FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[PanBiker]

A lot of folk wont remember that the path used to go up the side of the mill and through what is now Carlson Filtrations yard. It used to go behind the Scout building and emerge at the left hand side just out of shot on the first picture above. The current course is a concessionary path put in around the old bowling green when the factory expanded. I suppose probably shifted on H&S grounds for pedestrian safety.

[Stanley]

Quite right Ian. If you go and search the Calf Hall Shed Company Minutes you'll find that it's all detailed in there. All consolidated by the MOD taking over Butts as a shadow factory in 1940.

[PanBiker]

I'll have a look at that, I can remember the original route of the path. I think it was the 60's when it was re-routed.

[Stanley]

Please take 45 minutes out of your day to watch this Youtube video. (LINK). It details the Aberfan Disaster which happened 54 years ago today at 9AM in the morning. 116 children and 5 teachers killed when, due to NCB negligence, hundreds of thousands of tons of slurry poured down the mountain and engulfed Pantglass Primary School. We mustn't let such things be forgotten.
The video is good and accurate and covers the appalling treatment of the village by both the NCB and government.

[Tripps]

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Gresford pit disater in 1934.
I knew little of it but thanks to Margaret Ashworth of Clitheroe - I do now.

Gresford

[Stanley]

David, a tragedy but it was September 22 not October. I mentioned it earlier. There is a good book, 'Gresford, the anatomy of a disaster' By Stanley Williamson. I have it on the table for a re-read. We shouldn't forget these things.
See THIS Article on another colliery disaster that was big news in 1950. Luckily, because of a good rescue team only 13 men died but I knew people in New Cumnock who were involved due to my activities in the area on the cattle wagon. The price of coal.

[Tripps]

a tragedy but it was September 22 not October

You're right of course.

I don't think many will remember, or even be aware of this incident. Golborne mining disaster.

I do since I lived just a couple of miles from the pit at the time. I didn't realise that the final toll was as high as ten. I do remember it happened on a Sunday (I've checked ) during maintenance work, and that Joe Gormley's son was involved.

The price of coal eh. . .

[Stanley]

I remember it David. I have what many would regard as a morbid interest in loss of life connected to industry. It's not only pit disasters, thing Thalidomide, Bhopal. Minimata and work your way down via M. V. Derbyshire and losses in fishing. All forgotten corners and very few are 'accidents'. The chief characteristics of most are failure of responsible corporate management and the way 'blame' is pushed down to the lower echelons despite the fact that what is needed is enforcement of the charge of 'corporate manslaughter'. We see the same syndrome in other fields such as the financial industry.
These are all forgotten corners. The real culprits get away with it and time glosses over the facts.
Possibly the biggest example is war itself. Consider our 'Remembrance Ceremonies' then read the history and start to wonder who was actually responsible for the slaughter. I never realised this until many years ago, talking to a survivor of WW1 I was shocked to hear him say that he despised Remembrance Day because it was hypocritical, men didn't 'give their lives for freedom', they were forced into situations where they died horrible useless deaths. Over the years I have realised that he had a point. Use the same thinking on disasters like Gresford, Aberfan and Golborne.

[Cathy]

3BECBF77-E9DF-4406-B9B6-579F546E302B.jpeg

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

Replying to a climate change post by Peter I realised that we have a massive forgotten corner in plain sight and it is ongoing. Covid soaks up all the media coverage and other equally pressing matters are slipping under the radar. Be sure that there are evil persons out there taking advantage of this and perpetrating policies and crimes that would otherwise have attracted attention. Remember the 'good day to release bad news' syndrome? Same principle, if you want to get away with something do it while the world is looking the other way. We like to think we are well informed. In your dreams! We are subject to constant clever manipulation. Don't let this become a forgotten corner, use your heads and ask questions.

[Stanley]

Many years ago it was quite common to open a book and find this written inside the front cover; "If this book should care to roam, box its ears and send it home!" Often followed by an address.
'Autograph books' were popular and common. Many of them had this on the front page; "By hook or by crook I'll be first in this book" and on the last page; "By hook or by crook I'll be last in this book". I don't know how this began.
I want for a furtle and found THIS but it olny applies to the first part of the phrase. Why and when it became popular in autograph books seems to be a forgotten corner.

[Cathy]

When I was about 10yrs old I had an Autograph Book. Someone wrote in it
‘There was a little girl,
with a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead’.
And someone else wrote
‘When she was good,
she was very very good,
and when she was bad,
she was awful’.
All very strange, maybe it was hard to know what to write?

[Wendyf]

When she was bad she was horrid! Rhymes with forehead.

[Tripps]

I've got one of those. Totally dilapidated now, but good memories.

The star of the book is 'Lovejoy's dad Harry Mc Shane who played for United at the time. Not a lot of people know that. I've got the clowns from Belle Vue circus as well.
Sports stars used to go to Lewis's department store on Saturday mornings to do the signing. Innocent times - they did it even when they didn't have a book to sell. Many school friends from primary - so aged about ten like Cathy.

Memorable verse from the girl up the road who wrote

Oh John don't park the car here!

She then dropped the last word from each subsequent line - ending with just Oh!
Work it out for yourself. . . .

[PanBiker]

A variant and probably the genus here by who else but Eartha Kitt 1953.

Oh John

[PanBiker]

And here she is:

YouTube - Oh John

[Tripps]

Nice - and the date is about right too.

PS I've found it now and it's 1952.

Footballers

Johnny Carey
Jack Rowley
Harry McShane
John Aston
Ivor Broadis
Charlie Mitten
Jack Kelsey

Cricketers
Roy Tattersall
Jack Ikin

Clown - Stanley will like this link
Toby Mory


I'd better chip in £2 next time Wikipedia ask me.

[Stanley]

I enjoyed that David, brought back a lot of memories. (Including the smell of Castor Oil in speedway bikes!)

[plaques]

AJS 7R. Boy racer. Street legal ran on caster oil, total nonsense for riding round town. But boys like there toys. Ian may remember them. (1951)

.

AJS.jpg

[PanBiker]

I think I have seen one or two, one of the lads from the bike club had one. You could smell him coming long before you saw him. They like many others of a similar ilk fetch crazy money now for good examples. Found one sold at Bonham's for £43,000 and others listed around the £35K mark.

[Stanley]

One thing that's been forgotten is that if you needed a very thick heavy oil for a slow speed bearing under a lot of weight, like the pedestal bearing on a large flywheel, you couldn't do better that use Castor Oil. That was what was used at Ellenroad for many years.

[Stanley]

Today in engineering like everything else we have clever chemical solutions to all sorts of problems. However, they are almost always more expensive than what we existed with quite happily for years. Good examples are clean mutton fat and beef tallow. Both good lubricants especially when fitting keys in steel gears on steel shafts. Too often the surfaces between the key and the shaft 'picked up' and almost welded to each other when you were making a trial fit. Tallow or mutton fat was a good safeguard against this happening· Another forgotten corner is the use of tallow as a penetrating lubricant. Heat a recalcitrant nut or bolt up and melt some tallow onto it and leave overnight.
Neat's Foot Oil can be refined to make the best clock and instrument oil. It is so penetrating it spreads to the outside surfaces of a glass bottle even if it's closely stoppered.

[Stanley]

A meeting on Jepp Hill I think in 1920. For various reasons we shall not see this sort of meeting again. Religion no longer has the hold it had 100 years ago and then there is the dead hand of Covid. Even if you wanted to, a meeting like this would be illegal.

[PanBiker]

Look at all those fantastic hats folk should wear more hats.

Actually, is there anyone without one? Even the bairns have some form of hat.