Samples Yard

A Memory of Newburn.

I used to live a few doors from auld Jimmy Sample and his wife Carrie, his son John was married to June and they lived in Francis Terrace. They had their rag and bone yard down the Winnin, anyway I would spend summer nights, weekends and holidays down there. Early morning before school I would be up knocking at Jimmy's door, out he would come with Gyp the fawn greyhound that went on the cart with him. I once saw this dog chase after a balloon which had escaped from the cart, catch it in his mouth and bring it back without bursting, this happened in the top buildings in Throckley. Anyway, he would give me a couple of slices of bread and a rope halter and then off we would go. He was always dressed the same way, with his neckerchief on, a big belt round his trousers, trouser braces, a waistcoat, brown cord trousers and his hands hanging on the lapels of his coat. We would walk through Millfield and part company at the council yard, he would head down to the Winnin and I would head up Blucher path. After about half a mile I would go through a gate and enter the field, I would head up a long bank and when I got over the hill there the horses were, maybe six or seven of them. I had my favourites, Blackie, called that for obvious reasons, and Johnny the stallion who they bred, he was a huge horse and a gentle giant. I would stand on top of the hill and shout for which one of these two I wanted but they both came running, leaving the rest just looking on. The reason they both came was because there was a crust in it. Anyway, I would grab the mane of one and throw myself up like a bare-back Indian and head on down to the yard where I would get the horse harnessed and yoked up and into the cart, then it was off to school at Walbottle. School out, I went back down and did the reverse. Did I get paid for this? No! But my payment was the love of the horses and the chance to ride them. They once bought a cuddy (donkey) and he was a lovely kindly soul, one day I thought I'd give him a wash and brush up. He was tethered on the grass outside the yard. I gave him a nice doorstop of a crust, as I always did, and I was just finishing his rump with my back to him and he swung his head around and bit me on the shoulder blade. The bite mark was red, yellow and brown and shaped like a horse-shoe but it never broke the skin, and he then let out a big "Hee Haw". Was this just a love bite off him? He got a good slap along his big ears.  
Summer holidays I was out with Auld Jimmy up the Military Road and on to Ovington, then down to Ovingham, over the bridge to Prudhoe, then through Crawcrook, Ryton, then doon Ryton Peth, a long steep bank, we couldn't sit on the cart as we went down it as the horse used to slide with the iron shoes on, so Auld Jimmy would have the reins and have his back up against the front of the cart with me dragging on the back. At the bottom was the level crossing and I dreaded the train coming past as we waited, we would be sitting on the cart now and the horse would dance with fear as the steam train went hurtling past, and the whole cart would shake. I used to be frightened in case the horse reared up and would jump off the cart, but this made Jimmy mad and he made me get back on. Then it was past auld Klondike, the village of two streets, over Newburn Bridge, past the Fire Station, past the rope works, on to Wallbottle Road, past Kirtons Brickyard, turn left past Newburn Urban Council yard and down to Samples yard. We couldn't use the shortcut up Millfield Bank as it was too steep. In those days we didn't give out a goldfish, for rags you got a balloon and for a nice pile you would get clothes pegs, but if you brought a few woollens you got the speciality which was kept in a wooden box with a hammer, it was lumps of stone, Grey Stone to be exact, we would break it in accordance to the amount of woollens. This was used with a bit of water to rub on the front step to make it look nice!

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