HIGH PIT WILMA

Hi Vic,the reality of losing "Wor" Doreen,hasn't really sunk in,after I got your message,I still think she will be there ti keep ye reet,but even though we haven't seen each other for all them years,ye canna wipe oot treasured memories,they stay here in ya heart forever. Doreen and me were like Brother and Sister,along wi Maureen,from three years old,Home Pals,School Pals,just there aal thi time..long Summer nights playing in the square are firmly embedded in my mind. My heart goes out to you and your family Vic,my Wife,Cathy,sends her love also,she is suffering ill health also through the effects of Major Seizures,losing her memory is one of the side effects of all this,so she can't remember any of the old days,or her Childhood,and even what happened yesterday,but she does remember me telling her of my old friend Doreen's Passing,and was so sorry to hear the sad news. All I can say is,Vic,stay strong,Marra,keep those memories close to your heart,and remember how well liked Doreen was over here by those who were her friends. Could you also tell Maureen,we lost another dear old friend recently,Joan Bell..[she was married to Josie Reed,although Maureen might not remember Josie..they were a lovely couple..] How can I begin to say Cheers Marra...doesn't seem right...Kindest regards Vic Bill and Cathy xx

@ lilbill15..me Son loves the Red Het Chilli Peppors,a great Band he says......er!....ye DAE mean the band...daein't ye?!!!

Howw Man,wa Geordie folks on this site,[whey...my Son keeps correcting me...wa not Geordies at aal...wa Northumbrians!! ...wat thi hell!!]...wat does toot de sweetie mean in punds shullin's ind pence?!!....n wa not Frogs eetha!!Heh heh...nea disrespect..ignorance is bliss we used ti say!! When aa was 15 yrs aad,in 1959,a used ti waak from Hollymoont Square,in the deep snaa,when the Buses were laid off,and waak up the Railway [Tanky]line from the Low Pit,at Scotland Gate,reet up ti the High Pit,a stryght mile,mind that WAS hard work,trudging through Snaa two feet deep and deeper wheor the snaa had drifted![ a total of Fower Miles,afore wi even clocked on!!] The point of aal this is,we wad nivvor hae thowt that one day,ye wadn't see the line,for a lovely wood waak,the Friends of Choppingtin Woods have worked a miracle in creating that haven!! But a canna help but think,when a used ti gaan up the entrance road from Guide Post road,[the PIT ROAD!!]wi LBJ,a used ti stop where the Pit Baths were,and reminisce,get me bearings reet,the Winder Hoose was owa theor,[a gud aad Steam Winder..100 yrs aad!],the Timber Yard doon heor,and the Lamp Cabin and Tally Cabins owa thoer....!! A detested that pit,but noo that a haven't got wee LBJ,ti get me oot,a have luvly memories of gaan doon thon woods in the orly mornin sunleet..Magic!! Aye,Alan's the BUGGER ti see if ye waant ti knaa owt aboot Barn'tin!! Cheers Folks!! HPW.[absent a lot,but still kicking aboot!]

Eh Alan!,a appreciate aal ya efforts here,noo gaan off the faded files wat didnt recognise,a think that's wat wud be the case wi me book one,done wi the fineline pen.A used that pen,thinking it wud mek a neater job,with the intention of only finishing the whole project for me Wife and Two Sons reading only. Aav had that much interest from a lot of me extended family,some of who are ex-coalminers also,and a lot of me Marras from the pits aav worked at,plus ye kind folks on wor forum,that a started ti think seriously aboot Publishing it,till a read that the Publishers usually want a few chapters in a Word Document format,or summick like that,ti see if it grabs their attention...then that put me off the idea! A think first of aal the original needs preserving before it's too late! Wadn't ye think they wud develop a foolproof OCR Program,seein as we can send men and women inti space!! 2-0 am Alan,as usual,fading hard,aal let ye knaa hoo a scanned copy looks after aav done a few pages. Cheers Buddy,Bill.Nite Nite. PS..Lilbill,thanks also for your kind suggestions,it's much appreciated!

