Skinningrove News May/Jun 2008 Issue 37 Repus Project Update The Repus Project is now nearing completion and at the beginning of June, in fine weather, the carved figures were finally positioned inside the cobble. Painting of the boat was also carried out, and at the time of this Newsletter going to print, the tiller was being added. It is on course for completion in the summer, so keep watching this space.
SKINNINGROVE VILLAGE HALL A few months ago a man walked into the Village Hall, he had walked from Saltburn where he lives. He had a cup of tea and went. He was back the week after and has visited us every week since and he sits and chats to Barry and Adrian. From the start he seemed a very nice person, and of course now he is a regular he is quite chatty to us all. On one occasion I had taken a blanket up to show the girls and he took an interest and asked how many of us could knit, and this is how our latest project came about. He and many others do voluntary work through a number of churches in the Teesside area. They are working for C.C.R (Chernobyl Children's Relief) in Belarus. There are so many orphanages they don't have names but numbers and Dave, (our visitor) helps orphanage number 8. They keep costs down by paying their own fares and stay with local people until the relief has been distributed. On one of Dave s visits he said the man that went with him was from Skinningrove, called Richard Magor, how s that for a small world? Back to the orphans, when they reach a certain age they have to leave the orphanage and so they live on the streets. We are now collecting for another load to be taken over, so my plea is for clothes, shoes, and mainly blankets, hats, scarves, gloves, sleeping bags and toys. If anyone can give, could you please bag it and bring it to the Village Hall when we are open. One of the village children suggested that children in the village could perhaps do a shoe box or something along those lines, with soap, shampoo, flannels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, or perhaps a small toy in, and write a letter to put in with them (but remember no names). We started our Craft Club on Wednesday, and people who have not knitted for years are now busy knitting blankets. We had a lovely evening and are in every Wednesday from six till eight in the evening. If you are interested then do come along, we are hoping to expand on this to other crafts, suggestions are welcome. Lynn Willis NUTTY KNITTERS Have you a skill in doing craft? Can you knit, sew, crochet, glass paint or quilt? If you can why don't you come and show those of us who can t! We are opening the Village Hall on a Wednesday night, 6pm - 8pm. So why don't you come and join the Nutty Knitters who are knitting squares for Orphanage No 8 in Chernobyl. Come and have a cup of tea or coffee, have a chat and a laugh, while Paddy and Mick Paddy and Mick fell out of the pub and went staggering down the road. Mick spotted something shining on the ground, picking it up he saw it was a mirror. Studying it he looked puzzled and turned to Paddy and said I recognise the face but can t put a name to it Paddy took it from him and looked into it and laughed You eejit he said It s me!
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Home is where the heart is! We all have heard the old saying there s no place like home, but where is home? Is it the place where we were born or perhaps as a child we moved to another place where we spent our childhood days, then moved on when we got married and had our own children in another place.? Some people never leave the village or town where they were born. I was born in Redcar, moved to Brotton aged 11, married at 18 and moved to Skinningrove. A few months ago I went back to Tyne Road, Redcar, expecting to capture some happy memories, I was very disappointed. I found it cold and uninviting, perhaps because the people I knew were no longer there. In Brotton I spent my happy teenage years, met some lovely people and made many good friends, but tend to think of Brotton as a place I pass through to get somewhere else. Then I came to Skinningrove 46 years ago. I said I was only staying until I found somewhere else. Well then I remember the old saying home is where the heart is and I m afraid Skinningrove stole my heart and I still remain here today. I think the Grove is Gods own little valley, and I am quite happy to remain here amongst the people I have come to love and respect. So the conclusion of my story is although I have fond memories of Redcar and Brotton, there is no place like Skinningrove and I am proud to call it Home. Jen Scott Were you married in a local church?....and if you were could you bear to lend a photograph to an exhibition to be held in Loftus Town Hall for heritage Open Days on September 13th and 14th this year? The exhibition will feature research done by the Loftus History Group on Churches and Places of Worship in the Loftus area (ie Carlin How to Cowbar and Skinningrove to Scaling Dam), and a few photographs of local buildings, events and families should really bring the information alive. Photographs (originals or copies) are probably the easiest to display, but all sorts of memorabilia would be very welcome - Christening robes, wedding invitations, orders of service for funerals or special services, First Communion cards, Sunday School bibles, pressed bouquets, baptism candles, photographs of church outings etc., and it doesn t matter whether the church, chapel etc., is still in use or even still standing! Everything borrowed will be logged, labelled with as much information as you are willing to give, looked after and returned as promptly as possible - if you would like further details about this or about the Heritage Open Day programme, please contact the clerk (Alison Atkinson) at Loftus Town Council on 01287 641000
