FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[PanBiker]

Ha, Christian, six degrees of separation. Sirenna is Sally's Great Grandma. One of her daughters Maggie, married John Hutchinson and they amongst others had Sally's dad Thomas Henry he wed Loiuse Abram and they had two daughters, eldest my wife Sally and Julia. I know Fred and Stella but cant remember your dad although I have almost certainly met him. Knew Chris as he serviced all my cars over the last 30 years or so. When I was courting in the village, it was easier to ask Sally who she wasn't related to than to try and remember all the relations!
I see you have done some graft up at the club. I was a member as it was requirement of Sally's dad Tommy. I assume you would be referring to the carpet in the Jubilee Room. We went to the opening bash for that not long after we were married and spent many a Saturday night up there. Got roped into the club fishing team as well, used to have to tip up at 6am on Sunday mornings for matches down on the river. Happy days..

Sally's dad Tommy was named after his dad's brother who was killed in WWI. I put up a post about that on the old site but it got lost when the site crashed. I have recently rediscovered it on and archiving site I found on the net and have managed to recover all the original text. I will put it back together and pop it back on the site sometime, it's a very sad tale amongst millions of other sad tales from that conflict but needs to be remembered.

Loving the photo's keep them coming. Start a new thread if you want, shout if you want a new category or sub forum.

[Marilyn]

I have only recently asked Stanley about “Stocks” near Bracewell . Had a Clarke relative their raising grandkids, after it was supposed to be abandoned.
( and I must agree I am happy to find you in fine fettle Christian. Great to see you have a positive outlet)

[Stanley]

Many of us are aware that we have a responsibility to look after ourselves. We take basic precautions like ensuring good nutrition, mental health and very important, good sleep. I heard a very good discussion on World Service on beds and sleep, that was what triggered the Great Bed of Ware on Mystery objects.
We all have varying sleep patterns, mine would be regarded by many as extreme but it suits me. What is universally agreed by researchers is that whatever our patterns, good sleep is essential to overall health. They also suspect that early risers get more benefits than night hawks which I find very comforting.
I often rabbit on about the importance of primary education and wonder if that is the place where basic information like the benefits of good health management should be embedded. It used to be so, I can still remember repeating 'Peas beans and and lentils are flesh forming foods' and that was 80 years ago. Perhaps sensible education policies like that are forgotten corners.

[Stanley]

Walls had a large factory near Hyde and so when I was a lad these were a common sight. I doubt if we will ever see the like again. I love the polished shoes and the cycle clips!

[Cathy]

I like that, and if you look at it long enough, the bike looks like it is ‘back to front’.

[Stanley]

That wheel arrangement was very common Cathy for light deliveries. Other traders used them as well. I've seen them used for local milk deliveries.

[Stanley]

Mention in another topic of the population of Barlick and sewer capacity reminded me of what must have been a massive disruption in the town in the last twenty years of the 19th century when mains gas, water and sewers were all installed. Barlick was an anthill of building and development before that with new mill and houser building and I can't imagine what the town must have looked like. We complain today about road works holding the traffic up, every road in the town was dug up to install the new services and it must have been a sight to see.
Funnily enough there is very little mention of this in the contemporary newspapers. They must have got used to the 'new normal'! The only item I can remember is a complaint about a pool of raw sewage in the Valley Road/Havre Park area which was where the sewer that served our small area discharged as the new main sewer to connect with the system hadn't been built. There must have been many instances like that.
Perhaps we should count our blessings!

[Stanley]

I heard a very intelligent young lady on World Service this morning talking about Liverpool and Hillsborough and I reflected that not all corners are forgotten. She particularly referred to the boycott of the Sun newspaper after their terrible report blaming the Liverpool fans and the city's mistrust of central government ever since. Well worth seeking out.

[Stanley]

The centre of Bracewell Village from the estate map of 1717. Notice the lane running away to the NE from just opposite the church. This is Hall Lane and was the road down into the valley bottom to the ford and then up the bank, past the quarry and into Stock Village. At that time Stock was possibly more important than Barlick.



This is an old postcard of Bracewell village in about 1890 I think. Notice that then there was a wall in front of the old school on the left, it's still there but the wall has gone, it's an open space now, the school is now used as the village hall I think. The two gateposts, where the dogs are is the entrance to the lane.
The lane is still there physically but you can't see it from the road. It acts as a watercourse now and is overgrown. Leads directly to the ford and you can still see traces of that.



The setts that paved it must have been laid well, a lot of them are still there.
I wonder how many people know it's there? Well worth a walk down the field to look at it.

[Stanley]

One of the outstanding positive effects of the pandemic has been the virtual cessation of air traffic. Only a few short haul passenger flights and some cargo are still flying. We are in danger of forgetting what 'normal' conditions were when on many days a large part of the cloud cover was condensation trails from high flying aircraft. We are now used to clear skies with only the occasional aircraft.
Like the revolution in in office/home working, it could be that many businesses have discovered that they can manage without face to face meetings involving air travel. The business traveller market subsidised public economy fares and it may be that in future this is going to become far more expensive. If that is the case we may never see the levels of traffic we knew before the pandemic. This in turn means that a sky partially obscured by vapour trails and the sound of aircraft constantly through the day could be a forgotten corner.

[Wendyf]

If you look at the departures from Manchester and Leeds/Bradford airports there are scheduled flights to holiday destinations every 5 or 10 minutes.... holiday traffic is back up and flying!