Ten past one in thi morning,here,on Thursdi,27-5-2021,and aam fading harder than thi ink on me books!

Hi Folks! Alan,many thanks for that bed time reading! A think my best bet is to first scan the pages,like it says ,if only to preserve a clear image,as the ink IS starting ti fade. A haven't had books one and two oot the carrier bag in the drawer where they are kept,for a few years..time flies!!..and a took them oot yistidi mornin',ti let wor lass read them,and book one one was written wi a fineline pen,and aam sure it looks faded aalriddy. Aa started reading book one ,just ti check it oot, a few pages like,and a got absorbed and interested in thi bugga...and a thowt...it's MY story,and AA wrote the bugga!![Hoo crazy is that?!!..aav forgotten wat a wrote aboot me childhood,even though aal of it is still fresh in me mind!] Aam not that clivvor when it comes ti pdf's word documents etc,aav nivvor done owt at aal wi Word,and a wadn't knaa wheor ti start! Mind, aav got a ton o' patience,so sitting printing oot 600 double sides,[ie 1200 sides!..],doesn't bother me at aal,it's just thi time factor involved,it's 24 hour care more intense noo wi me Wife,since she had another big Seizure on May 1st ,at 6-20 am,resulting in a fall from a standing,seized,position,forward onto her face,flat oot,which bust her face aal up and broke her nose. So aam waatchin' her like a Haak,and the days just fly by wi being on thi go aal day. So,aal hae ti try and dae a bit at a time before thi ink fades and it will aal hae been a waste o' time! Cheers Alan,and lilbill,from this Bill!!

As an afterthought, the problem I have noo, wi getting my book published, is, a started writing with pen and paper, longhand, before I became Computer literate, and noo have more than 600 pages written! Hoo cud a get aal that published? A think it might be best to create authenticity, by scanning every page of my book, and somehow getting a Publisher to put it all together, like an ancient greek manuscript!! What do you think folks?!! Cheers HPW.

Waatcheor lilbill15! As everybody on the forum knaas, aal my recollections of my Childhood and comments on mining years, are totally and explicitly from memory, with nae references whatsoever taken from books, other than things like the Spec of Bucyrus Eerie, The Draglines, at Ewart Hill, then later, Acorn Bank Opencast Coal Sites. Thanks fo ya kind words, Marra, my time is being taken now, caring for my Disabled Wife, 24/7,so my book has been on hold for a lang time, Book one has been finished for a year or two, which Chronicles my life from as young as Two and a half yrs old, until I leave school aged 15yrs,and begin a new life un an adult world, starting to work underground in the Coalmines. Book Two is also finished, and tells of my early life as a young miner in an atrocious, hostile, wet, rough, environment, down Choppington B Colliery, otherwise known as "The High Pit" (as opposed to it's Sister Pit at Scotland Gate, known as Choppington A Colliery, ((The Low Pit)))... both Pits connected by a dead straight railway line, nearly a mile long). I am busy writing book three, which tells of my years at Bedlington A Colliery, and which will, hopefully tell of my years at Bates Colliery, and finally, Ashington Colliery, when, in 1987,I was made redundant when the thatcher the hatcheter government, nailed the coffin lid on the Mining Industry, and closed Ashington Colliery down. I got re-trained as a Cabinet Maker, and went on to make very expensive hand made furniture, until a bad accident to my hand put me out of action, as well as health problems with my breathing, etc, due to Mining dust on my lungs, COPD etc. So if a ivvor get me life story finished.. it'll be interesting, seeing as half of my Marras in my book are sadly now deceased, and CoalMining is a forgotten piece of History.. kids now have never heard of Coal, and wouldn't know what it looked like if ye gave them a cobble, or a treble.. or a single, for that matter!! Noo hadaway an get ya pipe.. ye'll be be scranny by noo!! Heh heh! Cheers! Bill (aka HPW).