BRECKON & SHAW LTD Have a range of 28 and 32 ex-rental, widescreen, nicam, stereo tv s starting from 150.00 (including a stand and delivery and installation) ALL TV S ARE BRECKON & SHAW ex-rentals and have been serviced and maintained by our own engineers See instore for more details BRECKON & SHAW LTD 10 ZETLAND ROAD LOFTUS TS13 4PP Tel: 01287 640971 FINANCE AVAILABLE SUBJECT TO STATUS Oliver Cromwell and the Skinningrove Mine You may well have heard that Oliver Cromwell once stayed the night in Loftus. Oliver, however, stayed in a lot of places, not many of which have any historical importance. The night he stayed in Skinningrove Mine however, was very significant and I will tell you why. It all started when Oliver was having a drink at Timm s Coffee House in the village of Skinningrove. Oliver was accompanied by some of his men, a motley crew of farmers and farm labourers, shopkeepers and vagrants. They did not look much like the new model army they were later to become. Oliver was a puritan; he did not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. He did not dance and thought music was the work of the devil. He came into Timm s Coffee House because he thought it was a café He was most annoyed to find it sold alcoholic drinks, but he decided to stay because he and his men were very thirsty, having spent a hard day seeking out Cavaliers. He liked Timms because it was very quiet. This was in the days before juke boxes and Sky TV. Oliver was enjoying a glass of lemonade in the lounge bar. He was talking to Jack the landlord and was looking very disapprovingly at a woman sat on a bar stool next to him. His men were in another bar, where unbeknown to Oliver, Polly the barmaid was serving them pints of beer, something Oliver would certainly not have approved of. Oliver was talking very loudly about what was wrong with having a monarchy and how he and he alone knew what was best for the country. He said in a loud voice It s all gone downhill since the Stuart family came from Scotland and had the audacity to rule us. Jack, a Scotsman, decided discretion was the better part of valour and adopted a cockney accent. Jack and Moll (the woman sat at the bar) exchanged bored looks with glazed eyes. They both were against the divine right of kings, but felt that the Merry Monarch would have made a much more entertaining companion than the pompous and miserable Oliver. Cavaliers are the lowest of the low exclaimed Oliver. Moll was somewhat surprised by this statement. She always believed the lowest of the low were tax collectors. Meanwhile, in the other bar Oliver's men were getting out of hand. Two of the soldiers tried to give Polly a whiskery kiss. Polly was beginning to regret taking pity on the men by serving them beer. She was also getting sick of the smell /continued overleaf
.from previous page of the well seasoned travellers. Back in the lounge, Moll took out a cigarette and proceeded to light it. Smoking is an abomination! cried Oliver, as Lord Protector I will ban smoking from all public places. Moll, a chain smoker, turned pale and a glint came into her eye. She reached for the dagger hidden in her coat pocket. British history was very nearly changed, but the bar door suddenly flew open and distracted her.. In the doorway stood Big Harry the village councillor, Harry was a staunch supporter of Oliver, but he had been known to enjoy a glass of beer or two, There are a group of Cavaliers hiding in the Skinningrove Mine he shouted. Oliver immediately sprang into action. He rounded up his men and together they mounted their horses and galloped to the Skinningrove Mine. At the entrance they were met by the Tallyman Fiery Jack. They rode in an hour ago he said, they could be anywhere in the mine by now Oliver and his mounted soldiers rode into the mine in pursuit. You may be wondering how men could ride horses into a mine. Well the Skinningrove Mine tunnels are very high, even big shire horses can ride into them. They also go on for several miles and the Cavaliers could be anywhere. Oliver was a very determined man. He vowed that he was going to find the Cavaliers even if it took all night. Oliver and his soldiers galloped through the Mine. Occasionally they came across groups of miners going about their business. Oliver stopped and asked the miners if they had seen the cavaliers, but always the answer was no. At one point there was a loud explosion when a miner had placed a shot into the iron stone. Oliver s horse reared up and he was lucky not to have been thrown off. Eventually after many hours they came across the Cavaliers. A fierce battle took place. Both groups of soldiers fought valiantly. The battle raged for a long time but eventually all the Cavaliers were killed and Oliver and his men were victorious. By this time Oliver and his men were exhausted. They had ridden through the mine tunnels for many hours They did not know their way back to the tunnel entrance and they were too tired to try and find it. Oliver and his men took the blankets stowed on their horses and slept in the mine. In the morning they were woken by a group of miners. One of the miners showed Oliver and his men the way out of the mine. Once outside Oliver and the soldiers started to scratch, why? you may ask. The mine was infested with rats and where you have rats you also have fleas. Oliver and his men began to scratch, They scratched their heads, they scratched their beards and they scratched any number of other places. Lets return to the start of this story. Why was Oliver's night in Skinningrove Mine so significant? Well Oliver ordered his men to shave off their beards and cut their hair in order to get rid of the fleas. He also decreed that they should be clean shaven and keep their hair short. He reasoned that soldiers could not fight well if they were busy scratching, short hair and no beards cut down on the places where fleas could hide and multiply. Later Oliver Cromwell and his men became know as the Roundheads. Had it not been for the night they spent in Skinningrove Mine they may well have gone down in history as The Scruffs. Linda Griffin Mallow Crispies Ingredients 50g (2oz) Butter or Margarine 200g (8oz) Plain Chocolate 100g (4oz) Marshmallows 75g (3 oz) Rice Crispies Melt chocolate in a bowl standing in a pan of hot water. Melt butter in a pan over a low heat then remove pan from heat. Stir in melted chocolate, mallows and crispies. Stir until well coated. Transfer mixture into a greased baking tin and level out. Chill until firm then cut into bars or squares.
