I thought of you when posting that. Good to see you're still browsing, waiting for the chance to defend your wee club in the North-West
Jdsafc, that's nonsense mate, anyone that has worked in the shipyards will tell you that the ships were launched here then they were towed round to a fitting out quay next to the yard. The only time I can recall ships going into the Tyne from here is when half was built here, welded up and towed around to the Tyne to be mated up to the other half, I believe that this was common during the war as well. All of my family worked in the shipyards and I remember my father telling me in the 1960's about the term "Mackem" It's what the Tynesiders , as we called them, used to call us because of the way we speak ( mak, tak, etc..,) On both rivers they called anyone from South Shields a sandancer because of all the Arabs that lived in Shields ( Google. " Wilson , Kepple and Betty , Sand Dance " and you'll find out why .)
I was born in Richard Murray hospital in Consett, now long gone. Grew up in Hobson near Burnopfield. Lived there until I was 15 & then moved to Tanfield Lea near Stanley. My forces career took me all over, ****ing Aldershot - what a **** hole, I'd have hated to be a local there, lol. A garrison town that housed many different regiments. Pubs smashed up every weekend by drunken squaddies, them were the days. Anyhow, I digress. No way on earth am I a Geordie or a Mackem, if owt, I'm pitmatic. I come from mining stock as many of you will do. One thing that ****s me off rather than offends me is when I go to a different part of the country people automatically assume I'm from Newcastle because of my accent. Fortunately I've spent a lot of time in the Glasgow area & can put their twang on a bit. I'd rather be assumed to be Glaswegian than Geordie.
The half-crown ship! I remember that one. I don't remember her name off the top of my head but she was built at the yard of Thomas Crown (which had been in existence since wooden ships in the c.18th). From what I remember, Crown's had two large slipways and one smaller one. They got an order for another large one, but couldn't possibly meet the delivery date without a bit of 'nifty footwork'. They built the stern half (the back half if you like) first, then tugs towed her round to Shields to be fitted out while Crown's built the fore half. Then the rivetters and welders got to work to join her together. I don't remember the date but was led to believe that she was the world's first to be launched in half (a long line of Sunderland world records). I believe there was a song called 'The Half-Crown Ship' going the rounds at that time, though I don't remember it. (For those too young, a half-crown was two shillings and sixpence (12.5p.) - a ridiculous price for a ship but the title was ironic, and it stuck).
I was led to believe the Mackem bit was the shipbuilding and the Tackem bit was taking them out for sea trials. Seem to remember being told that many moons ago by an Austin & Pickersgill crane driver. Could be absolute rubbish like.
That makes sense mate. All trials would be held by Lloyds, and their regional headquarters were in Newcastle.
I was born in Hetton - County Durham and never heard the word Mackem untill I'd moved down south (1980) Not really fussed about being called a Mackem, quite like this definition though http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mackem mackem n. A demi-god worshipped by ancient civilisations as the epitome of wit and sexual prowess. Romans and Vikings colonised the area in the hope of developing a race of supermen to help them in their ambitions. The word is based on a blend of Roman and Norse, and means "astonishingly well-endowed, funny and attractive angel on a temporary visit from Valhalla." Not to be confused with Geordie who were the unfortunate result of a Roman experiment in which Scotsmen had intercourse with pigs. These unfortunate troll-like humanoids can be identified by the fact they have to wear clothes covered in a large barcode so they can be tracked and controlled by security satellites. My goodness, that John Holmes is almost as well-hung as a Mackem.
That sounds about right. The Roman experiment....erm.......Isn`t Cameron a Scottish name? The buggers must have enjoyed it.
Yeah mate, some of them are still there. Big muscular buggers but like lambs really, they just don't know their own strength. Beamish is just down the road from me.
Aye they are. I used to cross a horses field coming home from work. Came off a night shift one time, pitch ****ing black & this big bastard Clydesdale horse started licking my ear. I nearly filled my kecks man, lol.
Moved into our village 2 years ago. Walked home one midnight, December, from Sandy by moonlight, out of my skull. 2 sneaky ****ing horses thought it would be funny to scare the **** out of me and put me in a deep water-filled ditch! I learned that night what taxi's are for.
In the main I was referring to the ****ing turncoat bastards that used to support The Lads before the curly permed twat made The Skunks exciting, and the ****ing idiots went on the glory trail 'cos they were obviously going to win everything Bastards . . . . the lot of them 'Sheels has always been (and still is) a red & white town, and when I was at school (and I have discussed this recently with my old school mates) we knew absolutely no ****er that was 'black & white' . . . . no ****er at all That curly haired scouse **** has cost us a generation I don't have many rants, do I and I blame Glen . . . . Glen ****ing Fiddich
