Symptoms

Chris - real ale, yummy. How well does this stuff travel and is there, because of this, a limitation on where you can source the ales. In other words will ale from Southern England, and other far-flung places been on offer or will you source 'locally'. Are there any/many brewers left in the North East?

John - I'm wondering how the snapper illuminated the shot. I doubt it would have been a flash - didn't most flashguns back in the 60s use a 'use once' bulb that sort of overloaded to create a flash which might have been dangerous to use down the pit. Looking at that clear shadowline at the bottom of the snap it could have been illuminated by a lamp ... any former miners on the Forum might be able to confirm (or rubbish) that the helmet lamps gave a decent enough beam for photography.

Just a reminder that Peter Tatchell is 60 today ... of course, most decent folk will be aware of this and may wish to Google for more information. Truely a National Treasure! This notice is not meant to flush-out the odd haters who dwell in the dark corners of the Forum.

Andy Fairweather Low perhaps for one point? Derek Weaver perhaps for 2 points? Oh, and there was a mini riot outside 'cos all the girls wanted in. Yep, Noble rings a bell.

My parents were friends of the owners but I can't recall their names (not my parents ). I seem to remember that they may have lived in a monster traditional showman caravan (4 wheels {one in each corner}, the whole thing painted maroon & cream) which was parked opposite the Domino ... I also think they may have had some connection to nightclubs in Newcastle and The Spanish City at Whitley Bay. Of course, these details may be inaccurately remembered and I'm happy to be corrected.

Just a reminder that Holocaust Memorial Day is on the 27th January ... of course, most decent folk will be aware of this and may wish to Google for more information. One thing to do is a visit to the Anne Frank Exhibition (showing free at Gosforth Library 27 January 2012 – 02 February). I saw this some years ago in London and it's well worth a visit. First They Came - Pastor Martin Niemoller First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me This notice is not meant to flush-out the odd racists who dwell in the dark corners of the Forum.

Canny wrote: ".... companion set! (was it called a companion set - a stand with fire irons hanging on it, usually a shovel, a poker and a pair of tongs?)" you forgot the small brush that also formed part of the set. You could get a replacement brush head when the old one was worn out (turned wooden !*!@# with bristles fixed in - the !*!@# had a threaded hole so you could screw it onto the metal brush shaft) at the local store. I remember my Mum talking about her Dad coming back off nightshift at the pit ... this was during and before WW2 and pre-nationalisation* in 48 ... all dirty with dust. My Granny would fill the boiler, which was part of the cast iron range, from an outside tap; the water would be hot for him coming home during the night. As he filled the tin bath, which he positioned by the range, he'd fry-up some bacon & eggs & bread in a big cast iron frying pan on the open fire. He'd then take his bath. My Mum used to listen out for the 'clop' of his hob-nailed boots on the path when he came home from work and run down from her bed to meet him ... and to beg for some of the bacon before she'd go back to bed and leave him to it. *many folks don't realise that it took nationalisation for the conditions for most miners to improve, ie. pit-head baths. Goodness, even the innocent discription of a turned wooden k.n.o.b. gets scrambled by the Mods!!!!

Oh dear, here we go again!

My Mum said that that they kept 2 pigs during WW2; apparently that was the max families could keep under the law and the local Bobby used to come around and check. My Grandad used to get the butcher from the village Co-op to come down to kill the pigs (one done at different times of the year), they'd be strung-up on a tripod to be bled, via a cut throat, into a enamel bucket - my Mum's job was to keep the blood stirred so it didn't congeal then take it into my Granny who'd make the black pudding. The first time she saw this done during the War she was about 10 years old and had previously thought the pigs were her pets ... she caught her Dad & butcher doing the deed and accused them of murder and ran off in tears. Lots of different cuts of meat produced and some shared out with neighbours who'd supplied scraps (pig swill) during the year. There was no limit on other animals - they kept lots of hens and a couple of goats for milk.

Micky wrote: "The picture symtoms posted is my old class at westridge, I,m standing behind him somewhere" which one are you?

All wrong - I've got it on good authority that those Frackers are drilling and fracking for gas. First earthquakes in Blackpool ... Bedders next perhaps?

