Issue 2

Paintings & Poetry by

ALAN DICKSON

MAJIK PRODUCTIONS Number 2 Issue 2015

Collected & Compiled by J E Ashford

A Black Diamond in Northumbria Alan Dickson has a way with words in poetry and paintings of giving a full visual On how our Northumbrian miners went about their day to day life digging out of the earth as a way of living

If If just lately, you,ve been doon the road, And you,ve seen an owld chep, Seems to be looking for something ye cannit see, Tek no notice,!! I guess that's me.

Been there lots of times lately, Looking for something that isn,t there Just looking for yesteryear.

Daft isn,t it ? Looking for something for something ye cannit hold, For the place when young, and stories told.

Of course a always wear some rose tinted glasses Thinkin back to places, faces The folk that a knew,!! The Lads and lasses.

The hoose where we were fetched up in, were happy!!

That is always yem.

I get sad sometimes, remembering them.

But it disn,t do any harm to reminisce Thinking sometimes of the place I miss.

But ivvry now and again, but just sometimes!! I I get a smile on me face, When somebody mentions my boyhood place.

Brokken !!!

Whey Lad if a owt in me pocket, I wud hev bowt ye a drink!!

A tapped wor lass But me feelings got hort,, she said I,m a sink!

Aye Harry!! a know what they,re. llke!!

Tapped wor lass anaal, and she said away on your bike.

Y,see Wimmin divvent understand we men like to gan oot But she likes is shopping And running aboot.

A knaa she might like is better if a went to chorch .Howld on marra divvent even gan there I once tried that.

But me feet wudn,t tek is ower the porch.

Nivvor mind hin単y we get paid the morn We,ll be into the club And if the soddin torns no gud We,ll gan to the pub.

Cheers!!

Bobs Retreat Now Bob liked his garden, Doing nowt special, just happy pottering aboot.

Dressed in his cords and wellies!

Wud Nivvor dream of wearing a suit.

He had his bords and his duckett, The tetties and his sproots.

He cud even hide his keepy backs!!

Without her finding oot.

In fact if he had his own way, He wud hev moved into that shed!

Along with the dog, his baccy, clays and bed.

It would be ideal man he thowt! no hoovering up!

No hevvin to dee what she tells is!!

Or weshin a bliddy cup.

Cos that one across the road is a sod !!

When she gets on hor high horse.

And if a argee back, it always meks hor worse!!

Now if she wud fetch me meals ower, And wesh is a thing or two and put them by the gate A cud shove some money through the letterbox once a week!!

By that wud suit is great.

But his dreams of sweet utopia were shattered!!

By the voice across the road, Bob!! Leave them soddin birds alone And get yorsel back in!!

Yor dinners on the cheble!! you,ve got two minutes, Or I,ll hoy it in the bin!!

Whey ye bugga !! Bob thowt, That wummins got eyes in the back of her heed.

When she gets in a fettle like this!!

Sometimes a wished a was deed.

A bit Reflective!!!

A do a lot of thinking, Just walking along me and the dog!!

And a divvent give a bugga whether it's sunny , Or hoyin it doon or covered in fog.

Now today I went through where a pit and the hooses Aal once stood!!

The whole lots away now!! aal covered in wood.

So a just stood for a minute or two, In the grass right up to me knee, Bliddy hell a thowt! Sivvinty years ago!!

That little tree stànnin ower there, It cud have been me.

And it took is back to one Friday!!

I was just 15 and Gannin oot, And by chance had to cross the pityard!!

Aal dressed up, in me ticked on Doggarts suit.

And there was a group of Pitmen, who had just come oot the pit In froñt of me Just like Al Jolson!! aal pitch black.

A single voice spoke oot to me.

Hey wor young,n!!

Are ye not ganna let on !! To your Fatha back?

Said a Dorty face a didn,t recognise!!

The Dorty face,that one with me Fatha,s eyes. Ànd its in me mind yet, after aal these years, They looked a sorry bunch soakin wet and Dorty Shivering with the cad!!

Nee wonder a lot of wor lovely Fatha,s Got owld lang before they Ivvor got aad.

These things kinda stick in the mind divvent they?

When your gettin on and looking back, The forst time a seen me aad Fatha, Blue eyes sparkling at me, Looking for a word off me.

His canny face aal black.

The pay!!

They aal queued up!!

At the little window that simply said pay!!

They had waited aal week for this Like every other week ,the pay on Friday.

Some wud be on nightshift, the ones who were clean, Along with the ones just oot the pit!!

Tired and Dorty from where they had been.

But man!! These pays were mostly spoken for, Before they aal got it!!

There was Nivvor much left, to put in the pocket!!

Enough mebbies for a few beers in the pub, And if they were flush, a few games of hooseys And a night in the club.

Most of the hooses were colliery, so they wor lucky that way!

But there was aalways the store bill on a Friday to pay!

Oh and aal the ticky men wud caal for some more!!

Not forgetting the soddin manager From doon at the store.

A nearly forgot the butcher, came on a Saturday!!

Stipey apron on, aalways looked smart!!

Howldin the horses heed, As he walked alang ,at the front of his cart.

The housewives wud be oot as he came doon the lane!!

If they were stannin canny, some beef wud be nice!!

If they were hard up, it had a crust on!! Rabbit again.

But mostly people wor happy, as lang as they got by Didn,t matter if it had a crust for a top hat!!

And was baked in a pie!!

Just a daft one!!

Are ye ganna have another one? Asked me best pal Jack.

No thanks bonny lad, I think I,d better get back.

Ye see a promised I wudn,t be late.

And the dinners not ower nice !

When it's aal kizzled up and stuck on the plate.

And she,s warned is, its nee gud trailing in at haffpast three.

