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Time marches on..........Geordie, now left on his own lives in a retired
miner's cottage near the pit.
The years of work in dusty conditions have taken toll on his
breathing......countless shifts worked in water have brought on aches and
pains to his aging bones.......he isn't able to get out and about as he
used to.......
'Geordie tarrkin'
Howay in! sit yesel down by the fire there!
aahv'e just made some tea if y'd like ter share!
noo!....aah din't knaa we y'are!
'n aah'll tell y'summat! aah din't care!
'cos it's that lang since onnywon came ter call
aah's just glad ter see onnybody at all!
See'n as aah canna get out n' about these days
aah only sees me home help...'n she allus says
she hessant time ter sit n' chat..
sets me fire away.....dusts...'n that's that!
Family? ......oh aye!..aah've family..but they're far away...
it' a lang lang time since they cumm this way!
aye!....but it wadd be champion man! if aah cudd hear
a young'uns voice ring loud 'n clear..
if only..now 'n agyen ahh cudd hear 'Grandad! Grandad!
then the sound o'clatterin' feet
as a canny bairn ran in off the street.
If twor only fer a few minutes....that's all!
if only once in a while....sumwann wadd call
ter see uzz...stuck in a tween these fower walls
but....neebody cumms!......neebody ivvor calls!
Aah suppose ivvorry body hez their arn life t'lead!
for them ter put thesels out...aah's not ganna plead,
but oh! y'knaa....twadd be nice....just wance in a while
if summ wann'd drop in.......'n gi' uzz a smile..
ee! by gox Geordie! thoo's at it agyen!
taarkin' tiv and empty chair!!!
its allus the same!!! nivvor anyone there!
oooooooooooo
There are times when he looks round his home..
looks at the furniture...the ornaments and such like ....things which
conjure up thoughts of his loved one.
One treasured photograph is often held in his workworn hands.........
When aah lukk at yer n'think
of all the happy times we shared,
of all the ways we found in days gone by
t'tell each other how much we cared.
When aah lukk at yer..n' see yer smilin'
though it' just a holiday snap aah tukk,
me heart's not sad, but filled with joy
each time aah choose ter takk a look,
for aah prefer to ignore the truth
that yer no longer here....
yer eyes lukk attuz...send a message..
create thowts that banish fear
of bein' lonely here without you..
of things that could bring out a tear..
that is..if aah didn't knaa y're waitin'
ter greet uzz when once agyen we link
i'the same harmony...tergither luv..for ivvor
aah knaa i's ganna be!.....when aah lukk at yer...n'think.
ooooooooo
The old miner can see the pit from his window,
over the pit wall....the headgear....the pulley wheels
silouetted against the sky, the pithead baths chimney
belching forth smoke at intervals throughout the
day as the boilers are stoked up to maintain the hot
water supply for the next generation of miners now
coalgetting.
Then come the rumours!!
'They say it'll close in a year!'
'Aah've heard it'll be in months!'
Then finally comes the crunch! The closure order! Notices to finish!
The neighbourhood agog with the fateful news!
Geordie stands at his window...looking over at the pit
a lump in his throat.....he shakes his head sadly......
EXIT MURTON
Gan ahead then! close it if ye must!
it's made its will....left its legacy of the dust,
of severed fingers, missin' limbs, bodies mair brokken than whole,
such a lot to account for ...has that bloody awful hole.
Dinna ferget them that didn't survive..
them thet didn't get ter bank alive
leavin' grievin' widdas 'n orphaned mites
t'cry their eyes out through the nights,
ter struggle on wi' hand ter mouth existence,
while the pit continued its insistance..
demandin' that effort miners must not lack
ter send ter bank them 'diamonds' black.
Aah wonder? will there be a wake on 29th november
so them that did their bit can remember
yesteryeors 'forst' 'back and 'tubloadin'' grind...
them times of graft should be kept in mind.
Storr yorr memories for arrd times sake
as with a pint yer thirsts ye slake,
and, as with remembranced head ye bow
compare them bad arrd days wi'now.
Low Main, Main Coal, Harvey, Polka, Yard,
Northwestway, Fivequarter, where ever! twas bloody hard!
recall the managers, overmen, deputies too,
think back on what they meant to you!
Oliver, Blenkinsopp, Grogan, Cook, Henderson Swan,
all departed....well....all but one!
he 'Big Five' Foreovermen,the Cummings Steve & Jack
Georges Davidson & Greener, Alf Graham...their likes 'll not be back.
the trades union stalwarts! far too many all to list
fightin' yer corner at bank or at kist.
