Category Archives: Olde History

scribbles form my past, some of a very long time ago.

cross words on 2

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Ed Medley

In 1967 I worked part-time as a Special Effects helper on a  TV game show at the Beeb – the  BBC, or British Broadcasting Corporation – where I saw crosswords and heard cross words.

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Trainspotting

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Ed Medley

“4-6-2!”.”4-4-4!” “Little sod! Bugger off!”. These  expressions  still chuff in my ears 50 or so years after I first heard them, as a  trainspotter. 

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Painted Doors/Painted Ladies

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Ed Medley

Wallace, in the Silver Valley, in the Coeur d’Alene district of the Idaho Panhandle used to be a very special place for me. Come to think of it, anywhere that blends heart and panhandle and silver should be special and … Continue reading →

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Meares Island – Moist Misery

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Ed Medley

In the late summer of  1972 I started a job prospecting in the rain at Meares Island, British Columbia.  

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Form 1D

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Ed Medley

I heard a jolting, funny answering machine message today. Do listen to it. It was prepared by frustrated schoold teachers at a school in Australia. I have a lot of admiration for school teachers – I was a part-time teacher for … Continue reading →

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Traveling with Barbara

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Ed Medley

Barbara and I courted  in 1972 under painful circumstances – my body was healing from a fall down a mountain. Bone knitting and affection were helped by us being kindred spirits and we became close quickly. She wanted adventure, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Family/Friends, Olde History, Vagabond | 1 Comment

Tea Break (Gimme Some Lovin’)

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Ed Medley

Yesterday afternoon we drove 90 miles to a surprise party Brunch for a friend’s 65th Birthday. Despite it being well over 100 degrees in Modesto, we old folk boogied and danced the early hours of the afternoon. (Most of us don’t do … Continue reading →

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Free Balloon

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Ed Medley

Many years ago, we were walking along a miserable stretch of the Pennine Way.  Once a cobbled Roman road it had become a rutted farm track; bounded by low, gray, wet rock walls. Clag was down to the ground – so some would say … Continue reading →

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Good Soil, Bad Dirt

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Ed Medley

In 1978 and 1979 I worked at the Syncrude oil sands mine at Fort McMurray,  Alberta. I was part of a Dames & Moore team mapping the characteristics of the overburden, the non- or poorly-bituminous near-surface soils above the economic … Continue reading →

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Dear Joan, Devil’s Club and Jello

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Ed Medley

“If I fall into that lot I’ll get badly hurt”, I warned myself, as I came to and looked down from the top of the cliff into the tangle of evil Devil’s Club lurking pointedly below.  

Posted in Olde History, Prospecting | 3 Comments