Cos at fower , o'clock am clearing the cheble And settin the tea.

So I,ve med me mind up, am not gettin tight!!

Or ,I,ll be tekkin a blanket doon to the Hen cree And spending the night.

Now last Sunday a tell ye Jack!! when I got yem, The air in wor hoose, ye cut cut it with a knife, was thick as fog!!

And when I asked aboot me dinner, what,d I get?

It's lying beside the back door!! It's in the dog.

By that wummins impitent, When she gets in a fettle like this!! Àm sure she,s Nivvor hord of married bliss!!

I,ve even tried buying floo_ ers and plantin a kiss.

It might be better if a waved a ten pund note In front of her and under hor nose.

It's probably a better bet, than planting a kiss!

Or buying a rose !!

I,d like to ask ye ? If you could gan back in time!

What wud you have saved?

A different job perhaps, a hoose, Or simply the way you behaved.

Cos a knaa there's a canny few things I wud change and wud sooner forget, A suppose that's most of us isn,t it, We look back on and regret. Àm not taakin aboot bad things,just the little things, What if a had done this or if a did that It's amazing isn,t it, when you get owlder.

The wisdom it brings.

The things ye wanted to say, but were tongue tied were,nt you And to scared to voice.

Wudn,t think twice now wud ye?

Given the the choice.

A can think of one or two, who were just too hard to like!!

Just wished I cud gan back again and tell them. Àm a lot braver now marra, just bugga off, Away on yor bike.

But the things,,!!! And am speaking for ivvry one here!

Just to be able to gan back!!

To ivvry one that we held dear.

Av jist come back to tell ye,s aal, and in my own way!!

By man I shud hev towld ye,s aal more often, Just simply I luvved ye,s aal Each and ivvry day.

By we were aal hard up.

Do ye remember back in the day?

We didn,t have much did we, Aalways waiting for the weekend, and the Fridays pay.

Not many of us ivva had owt in the bank!!

Not many rich parents or relations to help us oot was there!

And even less people to thank.

Most young couples were married and stood on their own, Had to do their best, With the seeds the future had sown.

Ye see most Mothers and Fatha,s were in the same boat Aalways needing the Dads pay to keep them afloat.

Mind ye !! They would hev loved to help!

And they wud if they cud!!

But it was a canny few years later with bairns of wor aan Til I fully understud.

Ivvrything seemed to revolve around a world , Where ivvry thing was bowt on the nivva nivva.

Only way to buy owt, unless ye were rich, or really clivva.

Simple things were frightening!!

Like the light bill or a rent, Didn,t pay these ye were knackered!!

Oot the cad ,oot in a tent!!

We did get one or things for nowt mind and the wettor cost nowt!!

Just as well , cos after paying aal the tick, We Nivvor had owt!!

But somehow through aal the years, Aal of us managed to get by, Aal of us looking for better days!!

Aalways searching for a bigger blue sky

Games and Things!

Do you remember when ye were a kid.

The games you played?

The many things, I,m sure ye did!!

Do ye remember aal the Lads playing cricket in the street, With the lid off a bin?

Nowt unusual for your Fatha or uncle , joinining in.

And aal the lassies skippin away together, doon the street, Bonny lasses,happy,nimble, Nivvor Ivvor missed a beat.

The big ship sails doon the alley alley oh!!

A must hev hord it a million times Even now, a can picture them singing them lines.

Hidey bo seek, tiggy on high!

Nee cheetin now, close yor eye!!

Knocky door ginger, and postman's knock!!

Did I Ivvor take part in this?

Your honour,!!

A hev to plead guilty from the dock And making camps and jumping the burn, Gannin yem with wor troosers aal Dorty and torn.

And if we had no money for crackers to buy!!

We wud shuv wor Geordie aboot in a bogey Shooting, a penny for the guy.

On a fireworks night!!

Hoying tetties into the fire after we had set it alight.

And boiling the arse oot of blackberries in a tin can!! ower wor campfire Rowling doon the hill in a car tire.

No wonder we wud be tired after a shift like this.

Man!! Looking back ! Childhood bliss.

Ready for bed, tired and worn, A gud nights sleep dreaming of adventures the morn.

The Train!!

I,ll nivva forget me first sight, Of the Ashington ,Newbiggin Train!!

Me Mother and Fatha were taking us lot for a day at the beach, The fare cudn,t hev been more than a tanner each!!

To little eyes, it looked big and smokey, Heavy and fast!!

By it seemed exciting, looking oot of the window!

Seeing aal the places whizzin past.

And when it reached Newbiggin, it stud there huffin and puffin.

Grinding to a stop with a final wheeze!!

If it had been a runner!!

It would hev been standin there knackered, With his hands on his knees.

But hevvin said aal this, for a lot of years!!

It carried, lots of kids, wimmin, and bliddy big blokes!!

Despite aal the owld,Ashington, Newbiggin train jokes.

Ye wud see Wimmin and men away to the Toon, Mind coming back for the men, was Nivvor too soon.

And what med it better!! Ye cud oppen a window and light up a tab!!

Miles better than catchin the bus, or getting a cab.

On a weekend, aal dressed up to gan to a dĂ nce, If you seen a bonny lass, and took your chance!!

Ye cud kiss and cuddle aal the yem,in a empty carriage!!

Believe me more than one of them cuddles, ended in marriage!!

So when that soddin Dr Beecham closed wor station And stopped the Newcassel , Ashn,tn, Newbigg,n train!!

If he had had just haff a brain He wud hev seen, he,d just made life a lot harder, for a lot of us!!

Cos ye were bugga,d if you hadn,t a car, or missed the last bus.

R.I.P the Ashit,n Newbigg,n train!!

A hope ye didn,t.

MAJIK Productions England UK