Skinningrove Jetty Project A film crew from Teachers TV spent two days in Teesside this week shooting scenes for a program ICT Innovations". They wanted to gather material on the subject of MUVE s (Multi User Virtual Environments) in education. The Skinningrove Jetty project ** proved ideal as it involves two schools, Freebrough Specialist Engineering College and Whitecliffe Primary School, as well as the community of Skinningrove. On day one the cameras accompanied Freebrough students to the real Jetty as they gathered photographs to help in the building of the virtual version. The team spent the morning gathering pictures and then it was off to the school for interviews with the teachers. In the evening 12 teachers from various schools took part in a session at Eston City Learning Centre to discover how virtual worlds might figure in their teaching. The next day the Freebrough pupils also attended a workshop at Eston CLC in order to build the virtual Jetty. (See http://www.digitaldiscovery-uk.org) Overseen by Steve Thompson, the film crew and students from Freeborough College The film crew recording one of the students at work photographing the Jetty **The Skinningrove Jetty Project: The purpose of this event is to promote the potential in refurbishing the real life Jetty by showing this in virtual reality. The community of Skinningrove would like to do this as much as their close neighbours, Saltburn, have done with their pier. Since the Jetty is directly on the Cleveland Way, many visitors pass through regularly. Our thanks to Steve Thompson and the Institute of Digital Innovation. I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Eric, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control and asked him to come over. Eric clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem. As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong? He replied It was an ID ten T error I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, An ID ten T error, what's that? In case I need to fix it again Eric grinned... Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?'' No, I replied. 'Write it down, he said, and I think you'll figure it out. So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T...I used to like Eric...
Happy 50th Birthday Kev (for 11th July) With love from Jen and Brad You were born on a FRIDAY, your star sign is CANCER, Your birthstone is RUBY, the season was SUMMER You were born in the Chinese year of the DOG The UK Prime Minister was HAROLD MACMILLAN (Conservative) The US President was DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (Republican) Top of UK Charts on the day you were born, the Everly Brothers with ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM, born on the same day as you MARK LESTER of Oliver fame. FA Cup winners that year BOLTON, top of the First Division WOLVES, boat race winners CAMBRIDGE, world driving champion MIKE HAWTHORN, Wimbledon mens champion ASHLEY COOPER, women s champion ALTHEA GIBSON, Sports Personality of the Year 17yr old swimmer IAN BLACK, some tv programmes BLUE PETER, OH BOY!, QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, WAGON TRAIN, ARMY GAME and TAKE YOUR PICK. On at the cinema BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE VIKINGS, SOUTH PACIFIC, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and OLD YELLER. Ochre Café The Ochre Café based in the Riverside Buildings on New Company Row is now open offering a range of refreshments and healthy home-made snacks and main meals throughout the day. The Ochre Café is a Social Enterprise, a business that actively gives back to its community, to those living in Skinningrove and the wider community. Surpluses are reinvested back into the business for business growth and back into the community rather than maximise profit for shareholders or owners. The Ochre Café will employ local people and provide training placements for those preparing to return to work. We support local producers and suppliers of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy and bakery goods. In the coming weeks flyers will be dropped through every household in Skinningrove letting you know what we offer; as we grow what we will provide to the community will expand as in the near future we aim to offer cookery demonstrations, recipe swaps, lunch boxes and take away meals. So why not drop in, everyone welcome, look out for the menu board outside of the building. Hope to see you soon. Deb (at present chief cook and bottle washer!)
