HIGH PIT WILMA

Heh heh! Great interesting discussion, ye two bonny lassies! The only bits aa remember wat was ingrained into us were the 611 AD consecration,and the sleepover of King John at thi Old Hall Tower at thi Market Place,before the signing of thi Magna Carta. When I was a kid,aa coudn't stand History lessons,cos a didn't see thi need for it...a wud rather be fiddling on wi me Electricity experiments in me Mutha's wesh-hoose....[at 12- yeor aad!]. Noo,aam fascinated by History,fortunately we hae thi technology nooadays,ti larn of those who are more edicated...like ye two bonny lassies!! Heh heh!

Hi Maggie!...lang time no read/see/ hear...from! I was brought up at the Bedlington village infant's schyuul from 1949,and in the early days of starting there,the teacher took us across to the Church,to learn about the history of how it all began there. We kids were too young to know aboot the Anglo-Saxons,but persistent teaching throughout every class,and on to the Whitley schyuul,ensured that the St Cuthbert's Church history,and also that of Bedlington Village,was firmly embedded in our minds! We learned all aboot the Chancel Arch being the only remaining Saxon -constructed part of the building,the ancient Font, the Leper's Window, the Gothic Wing,the Norman's influence... Noo, many yeors later,a hev a very well-read Son,who adamantly educates me into the history of the Anglo-Saxons,saying they never ever set foot up this part of the Country! Aav argued the point that we were taught from five years old about the history of this lovely old Church..[ Watson's Wake!...another one I forgot to mention!],and it is gonna take some shifting ,to convince me that all me Teacher's,and History books were wrang!! We had a discussion on this forum,a year or two back,regarding the origins of Bedlington and the Church,and it started off some disagreements when I said that we were taught that the land on which St Cuthbert's Church stands,was consecrated in the year 611 AD. Do you know anything aboot that Maggie?...as a kid,I couldn't have made this information up! Cheers! ...if I don't hear from you,[bad time of year when ivrybody is rushing aroond like madscabs getting ready for the festive season!],I hope you have a nice Christmas and a happy new year!

Hi Steve,welcome to the forum,a canna help ye,but hope others can. Wasn't it a bit daft wat the kids did in them days..if they saw a too-too coming,they would fly up them steps to get among the coals smoke and steam,laughing and giggling! Pure and simple pleasure,which cost knowt except probably a year or two of their lives!..intense heated coal tar,Sulpher,and a million other nasties straight down their throats and lungs!! aaahh...happy days!

Duncan,I had just come to this page after switching my laptop on,and after posting the light-hearted bantering comment above,went looking for the photo you seemed to be referring to,in your comment above. So I went back one page,and saw the photo's of Geordie,and the comment by Alan Edgar,informing us here on the forum,of George's passing. After reminiscing about him,then seeing this sad news,brought me down,and all I can say is I am sorry for you and your family,and if Florence is still with us,then please pass my condolences to her. I will private message you if I can Duncan. R.I.P. Ju-Jitzu Geordie ,a smashing fella.

