Symptoms

Enough, enough!!! This is 2013 not 1976!!! I've resisted for years looking at this thread but had a quick look today ... and did I laugh? Of course I did and, as a result, I feel very naughty at being amused by all this non-PC stuff.

A village in Northumberland or brothel?

Perhaps this summarises the thread:

HPW's tale of blokes being shifted when pits closed reminded me of my Uncle. When he was four (1916 I think) he had his arm chopped-off when a coal train went over it. Him and his mates were trying to flatten pennies on the track (penny on rail, train wheel squashes it) when it slipped off and he attempted to retrieve it from below the sleeper but the weight of the approaching loco pressed the sleeper into the ballast trapping his hand, off came his arm above the elbow. Anyway, when he left school he got a job down the Algernon pit at West Allotment as a 'pumpman' ... a job he had his entire working life. When the Algernon closed he was shifted to Backworth, when that closed he went to High Pit, then onto Wheatslade. I remember him saying that most of his workmates went with him, although some of the younger ones moved down to the Midlands to work in some of their new 'superpits'. He was an amazing bloke who could do just about anything one-handed; roll a snout, open a box of matches and strike the match all in one movement, fasten shoelaces, knot a tie, peel tatties, etc. He had a false arm in a drawer but never used it preferring 'an empty sleeve'. Oh, and he always gave me 'half a dollar' pocket money each week.

KeithLwrote - "That way they would have got media attention - via TV - and the king and queen would have taken notice." What, in 1913? Gas or steam powered telly? However, you're probably right about a banner ... trouble is it wouldn't have been reported. Just imagine the scene ... the King's Equerry sends for the owner of the Times, "Horace old man, the King wants you to spike the story ... there's a knighthood in it for you". And the rest they say doesn't appear in the history books and the 'ladies' remain in the kitchen.

Just as silly/reckless as a jockey climbing on a dobbin for any race, especially over jumps (I know the Derby's 'on the flat') ... a calculated risk with the everyday threat of death or serious injury anyway. What the glorious Emily did was a calculated risk to promote a worthy cause. I'm sure the King would have seen the bereaved family taken care of ... perhaps the jock's wife employed as a palace wet-nurse or a princess's bum wiper, the kids could be used to clean the chimneys in the various palaces or used as playthings of various princes. I'm not ignoring the actions of their wider campaign just narrowly focusing on the dobbin race which I think is the main thrust of this thread. I'm quite prepared to debate the wider questions involved in political action, how these actions are seen and described by vested interests, the ultimate benefits for the disenfranchised, and so on.

Surrender Keith, surrender! Give it up boy, give it up! I watched that programme and the restored film footage CLEARLY shows her attempting to attach a scarf to the dobbin. There was also clear evidence that this tactic was being practiced prior to the event. Yep, with hindsight, "to pin colours to an animal weighing over half a ton and travelling at about 40 mph is ludicrous", might seem a fair observation. I suppose we could describe the action taken by that brave soul in Tiananmen Square, namely, trying to stop that huge tank, as ludicrous. Or what about those taking part in the Warsaw Uprising? Or that woman comfronting that guy in Woolwich. Or Lisa Potts, the nursery teacher awarded the George Cross for saving her charges from a machete attack? The list is endless ... and most could be described, in the cold light of day, by some as ludicrous. The clear conclusion of the programme was that it was NOT suicide, it was a stunt that went wrong. I reckon had she survived the Peelers would have nicked her and she would have served more time in clink and continued to be force-fed.