A couple of recent posting have referred back to the 'old' Bedlington Forum ... well, this is just a reminder that all the old stuff can be seen here: http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http://www.bedlington.co.uk

Brettly - careful you don't stick your head out of the bedroom window 'cos the wind will blow the fluff off keep the cat away 'cos if it licks your face the fluff will come away aye, the old ones are always the best

Canny - I can't help you with leek club rules, but I remember my Grandad and Uncle growing and showing back in the 50s & 60s; obviously they'd been at it for decades before that. They weren't Bedlington men but from Backworth/West Allotment and showed through the West Allotment Club ... I suppose there was a standard set of competition rules across the whole area. It was their growing methods that I found interesting at the time: Homemade fertilizer - the contents of their potties* tipped into a 45 gallon ex-oil drum which had probably been nicked from the pit, assorted slops added, and left to 'stew'. This brew was then tipped into jam jars set at the base of each plant ... these jars had the bottoms removed to form 'open-ended' tubes but where clearly used as measuring devices. They removed the jam jam bottoms by putting an inch of old engine oil in the jar, plunging a red hot poker into the oil to heat it up, then lowering the jar into cold water; the glass base dropped off due to the 'shock' ... clever boys those old pitmen. They also tied a roll of newspaper around the base a the leek to keep/extend the white bit - kept the sun off. Leek seed was guarded with military methods to stop it being nicked by rivals ... they used to camp-out in the garden for weeks while the seed heads ripened on the plants. They also kept guard just prior to the showing season so that rivals couldn't attack the plants. *their pit row houses had outside netties (for our younger viewers - WCs) so if caught short during the night after a heavy drinking session at the club they just sat on the edge of the bed and did the business on the potty ... yuk!

test ... Scunthorpe United.

johndawsonjune1955 wrote: ".... my friends had old conveyor belting to slide down,.." yep, I remember this trick on the !*!@# heap at the Doctor Pit ... I seem to remember we called the stuff 'Belatta' belting. We also used to do something similar at Costains (the open-cast site) only there we'd use metal salvaged from the vehicle tip on the site; the place was full of knackered earth-moving tackle - stuff like Euclids, graders, etc. My favourite 'sledge' was part of a Euclid door. The woodwork teacher at Westridge (I can't remember his name) used to have a ski making project; he used to take us out onto the playing field and show us how to ski with them. I remember that once or twice he took us to Costains to try our luck down the snow covered !*!@# heaps; he must have had permission from the bosses ... wouldn't happen now 'cos of Health & Safety. edit: why on earth has sl*g heap being chopped into !*!@# heaps ... the * I inserted, poo.

I've got it on pretty good authority that it was a vehicle from another world bringing back Merlin and Monsta. To date Merlin has been the only one of the two who has recovered enough from the severe internal examinations and probings, conducted by the aliens, to visit the Forum. I look forward to his report. I've heard that Monsta is currently convalescing but may, when strong enough, make an appearance here.

If only we could harness all the hot air on the Forum ....

All we need now is for Monsta to appear then both the pack jokers'll be in play. Good to have you back. Perhaps the Mods could bulk message all those on the Members list to make an appearance and remind them that this place is still open; maybe even contact all those who were members on the 'old' forum (the one which existed before the site disappeared some years ago) ... they may not realise that it's been re-born.

Just a youngun then ... probably one of the ones us big lads forced onto the travelling shop.

I had my very first pint in the Railway (under-age drinking!) - Vaux Gold Tankard, this was in the lounge bar. I clearly remember what a horrible taste it had (soap) and wondered what all the fuss was about ... this drinking lark. Anyway, it had to be toughed-out in front of my mates and a life-long taste for beer was developed; Exhibition when in a 'Blue Star' pub but I always relished a drop of Fed when in the Market Place Club ... again, all under-age drinking. Left when I was 18 be be a student in London and the first night down there went into the student union bar and was presented with taps of Cockney bilge (Watney's and the like) until I spotted on the shelf behind the bar rows of Newcastle Brown and Newcastle Amber .... bliss!

62 - 67

Yep, I remember it well ... wasn't the shop called Adamson's? I was a Woodbine man (boy!!) but when flush with funds would buy a packet of 5 snouts - skinny little version of the full-size pack complete with all the same packet graphics. Our smokers' corner was behind the PE store, a hut sited beyond the Youth Centre on the track towards the Catha school (PC apology ... but that's what we called it back in the day); Danny usually couldn't creep-up on us 'cos we had good sight lines, however one day he came up on us from behind, from the direction of the Catha school, and bagged us all. He made us chuck all our supplies on the ground and "dance" on them. Another wheeze was crowding (with 1st year kids) the travelling shop when it arrived at breaktime then us big lads would nick packets of biscuits off the racks; the bloke never spotted us. I've loved chocolate digestives to this day!

Canny - that discription of the fella is spot on and the name Grainger rings a bell. He would line us up for a beating and swish & wobble the sandshoe to illustrate it's flexability (to put the 'the frighteners' on us) then lay into our arses. Yep, happy days.

Oh, and Geordie Hemmings used to use a barber's strop (leather) to beat the boys with ... belting on the !*!@# conducted in the medical inspection room (located next to the main doors). Taffy Williams (Metalwork teacher) would clip us with a steel ruler and a Geography teacher (name gone!) used an enormous white sand shoe (for our younger viewers what you would now call a Converse Allstar but sand shoes were a cheap, thin version).