Silverband baryte mine late 70s/early 80s (photo)

Mine exploration, photographs and mining history for mine explorers, industrial archaeologists, researchers and historians

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

legendrider
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

6 years ago

I always look forward to Jim's photos and this one piqued my interest:

🔗119090[linkphoto]119090[/linkphoto][/link]

I can suggest that this was actually late 80's to early 90's on the basis that the old wiggly black-on-white ICI logo was replaced with the less wavy white-on-blue roundel on the boiler suits around 1987

Sadly ICI is no more, a giant brought down by haemorraging boiler suits and hard hats out the back door.

There was until recently an old ICI petrol sign at a garage in Alston (ICI sold their petrol business to Burmah in 1987 around the same time the logo changed)
Sadly that has too now been consigned to history, the site replaced with a McDrive-Through or similar shopping-car-magnet

MARK (ICI Wilton 1986-90)

festina lente[i]

Wanna join the discussion?! Login to your AditNow Community forum account or Register a new forum account

Jim MacPherson
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

6 years ago

Hi Mark,

A quality outburst of nostalgia, if I may say. ;D

Wouldn't argue hugely, my date guess (again no annotations) was based on Ian, he was about 12/13 when Cyril started to coerced him into potholing with us which would have been mid/late 70's and he looks mid/late teens in the photo, hence my guess. He remembers being at Silverband but I don't think I asked him if he recalled a date, such are my forensic research skills.

By the by on the Smallcleugh archive pics there is one of John McNeill with yet another liberated ICI boilersuit which Roy Fellows dates as 1986 by which time Dad had made off from ICI with a useful retirement package and had taken up full-time mine malingering.

It seems yet another place that has little or no other photographic evidence available, beyond another 10 or so Cyril took, and now smeared away under lots of landfill and drainage lagoons.

Jim

legendrider
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

6 years ago

The other point I had wanted to make before I put on my rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, we used to use a similar belay technique in our early days exploring Skears FL, excepting that the belayer was seated, feet braced against rock

One or two near-misses (Tony F was no bantamweight)convinced us that self-lining with a descender or top-roping with an Italian Hitch was a bit safer.

The belayer in the photo would have been immediately un-footed and dragged headlong into the shaft, should JFM have missed his footing!

keep 'em coming Jim, always good to see

MARK

festina lente[i]

legendrider
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

6 years ago

"Jim MacPherson" wrote:
John McNeill with yet another liberated ICI boilersuit which Roy Fellows dates as 1986

its an old-style wriggly roundel so the suit is pre-1987

I still have a pristine ICI anorak (grey & blue) somewhere, new roundel. I did have an old-style anorak, black with orange median stripe and old roundel (once-over, you couldnt throw a stick in Billingham without hitting one).

Sadly it was consigned to the bin after I did a gas-free job on the Esso Fife out in Tees Bay. The tanks were knee-deep in crude oil wax & sludge and most of it ended up on my person.

I was lucky, shortly after I left the ship on the Pilot cutter, a storm blew in and she weighed anchor for Le Havre with a dozen Smiths Dock scaffolders on board.

nowt to do with mining, although it was very cold, dark and wet with loads of ladders!

Happy days! MARK

festina lente[i]

Jim MacPherson
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

6 years ago

Interestingly or otherwise, this bold belaying technique was, allegedly, a reason why NCMRS became NMRS. See also Pikedaw Archive for one of the Walls' Boys showing the use of rear end friction, clearly much safer.

Younger brother (16/17? at the time) was on the rope above Bob Guthrie on one of the last pitches on the way out of Ireby Fell and Bob slipped pitching Richard over the edge, luckily the rope was still through the pulley and both lived to tell the tale but not a good experience and both had quality bruising to show for it. Apparently it was felt such things didn't fit well with the august body!

Lessons are sometimes learned.

Jim