Difference between revisions of "Chapter 24: 238-245"

Revision as of 09:54, 2 October 2009

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"gannin straights"
Going steady

Weardale
Weardale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, in England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The upper valley is surrounded by high fells and heather grouse moors. In the 18th century John Wesley visited the dale on a number of occasions and the valley became a Methodist stronghold. From WIKI

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grosgrain Ribbon
Throughout the 17th century grosgrain fabric was used as the fabric body (corpus) for many garments, including waistcoats, jackets, petticoats, beeches, sleeves, jerkins and many other items of clothing, as a cheaper alternative for the lower socio-economic demographic than fine-woven silk or wool. From WIKI

Lamentations of Jeremiah
It is called in the Hebrew canon 'Eikhah, meaning "How," being the formula for the commencement of a song of wailing. It is the first word of the book (see 2 Sam. 1:19-27). The Septuagint adopted the name rendered "Lamentations" (or "Threnoi Hieremiou", abbreviated "Thren." in some Latin commentaries, from the Greek threnoi = Hebrew qinoth) now in common use, to denote the character of the book, in which the prophet mourns over the desolations brought on Jerusalem and the Holy Land by the Chaldeans. In the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) it is placed among the Ketuvim, the Writings. From WIKI

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Staithemen
Wharf Men - In the northeast and east of England the term staithe or staith (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used. For example Dunston Staiths in Gateshead and Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk. Though the term staithe may be used to refer only to loading chutes or ramps used for bulk commodities like coal in loading ships and barges. From WIKI.

Keel
The word "keel" comes from Old English cēol, Old Norse kjóll, = "ship" or "keel". It has the distinction of being regarded by some scholars as the very first word in the English language recorded in writing, having been recorded by Gildas in his 6th century Latin work De Excidio Britanniae, under the spelling cyulae (he was referring to the three ships that the Saxons first arrived in). From WIKI

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Huddock
The cabin upon a collier

Dodd the Peedee
The Pee Dee tribe (also spelled Pedee and Peedee) are a nation of Native Americans of the southeast United States. The Pee Dee River and the Pee Dee region of South Carolina were named for the nation. Charles Hudson describes the prehistoric and protohistoric Pee Dee as a "southern chiefdom" of the southeastern Mississippian type. Around 1550 A.D. the Pee Dee migrated from the lower Pee Dee River of the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the upper Pee Dee River of the Piedmont, where they remained for about a century. From WIKI

Tagareen Man
"A tagareen man had a floating shop which he towed about the tiers of ships, announcing his presence by a bell. His dealings were carried on by barter or cash, as may be convenient; and old rope, scrap-iron or other similar, unconsidered trifles, would be exchanged for the crockery or hardware with which the boat was stocked." - from Northumberland Words-A Glossary of Words in the County of Northumberland-And On the Tyneside-Vol II by Richard Oliver Heslop

Pirogues
A pirogue is a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with West African fishermen and the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. These boats are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land. The design also allows the pirogue to move through the very shallow water of marshes and be easily turned over to drain any water that may get into the boat. The pirogue is usually propelled by paddles that have one blade (as opposed to a kayak paddle, which has two). It can also be punted with a push pole in shallow water. Small sails can also be employed. From WIKI

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Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is usually housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. From WIKI

gigues
The gigue is a lively baroque dance originating from the British jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th century and usually appears at the end of a suite. From WIKI

"who'll be only too pleased to gan wi'ye's"
Gan = To go; "who'll be only too pleased to go with you all"

Faces beneath these Basin-crops
Seems to suggest that these "other Keelmen" are not carrying coal, but carrying crops like corn or wheat, etc.

Strikes of '43 and '50
Keelmen strikes: The Tyneside keelmen were employed by the Newcastle Hostmen and were often in dispute with their employers. They went on strike in 1709, 1710, 1740 and 1750. One grievance held by the keelmen was that the Hostmen, in order to avoid custom duties, would deliberately overload the keels. Duty was paid on each keel-load, so that it paid the owner to load as much coal as possible. This meant that the keel-load gradually increased from 16 tons in 1600 to 21.25 tons in 1695. As the keelmen were paid by the keel-load, they had to work considerably harder for the same pay. Even after the keel-load had been standardised, there were cases of keel owners illegally enlarging the holds to carry more coal, as much as 26.5 tons. In 1719 and 1744, the Tyneside keelmen went on strike in protest at this 'overmeasure'.

About 1750 a new development began to be used on the Tyne. New pits were being sunk further and further away from the river and coal was being brought to the riverbank via wagon ways. Once there, in places accessible by colliers, coal staithes were built to allow coal to be dropped directly into the holds of the colliers without the need for keels. The staithes were short piers that projected out over the river and allowed coal wagons to run on rails to the end. Colliers would moor alongside the end of the staithes and, initially, the coal from the wagons was emptied down chutes into the colliers’ holds. Later, to avoid breakage of the coal, the coal wagons were lowered onto the decks of the colliers and were unloaded there. This was the beginning of the end for the keelmen and they realised the threat that the coal staithes posed. Strikes and riots resulted whenever new staithes were opened. From WIKI

ev'ry Can bought and taken
The 1750 strike was also about 'can-money', the practice of paying part of the keelmen's wages in drink that had to be consumed at 'can-houses', pubs owned by the employers. From WIKI

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into the Pool
Originally, the Pool of London was the stretch of the River Thames forming the south side of the City of London. The term was later used more generally to refer to the stretch of the river in between London Bridge and Rotherhithe, which constituted the furthest reach that could be navigated by a tall-masted vessel. It therefore became a key part of the Port of London. In order that access to the Pool for shipping was not obstructed a new pedestrian connection between Rotherhithe and Wapping was constructed not as a new bridge but as a tunnel. From WIKI

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