Washington County Durham
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Memories of Washington
Bits & Pieces / Odds & Ends / Midget Gems! (2 of 6)
WASHINGTON, COUNTY DURHAM
Postcard from my old WGS mate, Fernie.
Received by Yours Truly a couple of days after it was posted from Seahouses - 18th August 1960.
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE!
On Friday, 5th May 2017, I was having lunch at the Biddick Inn with three life-long friends.
One of them, Jim Furnevel, handed me this postcard which I'd originally received from his elder brother, 57 years ago! I must have taken it to their house in Edith Ave to show that it had arrived safely, then put it down and forgotten all about it.
Incredibly, it's still in pristine condition. Jim
( O.E.D. defines 'Call Boy' as: a person in the theatre who summons actors when they are due on stage. )
SACRILEGE!
( Bearing in mind this was 1884, did the punishment fit the crime? )
Shades of Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment) & Hugo (Les Misérables)
( Well done to Norman Kirtlan and Sunderland Antiquarian Society for finding & posting this fascinating piece of our local history. Thank you. )
♫ WALLING IN LOVE AGAIN ♫
( Apologies to Miss Dietrich. )
Love on the Banks of The Wear
[ Photo & Comments: Keith Cockerill c.2015 ]
Keith says: I found the above brick along the banks of the river at Washington a couple of years ago; it conveys a fine message indeed!
There are many such bricks along the riverbank, but finding one in good condition is a bit more difficult.
They were not made in Washington but by Joseph Love who owned Shincliffe Colliery
and Brickworks. They must have been used extensively around the area.
( More of Keith's Brick Pictures at What's Where; Miscelleaneous; Bricks. )
♫ THE RING ♫
( Wear Steel, not Rhine Gold! Apologies to Herr Wagner. )
Death on the Banks of The Wear
[ Photo & Comments: Keith Cockerill, November 2019 ]
Keith says: I had an interesting conversation with a Coxgreen resident today.
He showed me what looks like a mooring ring set in a stone, that lies on his land adjacent to the river.
He told me, however, that the ring was used over the years by the local butcher, to tether animals for slaughtering.
He remembers the shop when it was no longer a butcher's, and also that it was 'where the car park is now'.
( If anyone can recall exactly where the Butcher's Shop was located in Coxgreen, Keith and lots of other people would love to know ... me too! Jim )