willy j.

Will look that one up on Youtube, she is still a star to this day. Went up to Glasgow a while back with the Fox to see her, she was brilliant. She's a credit to the Blues. I still think the music (the good stuff that is) from that time still stands up well today. There is a number we used to do, it's an instrumental by the Nice, it's called Rhondo, if you ever get the chance to hear it just sit back and close your eyes, I guarantee you will be breathing quite heavily by the time it finishes. Keith Emmerson also did it when he formed ELP, but I think he did it better on the Nice version. Here's another one to throw into the mix..........How much does anyone remember about 'The Domino'? By it' great talking to you lot.

I know exactly what you mean about selling the 335, it's not until years down the line that you realise the size of the mistake you made. Especially when you find out what the guitar became worth. Much grinding of the teeth, and banging your head off the wall, when no one could see you of course. After I left the band I was really strapped for cash, so I sold my 1963 Fender Jazz Bass for £90. Not thinking much about it, I was glad of the cash at the time. Many years later (1985 to be exact) I was in a guitar shop in Newcastle looking at the basses, in a conversation with the sales guy I told him this. When he told me that I could have got over 4 grand for it I was devastated. Similar regrettable mistake as yours. I've had 3 Jbasses since and none of them have come near the sound and action of that 63 model. Never mind though, life is never simple.

Fantastic, you are lucky to have seen them live. Do you remember the 'package tours' that used to come to the City Hall? You could see Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, Family, all ably supported by Stone The Crows. An unknown band from Scotland that contained Maggie Bell and Bryan Adams. These concerts were common and we were so young, we bloody well didn't realise how timeless they were. That would be a good topic to post wouldn't it, Lots of memories for the guys to wax lyrical about. Especially Foxy........he's the expert on those gig's.

Exactly right, I have seen him live and he blew me away. I have waited 30 years for someone like him to turn up, and you're right about the Zepp/Cream influence. I read all about him and he cut his teeth on that music from the age of 7. He was so good from an early age, BB King went to see him in upstate New York and promptly offered him a residency in his New York club......at the age of 12. I played that sort of stuff myself in a group in the 60's early 70's, so you can imagine the sheer pleasure when he came along after so many years of inferior wannabe bands. If you ever get the chance to see him live, take it, you won't be disappointed.

Sorry to hear that Maggie, and I have some idea of what you must have gone through. Reminds me of an argument I had with a consultant employed by British Coal when I was going through the claims process. He was trying to dismiss all the medical proof and everything that I said. I lost my head a little and told him " listen to me you stuck up arsehole. The Coal Board stole my health and you are going to pay for it". A few more words passed between us, but I think he got the message. Unfortunately it was probably too late for your dad. Because, although they did pay up in the end, it took 12 years to settle. Anyway, Joe Bonamassa is a fantastic musician (Blues Rock) one of his LP's called 'Dust Bowl' has a track on it called 'Black Lung Heartache'. That's what I thought you had been listening to, a great CD if you ever get the chance to listen to it.

He was obviously a good man Tony. Maggie, have you been listening to 'Joe Bonamassa' by any chance?

Sorry to hear about your grandad, but the pit is still killing people, we're all going to die before our time. But that's the way it is. Forgot to mention, jam sandwiches were always eaten down the pit, even in my time. In fact right up to the closure of the last one. They weren't exclusive to the generation before us.

Well I'm glad to hear your grandad also worked in heavy industry, just as I did. A little before my time though I would suggest, but never the less, if what you say is true he also will have suffered with health problems later in life. As everyone who did manual work in those industries did. Industries that don't exist in this country on a national scale any more, destroyed by politicians of successive governments, and in some cases, crap trade union leaders. People who moved away from these industrial areas to enjoy a cleaner lifestyle are the lucky ones.

The word you're looking for Tony is 'context'.

Well that's it boys, you've made my mind up, I'm off to Wether's to see if they can knock me up a sandwich made from handcrafted artisan wholemeal brown bread. With a pumpkin seed topping and a salmon paste filling, but think I'll give the lugworms a miss this time. Wonder if they've got any Wonderloaf? Maybe that's pushing the boat out a bit.

You're wasting your time Keith, he just doesn't get it, old boy, what.

