Larry,
'Old butty' is a Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire miners' expression, and simply means a friend or colleague. Forest coal mining was kept as simple as possible, the shaft or 'gale' always went uphill, as there were no pumps. A 'butty' was the little car, running on simple wood or cast-iron rails for the day's coal, which of course also ran out of the mine by gravity! Iron ore was also mined. The 'butty' eventually became the man who shovelled the coal into the car.
Before mechanisation [
], the coal or iron ore was hauled out in a butty box on your back.
Could this be the derivative of the word 'buddy'?
Traditionally, light was provided with a candle stuck in a clay pipe clenched in the teeth. This sort of mining had been going on for at least 800 years.
See the section on Free Mining here;
http://www.clearwellcaves.com/freemining.htmlThe candle and the butty-box is clearly visible in the 15C engraving.
'Jummy' Simmonds was the legendary landlord of a tiny pub at Shortstanding. He was also a Free Miner and the funniest man I have ever met. The bar was only 3 foot long! Jummy would bring a battered tin jug to your table and pour your drinks like a waiter. Best Bitter is traditional real ale. A bit of a misnomer here, for as Jummy only ever had one oak barrel open at a time, it was also his worst! No refrigeration, so it was at the same temperature as the bar, although a wet sack might be draped over it if it got a "bit too 'ot." [ie over 100 degrees!]
He's still alive, BTW.
A 'herbert' is a person: the expression is a bit milder than calling someone a geek or a raw prawn.