Don't know where the "see" came from, at the start of me last post!!

seeWow! Kathy, the red box needs to be handled very carefully if you can't open it. I am 99.99999% sure that Granda asked the Magazine (Explosives Store!) Attendant, for an empty box for posterity, but cant be 100% certain!! These boxes contained the Electric Detonators, that were inserted into the sticks of Explosive (Thi "Pooda"), and which, when connected to the Exploder Battery or Dynamo device, fired the shots. The modern Explosives couldn't be fired without a detonator, it would just burn if thrown on the fire, it was regarded as Ultra Safe Explosive, whereas in the old days, Black Gunpowder would explode with a spark! Noo, these detonators were capable of blowing your hand off iff handled the wrong way, or if static electricity from a nylon shirt sparking, or, more likely, static electricity from Compressed Air equipment down the mine, came into contact with the trailing wires!. If this box has Detonators in it, they will have two yellow wires, denoting that they are "Instantaneous" Detonators. That is, they will explode the moment they are set off. Delay Detonators had different coloured wires, for different purposes, with different lengths of delay between "Fired" with the exploder, and actually Exploding, the delays were determined in Milliseconds, or Thousands of a second. I personally would not rule out the possibility of it having Detonators in it! Remember, there is no such thing as an "Empty" Gun!! Chris Sogorski on Facebook, an old Marra of mine, at Bates, will have a key to open the Det Box, if you get in touch with him,or I can ask him, if you want. Please treat the DetBox with care, prevention is better than cure! It was common in the old days for the old miners to take "Pooda" (sticks of Powder.. it wasnt Gelignite like the ignorant press would report!), to put around their Cabbages to keep the Slugs and other garden pests off!! It alarmed people who moved into the property and found Pooda in the shed, but it was completely harmless! Just the words "Nobel Explosives" set people freaking out! Aahh, ignorance was bliss!!

Maggie,nice to hear from you,I have PM'd you just now,only for decency,as the news I bring to you can be discussed on the forum another more suitable time,Jack used to be a regular contributor after I convinced him that this was the best,most sensible and decent discussion forum anywhere online. I have found Facebook to be useful,and have re-connected with friends of old,even my Best Man at my Wedding,who I hadn't seen for a lot of years,and my Choppington High Pit Marra Eddy,who features unknowingly in all my 1960's pit recollections,who I haven't seen since 1985,it's brilliant! Sadly,what comes with all this good,comes more of the bad,and swearing online in discussions,especially Womenfolk,disgust this old Miner who was brainwashed that ...."Noo Son,as soon as ee step oot that cage at bank,ye switch off,right?!..ye'll get ya lugs clipped if ye swear ootside o' these cage waals...!" We were brought up in an age where it was unthinkable to swear in front of a Lady,so when a go on Facebook,and aam faced with this,and it's everywhere,and not just young lasses,older ones as well....but it's a good way to keep in contact with my two Sons who live in London,and Norfolk,so I have to bear the sleaze. I am thankful for this site being so incredibly decent and civil,with many a great discussion over the years,by some great friends! Cheers! Bill. P.S. Thanks Alan for your help as usual ,Marra,still waiting for another natter at the garden gate!!

Hi Maggie,whey, aav had both me Jabs, so has wor lass, so we feel a bit more protected, but Cath has been ill since Easter Monday, after having three consecutive major tonic clonic seizures, and a bad fall. Can ye remember Jack at West Lea!? let me know if ye were the Maggie who visited his house when you were up to check on yours, please.. bad news aam afraid. Cheers HPW.

We don't want owt built at Cambois! its a lovely place, we want it kept lovely!... but....

Awesome project,as long as we don't have the equivalent amount of unseen exhausted chemicals as we had for fifty years from the Power Station! Gud to be leading the field in new industries..if it does finally go ahead!