[plaques]

.. holiday traffic is back up and flying!
Nice to see that we can get back onto the pandemic roundabout any time we want. Its now become obvious that the speed which this virus moved round the world was down to our love of air travel. Just when the infection numbers appear to be dropping we have chosen the optimal mechanism to boost them back up again by moving people to and fro in large numbers.

[Stanley]

True, both of you. At the moment it's mainly short haul but I see the major airlines are agitating for their most lucrative Atlantic routes to be reopened.

[Stanley]

Today's forgotten corner is transport related. Years ago when a haulage firm called Charles Alexander from Aberdeen were competing with the railways to get the traffic of overnight fish down from the Scottish ports to the South of England they ran a night trunk famed for the speed and ruthlessness of their drivers. There are many tales about them. However what sticks in my mind was that on many of their wagons the front bumper had been replaced by a rigid tow bar and if one broke down, the wagon behind would take it in tow, it slowed them down a bit but both loads delivered.
In those days I think every motorist had a tow rope in the boot for emergencies but in latter years this seems to have gone out of fashion and everyone relies on roadside rescue in one form or another.
The day before yesterday this subject came to mind when I saw a car being towed on a rope by another one and I reflected that it was years since I saw that done. Imagine my surprise when later in the day I saw another car towing a van on a rope going in the opposite direction. This got me thinking. Could it be that in these cash-strapped times membership of a rescue service is too expensive and we shall see more self-help like this?

[plaques]

In those days I think every motorist had a tow rope in the boot for emergencies but in latter years this seems to have gone out of fashion and everyone relies on roadside rescue in one form or another.

Quite a lot of motors these days are automatics which don't lend themselves to towing. Some people use the metal towing link rather than a rope for towing ordinary cars but remember without the engine running the towed vehicle doesn't have any brakes to mean anything. Breakdown cover at around £70 is worth having. Changing a wheel on a big SUV at about 40 lb weight is enough to put your lights out.

[PanBiker]

I left the AA a while ago and now get RAC cover rolled in with my insurance policy.

[Big Kev]

I get Green Flag breakdown cover with my bank account, along with mobile phone and travel insurance and 'rewards'.

[Stanley]

Quite obvious I am totally past my sell-by date!

[plaques]

Sell-by-date sounds a bit terminal, how about Best-before-date?

[Stanley]

Both are equally depressing and best avoided!
Today's Forgotten Corner is a funny one, amazing what pops into mind occasionally from the deep past.
During the time I spent on Eigg I was always fascinated by the kilt wearing island doctor. He was famous for a road accident. His son lived with him and they each had a car. They were the only vehicles on the island that were taxed, insured and had an MOT certificate. He and his son met on a blind bend one day and totalled both cars and it was the talk of the island for weeks.
His son was a short powerfully built lad who wore a stocking cap and appeared not to have a job. It was whispered to me that he was a serving SAS man who was 'resting' on full pay. He was very quiet and kept himself to himself so I can well believe it.
I know another man who is ex Special Branch who was 'rested' after a particularly bad experience. He too is very reserved and never speaks about it (and I know better than to ask). It makes me wonder how many such people we meet in ordinary life who have such a past. Quite a few I reckon as the profession is arduous and results in a lot of damage.
These trains of thought are instructive. Writing this I have remembered another friend who was fluent in Russian and Arabic and was for many years an eavesdropper at Menwith Hill working for the NSA which at that time was totally deniable, to the outside world it didn't officially exist. He reached the point where what he was doing was worrying him and wanted out but was refused a hearing. His solution was to start smoking Cannabis and deny drug use on his monthly polygraph test. That did the trick. He took early retirement and went into business on his own account founding a chain of restaurants.

[plaques]

One of my old school pals joined the RAF to train as a Doctor. He eventually became a surgeon although I would have never trusted him to sharpen a pencil never mind wielding a scalpel. The last time I saw him he said he was in charge of the training programmes for the SAS or something like that. I asked how do you set the standards for these extreme endurance tests? OH, I time myself going round and then ADD 10 minutes on for those on test. I could believe that. He was a brute of a man in the strength department.

[Stanley]

It's a different mind set isn't it. Not for me I'm afraid....

[PanBiker]

Writing this I have remembered another friend who was fluent in Russian and Arabic and was for many years an eavesdropper at Menwith Hill working for the NSA which at that time was totally deniable, to the outside world it didn't officially exist. He reached the point where what he was doing was worrying him and wanted out but was refused a hearing. His solution was to start smoking Cannabis and deny drug use on his monthly polygraph test.

There is a lot easier way of getting off the base than that. Just enquire about the efficiency of their antenna systems. I asked how much gain their dish arrays had, that invoked the cavalry, (armed MP's actually) who escorted all our group off the base. Darley Dale Radio Club, they baked us a cake for our arrival. Being a nosey bugger is not always useful although you do learn from the experience. I think we were only on base for about half an hour before I sinned.

[Tripps]

I used to show groups of visitors around. Some international, and some AT groups, though less often as an Amateur was usually chosen for such visits. . I always enjoyed it - especially when they realised the we did nothing at all that I couldn't speak to them about. I answered all their questions - even the gain of the antennas.

[PanBiker]

What period of the last century was that Tripps? My transgression was early 1980's before all the dishes were in their golf balls and before the wall came down. Just into the 21st century the day job of one of the girls that was in the same darts team as Sally, was as a UK armed police officer, (side arm and sub machine gun). She was stationed on the UK side of the base at the gate. Her role was not to protect the base but guard us from a foreign power operating on our soil. Funny old world isn't it.