THE FLATLEY DRYER

[PanBiker]

Well whoever had it in the 60's and 70's must have made a fortune out of the biking fraternity. Here are few photos from back then, not mine they are from the DDMCC FB page and contributed by old mates from back then.

Steve Kinsley posted this one:

Dip1.jpg

Graham Hird posted these three:

Dip2.jpg

Dip3.jpg

Dip4.jpg

The first one shows Brian Manchester who was the secretary of the bike club. The Honda 500 Four that you can see immediately behind his was the bike I bought after my Honda 250. The last photo shows a few of the lads having a bit of fun with Pete's tent when he decided to have a bit of a lie in. A couple of Barlick biker mates Paul and Rob in the right foreground. This is in the field opposite the Dip, now an industrial estate of course.

[plaques]

Those were the days when motorbikes still looked like motorbikes and not flying racing machines. Also the lads still carried plenty of 'hair' which has gone out of fashion nowadays either by nature or Turkish stylists.

[Tizer]

Some of these developers are morons...
`Chester's Roman wall collapses after digging work' LINK

[Wendyf]

Some of these developers are morons...
`Chester's Roman wall collapses after digging work' LINK

That is appalling, but what why did the planning department allow them to excavate anywhere near the wall?
Same thing happened to the gable end of my neighbours barn when they attempted to excavate round it (to please the planning department) crumbled to dust!

[Stanley]

I agree with Wendy. Unless they are experienced, many modern engineers don't understand old methods of building. They assume that there are foundations in the modern sense but most often the old ones just pared the sod off, laid flat stones and started from there. Perfectly adequate on undisturbed ground as many ancient structures testify. Hey Farm is built like that. Chester will be on sand I guess and that can be a big problem as it can run. I had to take very complicated measures to excavate the 13ft deep pit for the Whitelees engine at Ellenroad but we did it with no damage to the existing building despite running sand and a high water table. The developers should have taken similar precautions but it sounds as though they were cutting costs. Some saving!



Expensive but safe! The frame half way down has hydraulic jacks in it and was constantly checked to maintain pressure on the sheet piles.

[Tizer]

That is appalling, but what why did the planning department allow them to excavate anywhere near the wall?

I expect they didn't give permission and found out about it too late. It's common now for developers to go ahead and flout the planners who then let it go afterwards because it's too expensive to take them to court. Of course, when something goes seriously wrong as at Chester then the chickens come home to roost.

The parts of our village house in the Levels that were built in the 1800s had no foundations, the walls sat on sheets of slate.

[Stanley]

Common practice Tiz and perfectly adequate as long as the surrounding soil wasn't disturbed.
There can be other problems like this one. I remember when we were demolishing Ellenroad how the ground heaved as we removed the weight of the mill. I brought it to the surveyor's attention and they took me seriously, re-checked their pot heights and found they had all risen, some by as much as 4". A similar thing can happen in reverse if a new building (Added weight) is imposed on ground next to an old structure, the ground heaves the opposite way. Lots of problems like this in the Crossrail Project as they disturbed the ground under old buildings. One factor in the budget over-run.

[Wendyf]

When the gable wall collapsed next door they had started putting Acro props beneath the beams inside taking the huge weight of the stone tiled roof off the wall....

[Stanley]

I'd have done the same. A very worrying situation when the structural integrity of an old building is threatened.

[Stanley]

Talking about open fire flues on Forgotten Corners reminds me of the proprietary brands of flue cleaners. Can anyone remember the Little Imp? It was a small paper packet of powder that you threw on to a brightly burning fire and was 'guaranteed' to clean soot from the flue. Very popular but doubtful if they did much good.
If you look at the advertisements in old printed publications they were full of 'miracle cures' for almost everything. In domestic matters, flue and drain cleaners led the field and the lack of regulation of advertising meant that a lot of quack remedies were sold. During the same period many cases of poisoning were also reported due to people mistaking badly labelled products as medicines. This led to regulations about bottles to indicate that they contained poisons like coloured and ribbed bottles which I think are still in force.

[Stanley]

The NHS is on my mind this morning. Due to a minor hiccough in the system I had a half hour wait for my dose of BCG to be obtained from the Pharmacy at Airedale and prepared for infusion. No problem, I laid there on the bed and my mind went back to my hospital experiences pre-NHS. Stockport Infirmary was like many of the old hospitals, a development from the workhouse, and it showed in the internal conditions. Large echoing brick lined corridors painted with gloss paint in Green, cream and chocolate brown. I remember that all the doorways were brick arched inside and out. It was cold, bare and inhospitable. Looking back I see echoes of the concept of a hostile environment that would militate against the inmate/patient feeling that they were receiving special consideration. As a child in pain I was left alone in a room for about an hour dressed in nothing but my vest, it was freezing! The staff were brusque and did nothing in the end but examine me and chuck me out on the street. I doubt if my visit was even recoded.
Contrast that with today, a bright, warm, clean and airy ward. A personal nurse Helen who had nothing else on her mind apart from me until the treatment was finished. She made sure I was kept informed and happy. Constant detailed checks to make sure who I was and what I understood about the treatment. I know we hear horror stories about the system failing us but the vast majority of experiences must be like mine and with the benefit of age I was able to contrast and compare with 1947 and my visit to the Infirmary. Even the name has a medieval/monastic ring to it.
We are so lucky and must trumpet that loudly whenever we get the chance. The NHS is a national treasure.....

