What Went On

A Memory of Newburn.

This is from about the 1950s. Along Grange Road was a huge piggery and it was owned by the Liddle family, by, did it pong. Further along you came to the railway crossing with the sign STOP, LOOK, LISTEN in red, this was where the steam train leaving Newburn passed going west. Over the line was Newburn football club which used to draw a canny crowd, then further on was the Big Lamp Brewery, this was where the water works was and our local Waterman lived in a house there, he was called Mr Bell. He would travel around the area with his water key etc on his motor bike and side car, this wasn't one to sit in as it had a lid on it and was for his tools etc. Further on was Salmon Cottage a large detached house in a field, it sounds idyllic but it wasn't far from the local tip where we would rummage on occasions. Next to this was Newburn Reith which stretched up to Blaney Row, it was a huge pond with bulrushes which we would cut down and douse in paraffin and light them, they were our form of torches which gave off good light on a dark night. Coming back towards the Boat House there was a field where horses used to graze, this is where the hopping's would come every year and stay for a week, there were Waltzers and Dodgems galore. I recall they also went to a field across the road from the bottom of Mayfield Avenue. Anyway, being young and without fear we would go to Newburn Bridge and there was two places with a gap between the railings (still there now), we used to squeeze through here and get under the bridge, there was a narrow girder about six inches wide which we would walk from one side and come up on the other, the reason for this is this is where pigeons nested and we would collect their eggs to fry and eat, they were not very big but no different to a hen's eggs.
The Pits were prominent around the area and some didn't have the deadly gas so the miners used to have carbide lamps, the fuel was a small whitish rock that when mixed with water would give off a gas which would give a flame for light, this is my crude description. We used to play a stupid game with this deadly stuff, we would put a small amount of water in a bottle with a piece of carbide, it started to fizz straight away, then we would screw down the stopper, give it a shake and run like hell, by, did it explode, but I can never remember any one being injured.
I used to go to Throckey Clinic on Mayfield Avenue to get tins of Ostermilk baby food for me sisters, these tins were white with blue writing on, inside was a measuring spoon to count the spoons of dried milk per bottle. I would often make the bottles and always have a spoonful myself, it was lush and used to melt on the tongue.
Scotchy baths was a favourite place where we would spend many a day (if we got the pocket money), we were in that long our skin was like a plucked chicken, and by! there were some big cockroaches in the water. The changing rooms were wooden cubicles around the pool so we could change, then two or three steps you were in the pool. The trouble with these was they never had a top on so if you were in a cubicle beside the high dive board you could be seen getting changed. It didn't bother us much but the top board was always full when the lasses got changed. There was a little snack bar inside the baths and we were always famished coming out, the favourite thing was a penny loaf this was about 3 inches long and about 2 inches square a proper miniature loaf and a cup of Oxo, the loaf was dunked in the Oxo. Bahh! me mouth's watering just thinking of that. What about Horlicks tablets, we used to suck on these, we loved them, and me pal Alfie was rarely seen without an Oxo cube to suck on, bought from Meggie Gribble's of course.
We used to go on the clay field and dig in the ground for a thing called pig nuts, they were attached to roots which we broke off, quite sweet, I don't know much else about them, maybe someone can give some explanation. Sour Ducks, the leaves were plentiful and were in abundance, where have they gone. Remember the broad blades of grass we would pick on the clay field, you cupped your hands together and this blade of grass would slide between your two thumbs then you would blow and it gave a screeching kind a sound. Liquorice root was another thing, it was like chewing a lump of wood. Liggies was our game as well, but with Spencers steel works on hand we used to get iron pinekers, these were solid polished steel balls. and the bigger they were, the better top dog you were, actually they were steel bearings but you used them the same as marbles.
I'm sure everyone remembers tattie pick-in, the tractor and trailer would arrive in Millfieild during the school holidays and the women and their kids would climb aboard and off to the farm for the day, it was back breaking work for them, even us younguns helped where we could. It was a much needed cash in hand job in those days as wages were a bit poor.

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