23/24

Nice one Symptons, I never thought of that. Mind you, in the mid to late 60's you never questioned your what your mother put in your bait. One day she put sliced tomatoes up for me and they were great, however, I made the mistake of telling her, so she put them up every day after that. With the Wonderloaf of course. Which brings me onto your smoked salmon tip. I was working with an old guy who had his own boat and went out fishing, he must have noticed that I always had the same thing for my bait. One day we were on the hallowed hardwood chock and he must have felt sorry for me, so he insisted I try one of his fresh salmon sandwiches. He had caught the fish the day before, my god it was wonderful, I'd never had fresh salmon before. This brings me to mistake no. 2, I told my mother how good this fresh salmon sandwich had been but I guess I must have waxed too much lyrical about it because a few minutes later she said......"MM, fresh salmon eh......you'll make do with paste". So, I had paste for a long time after that. I like your mouth watering suggestion though, if only.

One thing I must say though guys, it wasn't all doom and gloom, we did have the pit canteen. Good food, and cheap, served by cheeky chirpy ladies who always gave as good as they got. The downside was though, if you had your own transport or lived local, you could take advantage of the canteen. However, if you had to catch the pit bus, and were not very quick through the baths, well that was tough shit. By the way, luncheon meat and pickle sandwiches sounds good to me.

Keith, I'm not talking about people who did manual work like you, or steelworkers, shipbuilders, smelter workers. Or anyone who worked in heavy industry in fact. Us, all of us who got our hands dirty every day, most of those men got their bait when they could. And some, like us miners had no facility to wash our hands, we ate our bait with black hands. Lots of people could not imagine eating a sandwich with black, coal dust fingerprints on them unless you have been there, seen it, and done it. I am talking about people who go so work in suits, or nice clean casual clothes groaning about only having 20 minutes to have their lunch. By the way, your father would have had rough, dirt ingrained hands like the rest of us. and his bait box would probably have been empty. You can be rightly proud of him, he was doing one of the hardest job's in the pit. He would have been a very tough man.

They weren't miners either. Down the pit we only had a 20 minute bait time, or lunch, to you lot who worked with clean hands. In my time from 1963 (that's 'before Thatchers time) right up to the 90's we only ever had 20 minutes. That was if you were lucky, most times you would have your bait (lunch for the poshies) sitting on a hardwood chock before going down the face because you knew that you would probably not get off it until the end of your shift. Often men would get their bait going outbye on the belt because they didn't have time to get it during their shift. I cannot believe that people working on bank (working on the surface) were only given 20 minutes for their lunch. It would take them 20 minutes to wash their pretty little hands. A luxury we never had underground and 7 miles out under the North Sea.

Just a little note on a couple of comments made by Tonyp on 2nd August regarding 'Brown Envelopes'. I have to say that there is some hypocrisy in his comments. As a trade union official/committee member, he of all people should know that the trade union movement actually invented the culture of the 'Brown Envelope' criminality. I speak from experience here, as I was persuaded to put up for election onto the NACODS committee at Eliington Colliery in the early 80's, which duly happened. Thinking I was doing the right thing, being able to look after our members interests against a committee that we all believed were all corrupt. I had many arguments with them in committee meetings, however, after 6 weeks I was called into the union office where a....... yes you guessed it.......a brown envelope was shoved over the desk to me. I asked what it was, and was told it was my wages. I asked 'wages for what exactly, and how much is in it?' I was told it was £45 for attending committee meetings. I was absolutely enraged and disgusted. Apparently they had always paid themselves for meetings, unknown to the members I might add. I pushed the envelope back over the desk and told them they had no right to that money, it belonged to the members and they were a bunch of thieves. I was made aware that all Union committees did this. I resigned on the spot under a cloud of many expletives, I was so annoyed that these people treat their members, honest men, in this way. Anyway, the whole point of this is the mythical brown envelope. I can see how you are aware of it Tonyp, I am sure you'll have had a few yourself.