Hi Duncan,welcome to this excellent forum! If you are talking about Ju-Jitzu Geordie,then you have come to the right place! I was transferred to Bates pit in 1971,from Bedlington A pit,when it closed,and the Manager Mr Fenwick,[an old friendly fella who was my Manager at Choppington High Pit,in 1959],asked me and Alan Dixon to go onto the next Deputy's course,which we did. We were both sent to Bates,and Alan was posted up in the Plessey seam,while I was posted to the Beaumont seam. As time went by,plans were laid out to drift down to the 3/4 seam. My first impressions of Geordie,[he was also a Deputy ],was that he was a cocky bugger,always laughing and carrying on,but sometimes a wee bit sarcastic to us two young Deputies...we were still green,dinna forget...I was only 27 yrs old. Anyway,after 7 years, Alan and me both packed Deputy work in,and Alan went to Ellington,and got set straight on back in the NUM. Aa waanted ti stay at Bates,and Mr Hindmarsh,and both the NUM,and NACOS,agreed that I could be accepted back into the NUM at Bates..previously unheard of! Aa went onti Composite work doon thi drift,and by then,aroond 1978-ish,maybe a wee bit later,Geordie became Owaman in charge of me and me Marra's,as we won oot aal the new roadways and coalfaces. Geordie was the fairest guy you could meet,if ye worked doon theor,then ye shud knaa thi score aboot yardages,and paypoints....nae botha if ye dinna knaa. When ye settle a bargain wi thi Manager,we'll say 20 yards a week advance,from the start of the bargain..or Cyevil,that is ya starting point for bonus. Ye got paid for ivry increment of a yard after that. Noo let's say we got 25 yards advance one week,a gud week,cos the belts were gannin aal shift,and nae delays,like the juice being off or a bust cable. We wud ask Geordie ti just book 23 yards in for us,and keep two yards back,in case we had a bad start the following week. The next week might be disastrous..bust cable, waata teeming in,bad stone,slaa progress,ownly 18 yards advance,Geordie wud book 20 yards in,[which included the two yards we held back the week before],and that,at least paid us,we didn't loss owt. If we were working for wor summer holiday pay for the following week,and even if we had 22 yards advance,we naturally waanted a gud pay for wa holidays,so we wud ask Geordie ti haad the tape back,[his 50-yard cloth tape measure],and put us a couple of extra yards in,on paper,ti pay us weel!! Not strictly allowed!..but Geordie trusted us,as we trusted him,and he knew that after the hols were owa,we wud give him the two yards back,even if we put wasell's "in debt",[paid wasell's short],but which we knew we wud mek up thi following week. We got on really weel wi Geordie,and he was weel-liked,but he wadn't knaa hoo much at the time,cos as ye knaa ,we pitman were witty sods,and ye had ti stand on ya aan two feet or be trodden on!! Aa got on really weel wi Flo,when she worked at the Garage aroond the Haaf-Moon....many moons ago!! Aye,Geordie helped us oot that many times,we had a lot ti thank him for! Cheers Duncan!...ye just crossed swords wi Bill thi gud taaka...and if Geordie was here noo,he'd be saying.."that bugga's toungue nivvor stops..."!! A canna mind ye being doon the drift,Duncan,or did ye hae a daft nickname like mine...."Wilma"![or HPW..to you,my friend!]

Hi Alan, gaan through a rough patch, please nivvor think that aav deserted!... (mebbe AWOL!!.. heh heh!) Noo! When a was a pit Deputy, a was in charge of John Bennett, and Gordon,and Dicky, his two Brothers. We all worked doon the Three Quarter seam.. among seawaata n clarts and bad roof stone.. as time went by, after seven years as a Deputy/Overman, I went back into the NUM, as a Composite man, and funnily enough, both John and Gordon WENT onto Deputy work.. John eventually became an Overman, the man who was in overall charge of the face, or the whole seam, but only responsible for Coal Production. The Deputy was solely responsible for the Safety, Health, and Welfare of the men under his charge, and directly responsible to Her Majesty's Government Inspectorate of Mines and Quarries. Not even the Manager had that responsibilty.. no-one except the Deputy..! Anyway, Gordon was our Deputy when I took these pit photos, he was down in another part of the seam, or I would have had him on the pics as well.. he was a great guy.. gud worker.. nice natured.. helped us all thi time... lost a lot of sweat every day... he used to say, it was thi beer coming oot of him! I haven't seen any of them for years.

Thanks Alan, it's intriguing me noo aav thowt aboot it!

