Roy B

Heat Two Happenings Not a lot to report on this one. 197 put a hit in on 515 entering turn one. 526 made a good move into turn one on 381 for the lead with a slide job. On the last lap 175 had 220 into a parked 238 on the outside of turn four.

Hi there folks from day two. Heat One Happenings 128 and 339 tangle out of turn 2 with Ant pulling off. 345 out of shape down the back straight and ends up spinning 20 in turn two. 166 on a charge with the front end. Hits dished out to 242 twice, and a hit and spin on 502. After being passed for the lead by the 2 car 19 comes back up the inside down the back straight but then spins out on oil in turn three.

British Championship 392 pulled off before the roller. 381 went wide at the start. 97 took off like a rocket from the green flag. 1 got pushed wide in turn 1 and collected 211. 515 out with a flat left rear. 212 and 166 both brutal with the front bumper through the field. 4 got fired into a parked car in turn 4 and pulled off soon after. 16 dropped back after getting up to 2nd at mid point. 1 put some big hits in on 166 at race end and got past Bobby on the last corner to get the position. Nobody could touch The Boss though. Blinding speed throughout. Back tomorrow 👍

Heat Seven Happenings 8 hits 20 into 166 early on. 464 and 197 away in the opening laps. 166 puts a hit in on 1 which sees the World Champ pull off with a flat left rear. 212 is on good form with the front bumper. He puts a hit in on 8. 197 jumps 464 on a restart. 166 whacks 326 into turn 3, and the following lap sees 212 use that bumper again with a hit on 312 which sends Turbo into the stationary 326.

Heat Six Happenings Battle resumes between 197, 4 and 515, whilst 166 takes on 2. 464 away from the reds. 515 rides up the back of 197 down the back straight but disengages before turn 3 looms. 197 breaks clear of his combatants whilst 515 pulls off with a flat left rear.

Heat Five Happenings 20 away quick early on with 5 coming through to engage him in battle. 217 and 1 in close combat until a caution waves. The restart sees 16 take up the duel with 217. 381 tries a long distance dive at 339 on the last corner but can't make contact, Ant getting the victory.

Heat Four Happenings On the first start 8 gets a flyer from the blues and is amongst the yellows almost immediately. 166 hit 2 into turn 1 as a big pile up involving 147, 197, 238, 127 and 392 occurs on the back straight. Just before the restart 175 pulls off with a flat left rear this time. 8 tangles with 178 on the exit to turn 2 with 219 and 11 also involved. A good 4 way battle between 4, 515, 197 and 166 ensues for a couple of laps with them swapping places with deft use of the front bumper. Whilst all this is going on 464 is long gone in the lead. Last lap sees 197 up the inside of 515 for the position.

Heat Three Happenings 220 and 555 locked together in turn one early on. 217 and 1 have a short duel with 16 keeping a watching brief. Tom gets past Lee and the three stars become spread out. 120 and 300 rattle the home straight fence on the last lap. 5 puts a move on 381 on the last corner and just gets over the line ahead as 339 claims the win.

Heat Two Happenings 19 pulls off before the start. Car won't fire up. 515 hits 16 into 212. 212 then replies with a hit on 422 into 515. 147 away up front. 515 pulls off. 5 gets slowed by 316 and the following reds (2, 4, and 259) pounce. On the last lap 73 eases 346 wide coming out of turn 2 which causes Ashley to wallop a parked car at the start of the backstraight.

Hi there folks from a sunny Skeggy Heat One Happenings 175 pulls off with a flat right front in the early laps. 219 rides out a big hit from 212. 178 ends up with right side wheels up on the turn 1 fence. 212 eases 211 aside for the lead, with 555 coming through into 2nd a couple of laps later. Phoebe had a go at getting 2nd place back from her brother with a lap to go in turn 1 but slid wide before she could connect with the 555 rear end.

GN Notes A high speed affair. An early battle between 1 and 515 saw Frank try to snookerball 216 into Tom's back wheel. 515 then had a race long duel with 212. 1 got tangled with 87 in turn 2 delaying his progress. 445 had the front left wheel collapse.

Final Focus Another big pile up in turn 1. 445, 502, 94, 34 and 335 involved with Dilligaf rolled over. All ok. Simon Traves entertained with a roll on the backstraight at the restart. A high speed masterclass followed from 445 to take the win with 217 a quarter of a lap back. A great battle between 1 and 515 in the closing laps. Tom got out of shape down the start straight and Frank made his move clattering into his nerf rail and got past him into turn 1. Entering turn 3 on the last lap Tom returned the favour with a decent hit which got him back in front for the flag.

