pit ponies "gears"..[harness's,collars,bridles,etc]..were made on site-no contractors in them days! You can see the Blacksmith's forge flues in a row,just to the right of the higher buildings which are arrowed. Please correct me if I am wrong,but I worked there for six years,and had to go over to the "shops",regularly, to take my bags of blunt drilling bits,and coalcutter picks to the Blacksmiths shop,to be sharpened.

By the way,Maggie,a didn't mean ti tek ya point of Mary's book being a valuable contribution ti wor heritage,by rabbiting on aboot my book! A hope by noo,that ye knaa me.....it duzn't tek much ti mek me digress...!![age probably!] Cheers Maggie!

Hi Vic,nice ti hear ye again! Aam gaana check it oot Vic,and aal let ye knaa if a can work it oot. A canna read music,but a knaa wat aal the symbols are for ...whey ...roughly. A can find the notes on the guitar and sorta get it that that way. Trouble is,a divvent knaa hoo ti load stuff like that on here! It's gud that wor heritage is being kept alive,cos folk have short memories! Gie me love ti the boss Vic!!

Thanks Maggie,for that one. Will try and check it out. I am writing my whole life story,and have finished book one,[still in transcript],which is my life from birth,as far back as about two and a half years old,[i can remember walking along with leather harness and reins!!...being held by my Mother.]. I am in the process of writing book two,which starts my life in the mines,aged 15 years..straight from my school desk..and am still at the period of my life aged 19 years,in Choppington High Pit,[the B pit],so I've got a long way to go,to catch up to my present age...[just turned 70 in July!!!] The difference between my book,and others you may read are, [A] It is utterly,totally boring...uninteresting...bland....[as critics would say!],but even though I am writing it,I re-cap on what I have already written,and get carried away with it!........as if someone else had written it!! [how dopey is that?!]. THIS book isn't about the history of mining..and the hardships that were had....it's about the pits I worked in,the actual jobs that I did,and the bad conditions I worked in,and the risks to life and limb I endured,and the sad episodes where I lost Marra's in the pits,in accidents that didn't need to happen. It's about the funny times,and the actual GUD times that I had,making thi best of a bad job!! Comradeship...second-to -none in the pits....how pit ponies were REALLY treated,at different pits,[cruelty at Choppington High Pit....both by men AND Management. If it ever gets finished ...that is!

Heh heh ! I met my Wife at the Clayton ballroom,on a Wednesday night roller-skating,in July1962 !! [aged 17 years...whey,nine days off my 18 th birthday] They were great times,falling down the first few times you tried,cos it was a few years since you last skated,and also these weren't skates you were used to,like your own! Another thing was,we were used to skating on the concrete roads and pavements,which wore our skate wheels out in a matter of weeks,and the first time we tried skating,[as an "Adult"...!],on a polished wood dance floor,it was like skating on ice,until we got the hang of it again!! I used to pick blackberries,this time of the year,and sell them around the doors to my delighted neighbours,for thruppence a pund[two and a half pence], and save the money to buy a pair of new skate wheels from Jimmy Milne,at half a crown,[twelve and a half pence]each! [i was 10 years old..!] By 1963,aged 19 years,I was playing lead guitar in my group,on the same stage where Shane Fenton and the Fentones,alias Alvin Stardust,[in later years!],played. Rue and He's Rockets were a great group who used to come to the Clayton,on Saturday nights,for the Dance night. The Avengers also,were a local group,whose lead vocalist,Graham Bell,from Blyth,went to London and made a name for himself,touring with "The Who" in "Tommy,the Rock Opera",in the late 1960's/70's. Aye,the kids noo,divvent knaa who ti enjoy thasell's like we did in them days!

There were a lot of huge underground bunkers,all over the country,during the cold war,mainly to control nuclear warfare from a safe vantage point,and only for the government officials,scientists,engineers,and ivry bugga brainy who would be needed ti start a new civilisation,after we had been nuked! Us poor bugga's weren't in the running for a seat down there! I tell you,check oot Scotland's best kept secret.....!!