Men like Murphy, Stephens, Toft O.B.E. & Joe Clark B.E.M.
mechanics,George Merchant,Sam Emery,John Cummings M.P...remember them?
the Jacks, Burnip & Langlands, Bob Short, gave the enginemen heart,
Bill Salkeld ,Jack Wilson, in early days took C.O.S.A's part.
Bob Wilson, Joe Dent, deputies views expressed
in Murton Mining Federation they all stood the test.
then......think of yer marras...the rank and file,
recount your tales with a tear or a smile,
recall the 'characters'! 'Edja' wi' cap all askew
Big Jim Young at shaft bottom,controlling the queue!
'Dolla' Lowes, Tommy Rooney, Johnny Gilroy (for heavens sake!
surely you remember him wi' his crake!)
One story will another prime,
you'll have enough to go beyond closing time.
The surface of memory ahh can only scratch,
one tale with another ahh know y'll match.
Then think!.....as homeward you wend your way,
...they've put the lid on our pit this day!
but...there's many a ton o'coal to get out yet! d'y'hear
even if only during a bit o'crack 'n a pint o'beer.
ooooooooo
Bill Walker Murton. 29/11/91
The pit stops producing coal.
a constant stream of lorries take away machinery and scrap.
the activity changes from salvage to demolition!
he watches the death throes of the pit.
Aah's watchin' it die.....our pit,
and ahh find it vorry harrd
from me view at the windaa here
to look on at the rape of the arrd pit yard.
There the pit lies...like some prostrate stricken beast,
felled by that closure order blow,
now come the bloodlettin'....the final chop!
as demolition workers have a go.
There they work, bent on destruction,
changin' the skyline day by day,
wipin' out Murton's landmarks
as surface buildin's are swept away
by growlin', snarlin', relentless
bulldozers, diggers, mechanical shovels...mean
and heartlessly attackin' bricks and concrete,
razin' forever the colliery scene.
Dust! sworrlin' n' driftin'...ter settle
and cover like a shroud
the remnants of our heritage
of which we were so proud.
our pit........hez nee mair use!
they'll demolish it all!.....scrape the land clean!
But y'knaa! they can remove all evidence of its existence....
but they'll nivvor erase from our memories what our pit has been!
We winnit ferget the history it made
charged t'the account o'the dead and the dyin'
the bad times!..and the sometimes good times!
as Murton miners kept the target flag flyin'.
Rest in peace then! Murton pit!
they've given the farmer back his field,
salt of the earth...you Murton miners!
but the march of time your fate has sealed!.
ooooooooo
Ó Bill Walker, Murton. 5/92
Now very old....weary of life......our miner sits by his fireside.......the
fuel in his grate is no longer coal...but a manmade substitute....smokeless
fuel...
it lacks the hearty glow and flicker of the mineral he once hewed deep
belowground.
The glow has gone from his life also......
he sits hunched...staring at the empty chair facing him at the
fireside.......
THE TWO CHAIRS..
Why? Why hinney? Why did thoo hev ter leave uzz?
Aah knew pet......knew thoo wazz sick..
but thoo didn't hev ter gann s'quick!
oh! aah knaa aah wazzn't vorry good..
didn't alluzz dee the things aah shudd..
but in me arrn way....aahh alluzz tried
t'see ye 'n the bairns waz not denied
a roof ower y'heeds..'n the pantry waz nivvor bare
y'allwaz had claes n' beuts ter wear!
there waz times in plenty when the gannin' waz ruff
when aah had bad kyavills..aah cudd see it wazz tuff
but thoo used ter lukk arruz 'n sometimes touch me hand..
at times when other wimmin would 'play the band'
yer allwazz managed ter stretch the food 'n twaz queer...
thoo alwaz saw tivvit aah got me baccy 'n beer.
now! thoo's left uzz! aah's just by mesel
oh!...if only aah cudd tell
yer me bonny lass..just how much aah miss yer..
if only yer worr here...so's aah cudd hadd yer 'n kiss yer!
there's the sound of a key being put in the door
sound of door opening....geordie looks up in awe,
meggie! meggie! thank god! aah knew 'twasn't reet
aah must heh fergetten thoo'd be just down the street!
no george pet!...aah've not been down the street
aah've cumm back ter fetch yer..there's someone aah want yer t'meet...
no need fer yer coat luv!...just cumm as yer are..
no need ter worry....it's not very far!
aah hear aard geordie's passed away!
aye...poor sowl..'n d'y'knaa..aah hord his dowter say
that when she found him..sittin' in his chair
he wazz smilin' as if he didn't hev a care.
ooooooooo
Bill Walker, Murton. 11/91
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