Another memory was jogged ,on the right hand side,at thi top of the bank,them hooses have a walkway built -up so each hoose has a pavement ootside their door. Whey,cos thi bank gaans away doon-owa,and the path is horizontal,a waal is formed,getting higher as yi come doon the bank. Whey, one day,when a was a wee bairn,me aulder Brother,[by exactly three years,born on the syem day!!],was poking aroond in thi holes in thi waal,cos Starlings used ti nest in the holes every year.[in the days when we used ti gaan bird-nesting for eggs.] He got excited this day when a Farthing came oot thi hole alang wi bits o' muck at the end of his stick that he was using as a poker. Whey Farthings were still legal currency,so he kept on poking at thi hole wi he's black-handled Jack-knife.[ye knaa..thi one wi a blade at one side,and a steel slightly curved pointed "progger",at the other side...very common sight in kids' pockets, in them days!] After a while,poking thi lime mortar oot wi thi progger,and using his stick ti rake thi hole oot,he got he's hand inside,and pulled dozens of Farthings,just them,nae other coin denominations,oot thi hole!...Buried Treasure!! We got all excited and started imagining that there might be Gold and Silver treasure in other parts of the wall,so we started howking oot thi lime where could,but we only ever found old Starlings' nests!! NOO! ..there's nae reason not ti think that there COULD be a cache of coins or jewellery inside the wall,cos we never telt anybody,but there MUST have been a reason for somebody,mebbe a hundred years before,ti stash a whack of Farthings inside a hole in that wall,in the days when that amount would have been a lot of money to a poor peasant,in the days before the pits came alang!...mebbe the Bailiffs were coming ti tek aal he's belongings and ti kick him oot...like the Coal-owner's heavies did ti My Mother in 1944,when she was in Hospital having me. I was maybe seven or eight yrs old,at thi time of the treasure trove,probably 1952-ish..I wonder if you could find out when the present houses were built Alan?,and whether them hooses are the original buildings on that plot...mebbe there were ancient primitive buildings standing there before the present ones,even though they are very old. Cheers! Bill.

Hi Alan,firstly,the Bates pic,No 7 is Derek Burt,a smashing really weel-liked lad,who went on deputy work and was posted back onto the face in charge of his own Marra's!!...Unconventional for that to happen,they usually sent new deputies to a different face. Derek used to shout and bawl on at the men ti keep the coal coming ...then play football with them all on a Sunday...highly unconventional,he's Marra's used ti say,jokingly,that he was "Crackers"..!! No 1 looks very much like Davy Wood who took part in the short documentary called" Report from the Northern Coalface",also featuring Alan Dixon,[one of our contributors in the past],and John Douds,who built a model of a pit in intricate detail,which also features in that documentary,and which was on display at the Woodhorn Museum a year or two ago. It's a brilliant well-made Pro. film Doc, and if ye haven't seen it Alan,it is really worth watching. It was made by "Crinkle-cut Productions", and it's advertised on the web. Noo! Thi 1956 pics doon Bedlington main street,and doon Bedlington Bank ,were taken when aa was only twelve years aad. Aa lived just aboot 30 yards doon the street and in ti Hollymount Square on the left turn in, doon Bell's Place. A divvent knaa anybody on thi pics,Alan,but a dae clearly remember an older fella,who used to dance side to side doon the road aal the way from the top-end doon ti thi Field,drunk as a newt,and there is a bit of footage of him on this gallery in one of the short cine films on one of the picnic days. But that fella did that every year!,and he was a lot older,and not as tall,as this lad,in these pics. A can only remember the one fella daeing that,Alan,a cud nivvor mind of anybody else daeing it..he was so funny,we kids used ti watch ti see where he was going to drop onto the road!! Great ti see thi aad Gas lamp on the Bank..nivvor seen that since aa was a wee skittering young ched!! If ye look closely,ye can see a hundred years..[it seemed!], worth of Graffiti on the big wall on the bank,there used ti be some great bits of artwork,only lads in the old days didn't hae spray cans of paint..not even chalk...it was aal done wi a bit o stone,or a bit of red hoose brick! ...AND!...it wasn't caaled "Graffiti"...it was just "Aal thi writin' on thi waal doon thi bank"...ti local folk....and thi Cooncil weren't bothered aboot it...they didn't mek any effort ti clean it off..the weather gradually did a lot of the clean-up. After the Wartime rations ceased,and import restrictions were relaxed, My Mother came in one day from Hemsteads,with a few bananas..the first time we had ever seen one,apart from in Bob Hope films at thi top-end pictures!...they were huge things,and as I grew up and started the pits in 1959,me Mutha used ti put 14 sammidges up for me bait,wi one banana!..YE try putting SIX sammidges up wi one Banana noo..!..aa dae ivry day for me midday bait at yem...and these wee banana's are an insult! Then another day,me eldest Sister,aged aboot 16 yrs,in the mid '50s,came in wi a Pomegranite..the name alone freaked me oot,when a was aboot ten,and it seemed weird to me that we aal sat aroond wi sewing pins,picking sweet seeds oot o this queer-lukkin' fruit! Aam digressing again Alan,but pics like this bring back floods of happy memories of me yem toon,and that bank was the gateway ti wor childhood living!.. Cheers Alan!

