Good to see the photograph of the Masham though sad to hear it has closed
like so many other pubs.
I was brought up in the north east of England (born in Saltburn, lived in
Skelton until age 20). Moved to the south in 1984 (Portsmouth area), lots of
rivalry between southerners (namby pamby bedwetting puffters) and
northerners (hard men of steel etc). We used to say that the softy
southerners wouldn’t be able to handle hard northern ways, and that they
“wouldn’t make it past the Masham” if they ventured north and got off the
train at Middlesbrough! It was a common expression used by my brother in
law, Alan, and myself whenever we met up in the south (Alan was a Masker,
from Marske, note the missing ‘r’ – southerners would have pronounced it
with 3 ‘a’s and 4 ‘r’s).
Having spent 25 years in the south, despite my (softening) northern accent I
would probably be regarded as more of a southerner these days, and sad to
say there are just as many pubs closing down here as in the north. But the
Masham will always remain in my memory as the pub that tested the
southerners when they arrived in the north. Definitely a legend.
