Much water has flowed under the bridge since the days when experience and knowledge were respected and shared in the old fashioned way. Remember conversation, in the days before e-mail and surfing the internet?

Living in a world were communication is dominated by technology, we tend today to forget how important face -to-face contact can be in passing on information.

Take these tales from the Mill. They're part and parcel of local folklore, handed down by word of mouth to the present generation. Although memories of the Mill as an active force in the community are fading, these stories remain as a valuable source of the life and work of the people of Bardon Mill.

But back to our tale. When Big John took over the running of the Mill, he was well aware of the contribution his uncle Roger, or Hodge as he was known, could make to the continued success of the business. They often met as they travelled the road between Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle, sitting down on their hunkers to discuss affairs at the factory.

These informal meetings, often punctuated by impromptu sketches in the dirt of the unsurfaced road, were an indispensable source of information for Big John as he worked to develop the business.

It may have been primitive by today's standards, but it worked.
Many of these ideas raised during the roadside sessions were successfully implemented at the Mill.

Perhaps we could claim that a spot on the road between Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle was the world's first web site. Or would that be spinning a yarn.