Many thanks for that walk round of one of the new exhibits at Beamish. One thing in particular caught my eye - the crocodile fire tongs sitting on the sideboard. I have the identical item sitting not two feet from me on my hearth tiles as I write these words. My crocodile used to sit on the hearth in my nana & grandad’s house in Fulwell and after they passed away it found its way to me. ‘Tis many years since I left Sunderland, but that crocodile, and a few other treasured things, are concrete links to a happy time long ago.
