Almost - When coal was King – Part 1

Following on from my inability to think of ‘subjects’ to blog I decided that I would blog on some local canal peoples, boats, wharves from my early days. As I sat deciding about a particular coal yard and it’s employees, my mind started skipping about, as it usually does, about lots of other things connected with, initially the original subject but then other random things, and this got me to the conclusion of thinking how strange life is and our interaction with other people or families, to the point that sometimes it seems quite spooky – just to explain. And I promise it is canal related, (eventually) here are just three of the spooky things that I thought of.

First ‘spooky’ thing

My elder sister had a school pal by the name of Susan Barker who used to visit our house quite regularly so I saw her quite a lot both at home and at school as they both went to the same school as me and when I was about 13 and getting heavily into canals, my sister, being about 15, she went on holiday with Sue’s family to Woolacombe in North Devon, while I went on holiday with my parents to Croyde Bay, about 5 miles away. One evening both families met up, never having met before, and to my total surprise to me, her dad was the owner/operator of F Barkers coal yard between Factory locks 2 and 3, where I had turned up several times on tug and joey’s (wagging off school) Frank Barker looked quizzically at me, slight recognition perhaps, but thankfully he never said anything. (Phew)

Second ‘spooky’ thing.

In my early secondary school years I was a ‘part time’ friend with a lad in the year below me by the name of Lenny. In my mid to late teens I used to play quite a bit of snooker (another sign of a misspent youth) at the M.E.B. club in Ocker Hill, Tipton and I got to know a lad very well by the name of Kim. (Fiery red hair and a good scrapper, had to with a name like that) I am married to one of three sisters from Toll End, Tipton; the other two sisters are married to Lenny and Kim. – Although the three of us knew each other, we did not meet and marry the 3 sisters because of that. In the 1980’s, the three of us lads all joined, at different times, and fished for the M.E.B. angling club (still before we had married the three sisters) Another chap who fished for the M.E.B. club was a big guy called Mick Davies who also happened to live next door to the 3 sisters and when the eldest sister was about eight, he used to take her fishing with him and he taught her to fish ( she has always been a bit of a tomboy) Mick Davies worked at Masters Coal Yard in Ocker Hill, another place I turned up at on tug and joey’s whilst wagging school. How spooky is that.

And finally the third ‘spooky’ thing.

My father was an accomplished musician and by the age of 11 he was a concert pianist. He played trumpet in local dance bands through the 1930’s – 40’s and also played cornet in local brass bands up until he started loosing his front teeth and was unable to play (in his 70’s) A band colleague of his, who lived locally to us, was a guy called Reg Barnett. (who incidentally had a daughter named Sue who went to school with my sister) The Barnett’s were friends of our family and as a very small boy I spent quite a bit of time with them. Occasionally they would baby sit me and my sister when our mom and dad went out for the night. I knew Mr Barnett was a coalman as I had seen him come home from work on a number of occasions with blackened hands and face but I just presumed he was a collier as there were many in Tipton at this time. I was to find out later, when I turned up on tug and joey’s while wagging off school, that he worked on the wharf at Mitchards coal yard in Tipton, but again he never let on to my parents or said anything. That is unless I am being naïve and my parents knew all along that I was wagging off school!

Anyway I think I have waffled enough for now so the rest (which was going to be my original blog) I will relate in “when coal was King – Part 2”

Blossom