CLEVELAND COUNTRY STORE LTD Visit our new modern store covering 7000 sq.ft WE STOCK EVERYTHING FOR YOUR ANIMALS FROM YOUR HAMSTER TO YOUR HORSE Also, check out our Aquarium with our impressive variety of cold and tropical fish We are a friendly, family run business, open seven days a week, offering free parking & excellent service to meet all your animal needs Tel: 01287 679064 Millholme Farm, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland TS12 2RY CLARK HARDWARE NO.2, NO.9 & THE FORGE, NORTH RD, LOFTUS TEL: 01287 640355 YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL YOUR HARDWARE & DIY NEEDS GARDENING, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, HAND & POWERTOOLS, IRONMONGERY, PAINTS, TIMBER WE DO IT ALL WE ALSO STOCK: WALLPAPER, CARDS AND GIFTWARE PETFOODS AND ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE SHOP LOCAL ALL ON ONE STREET FREE LOCAL DELIVERY SERVICE AVAILABLE LOFTUS CARPET CENTRE ZETLAND ROAD, LOFTUS, SALTBURN TS 13 4PW FOR A BEAUTIFUL SELECTION OF CARPETS, VINYLS AND RUGS, WITH FREE ESTIMATES AND PROFESSIONAL FITTING Outside Caterers All Occasions Catered for Homemade hot and cold food delivered to your home, venue or place of work. Do you fancy a Hot Meal, Sandwich, Jacket Potato, Soup Or even a Cooked Breakfast delivered direct to you? You Ring We Bring Just call us Food Angels On (01287) 644414 Or call at Liverton Mines Industrial Estate No extra delivery charges for customers within 3 miles Open 8.30am - 4pm Mon - Fri Telephone: 01287 643450 We also cater for Weddings, Christenings, Funeral Teas, Childrens Parties etc., We now sell PETCH S PIES
Where is this? Does anyone have any idea where this photograph has been taken? It has been given to the Newsteam to copy for the Archive Project but we would like to identify this row of houses. We have several other photographs we would like help with and these will appear in future issues of Skinningrove News. If you can help the Newsteam at all, please call and see us on a Friday afternoon at Riverside Building, 1-4pm,(the kettle is always on) or call us on 01287 641271 or email skinningrovenews@btconnect.com Does anyone remember any of these people? Bill Porritt lives at Loftus and pops into the college there for a chat (the sweet treats are always gratefully received!) Bill has fond memories of his time in Skinningrove, as many people do from years gone by. How things have changed, I wonder how many people nowadays know everyone in their street, let alone remember them 70 years on? Top Row Primrose Hill 17 Houses in Row People who lived on Row in 1930 s 1. Stones 2. Cuthbert 3. Murrell 4. Simons 5. Earl 6. Smith 7. Fothergill 8. Smith 9. England 10. Newton 11. Blaylock 12. Goodwill 13. Husband 14. Porritt 15. Hadfield 16. Hill 17. Hall Also, Bill writes I started school in Skinningrove in 1938, the teachers were Miss Minto (5 year olds), Mrs Sharpe (Class 2), Miss Forrest (Class 3), Miss Hunter (Class 4, Head Teacher). Bill Porritt (20.8.1933)
FREE!! Skinningrove Link-Up has teamed up with Prior Pursglove College to give you the opportunity to take FREE courses in ICT and Business Administration. ICT Classes commence on Tuesday 24th June 2008 between 5pm and 7pm. Everybody is welcome. Business Admin. Courses are to commence as soon as possible. For more information please contact the team at Skinningrove Link-Up on 01287 642 508 or call into the Riverside Building, New Company Row, Skinningrove Wanted Local fresh fruit and vegetables and free range eggs Are you an allotment or vegetable garden owner? Do you want to sell any of your home grown fruit and vegetables, free range eggs on a regular basis? If so, the Ochre Café is looking for regular local suppliers of good quality, seasonal fruit and vegetables and free range eggs for their Café based in Riverside Building, Skinningrove. If you are interested in selling your produce to the Ochre Café please contact Deb on: 07530-453470 or email: ochrecafe@yahoo.com
Cleveland Potash The Newsteam would like to express their gratitude to Cleveland Potash for their donation towards the Skinningrove Archive Project.many, many thanks. Make your business dreams become reality... Have a business idea but unable to access mainstream banking facilities? The Working Capital Fund may be able to help, providing low cost loans (Interest rate 12.68% A.P.R) to individuals aged 18 or over either in business or wishing to start their own business, living in an eligible ward. The Fund can be accessed via local Credit Unions. If you would like more information please contact Julie Hunter on: 07973 952494 email: juliehuntercu@hotmail.co.uk DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE OF SKINNINGROVE NEWS IS 21ST AUGUST Postage Prices Apologies once more for another price increase, due to an increase in postal charges Postage Prices 3.50 for six issues (12 months). If you would like to be included on the postal list please leave your name and address at Riverside Building or contact us on 01287 642508: fax 01287 641993 or email us at skinningrovenews@ecol.org.uk Cheques should be made payable to Skinningrove Link-Up Editor s Note The volunteer group who produce Skinningrove News reserve the right to edit any correspondence submitted for publication, and would like it noted views expressed are not necessarily the views of the editorial group.