[Tizer]

`The Solway Firth haaf netters fighting to save a fishing tradition' Solway

[Stanley]

They have been under attack for as long as I can remember Tiz. Ridiculous and in many cases the sports fisheries further up the river are behind the attempts at prohibition. Their total take is minuscule and their affect on the environment is nothing compared to the rash of estuary fish farms.
All part of the syndrome whereby catch all policies, sometimes quite sensible, directed at larger commercial interests catch the small guys and destroy their livelihood. It's a symptom of ignorance in this case, the Haaf netters are no danger to the wider environment and should be protected.

[Tizer]

This article in November 2017 is the last I've heard about the Bridgewater mud fishermen... Mud fishing

[Stanley]

A road I often used was the one from Carlisle that followed the Nith valley out to the north east, it was a good way to get to Kelso on the Borders. It was a minor road but there was always something of interest. I cut many a good Ash 'sappy' on my way up it. One morning I passed a man walking up the road with a fish hung over his shoulder. It was a salmon, the head was level with his shoulder and the tail with the backs of his knees. I suspect he was a happy man!
On the Lockerbie road out towards Lanark you passed the Solway marshes to the west. At that time the marsh wardens were still patrolling the cattle brought down from the higher land to graze the marshes and I delivered calves to one who was a small dealer as well. I wonder if they are still working?
Always something of interest on the road if you kept your eyes and your mind open. I loved it!
That's just reminded me of meeting Jim Baird from Kelso at the Nith road end to transfer calves to his wagon, a regular transaction. Later one day I was talking to a patrol driver who used to like to meet up with me and get the news of the markets. He told me he had seen me early that morning transferring the calves and he commented on the unfeeling gaffer who had sent that old man (Jim) out at that time on a winter's morning. I told him he was on ther wrong horse, the 'old man' owned the wagon and getting on for 3,000 acres at Kelso with all the stock and equipment that went with it. As soon as I mentioned the name he realised his mistake. Jim's farm, 'Lurdenlaw' is marked on the OS map as a village!

[Tizer]

A road I often used was the one from Carlisle that followed the Nith valley out to the north east, it was a good way to get to Kelso on the Borders.

Isn't the Nith valley running north-west from the Carlisle area - not the way to Kelso?

[Stanley]

All right, have I confused it with the Esk? It was a little-used road and a very pleasant drive despite the size of the wagon and the narrow road. I always preferred that route to the normal East coast one via the A1 to get to the Berwick area and then back across to Ayr, one of my usual trips delivering calves.
That raises another matter in my mind. Lots of my journeys, both with the cattle wagon and the tanker were across to the east side of the country. Something I soon learned was that when looking at the west to east part of the trip, it was always quicker and shorter to take the most northerly route. I decided eventually that this was due to the way maps are drawn, what you see on the page isn't necessarily a true representation because of the errors introduced by getting a curved surface onto a flat page. Try it, it works!

[Tizer]

The direct route from Carlisle to Kelso would be the A7 north of Kielder Forest but perhaps you went on the A74 (beside the River Annan) through Lockerbie, turning east at Moffat/Dumcrieff to Selkirk?

[Stanley]

No Tiz, I turned off on a minor road just north of Carlisle before you reached the ammunition dump and Moss Band. In those days it was at the end of the M6.
Before the motorway on the old A74 when it was single track, there used to be a stretch of very rough road. A 'well known fact' that it was left like that by the Council to slow traffic down before you hit the city. In those days the main road went right through the middle of Carlisle. Imagine M6 traffic doing that now!

[Stanley]

I have been neglecting this topic. It came to mind this morning when I remembered something.
Can any of you remember Air Wick? I see the brand name survives but the old green ribbed bottles with the pull-up wick that gave the brand its name seems to have bitten the dust.

[Stanley]

When Janet was about 25 years old, she and Big Harry went to New Zealand for a holiday and she told me that she loved going into small grocer's shops because all her favourites she remembered from childhood were still on the shelves, was one of them 'Angel Delight'? She said it was like a time warp.

[Wendyf]

Angel Delight arrived in the late sixties and was a quick and easy dessert. Still going strong I think and though I haven't had any for ages the memory of the flavours lingers! It made a change from tinned fruit with evaporated milk.

[Stanley]

Yes, I had a look and you're right Wendy, still manufactured and available. I forget the names of the other old favourites that Janet said were still common in NZ.

[Wendyf]

One packet of Vesta Beef Risotto and a sachet of butterscotch flavour Angel Delight. Feast! A bottle of Matteus Rosé or Blue Nun for added sophistication.

[Cathy]

I remember all of those , except Blue Nun. I remember Blamange dessert from a packet. Was that the same as Angel dessert?
And Meat Mates.