Consolation Catch Up 445 on it from the get go. A big push into turn 1 sees a monster pile up ensue. 16, 555, 73, 13, 500, 526, 24 amongst others all end up in a heap. All drivers ok. 339 leads off 7 yellows at the restart which 445 soon blasts through for the win. 326 loses out on a qualifying spot when he hits the backstraight wall with a lap to go.

Heat Three Happenings 463, 4 and 197 make the early running. 4 tangles with 319 down the backstraight and pulls off shortly after. 463 leads off at the first restart, with 197 and 21 doing likewise after another caution. Red flags are waved for a spring on the track. 45 and 463 hit the turn 1 fence with Nige pulling off with a buckled wheel. 446 comes through the field with liberal use of the front end. Ryan away up front for the win.

Heat Two Happenings 313 fires 267 into turn 1. 249 leaves a couple of furrows on the turf. The cars slow without a caution flag waving. 73 fires 313 into turn 3, then rolls in turn 1 after tangling with 98. 136 leads off the restart until 445 comes past with a buckled right rear wheel. The 445 front right wheel then breaks off letting 166 take the chase of the hard charging 136. Bobby gets past for the victory.

A big hello from Odsal The Chase Final Feature A case of who could master the slippery track. Both 515 and 326 had trouble getting grip with Frank sliding wide in turn 1. 259 briefly took the lead with a push on the 1 car. Sarge ended up stuck on the inside of the backstraight. 1 and 16 clashed on the backstraight with Mat ending up facing the wrong way. Tom set sail to master the conditions threading his way through slower cars. 217 was the only other car with the speed to match. A flat left rear ended the World Champ's chances however and Lee took over at the front for the victory. (Internet's hit and miss at the moment)

Grand National Notes 515 sent wide into parked cars in turn two and loses time. 166 and 555 clash in turn 4 which ends up with Bobby G entering the home straight backwards. 335 performs a mutiple roll down the homestraight. Mark ok, the car not. 392 and 345 lead off the restart. However, something lets go on the 392 car and he comes to a stop bringing out another caution. 20 shoves 345 aside to move to a lead he holds to the finish. JJ pulls off at halfway. 4 and 515 battling as Tom rockets through for a 3rd place finish.

Final Focus 197 scatters the reds at the start as JJ makes the break riding out a hit from 249 as he moves forward. 83 leads up front. 515 and 4 having a dice until Frankie's right rear tyre let go. 166 hits a turn 4 marker tyre and goes a lap down. He makes it difficult for the top boys as they come through to lap him. A brief duel between 4 and 1 before Tom pulls clear. The closing laps sees JJ in the lead. The new car is certainly rapid. After being overtaken by the 1 car he comes in with a big last bender on Tom. Both bounce off the fence and the World Champ takes the victory.

Consolation Catch Up A cracker. 234 and 83 lead the field away. 45 hits the turn 4 fence, and then goes one better than Jakey last week by rolling it in turn one. All on the first lap too! All ok. Nige waving to the crowd. Car looks ok as well. 541, 83 and 463 head the restart. 326 comes in with the bumper and moves 463 aside. 93 tangles with 446 down the back straight resulting in a dead stop for Joe. Sam then gets collected by 595. 326 takes the lead from 541 on the restart and with 5 to go 4 arrives on the scene. An enthralling battle ensues between these two with Dan taking the lead and Sarge replying with a hit into turn 3 which puts him back in front with 3 to go. Dan bides his time until the last corner with a perfectly executed shove on 326 and waves bye bye out the cab to Mark as he takes the victory.

Heat Two Happenings 526 slows coming out of turn 4 on the start but manages to avoid getting clobbered. 235 and 268 come together on the back straight with Richard nearly rolling. Caution flag to carry his rearranged car off. 83 leads off the restart with 13 close behind. 321 spins 541 out on turn 2. 16 sets sail for the front with 555 the second red. 24 v 13 for the lead. 4 drifts wide in turn 1 and loses time. Mat comfortably takes the victory ahead of Tom, as 446 puts a huge hit in on 491 as they enter turn four.

Heat One Happenings 234 and 339 take an early lead. 191 tangles with 463 in turn 4 as 345 and 216 do likewise. 197 is first red through. 212 and 515 duel throughout the race. 47, 120 and 339 are the lead three. 275 spins in turn 3 holding up 197. 47 takes the victory in a dusty race.

Mick Sworder's immaculate Volvo FH16 750 gets a seven page feature in the June issue of Truck & Driver. The care and devotion shown by Mick has it featured as the editor's choice for the second time. It is a great article covering the transport history of the Sworder family. Stock cars also get a mention. (Photo credits to Tom Cunningham)

Truly heartbreaking news. My sincere condolences to Chrissy, family and friends. RIP Tim.