I agree with everything you said about education in this country Mercuryg, and the thing that seems to stick out a mile is the fact that some school leavers are not cut out for a university education. They are far from the standard of 30-40 years ago which would increase a person's chance of achieving success in a career relating to the degree they took. It seems that a lot of school leavers, and indeed mature students, think that....Oh I'll nip off to university, have a jolly old time and come out at the other end with a degree. and some of these degrees are absolutely useless to them. This all seems such a waste of time and money when they could have taken a vocational course, and got a perfectly good trade out of it. They would also be much more employable, and useful to our country than a downbeat, unemployed ex-student, busking in Northumberland Street, and living on benefits. I may sound like I am anti university types but I am not, and I speak from experience. My own son left school to take a degree at Ashington Technical College (as it was then). After a few months I could tell he was not enjoying it (bearing in mind that he was a computer whizzkid), I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that he was not happy with the sociology course he had opted for. Believe me, I was so happy to hear this, so I asked him what he thought was his best subject, what was he really good at. You guessed it. computers. to cut a long story short, he switched and went to Sunderland Uni on an IT course. Now he works for an International company that takes him all over the world. The point I am trying to make, is that a lot of the talent that the youth of our country possess is being wasted in their futile quest for a degree. Or even just to be able to say...........'I went to university'. As if it was some kind of badge that they have to wear, So, Mercuryg, I agree with everything you said about education. You are obviously an educated man, and there are always going to be people who are too quick to disagree with you because they just don't get what you are saying.

David Cameron, Ed Milliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage are in a helicopter on their way to a Gala Dinner in Strasbourg. Nick Clegg leans out of the door and throws a ten euro note out saying.....'there you go, that'll make ten people very happy'. Ed Milliband (or Mr Ed, as he is known in the horsey world) leans out and throws a fifty euro note out, smiling at the others he says.... 'that's better, that'll make fifty people very happy', Not to be outdone, David Cameron (or Moron as he is better known) pulls out a one hundred euro note and throws that out of the door; with a stupid grin on his face he turns to the others.....'how about that? That will please a hundred people'. Nigel looked at all three of them and said, 'look why don't all three of you jump out and make everybody happy'.

Sorry I missed this topic when you started it Keith, but it is fascinating. All the talk about cheap guitars from the 60's & 70's which got a lot of us young guys started on the yellow brick road of dreams to rock stardom really brings back memories. The Futurama 3 seems to have been a popular choice of guitar for budding guitarists, and it wasn't a bad choice either as I had one myself (ice blue version) but I loved it, my first electric guitar. So I can say I was a member of the Futurama 3 Club. Strange though how you progress in the music business, especially when you meet, and play with people with the same determination as yourself. But all the equipment, and music shops mentioned, really brings it back to you. However no one seems to have experienced the 'Summer of Love' period, which was so very special to us musoes who played all through that period. Can I just bring back a few memories to those of you who lived through, and remember the period I am on about. Handysides Arcade in Newcastle........remember when you walked through that arch on a Saturday, the smell of incense was all over the place. The Kaftans and the occasional whiff of cannabis as someone walked past you brazenly sucking on a joint. Wow, wasn't it heaven, we had nothing to worry about. But best of all for us guys in a group was Gregg Burmans shop. He made amps and speaker cabs that were great, and affordable. We (MERLIN) got to know him very well, just as the Junco's, Autumn States, Dr, Macumba, Yellow, Geordie etc. did. He gave us all credit for equipment when no one else would, what a man. Thank you Gregg. Speaking of memories, anyone remember gigs like the Cellar in Ashington. The Rex, Whitley Bay. Freemasons in Stanley, the Mayfair & the Quay Club etc. Weren't they great places to play? Pity they don't exist anymore. Well, I guess we can't follow Tull's wish....'Let's go Living In The Past'. Just wanted to take a trip down memory lane with all you axe men out there. By the way in case you're wondering, I was the bass player in Merlin.