Just a supplementary thought about tarly toot. One of the reasons why there was so much lino available back then for bonfires was the increasing popularity of fitted carpets in the 60s. The old, ubiquitous, and cheap lino was being ripped-up and being replaced by fashionable shag-pile. The lino was so easy to tear into 12" squares for easy chucking onto the fire ... often followed by lumps of asbestos*. I remember in the 50s my Mum & Dad painting the wooden floorboards with a 16" strip around the edges of the room then the unpainted centre section would have lino or often a home-made carpet. My Dad had a carpet-making frame and made rugs; he even made a stair carpet once. I remember going with my parents to a huge wool store in Byker to regularly pick-up wool supplies which was sold in gigantic hanks which once we got home had to be rolled into balls for convenience. Anybody now living in an old house will often discover those painted edges around rooms as it must have been a very common practice. I also remember my Granny telling us to go a breath the tar fumes when the 'road men' were repairing the road - she said the fumes were "good for our chests". *exploding asbestos on bonfires has featured in previous posts here.

Tarly Toot = oil cloth/lino (the original lino was patterned, bitumen impregrated linen used for floor covering). It fell out of favour when vinyl floor covering emerged but has gone through something of a recent renaissance in posh interior design. Frog Spit = the froth produced by the nymph of the froghopper (Cercopoidea). This froth hides, insulates and keeps moist the nymph. Monkeys' Blood = the raspberry flavoured dribble Mr Whippy squirted over your ice cream cornet.

Oh, and that voyage was only 4 years ago. Back in 1972 I took the London Euston to JockoGlasgow train, changed at Carlisle for Stranraer to catch the Xmas Eve ferry to Larne in Northern Ireland. I think British Rail operated the ferry service. Anyway, eventually embarked on the ferry (it wasn't a car ferry, just passengers) and the thing was heaving with drunk Irishmen all going home for Chrissy. There was nowhere to sit inside, just about every bit of deckspace was taken with heaps of drunks. The bars were packed with groups of guys sitting around stacks, and I really do means stacks, of crates of beer ... they were basically drinking their way down the stacks. Vomit everywhere as it was a really rough crossing ... the North Channel is notoriously rough. I spent most of the crossing sitting on a slatted-wooden bench outside almost frozen to death. But it was fun.

Oh, no! Don't get us started on Yorkshiremen ... too little time, not enough space.

"Wellesley Nautical School" - spot on Vic.

The worst voyage I've had was on Norfolkline between Birkinhead & Belfast (8 hours overnight). Drove onto this rusting hulk and the car deck was up top on an open deck!!! (the car got covered with salt from the sea spray). I had an outside cabin (that's a cabin with a porthole; an inside cabin doesn't, it's a windowless box). Anyway, got the head down for a kip but was woken-up by this load, steady booming/banging noise reverberating throught the hull once we were out of the Mersey and into open water. I went to the Purser's Office to complain and was told it was a loose lifeboat in the davit banging against the ship's hull with every bit of sea swell; they also told me it had been like this for a month!!! Bxxxxxds!

Newsnight did have Tommy Robinson (bossjonnie of the EDL) on a couple of years ago and Nick Griffin's (bossjonnie on the BNP) been on Questiontime; on those occasions they were debated by those with differing opinions and the Beeb staff didn't boycott either event. I say "let them all speak" ... but they must always be challenged. I don't have a problem with deportation if UK laws are broken but any accusations should always be examined in court. GGG you may well be right about the Peelers being reluctant to lift those spouting unlawful hate but they are clearly following orders from the Home Office. We have all the laws necessary to manage the situation but seem to lack the political will to confront the issue firmly. It's all political smoke and mirrors.

Didn't that huge timber importers dock at Blyth go up in smoke in the 70s? Hundreds of thousands of pitprops stacked skyhigh just inside the fence along the Blyth to Seaton Sluice road ... I think it was opposite the Approved School (Collingwood might of been the name of the 'naughty boys' jail???)

I had a 1970 1600E, aubergine in colour, Recarro seats, Rostyle wheels. I took the standard exhaust off it and put on a Jeff Howell full-bore, straight-through exhaust with tuned headers on, Maserati air horns which played Colonel Bogey (I still have these but I'm too chicken to fit them to my current car). It was a great car.