Continued from above: Our last mill of note downstream of here is Washwheel Mill. This was a much smaller mill and was never water powered. A fine chimney survives standing tall over the valley. The mill floor and chimney. There was not enough gradient here for the brook to power a waterwheel, so a Lancashire boiler was used. The boiler survived in the undergrowth until the early 1950’s but was wrenched from its housing by an enthusiastic scrap dealer and hauled away in the middle of the night. The pipe that supplied the boiler with water from the brook. In its early days the mill was used for bleaching woven quilts for a Bolton spinning mill. In 1880 the works were taken over and used for bleaching cotton waste. Both this and Deeply Vale shared the workforce between them dependant on workload. Amongst the 201 people that were employed fifty were under the age of 13, and sixty were between 13 -18. A child was allowed to begin work in the mill at the age of nine so long as they had been examined by a doctor. A conversation between the mill overseer and a child is reported to have gone like this: “Can I start work on Monday?” “No” replied the overseer “you haven’t seen the doctor”, so the child replied ”But I’ve got all my back teeth” and that was sufficient to clinch the job! A typical day for a 14 year old girl would entail getting up at 05:30 and walking the two miles to the mill. On arrival she would have worked a twelve hour shift before walking home again. Imagine having to do this in winter. Of the mills we’ve visited all eventually succumbed to the requirements of the reservoir. Washwheel bleachworks survived until 1919 when the owner then sold out to the Bradford Dyers Association and the mill closed four months later. The valley was not completely deserted however as the cottages mentioned earlier were occupied until the 1950’s. Several could be rented for as little as two and sixpence a week and, despite their remoteness provided cheap accommodation for many families during then lean years between the wars. Industry, however, never returned to the valley. Gradually the mill timbers decayed and the walls crumbled; the machinery, the engines and the great wheels were hauled away for scrap. The industrial history of the Cheesden valley, rich in the enterprise and the hardship from which had grown the great age of Lancashire textile manufacture finally drew to a close. From the bleak, windswept moorlands above Four Acre to the lush woodlands of the lower valley is some four miles. In this distance what is left will eventually become overgrown and hidden from view completely. Nature has reasserted herself among the silent stones, and the waters of the brook once again flow unhindered by the needs of man. Pics in the gallery That’s it folks. We’ll all meet back for more explores at the next lockdown, or end of season whichever comes first. Cheers, and happy race-going, Roy