Alan,as regards Heather needing Mining Memorabilia,I wouldn't mind any of my pics being used that doesn't have any body appearing in any of them,cos some of those Marra's are now Deceased,and others I haven't seen for years,to gain permission,but on the other hand,they are on here for the world to see! I would be happier if I knew which Home it was ,and especially if I thought it was Holmside,at Bedlington Station...cos a Heather,and her Mother used to be in Charge of that home when my Dear old Mother-in-law was residing there, a few years ago. The wee picture of Heather on her post,looks like the Heather I am talking about....cud be a million miles wrang mind! Is there any way ye cud find out for me Alan? Cheers! Bill.

Hi Alan,I knew aal these lads to taak ti,but not their names,except No 2 Gordon Hickson..[definately!],and No 5,who I took for a fella caaled Billy Smith. Noo a wud gaan for the name ye have gotten from Malcom,cos he might have worked with him as a marra,I had Gordon Hickson on my Book,when I was a Deputy,and I paid his wages ,virtually,every day for about two years.Now the lad who a thought was Billy Smith,must be the double of Billy,cos what's making me think twice about this,is the Specs!...Billy didn't wear specs when he was on my books,and maybe aad age is catching up wi me memory! Ye knaa wat it's like when ya absoloutely sure,then doubt creeps in..... Cheers Alan! Bill.

Alan,me post has went bold in places,and wasn't when a typed it oot! It looks as if a was trying to emphasise a point or two...not my intention at aal..just to let yi knaa,and Coatsy!! Cheers again!

Hi Coatsy,and welcome to the forum,mate! Now a knaa nowt aboot football,or sport generally,but aa have had the same trouble even just trying ti find photo's of the Choppington High Pit,cos the photo on thi Info board at the entrance ti thi pit isn't the High Pit at aal! Somebody musta dug a picture of any old pit from somwhere else,ti stick on the board,just ti let visitor see what a pit looked from the top of the pit heap..or the cage wheels or whatever..there is no info to be found other than what we have on this forum,in the gallery,such as my own Father as a laddie in 1929-ish,and pictures of the houses lining the pit road. Thi photo of the Miners underground is genuine,cos aa worked with aal the men on that photo,at some time or another,when I was a young Girder lad. What I do know is that the Dreyer Family,Dor Dreyer,Freddie Dreyer,and their Fathers before them,aal played Cricket,for Choppington,and Bomarsund,Stakeford. Just wildly guessing , mind,but a lot of lads that I knew who played one sport,also excelled in others. Would a delve into the Dreyer Family's Ancestor's mebbe lead to a link with the Football club? The High Pit musta been just a tax fiddle for the Coal-owners,cos it was hidden away from sight owa the fields,and was just a wriggly tin shed set-up...with no Real investment outlay on the surface buildings,OR the underground set-up..Dangerous hell-hole altogether,so it appears no-one wanted to visit to take pics...no records of production broken,except for Joe Barratt during the war years..[another story],and no newspaper articles that I can find....just a forgotten shack of a pit...and Old Ned Cushing [the training Officer who knew my Father....in 1929!!]...said to me on the first day there,starting in the winter of 1959...."It's a canny,friendly little pit Wilma,and a think ye'll get on weel!....." Whey it was friendly aal reet,sum real nice Choppington folk,my home village when very young,but the pit was owt but canny!! Hope ye find what ya efta Coatsy!!! Best O' luck,Marra! Cheers,Bill.

