Vera

[Hornbeam]

Looks like they may have changed the day to close the South Gare road as it is shut today unless they are doing some filming.

[northeast]

Well here we are, VERA has retired after two very fine last episodes, all the familiar places including Stan's photo stand at the 'Pool.
Apart from finest script writing and acting, the series opened up a new world mainly in Northumberland, for those of us in the deep south (anywhere beyond Redcar).
Farewell to Vera and Brenda.
What a huge list of film and TV credits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Blethyn

[Hornbeam]

It may well be a sad fairwell to Vera/Brenda but for those who are not local welcome or not to a Barrier on the South Gare Road which has been placed near the old Level Crossing along with some road improvements, if you want to fly your Spitfire under it the max height is 7’ 6” and the max Wing Span is 13’ 0”.
If however you are in one of those Foreign Jobs H is 2.3m W 4.0m, I would have written “In the past I would have given said Barrier a Fortnight before it disappears into the nearby Blast Furnace” but as the infant Hercules is now dead it looks like transportation in Ford Transit to Foreign Parts to end up as special profile Steel in Skinney and let the Police try and find some finger prints on what is left.
When sailing up North in the North Sea it was a tremendous sight/site when they dropped the “Witches Hat” on the Blast Furnace, Teesside was lit up like a Roman Candle, Grip all packed ready to decant the Ship with a cheery hand over “The jobs a Buck”

[Patrick Hill]

Well that might stop some of the vehicles that were taking over the end of the Gare, I might even feel safer if I venture up again...

[Hornbeam]

I should have added Patrick that it looks like if you want to move your boat using a Trailer rather than sailing her out there is a facility to unlock the the height bar and swing it around off the roadway, this “facility” can be obtained upon request from “?”who will unlock the height bar for you.
There has already been a complaint from one of the individuals who has one of the Fisherman’s huts for storing his “Gear” which makes you wonder what the Hell is he storing for fishing with (a couple of Sea mines has been suggested, Fish and Chip Suppers for weeks) but as you have mentioned the fear of coming up against a rather large moving home on the narrow section will hopefully end although I would give the gate lock a couple of weeks before it ends up being deployed in a Scrapyard,( Elsie Hinds) alongside the “Black Path” or the “Sailors Trod “ as it used to be called.

[northeast]

I remember mother talking about the Black Path, did it run next to the railway? I remember 'Warrenby Halt'.
There's a rather fine Warrenby website, here is the Halt

http://warrenby.com/Page6

[Hornbeam]

Indeed it did, if you walked it from the Boro end it was on the Right Hand side of the Railway Tracks with the various Works / Shipyards between all using the River for cooling and disposal of Effluent, there were indeed a number of Crossing/ Footbridges along the route as well as Train Stops to cater for the Workers to alight into the very Sulpher smeiiing Steel/ Iron Works.
There was a rather decent Pub along the way.to answer to their thirst which for some reason was known as “The Ruin” but had an Official name which for the life of me I can’t remember, the Road entrance to the old TCC Graving Dock was via the Crossing adjacent to the Pub and through the Iron Works if you were mobile otherwise a Footbridge was used opposite the Graving Dock.
Whilst I was on the John H she went into the Graving Dock for a B.O.T. Passenger Carrying Survey so I knew that area fairly well along with the added bonus of being able to pick the Girlfriend and then Wife (of 57 years) up on my.other love my Norton Dommie 88. from the G.E.C. at Brambles Farm. Happy Days.
Never been that way for years I certainly wouldn’t venture along a path like the old “Black Path” these day’s

[Patrick Hill]

Oh it's nice to be here at the Gare all alone, no campers in sight.

[Hornbeam]

Not exactly alone Patrick as I understand it you are being watched——————remotely .
You will be sat in your car possibly eating your scran looking out to sea over what was the Wartime Anchorage which was the scene of an incident concerning a German/Nazi Bomber (take your pick) which was attacking Merchant Shipping waiting for the Boom to open and return fire was made by both Ships and Land Base Gunnery to the Aircraft, somehow they managed to hit the Aircraft and set it on fire where it made a run for land where they crashed across the Black Path and the strategically placed railway line running from the Steelworks.
Rescue Workers attended the site to look for Survivors/ Bodies but such was the strategic importance of the Railway Lines from the Steelworks their searching was time limited and the wreckage was thrown into the hole where the aircraft had buried itself into and filled in, The bodies that were found were buried in a Cemetery which also contained Allied Airmen who had come to grief in the Teesside Area.
The crash was known about but exactly where it was forgotten about in the mist of time, that until the Water Board came along and dug the wreckage back up again when laying some new infer structure, various remains were found which questioned the identity of one of the Crew and the Headstone he was buried under, it appeared that this particular German/Nazi had been laid to rest with the wrong identity since the War and a new Headstone promptly made.
Not sure what the Target of the Bomber was suffice to say I live near the old Airfield which played a very significant part in finding “Altmark” and was Bombed by Axis Aircraft which left Six unexploded ordnance behind. Three have been found over the years another one blew up when building the A19 and two are still missing mmmmmmm.

[Hornbeam]

To round off the story this is a piece of one of the engines off the German/Nazi Bomber mentioned previously which has sat in my back garden since I acquired it for a small fee from the Scrappy after following him back to his yard, the cylinder head was to go into a Museum I was involved in at the time which unfortunately we had to shut down due to “technical difficulties”