Where did you hang out?

[Pilot]

Cisco, did you move into No22 when I moved out?

[Jarrow Pete]

Cisco you are right it was Ronnie Benham in Pa Bells shop. Alan and Ken Smith had a big falling out and do not speak. Alans hands are crippled with arthritis, Ken runs his own business K2 Engineering.Bill Cauwood went to Whitburn Pit as a pit lad but smashed his foot up. He then went down South for 2 to 3 years working in a garage. When he came back he worked as a bus driver for a while. He then worked on the rigs ending up as an assistent driller until he lost his finger ends in a belt drive. He now works on maintenance on the metro.Can you remember the Evans twins from above the shops in Fallow Road and the Lad who lived in the first house in Grotto Road before you went down the bank, Eugene I think his name was.

[Pilot]

Jarrow Pete, I think the Evans twins were in my class at Horsely Hill Juniors, I was there from 1955 to 1959, would the age be about right?
The other shops I can remember in Fallow Road apart from Bell@s were McGonagles a grocer shop not sure of the spelling and Browns the greengrocers. i dont know the name of the Butchers.

[Jarrow Pete]

Pilot, I was at Horsley Hill 53 TO 57 the Evans twins were younger than me so it must be them. They were called Richard and Victor, one of them died a couple of years ago. I could never tell them apart.
Can you remember when Browns had the fruit stall at the top of velvet beds steps. My late mother in law used to work in their shop in Fallow Road and it was only on Monday I was talking to the Browns daughter Marion. The 3 shop names were correct and like you cannot remember butchers name, my brother in law John Anderson used to work there delivering meat on the old butchers bike.

[Pilot]

I remember the stall at the top of the Velvet bed steps well, we would walk home in the summer from Horsley Hill School along the coast road and spent the bus fare 1/2p later 1p at the stall. I've often wondered why I can remember the name of all the shops except the butchers and came to the conclusion that as times were hard we never bought anything at the butchers shop.
I remember one day finding a 10s note outside the shops, now this was a lot of money I think it was about 1955, the two girls from our street who I was with at the time knocked on PC Walls door and told him, he came round to our house and told my mother that the note would have to be kept for 6 months and if anyone could give the serial number it was there's. Anyway no one did and it would have come as a great shock if they had as each week when the money ran out my Mother spent the 10s and replaced it at the weekend. I think the best way to rmember those days is as poor but happy.

[Cisco]

Just read your post Pilot, no I did not move into your house after you left.
The name of the grocers shop in Fallow road Pilot you got the name or spelling wrong, it was McConnells he was a bit of a charactor with jam jar bottom glasses.
Browns the fruiters, two nice old ladies who I think were sisters, never knew they were married Pete.
The Butchers, I'm the same as you two could never remember the name.
I'm sure Malcolm McKeefe also delivered meat on that bike.
The Evans twins I knew very well, they used to get in the Lake always dressed in identical clothes and glasses never seen one without the other always side by side, they were two nice friendly lads. I heard one died Pete do you know what happened to the other one.

Cisco

[Jake]

My Dad and Uncle used to drink in the marsden with Albert Kaveney,
I went to Horsley Hill juniors from 1957 and teachers i remember were Mr Blenkinsop and Mr Howard,
I must be a couple of years younger than Pilot and cisco,

[Cisco]

Pete the Eugene you mention I can't remember, the first house at the top of the bank as you enter Grotto Road lived a oldish man at the time who was a clerk of works on the buildings, next door to him I can't remember their name but their was a ginger girl lived there, Jimmy Patchet lived a couple of doors down, who went on to work for the co-op in Jarrow in the offices.

Cisco

[Cisco]

I knew Albert Kaveney very well Jake, the last time I had a drink with him before he died was in the Marsden Inn in the back lounge..

Cisco

[Jarrow Pete]

Cisco, the two old ladies in the fruit shop were Alice Herron who lived above the shop and her sister Nancy Henderson. It was their father who had the shop. Nancys son George is a chropodist and lives in Grotto Gardens. The wife tells me it was Alices daughter in law I was talking to last week, Marion Herron. Last saw the remaining Evans twin about 5 years ago. Did you mean Malcolm Mackeith who also delivered the meat, if it was him the last time I saw him he was in the secure ward at the General just before he hung his son.I could be wrong but I think Ken Hodgson was a butcher there. The lad Eugene who I was thinking about lived on the same side of the street as Peter Hayes. Peter lived in the bottom house and he lived in the top one.

