Canny lass

Thank you Malcolm for this interesting series of 'factoids'. It's been an eye-opener learning how the well-oiled wheels of local politics function, don't function and even grind to a stand still on occasions. This sort of transparency, is something that is invaluable. Keep up the good work!

... why not give it another go, Malcolm. I think these would be much appreciated. When I've had 'foreign' family and friends with me on visits they've loved hearing the history.

Very nice indeed! What a transformation! Huge thanks to everybody that was involved.

Sorry, I'm very late with the answers! I've not been allowed to look at a screen since Friday. However, I did get a pair of temporary specs. They are far from the most elegant pair of specs I've ever had but at least I can read now and I'm actually writing this myself so not reliant on family and friends anymore! Answers to the New Year quiz: 1. 31 Dec 1923 2. The Gambia 3. Potomac River 4. David Nixon 5. Potato 6. Chan 7. Edward II 8. left 9. Seraphim 10. Fiat 11. Carrot 12. Mary, Queen of Scots 13. Sooty 14. Sandhurst 15. Four 16. Montague 17. Norway 18. Helium 19. Templars 20. Ounce

..... and just to test the grey matter tomorrow morning: 1. In which year were the chimes of Big Ben first broadcast at New Year? 2. Of which African country is Banjul the capital? 3. On which river does Washington DC stand? 4. Who was the first British magician to become a TV star? 5. If you were served aloo in an Indian restaurant what vegetable you get? 6. Which very common Chinese surname means ‘old’ in English? 7. Which king of England married Isabella of France? 8. On British coins, does King Charles III face left or right? 9. In the celestial hierarchy what is the highest order of angels? 10. Which car manufacturer produced the Panda? 11. Favourite, Figaro and Autumn King are varieties of which vegetable? 12. Who married the Earl of Bothwell in 1567? 13. Who was Harry Corbett’s furry friend? 14. What is the name of the college attended by British Army Officers? 15. How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win at the 1936 Olympics? 16. What is the surname of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet? 17. In which country is the River Glomma the longest river? 18. Which gas is represented by the symbol He? 19. How were the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon better known? 20. What is another name for the Snow Leopard? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Racing greyhounds have their nose-prints, which are as individual as fingerprints, registered to prevent fraud. Answers on Friday. (They may be a bit late as I've been promised a temporary pair of specs but I have to go to the main hospital in Gothenburg so it'll probably be a whole day job!)

2003. 14 year old girl killed by a bus but it was more towards Bedlington Station than Red Row

Answers to last week's Christmas special: 1. Untidiness and disorder. 2. Green or tan. 3. 48 hours, 11 minutes and 7 seconds. A quiz master who became an international hit during the Covid-19 lockdown is now a World Record holder. Tom Finkill, from Bury, made a name for himself by hosting quizzes online, and now holds the record for the longest livestream quiz. 4. 25 (No el)! 5. The Anglo Saxons. It meant ‘Good Health’. 6. 3 (Dasher, Dancer and Donner). 7. Deep pan, crisp and even. 8. Deck the Halls (with Christmas holly). 9. 1914 10. Mele Kalikimaka 11. Dr Seuss 12. Sugarplums 13. Martin Luther 14. Hula hoops 15. A blessing 16. Strengths 17. Tinsel 18. The German version of mulled wine. 19. A hen. 20. 3 – Indiana, Arizona and Georgia

I've just spent a pleasant half hour in the company of one of my 'bonus' grandsons who has read out loud to me Historical Factoids 1 - 11. We've laughed and cried in equal amounts. Thank you Malcolm!! One thing he said to me was "lt sounds just like you when when you're really peed off with people's ineptitude" (my translation). I'll take that as a complement!!

Well, I hope you'e all got a nice clean chimney because Santa's done his rounds here and is winging his way to the UK as I write. I've told him that you've all been good so you should find something under the tree in the morning. Naturally, I hope you all have a great day! With a lot of help from the family I've managed to scrape together a Christmas quiz tohelp keep you awake when the mince pies, turkey and trimmings have taken their toll and you fel like nodding off in the afternoon. I know, 'it's not Friday' but it is Christmas so get cracking and good luck! 1. Fotball legend David Beckham suffers from ataxophobia. What is he afraid of? 2. What was the colour of Santa’s clothes before Coca-Cola dressed him in red? 3. What is the longest quiz ever? 4. How many letters are there in the Angelic alphabet? 5. Who started the custom of Wassailing? 6. How many of Rudolph’s companions have names starting with D? 7. How did Good King Wenceslas like his pizza? 8. In which Christmas song can you hear “Fa la la la la, la la la la? 9. During WW1, a famous ‘Christmas Truce’ took place, when soldiers agreed to a cease-fire to celebrate the occasion and play football. Which year did this take place? 10. How do you say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian? 11. Who wrote, “Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas is a little bit more?” 12. Visions of which food danced in the heads of children as they slept in the poem “Twas the night before Christmas”? 13. Who claimed that he could “drive away the devil with a fart”? 14. What was banned in Indonesia for “stimulating passion”? 15. What do you call a group of unicorns? 16. What is the longest English word with only one vowel? 17. Which Christmas decoration do the royal family NOT have on their trees? 18. What is glühwein? 19. What is a female turkey called? 20. How many states in USA have a town called ‘Santa Claus’? I'll bet you didn't know: There are no turkeys in Turkey! Answers 30 December.

My OH's eyes did the job for me!

Is that Wilf i can see loitering by the traffic lights? Hopefully it is, cos that means it's officially Christmas! Whoopee!!! A very merry Christmas to everybody. I hope to be a bit more active next year as two eye operations have meant I've had to rely on someone else to read and write for me for a couple of months. Reading has been a little bit easier but only if I lift the laptop to within an inch of my face. However, I'm on the mend now but can't get new specs until the beginning of February when everything is healed. Have a great Christmas and knock hell out of what's left of the year!

Did Bertha Burns also have tea-rooms on Newgate Street in an upstairs location just about where 'Made of Crumbs' cafe is today (according to Google Street view)? There was certainly a cafe there used by farm hands on market days. Farmers themselves used the cafe on Bridge Street where my sister worked but I have a vague recollection of her mentioning that she occasionally had to work somewhere else on market days.

I can think of a couple of possible reasons for a coal-miner's child being born at the granary. Coal-mining was playing a big part in Bedlington’s industry and miners were ‘imported from many parts of Britain. If you look at the population in 1851 there were almost as many miners from other parts of the country as there were native Bedlingtonians. Housing was at a premium and miners lodged wherever they could get a roof over their head until colliery housing became available. Another explanation for a birth at the granary may be that your relative wasn’t born at home. It wasn’t uncommon that prima gravidas (first-time mothers) went to the home of a female relative, often their mother, when the birth was imminent.

I think you may have understood me. I was referring only to EV sales in Sweden. I can't speak about Europe as media reports are unreliable. As I'm sure you've noticed, I am no great fan of newspapers. They cater for their potential readers and their advertisers (as you rightly point out). The problem is (in relation to EV production and sales - and just about everything else) that different newspapers report the situation differently to suit clients needs and readers' expectations. For every report that says sales are decreasing you'll find another which says sales are increasing. I based my statement on statistics from Mobility Sweden (MS), the branch organisation for producers and importers of vehicles, who publish statistics of newly registered vehicles every month. Sales of EVs are down 21% this year here.

I've just noticed that there is a vacant place between the grocer's shop and Henry. That would have become the hairdressers which dates the painting to between 1891 and 1901.