Lots of info in the Guardian Q&A Symptoms, just goes to show what a hornets nest Salmond has disturbed. I am sure that the only losers in all this will be the Scottish nation, it may be some way down the line yet, unfortunately Salmond will probably have flown the nest and disappeared to a comfortable villa in Barbados. When we start dismantling 'Faslane' and 17000 Jocks can see the dole speeding toward them, I think quite a few of them will be thinking: 'MMM!! I think we might just have made a big mistake here.' Then they find they have to adopt the Euro, a statutory condition for all new members, and find out the cost of being a member is absolutely outrageous. Then Brussels Mess with their laws, banning the bagpipes because they are too loud, Haggis because it's a health risk and the kilt on the grounds of human decency. They will be really upset when they get their first billion Euro bill for struggling nation bail-outs. However, at least they can look forward to their support when they have to apply for a bail-out themselves. I don't want Scotland to start this break up of the union, but if it happens I think the 3 Stooges are in big trouble. 'Statesmen' not one of them is a statesman, they fall far short of the people who went before them. Mind you it just demonstrates how crap they are because they had nothing to beat if the last 40 years are anything to go by. We really do need a clear out in this country, and a fresh approach by firstly dragging back our wealth and sovereignty from Brussels.

Does anyone have any idea what will happen to the Parliamentary Seats ie: Labour, Conservative etc. in Scotland if they vote yes on the 18th September? And the SNP members, plus the aforementioned sitting comfortably in the Commons. I for one would hope that all SNP members be told that they are no longer members of the British Parliament, and as such they will no longer hold a seat in the Commons, nor will they be paid by the British Parliament. They must therefore seek their salary from the Scottish Assembly. Quickly collect your belongings and go. The other three parties, who are now alien to Scotland, Should have to resign their seats as the Scottish nation will have no further say (governmentally) in the politics of the remaining United Kingdom. Scotland must then hold either by-elections for those seats, or a General Election of their own to consolidate a truly Scottish parliament. If this happens, Labour will be the biggest losers in the Commons as they will lose 41 seats. This will move the Conservatives and UKIP further up the scale. I have a feeling that there may never be another Labour government in this country. Therefore, Ed Milliband can go back to where he belongs, as a waxwork dummy in Madame Tussauds. Willy j.

Hi Threegee, just on the 'targeted strategy' point. Nothing has been decided yet, and won't be until all the research has been done on the strengths and weaknesses of every seat. And even then, it will be a decision made with all the regional committees involved. I hear what you're saying, and it does worry everyone who has committed themselves to the cause. In our area we have two Labour MP's who we are longing to get out of office, and that is the aim of all of us. However, the two constituencies are very different. By that I mean the two MP's. Having spoken to many people in Blyth Valley and our own Wansbeck, we have found that Mr Campbell is going to be the easiest one to topple, an eminently winnable seat. He is hated by much of the people of Blyth. Mr Lavery is going to be much harder to dislodge, purely on the grounds of Labour loyalty. However, we are sure that people can see that he only has eyes for Ashington, and the people like us from Bedlington don't matter. If we can get our message across we will have a reasonable chance of removing him. It will be difficult but with plenty of support we can convince area and national that we can, and should, attack those two seats.

Not only that Malcom, they send them out there to die while they cut their numbers to the bone. The latest cuts have just bee announced, they are going to slash a hearty chunk of our 'Airborne Forces'. The elite of our army. What they don't seen to grasp is that you cant achieve MORE with LESS. Now we have Haig and all the 'tree huggers' waving their imaginary swords at the Russians, threatening them. It's as if they will not rest until we are on the brink of another major war. A war we are not prepared for, nor equipped for, and one that has absolutely nothing to do with us (just like the others). To top it off, those same 'sabre rattlers' will not be the ones out there cocking a rifle. I would rather they wound their neck in and just muttered the words 'naughty naughty' while wagging a finger at Putin.

Just goes to show that Labour and the Conservatives were not listening to what is important to the people of this country. Isn't it strange that they wait until they get a bloody nose before they suddenly wake up and say; 'we hear what the people say, and we will address it.' What they haven't woken up to, is the fact that the people can see right through their mealy mouthed words, and don't believe them any more. This is no 'protest vote,' it is real, and its happening right now. And it will grow until we have a party in power that will take the UK back from Brussels. And more bloody noses will follow. As a member of UKIP Wansbeck branch, I am so proud of what we have just achieved. It was hard work, and in the run up to the General election it will be even harder. But we are aware of that, and we're ready. What makes me even more proud though, is that we didn't stoop to the level of the other parties with their dirty tricks and hired thugs. That alone tells me I have made the right choice. Anyway, if there are any of you out there who voted for us, on behalf of the Wansbeck branch I would like to say a big thanks, and hope you stick by us.