[Pilot]

I lived next door to Albert Kaveney when I was little, he used to go to sea on the Whalers then he worked ashore before returning to sea on the colliers, he was an electrician as far as I can remember, the last time I saw him was about 20 years ago, I had just brought a collier in to TCQ and he came down the gangway with me, I recognised him even though I had not set eyes on him for about 25 years so I give him a run to South Shields ferry landing in my yacht (Pilot Cutter). Do any of you remember the Dungeons off Lizard Lane?

[Cisco]

Sorry Pete I did'nt know Eugene, as I said there was an elderly couple lived in that house if they had a son I don't think I seen him.
You are right about Malcolm Mackeith I don't know why I spelt it like that.
The last time I seen him was a lot of years ago before all that happened, I had been away from Marsden for a while and knew nothing of his mental status and I was in the Marsden Inn bar having a pint with Jimmy Clements and Jimmy Knox when he came over to speak to me, he seemed alright but Jimmy Knox said don't talk to him he's nuts, not long after that I read he had hung his son at the family home at Horsely Hill.
He had a sister called Connie who I used to know pretty well.
Last time I seen Ken Hodgeson he was working in the butchers shop in New Green Street.
Can you remember Tommy Glover who lived in Lake Ave, his house faced onto Farding Square, He lived right beside the MacKeiths, I just read his son has just died 55 years old I knew him quite well he was part of the younger set that got in the Marsden Inn in them days, last time I seen him was in the Jolly Steward.

Cisco

[Jarrow Pete]

Remember them well, it was the site of a large gun that was built after WW1 for coastal defence. It was never fired in anger and was demolished before WW2. When I worked at the pit I can remember being told that the first time it was fired out to sea for practise it sucked the tiles off and blew the windows out of the Coop store.Only ever went through the tunnel to the gun pit once was terrified of getting lost in the dark. Can you remember the rooms with iron bars on windows as you went down the steel stairs, someone had thrown red paint outside one and it had run down the side, we were convinced it was blood.

[Pilot]

Yes I remember, the stairs were almost rusted through and some were missing, we used to take candles and matches to get through the dark places, there was a large round area in the middle where I suppose the gun went, I just remember it was a damp quiet place it used to scare us all, I saw a photo of the quarry a few years back and I think the area of the dungeons has been quarried now. At the top of the top field was the small guage railway leading into the quarry, we used to get in the trucks and be pushed down the line, when it came to a stop we would run like mad, Alan Wagget broke his foot when we dropped the lever that changed the points onto it. Then there was the reserviour well there was two, one overgrown, we built a raft to sail on, the other was newer and deeper, Im surprised no one was drowned fishing for sticklebacks.

[Jarrow Pete]

Used to ride the trucks as well remember a lad called Whiley losing his finger end on them.Unfortunetly one lad was drowned in the big resorvoir, He was Sammy Summersons little brother. His mother Peggy was a barmaid in the Lake at one time

[Cisco]

I remember the trucks well, Stewart White nearly lost a finger riding on them, also the raft on the reservoir.
I did'nt know sammy Summerson's brother drowned there.
I've never seen Sammy in over 30 years.

Cisco

[Jarrow Pete]

It was in the early 60s when sammys brother who was about 5 years old drowned in the big reservoir. One of his friends ran down to Quarry Lane for old sammy and I can still picture him carrying his sons body home.
Saw Sammy once when he was working in Greenock 30+ years ago paint spraying I was working at Glasgow Airport and stayed in the same hotel as sammy.Arranged to have a drink with him in the bar after work, when I walked in sammy was sat in the corner with sun glasses on, I started to take the p*ss out of him so he took them off and his eyes were red raw. He said it had been a windy day and the spray was blowing back in his eyes, I said what about a face mask and he said it kept getting covered in paint and if you kept stopping to clean it you could not make any money. At the time they were making £500+ per week and sammy had a big jaguar. Last I heard he was on oxygen for his brathing as his lungs were buggered.

[Axeman]

I lived in Cumberland Place and hung about the leas, camel island, black path, lincoln road over to Steward Cres, Jolly Steward and Horsley Hill.

Up to Lumley Ave around Redwell.

Used to get 4 cans of Tartan from the Offee either at Jolly Steward or the Rose and Crown and get a bit squiffy.

I would of been about 14-15.

Can't really complain about the kids today can I.

Mind it was only Sat nights not every night !

[Babooshka]

John Williamson Street back lane mainly.

Hellooo

one of my old school friends lived in John Willie street

[Babooshka]

We also used to hang out at the top of Stanhope Road and also the fair in the summer checking the lads out