Heh heh!...Aye Alan,BUT!,on thi poster,it's just thi name,so we wud naturally,wi wor brilliant sense of deduction,assume that if there was a female lead singer,then the backing vocals must be female as weel....until we get a pic of them ,then that rules them oot! Noo...hoo else cud wi think of....? ER!..Al, a think a might be a bit mair glaaky than a forst thowt!..a sed THREE Black lasses....when aav studied thi pic a bit closer,[bad image mind]..a think the left hand side one is a lightly-bearded fella!...he probably played the twin Bonga's that's on stage,if they were on that Programme listing...just wildly guessing noo! Also another one to Maureen...aav just realised,it's not his specs on thi deck,it's the cross-faders...a shudda seen that thi first time a looked at thi pic..aav got me own home studio wi a six,and a twelve channel desks,so a shudda knaan...aad age,like Alan sed!! ....and Alan,ye musta bin a helluva gud-lukkin' dude fo thi lasses ti mob yi!! Heh heh...happy memories.

Thanks Alan..a should be ashamed for not recognising a hero of mine,to this day..Joe Brown,mind,a knew Lulu..instantly..she was the only one a got ,a thought The Flowerpot Men were Dave dee,Eggy,Mick and Tich..! A saw on the poster,the three black lasses,called Margo and the Marvelettes...?..would it not have been them? Maureen,I never went to Lucy's either cos aam a teetotaller,and Jon Shelley it was!! [with prompting,I can mind of his name noo,and if ye study the pic closely,a think ye'll see his Roy Orbison black glasses on the decks in front of him,he must have been offstage,getting ready ti go on,when he hasn't had them on!..Ask him if I am right aboot the growl,or if it was his marra...it definately was the one with the black specs though..and aa was spot-on about the hair! Pleased to see he plays a Tele,what sort of music does he play...I play a Strat,and three Burns guitars,the Marvin,Black Bison,and the Apache..all beautiful well-made guitars. Give him my regards please. I never met him but remember him,so he must have made a gud impression! Cheera Alan and Maureen Bill.

Wudda be reet in thinkin' Arnie Buller might have been the booncer at the Domino in the early years,cos he was at the Clayton Baalroom,a powerful lad!..[amateur wrestler a think..] One neet at the Clayton,two yobs were mekkin' a nuisance of thas'ells,wi my Lass,and me marra's Lasses,at their tyeble,when we were onstage playing the Dance neet,and a watched for aboot ten minutes,and cudn't stand it nae langer,they were shouting and swearing bad language up at us on stage,then pestering the lasses. After we finished the number we were playin',a put me guitar doon ,jumped off the stage and put me arms aroond both of their necks,and started ti squeeze the life oot of them. They were gaan white in the face as a throttled them,when a hand touched me shoulder..and a quiet voice said in me ear.."Now let's be sensible about this ,mate.." It was the bouncer,Arnie Buller,not very tall but four feet across he's shoulders!! A let the yobs gaan and Arnie grabbed each one by the front scruff of their necks,literally lifted them up off the ground and carted them to the door,threw them oot on the steps ootside,apologised to all of us group lads and wor Lasses,and said just carry on playin',it won't happen again...and mind it never happened again after that,Arnie was there ti keep thi peace...and every bugga knew him!! Noo, a hae ti say,aav nivvor drunk,aav nivvor been in trouble,nivvor had a fight in me life,aalwis a quiet kid,but these buggaas just went owa far,and a saw red!! Aye,as we say....happy days eh?!!