Continued from above: The hub and axle from the waterwheel have disappeared within the last thirty years. Moving further down the valley the brook disappears beneath an arched tunnel over which the next mill - Croston Close - was built. This had survived a catastrophe in 1834 when flood waters roared through the valley washing away parts of the site. It survived for a further forty years as a woollen mill. There were two waterwheels here which were used for powering three carding engines. The mill had originally begun by spinning wool for the cottage weavers. On the adjacent hillside the line of a flue which went from the boilerhouse leads up to the top where there are the remains of a small chimney. It is said that at one time the flue was used to carry away the fumes of an illicit whisky still which operated there! The line of the flue leads uphill to the ruins of the chimney As the nineteenth century grew, so too did the industries of the nearby towns of Rochdale to the east, and Bury and Bolton over the hills to the west. The humble valley mills were in no position to compete with the vast textile empires now being established in the growing towns. Nor could they afford the new and sophisticated machinery which allowed the mills to produce fine cottons of ever increasing quality. The rapidly rising cotton industry did, however, produce a by-product which the valley mills used as a substitute for their declining wool trade. As part of the spinning process the large textile concerns applied a starch to the spindles before spinning. This dried out and left a core of hardened paste. The recovery and recycling of these cores brought a hard waste trade to the valley mills. At the time Lancashire was operating over forty million spindles and six hundred thousand looms so there was plenty of recycling to do. Our journey from here to our next mill takes us past Wind Hill Pit. The trackbed of a former tramway etches a thin line against the side of the hill leading to the pit. The gradient of the line allowed loaded wagons to enter the valley by their own momentum. At the bottom of the hill a rectangular area is all that remains of the terminal where the wagons were unloaded into carts. The wagons made over twenty two journeys a day up and down the incline with coal to supply the next mill down the valley (which we visit next). They were hauled back by means of a cable which was powered by a stationary engine situated at the top of the pit. There are also traces of staining to the stonework here caused by the use of metallic salts in the cloth dyeing process that were washed downstream. In this location were four rows of workers cottages, one of which was used as a grocers shop. ‘Owd P’s was its name, and it was a shop where ale was sold and little of anything else. It appears that the chief recreation was the playing of cards and the drinking of ale bought at a penny a time. Owd P had a good trade as the nearest inn was Owd Betts up on the turnpike. The brewing of ale was as common as baking 140yrs ago. His grandmother, for instance, brewed twice a week regularly. Between here and our next mill was the site of the Deeply Vale Festivals. These were unique free festivals held between 1976 -79. They were regarded as significant events that united punk music into the festival scene. They brought together hippies and punks; a festival which drew free spirited individuals to a little known part of the north-west from all over the country. Deeply Vale may have only been held for four years but the impact this free festival had on the music scene can still be felt today. Because Deeply Vale didn't survive like, say Glastonbury, it does have more of a magical thing about it. You could compare it to people always remembering Hendrix or Janis Joplin as stars who died young as opposed to some overweight person playing comeback tours. It never had the chance to get old. At the first festival in 1976 around 300 attended. That number rose to an estimated 20,000 for Deeply Vale's final two years. As well as the varied line-up, the festival was noteworthy for the impact on many of the fans who attended and who would go on to become influential musicians in their own right. The Smiths, Stone Roses, the Chameleons, Doves, the Wedding Present and Chumbawamba – members from all these bands were influenced by what they witnessed in the fields between Bury and Rochdale. On stage, a diverse mixture of hippy idealists, anti-establishment punks and protest singers created an unforgettable mix. The festival brought together a lot of different factions of people. They were all from slightly diverse, left-field cultures and they threw their lot in and contributed something. Tony Wilson, who launched Factory Records, helped compere the event in 1978, the Durutti Column played only their fourth ever gig at the event, The Fall were festival regulars. Remarkably, Deeply Vale remained true to its free festival principles until it ended in 1979. When it started there was such a thing as community spirit and people working together. It got to the point where there were two factions. With anything that grows as it had done, you always get them. One school of thought was just to carry on and ignore the authorities and not meet licensing conditions and just do it. Then there were people who thought the only way to carry on with this was within the system but if you do that you inevitably become part of the system. It got to the stage that it needed some sort of organisational body, and people to stand up and be responsible for licensing and health and safety and maybe Deeply Vale was just a bit too spontaneous for that. As we get closer to the mill a brick building houses some abandoned pumps of more recent times which used to control the brook’s flow in times of heavy rainfall. One of the pumps controls was manufactured by Allen West and Co of Brighton, who were founded in 1910. During WW1 the company made the firing head for the Stokes mortar and 100 rounds. Allen West smuggled it to France in his luggage and as a result of trials there it was adopted for service use. In 1929 the company acquired a disused rolling mill at Southampton which they used for heavy engineering construction. In WW2 the company produced radar equipment, switchgear and motor control gear for the war effort. In 1961 they had 3000 employees, manufacturing electrical motor control gear for all applications. In 1973 they were taken over by General Electric of the USA. Also in the building was a gauge manufactured by Evershed and Vignoles of Acton Lane Works in Chiswick. The company was founded in 1885 and made speed indicators for twin-screw ships. During WW1 they manufactured steering and target equipment for the Royal Navy, with aircraft instruments made in WW2. By 1961 they had 1870 employees but were now under the control of British American Tobacco. The company remained involved in the manufacture of defence electronic equipment. After various takeovers the workforce had reduced down to 450 people by 1980. The Acton Lane works were closed in 1986 with the company becoming part of Megger Ltd based in Dover. We now approach the Deeply Vale Mill complex. There would have been people who spent their entire working life here enduring hardship daily. Now 120 years later it is a tranquil place of absolute silence interspersed with birdsong and the buzzing of bees. A stone bridge leads to a cobbled road and descends into the site. The Cheesden Brook flows down a stone lined channel which was built to withstand erosion. It a superb example of the stonemasons work. The pit which housed a thirty feet waterwheel is in amongst the trees, and the circular depression of a gas-holder is visible. A solid stone building in the centre of the site was converted to three furnaces with the arrival of coal for the steam engine. The triple furnace block. This also allowed the production of gas for lighting. A few items remain from the steam engine emplacement such as brackets and drilled stone blocks. During the nineteenth century the concentration of mills and houses here created an industrial village in the valley. From the beginning this mill was concerned with the finishing of cloth, not its manufacture. The premises consisted of a print shop, dyehouse, vats, colour shop, drying stove room and a bleached goods dryhouse. All were run by a complicated set of dash wheels and gears connected in series to the steam engine. Two reservoirs were needed to keep the whole site supplied with enough water. The works had the power to bleach and print upwards of six thousand pieces of cloth per week. The owners got into financial difficulties, and went bankrupt however after a violent storm washed part of the mill away. The works were taken over by a Mr. Earnshaw who during its rebuilding fell into some gearing and was torn in two. It was decided to break the pattern of industry and turn to a product in many ways allied to cotton – the manufacture of paper. A directory from 1888 lists it as Deeply Vale Paper Manufacturing Company, situated at Deeply Vale Paper Mill producing paper blinds. Bankruptcy loomed again however as the difficulty in getting goods out of the valley to the towns was very expensive and closure came at the turn of the twentieth century. Continues below: