Symptoms

I remember the 'swill-man' coming to Westridge School to collect all the kitchen scraps - a flat-bed truck with loads of galvanised dustbins into which he'd empty the food waste. It was all very dirty and smelly with the bins smeared with old food dribbles. Us big lads once chucked a first year kid into one of the slop bins - when he emerged he was covered in slime and cabbage leaves. What a hoot.

Getting the bus home from The Haymarket after the match ... as soon as the Ref blew for the end of the game we'd gallop at top speed down the lanes to get on 'The Newbiggin Bus' or the 'Ashington Bus' - I've forgotten their numbers.. Because we were fit young lads we always beat the crowds to the buses. When we got back to Bedders the 'Pink' had arrived at the Newsagent (can't remember the name at the moment) opposite the Monument; only the 1st half of the match was reported.

I remember going often to the Mart with my Dad to buy hens ... we used to keep them on the allotment at the back of our house. Up the station slope, park the car and walk around the pens - the place was always packed. I can also recall 'cattle railway trucks' being shunted into the Mart sidings to load/unload livestock. Of course, the Morpeth pubs were open all day for the Mart trade ... I must have been about 13 when my Dad took me into one of the pubs; beer for him, pop for me. It seemed that escorted kids (farmers kids) were tolerated. Anyway, the chucks would be taken home and introduced to the resident clucks, fights would break-out, then peace would reign. All our hens were named by me and they were great fun to play with ... chasing dangled worms (hen races) and so on. I've got some lovely 8mm film footage (now converted to DVD) of the chucks racing for the worms, one had even been taught to stand on my Dad's shoulder (like Long John Silver's parrot).

Collecting birds' eggs was really popular when I was a lad but thankfully I was never interested in doing it. Cigarette cards (all the old guys in the extended family smoked so there were lots available to me) and stamps ... both were great collections but was lost during one of my parent's house moves; goodness knows what they'd be worth today.

I'm so grateful that my Dad was a devout and practising Atheist ... I remember never having to go to church on a Sunday - a tradition I follow to this day.

Since moving to my present house about four years ago I've lit a real fire every evening - paper, sticks, coal - and it really is an ovocative childhood wiff. 40 years living in London and I couldn't have coal fires because of their Clean Air Act so I'm making-up for it now. I have the chimney sweep out annually and you're right about that lingering soot smell. I got a log burning stove installed in my kitchen last year and what a lovely honk that makes when you get a niff of the smoke outside, oh, and the great exercise when I'm chopping the logs with my big axe but it does play havoc with my back. The smell of my freshly picked tomatoes bring back memories of helping my Grandad pick his. Got the Wright's name correct but the shape and colour wrong ... I'll put it down to brain shrinkage. Found a YouTube film about Donkey Stones ... but you have to sit through a Star Wars intro but it's worth it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H4ehofV4Eo

It was Wright's Coal Tar soap .. an amber, oval block. You can still get it. What about that damp, humid aroma that filled the house when clothes were being dried indoors. It was OK to do this back in the day when houses were 'leaky' with drafts so were well ventilated; shouldn't be done now when most of our homes are as 'tight as a fish's arse' as the humidity can't be vented. (There's a post by KeithL elsewhere (Consumer section) ... mould on wall.)

When pruning an elderberry tree in my garden it's pungent smell always sends me back to the 60s and a tree house we built in a big elder located in The Cut (waste land and allotments behind the Riggs) ... even after over 50 years!

No, no, no, the best toast is only produced in places like Harrow or Eton. Toasting fork clenched tightly in a fag's naked bum-split and the bread held before the prefect's roaring fire ... empires were built by these people.

Maggs wrote: "... soon have no green space left. Maybe we should all leave Blighty and join Symptoms." Just before Xmas I flew to Blighty for a couple of days on business, arrived at Gatwick, got the toot toot up to London Clapham Junction, changed trains to get to Chelsea Harbour where I was staying. Built-up all the way, crowded all the way, litter all the way, graffiti all the way, hardly anything green all the way ... it was all so downheartening. Yes, I'd lived in London all my adult life but, having lived elsewhere for about four years, I'd forgotten how much the place could grind-the-sole.

Strikes and boycotts sometimes are the only way to win change. Those brave souls in 60s Alabama USA and during Apartheid South Africa only had these two peaceful methods to influence change.

Classic boss tactic ... starve them back to work.

Mal, your Council meeting's Standing Orders will, under the Local Government Acts, deal with the issue of accurate minutes; something along the lines of: ... issued to members of the Council not later than the fourth day before the next ensuing ordinary meeting at which they will be submitted, held as read, corrected if need be, and where held to be a true record of the proceedings to which they relate will be signed by the person who presided at the previous meeting.

GGG wrote: "... it seems that she left surprisingly little..." Probably down to very good financial management. She may well have given it to that feckless drone Mark at least 7 years before she croked ... a splendid way to keep the inheritance tax bill to a minimum (or zero). I have no trouble aligning myself with those who find Blair's history and current methods disgraceful.

Denis has shares in Nissan ... perhaps that informed Thatcher's decision. Or maybe, like all these big contract things, a big bung was lodged in some off-shore account. Even worse ... could Denis have been a mackem?

Perhaps Robson Green could front-up a telly programme about the Geordie accent ... I can just imagine what that would sound like. The notion brings back fond memories of Dick Van Dyke's* efforts in sounding Cockney. *our younger viewers may want to Google him or the film Mary Poppins ... he's never lived down his strangled effort.

Perhaps mine have been 'sealed' for 100 years ... a bit like the Profumo papers to protect a certain person. This bloke is still alive (just) so I'll hold-back from naming him until he crokes ... he's in his 90s so the wait won't be long. His wife super rich so can afford to chase Sym through the courts if I spill his name whilst he's still breathing.