Heh heh! Wat a blast from the past!..Maureen,welcome to the forum! Aa can vividly remember only one DJ,and this was when the Domino first opened,and we had never seen owt like this before.[ a CASINO...CABARET...at thi Station!!!...it soonded ludicrous...the very idea of Roulette...it was ownly on James Bond ,or The Saint,or otha yankee movies where we saw that sort o carry-on!!...not thi Station!] The desk slid oot onto the stage from the right hand side,motorised,on wheels hidden by the plinth,and the DJ was sitting at the desk getting a free ride on and off the stage...lazy bugga!! He had a mop of black hair...[Beatles style!],wi a straight cut fringe,[ Alan Freeman-"Pick of the Pops" style!]...wore black glasses...[Roy Orbison style!]...and brought every word oot,in a low throaty growl...."...and this next one is...."... What used to strike me was how he never ever looked anywhere but the floor in front of him...like a statue sitting growling about the next disc he was ganna play.....a bit like when aa was a Lead guitarist,and aa used ti stand motionless,but just looking aroond the place as aa was playin'. Wor Singer,Geordie,used ti use me as a stooge,and tell thi audience me name was "Static Wilma".. and in the actual situations,at the reet time of neet,it used ti draw a laugh...not forgetting in them days,the clubs were packed oot solid wi 90% Miners..[of which aa was one mesel]..and he used ti say,"Wilma's been shouting at his Pit Pony aal day,so ye might gather that he's voice is a little HOARSE!" ME Wife and Me went ti see The Ivy League,Johnny Citrone,Los Zafiros, Dave Dee ,Dozy,Mick,and Tich,amang a lot that a canna mind of noo,but the last one was a mate of mine,who was a local lad from Blyth,and who went ti London ti try for a break,and got one with his new GROUP!![NOT BANDS!]...HEH HEH! His group was caaled "Toby Twirl",and his name was/is Davy Holland..."Holly". He came straight ti wor table for a quick natter,then had ti gaan ti start he's set.[cos a hadn't seen him since he went ti London He opened with "Up Up and Away"...not kidding ...but the best version I have ever heard..powerful and sweet as a nut! When he was just a young lad,we groups aal used ti meet up at the "Record Bar",in Bowes Street,Blyth,and another coffee bar what a canna remember thi name of noo,and when the Stones were playin,on the juke box,Holly had Jagger off ti a "T"...both his mannerisms and his vocals...amazing! They tell me Davy runs a pub in Blyth,and a wud luv ti hook up wi him again,after 50-odd yeors!! Toby Twirl made the top ten wi tha first record,then a never heard any more of them..partly cos a had started a family and was totally committed to them,I only went ti the Domino ti see thi Artistes,a didn't and never have ,drunk alcohol,so a didn't gaan oot for a pint "wi thi lads"..a went oot wi me family...and we cudn't afford ti gaa gallivantin wi a young Son,on £12 a week..afore off-tyeks!heh heh! Alan,thanks for the notifications,please keep them coming,waa gaan throo a really bad patch here,so a canna catch up immediately, but a will eventually! Me brains gettin rusty,so a canna get the Artistes in the pics apart from Johnny,but a hae a few suggestions in mind,but not certain,can ye put me mind at rest please! Cheers!Bill .

Waatcheor Alan ,once again,a big thanks for ya untiring work in mekking the world a smaaler place! This is incredible! Another luvly shot in winter..a bet it was caad up there,it was a summer's neet when Russell tuk me Son and Me up. A hope Trevor and Russell hook up through the power of the Net!,young Adam is boond ti see thi pics..if he still comes on the forums that is... Cheers Alan! Bill.