There were a couple of lads (twins) who were at Westridge at the same time as me (62 - 67) and I'm pretty sure they lived on a 'caravan site' at Hartford. The one I knew was Peter Oliver and maybe, just maybe his brother was called Michael; they'd be 62ish now.

Just noticed that BBC4 have a programme on tonight about wrestling.

GGG wrote: "... The entire Muslim community needs to get its act together, not just in condemning this behaviour, but thoroughly isolating the radicals that preach hate, and if necessary, set up their own religious hierarchy which doesn't take it's interpretation of the Koran from evil men in foreign lands." The Muslim community and their mainstream organisations ARE challenging the behaviour of that "small minority". Most Mosques teach tolerance AND integration, it's just that these places never get on the national telly news. My description of the evil intolerent scum as "just a small minority" is just useful code and its use is good enough because it accurately describes their group size. Ditto ... intolerent extreme Left and extreme Right.

He was 93 when he died on Wednesday. Those of a certain age will remember those Saturday afternoons glued to telly wrestling. When I read his obituary I was suprised what a full and interesting life he'd led. Aye, all our cultural icons seem to be croaking with alarming frequency. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/may/22/mick-mcmanus

Place - East London Mosque (biggest in Europe) with 6000 in attendance a couple of days after the attack ... the Imam absolutely condemning the attack and all forms violent and unlawful protest. Oh, and in a sign of ecumenical support, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddists and Christians were in attendance. Let's repeat - it's only a tiny minority of intolerant scum that cause problems, the vast majority are law-abiding, peace-loving and our valued neighbours. GGG wrote: "If you want to live in this country you live by OUR standards, speak OUR language, and you obey OUR law!" And I agree!

We let loose two 'coupling' dogs in the long corridor at Westridge ... what a hoot it was (then). I'm ashamed of myself now for doing it as I'm a dog lover.

Merc, well said! As a veteran of the Battle of Catford Bridge, The Battle of Welling, and many others in London where our forces of the righteous Left resisted the hateful BNP I can, on viewing that video, just as easily transpose that scum of the 1970s & 80s into behaving in a similar way to those in the recent film. The message might be different but the sentiments are similar ... intolerence. Oh, an it struck me that the film's presenter had an agenda ... to prove that all Muslims are intolerent; I know that there were other demos she could have filmed that showed 'TOLERENT' Muslims.

Every Thursday after school I'd get the 42 from the Red Lion to go to see my Granny ... I used to get off at Billy Mill (almost N.Shields). The bus used to drop down Bedlington Bank, past East Hartford, the Three Horse Shoes pub, Seaton Delaval, Earsdon, Shiremoor, Billy Mill, then onwards to Shields. I remember the you had to pull this long chrome door handle (maybe 2'6" long) to open the door to get off ... the bus was always a single decker.

Of course, boycotting businesses run by minority groups isn't a new concept. If we cast our minds back to1933 we see an orchestrated campaign against Jewish businesses, first by boycott then, via various terror stages, to the camps. Those stupid fools who inhabit the extreme Right, the EDL and similar fellow travellers, need no excuse (or encouragement) to chuck bricks through Mosque windows or even terrorise Asian shopkeepers. Is some Fascist really going to go into a corner shop and ask the guy behind the counter if he's a Muslim, a Sikh, a Hindu, a Buddist, a Christian (yep, there are Asian Christians) before the windows get smashed or worse? The notion that the Irish community weren't vilified as a result of the IRA campaign isn't accurate. I have a very clear memory of regular (daily) reports in both the London Evening Standard and the London Evening News (now defunct) of Irish folk being attacked in reprisals. It is haraam for a Muslim to sell pork and booze but that sin is between him/her and Allah surely? Point of note: The attack yesterday is about 200 yards from the King's Head pub ... the one blown-up in 1974 by the IRA. I used to drive along the road (Artillery Place) where the attack took place every morning on my way to work.