Hi Margaret,
I lived in Bonsall from 1940 until going to live in Derby in 1947. The whole
of my childhood was spent on Bonsall Moor exploring the old opencasts and
mines. Firey Dragon Mine was always a favourite venue for us kids - much to
the despair of our parents and the t'owd men of the village. I seem to have
missed the mammoth's skeleton found at Ball Eye mine, but there was so much
else going on - especially the tales of t'owd men on a stormy winters night
who filled us with fearful stories of boogies and dragons. I'm sure we kids
explored the old mines just to prove t'owd man wrong - but my God - I
remember running for my life on many an occasion when shadows played tricks
with the light from our carbide lamps.
What a wonderful family were the Twiggs. I remember so well old man Twiggy
(as we called him) (we hid under the table in the pub) and listened to his
tales (he must have been an earlier generation of the Twiggs you knew) and
my God, how he filled us with awe and we crawled home fearful of going to
bed.
Were the Salt family still in Bonsall when you were there? The Salt's had
generations of miners, and old Buddy Salt would sit all night telling tales
of t'owd miners.
After leaving Derby at 17, I went back and lived in Matlock Bath and worked
for Derbyshire Stone, eventually with the mine surveying department
surveying all the old mines for fluorspar. I learned to drive on Masson Moor
on a Chaseside tractor loader. Those were the days. I spent a year
stonewall'n on Masson Moor with old George Salt. What a master of the craft.
We would start at 6.30am. Snap at 10.00am and agin at 1.00pm. Old George
wouldn't say a thing all day - just nod at the stone he wanted and puff on
his pipe, but on a Friday night in the bar at the Fishponds Hotel you
couldn't shut him up - what a character!
I worked for a very short period in Riber Mine until it flooded - now that
was an experience. Good old days!
Regards to a Derbyshire lassie.
Trevor
----- Original Message -----
From: "sougher" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 10:22 PM
Subject: Re: Sough
Hi Trevor,
Parkfields Cedars! How did you guess? I too have lived in Bonsall, a
hard village to crack when I first moved there at the end of the late
1970's, you wouldn't recognise the place now. Talking of dragons, there
was a Fiery Dragon mine on the Moor and a Dragon Eye mine down in Cromford
so those dragons the old miners told you about must have existed! Also
don't forget the mammoth's skeleton found in Ball Eye mine by miners in
1663. I lived at Town Head (Sycamore House the home of the Twigg family)
and later at Upper Town. I now live in Hampshire and miss the Peak very
much.
Margaret.
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