Shame about the presenter with his garbled Dudley by way of LA via Chelsea accent. But don't get me started on that group of plakka Geordies ... Oh I have elsewhere.

Oh dear! Who said what and what was agreed? Minutes ARE the offical record of what took place and what was agreed - however, each meeting should have an agenda with one of the first agenda items being concerned with the Minutes of the previous meeting and specifically ARE THEY A TRUE RECORD and if not why not; this is the opportunity to 'put the record straight'. Clearly, if you suspect the Chair and/or the Clerk are playing fast and loose then trap them. Record the next meeting (I don't know why folks don't always secretly record stuff like this), then at the following meeting if there's a dispute over the Minutes AND lies are told challenge the Chair/Clerk to repeat the untrue statement. If they do then you confront them with the true record, either by playing the saved recording or read the transcript. To stiff them they must repeat the lie and by doing so have committed an offence and can be asked to stand down. Back in the day I was involved with the GLC (Greater London Council), a hotbed of intrigue, double dealing and double crossing; Oh, and this was a time before digital recording devices - late 70s and 80s. There was a shop in Leytonstone (East London) that specialized in supplying tackle for private investigators, from here I bought a modified Sony Walkman tape recorder* that had the drive motor slowed down to half speed which doubled the recording length of the cassette tape. A small clip-on microphone would be fastened to my sleeve cuff and the wire threaded up my arm to the recorder housed inside my jacket. We always had a true record of events ... this proved especially useful in sub-committee meetings; our trick was never to admit to having a recorder. *I still have this beast ... complete in it's moulded storage box and with the clip-on mic and the phone 'sucker' mic.

Something a bit like this place might be one day: http://www.freddibnahheritagecentre.co.uk/welcome/4573261265 I loved watching Fred Dibnah's telly programmes, especially those shot in his 'back yard'. Sadly, when he died his steam-powered yard died with him; lets just hope that the new owners restore the place back to it's former glory and 'in steam'. Maggs, I'm afraid that the Bedlington Iron Works Trail would only ever be 'interactive' (actually digital) as, apart from a few tumbled stones, there's nothing left. Let's not forget this place ... they've done their best with limited available material: http://www.bedlingtonironworks.org

"... but if room is heated more, the wall will be warmer." Not strictly true Orl ... the warmer the air the more able it is to hold moisture. So always the first thing to do is to reduce moisture (from whatever source) within the building. If a wall is damp (say from condensation) then it MUST be colder than the room - it doesn't matter how high the central heating is turned up; if it's colder than the rest of the room it will attract condensation. A vicious circle.

Putting on PVA will not fix the problem; the wall will still be COLD. A cold wall is the problem, so you have to find out WHY the wall is cold; moisture is likely to be the cause. The problem with applying a sealant (PVA, oil-based paint finishes, or similar) can also mean that any moisture in the wall has no chance of evaporating ... this is a natural process that walls should be allowed do. As it isn't the whole gable wall then, as I mentioned earlier, it could be something she is doing on the inside - laundry drying, shower/bath/cooking steam. Rising damp from the ground cannot get that high so look down from the roof line for possible causes.

GGG wrote: "And what sort of "victory" would that have been Sym? An overthrow of a democratically elected government kind of victory, by a Marxist agitator who couldn't even carry his own membership behind him? It was not a strike about pay or conditions. So what exactly would your victory have looked like?" My 'victory' would have looked something like this ... The traditionally negotiated planned pit closure programme would have continued where those pits that were 'worked-out', and/or where it was economically no longer viable to work them would close. The NUM was never against pit closures, per say. Proper investment in deep mining, resulting in a long-term viable industry. Had this happened then I'm sure there would have been proper research and development into 'clean coal' technology at the power stations. Oh how different the UK's current energy security would look like now when we consider the 300 years worth of coal reserves below Blighty. Maybe local communities wouldn't have been destroyed and small towns/villages might still be vibrant places to live.

The cause is likely to be condensation ... warm, humid air in the house hitting that cold gable wall causing the condensation and the resulting mould. Stop the condensation and you stop the mould growth. Ventilation is the key (tough in winter when trying to keep the heat in) - even a tiny opening is good. Maybe during the day when the house is unoccupied. Also, reduce the amount of moisture in the air - don't dry clothes over radiators, use extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom to get the moisture outside, hose the tumble dryer outside (even those that have built-in condensors - get a conversion kit). Insulate that gable wall with cavity wall insulation (often free via grants via energy supplier) which is easy to inject from the outside ... assumes the house has cavity walls, if not, then insulate with foam-backed plasterboard on the inside. This is a bit more disruptive but within the scope of a reasonably decent DIYer and not too expensive. The point with insulating that wall is that once done it won't be cold so condensation won't happen and mould won't form. Obviously, your friend (or you) will need to check there are no other sources making that 'damp', like leaking gutters, downpipes, bridged damp-proof courses, etc. It doesn't matter how much spray your friend puts on the wall the problem won't be fixed without doing the above. Get your friend to contact their energy supplier to see if they can get freebie insulation - get the whole house done and enjoy how snug the house'll be. Mould is harmful to health (breathing in the spores).

HPW - I'm not sure if the Peelers are obliged to show you any file they hold on you. Why not contact their HQ and ask? As for you school records these will be held by the Northumberland County Council Archive and should be available to you on application ... I'm sure there'll be a charge; again, give them a phone. Maybe there are others here who'll know what to do. Let us know what you find out as I'd be keen to get my school records ... oh what fun they'd be to read (and maybe share with those here).