Blyth History.

[peteloud]

In the past few days I have just rediscovered RootsChat, History of Blyth, and just had a fascinating hour and a half reading through all the History of Blyth posts.

It reminded me of the Tall Ships at Blyth.  This was my first return to Blyth for ages.  Now I no longer have any family living in Blyth, so only rarely get back there. I left Blyth after school in 1962, but had a few short spells back there when my parents were still alive.

The Tall Ships, 2016 was a great disappointment and irritation. The harbour was closed off to the public and along at the Dun Cow it was all funfairs and pop bands.  You could hardly see anything of the ships that were moored at the quay which was closed off with barriers.  In the end I gave up and returned to Milton Keynes on the Saturday and missed the ships sailing.

More Tall Ships photos at,
http://www.peterloud.co.uk/photos/Northumberland/Blyth/Tall%20Ships/

Apart from limited access to the tall ships it was an interesting few days.  Immediately I arrived I parked at the Jubilee Cafe, then along the beach to the harbour.  I ignored the barriers at the harbour to find a small group guys, all of similar age, who had done the same. They turned out to be an internet photographer friend who I had never met, a guy I knew from junior school, a marine artist and another serious photographer. They were fascinating people.  The next day, having climbed over the barriers, we met up again and stood together in the rain trying to photograph Dar Mlodzierzy arriving.

[TriciaK]

That's a beautiful photograph - brought a lump to my throat.
I followed the Tall Ships story, but we're too far away for me to attend.
The Jubilee Café! Another memory.
I've written about this before on here - the seagoing tradition of Blyth is part of my family history. Several ancestors on Dad's side were masters of sailing ships trading to SE England, and countries around the Baltic Sea.

[peteloud]

I hope readers will forgive me for hogging the thread, three postings in such a short period of time might be disapproved of.

After reading through all of the other posting on this thread I had to search internet for, "History of Blyth".  I soon came across, "COWPEN & BLYTH 1", by Philip Hodgetts,
http://www.davidheyscollection.com/page83.htm
that name rang a bell.  That was so good it inspired me to re-check my old photos of Blyth and to update my Blyth website,
http://www.peterloud.co.uk/photos/Northumberland/Blyth/Blyth_1.html

My old photos are not of high quality,  I was a young lad with a cheap camera in the 60s.  But this is not a photographic website, it's about history, so it is the content of the photos that is of interest.

The subject has given me a very interesting and enjoyable couple of days.

[pityackafromblyth]

Sorry for coming back here and resurrecting this thread, and the wholly enjoyable history of our illustrious town.  Connected with the history of Blyth - then have a look the following - www.welcometosparta.com  It is the official site of the Spartans. BUT that link will be vanishing from the web at the end of this season. If you go to the site and look for 'blyth spirit' you will find much information about Spartans, teams, etc. but also Blyth lads and players who went to war in WWI, and also went down to play for London teams just before that war, and during it.

[belhay]

My father attended a Methodist service held in a one of a few houses at the bottom of the colliery rows at the Isabella in early 1920s I only remember a shop there that sold gas mantles no houses.
Does anyone know about the houses.  There was also a row of houses to the right of the pit heap[now called the hill by some newcomers to Blyth] behind the railway line
I,m putting together a few notes on the Isabella to pass on to family in later years as my grandfather was 1 of 12 children as well as cousins living around the cowpen and Isabella collieries.

[c-side]

Some years ago there was a lot of investigations done into the pit villages in this area.  The first one to be done was the Isabella and it was the only one for which a book was published.

There is a copy in Blyth library which should answer a lot of your questions.

Christine

[Phodgetts]

I,m putting together a few notes on the Isabella to pass on to family in later years as my grandfather was 1 of 12 children as well as cousins living around the cowpen and Isabella collieries.

If you'd like some photographs to illustrate your notes, I have some I can share with you. I just need an email address from you that I can send them to. Also, Isabella got some discussion here on Rootschat a little while ago;

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=696016.0

P

[pityackafromblyth]

Where do all the Blyth words, accents come from ?  In the last few days I have been watching - "Auf Weidersehein, Pet," on some channel.  Jimmy Nail - Oz - " Aa divvn't knaa."  I still use it, and I live down south, but the correct thing is, " I don't know. " or " I don't knaa."
So where does the word divvn't come from ?
And a few years ago, when Newcastle Utd. had exited from the FA Cup,the mag 'True Faith' covers 2 matches at Croft Park, -v. Bournemouth, 16/12/08. The contributors to that Mag, all Geordies, said they found the Blyth accent a bit to follow. They said our word  for 'dog' was pronouced "derg", and a "throbbin' head" was in Blyth "a threbbin heid."

[peteloud]

I think that the differences in accents around south east Northumberland used to be clear when I was a kid, 1950s & 60s.  When at school, (BGS), it was easily possible to tell the difference between people from Seghill, Blyth and Ashington.  The differences were small.  Some people would say "Aa divint naa", some "A divint naa".  That "Aa" or "A" for "I" was significant.  There were other similar differences.  Now, with increased mobility, and many people not wanting to sound working class, that will be much diminished.  Nowadays the only Blyth accent I hear is when I talk to myself  .

I'm sure that serious studies on these differences in the accents have been carried out, decades ago.  It would be interesting to read about the subject and cleanse my speech of posh bits which, over the years, have slyly slipped in.