JUNE 9th - HAPPY BLAYDON RACES TO ALL OUR READERS!
George Ridley wrote Blaydon Races BEFORE the actual event in 1862. So, it isn't a true story.
BLAYDON RACES
Aw went to Blaydon races
'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty two,
on a summer's efternoon,
Aw tuek the bus frae Balmbra's,
an she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street thats on the road to Blaydon
O lads, ye shud only seen us gannin,
We passed the foakes upon the road
just as they wor stannin;
Thor wes lots o' lads an lasses there,
all wi smilin' faces
Gannin' alang the Scotswood Road,
to see the Blaydon Races
We flew past Airmstrang's factory
and up to the 'Robin Adair'
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge,
the bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines off,
an' the veils that hide their faces.
An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose
in ga'n te Blaydon Races
When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke, they cam' back ower hyem.
Sum went to the dispensary, an 'uthers to Doctor Gibbs,
An sum sought out the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.
Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun,
Thor wes fower-and-twenty on the bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aa sung them 'Paddy Fagan'.
Aa danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aa went to Blaydon
We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin there - they call him Jackey Broon
Aw saw him talkin to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin',
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's show in the Mechanics Haall at Blaydon.
The rain it poor's aw the day, an myed the groon'd quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they war shootin' "who stool the cuddy?"
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows, an aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a happeny roond aboot shootin' noo, me lads, for riders.
GEORGE RIDLEY:
Following serious injury in an accident at the Gateshead Iron Company in his early twenties, George Ridley was forced to seek alternative employment. Drawing on a considerable talent for writing and performing he made his name filling his songs with reference to local characters and events. It seems likely that in this tale of the chaotic journey by horse omnibus from Newcastle to Blaydon he was recalling events from 1861, the previous year.
On 5th June 1862 Geordie Ridley performed his song ‘The Blaydon Races' for the first time at the Wheatsheaf Inn, run by John Balmbra on the Cloth Market in Newcastle.