North East thread 5: The one where we move to Chat!

[Someaddedsugar]

Here's thread 5 everyone! I'll post a link over on thread 4 too.

Wish I could still eat cheese toasties!

DH did a chicken and fenugreek curry, this evening, and that wasn't half bad.

We're not entirely sure what to do with the bed the tree was in. We do want to replace it, but that will have to wait until next autumn. There's a lot of perennials which will probably appear, regardless. We've been waging war on the alstromeria for the past few years. Lush and green for 2 months, spectacular flowers for 2 weeks at most, then they all fall over and look shit! We want to get some ornamental grasses in there and to try again with heuchera without the shade of such a big tree - last spring rotted ours and they were covered in rust. Also hoping our hydrangea will do better.

The tree we're considering is amelanchier grandiflora. Grows tall but not too wide with really pretty blossoms and doesn't mind a bit of shade.

I love cheese toasties and with homemade soup would be my perfect lunch.
I’m trying to healthy eat at moment, trying for 6/7 vegetables and fruit a day. And doing fitness video every day. It’s not going well. But lockdown has ruined my fitness .

I’ve started being really embarrassing helpful the last couple of years. I don’t care, most people seem grateful. I can’t help myself and I have a really resting bitch face.

Good luck with your garden PickAChew. Green fingered I’m not, DH is though. Love a nice garden as long as I don’t have to do anything.

I have the garden brains and dh the garden brawn as my back is shot.

How old is ds @Someaddedsugar? North road is quite small but it’s nice enough for a few hours and super exciting if you get a train too. We preferred shildon tbh.
Good luck with the garden
My fitness is ruined too as is all the good work I did weigh loss wise

@lifelongfrugaleer he's only 4 so I'm hoping it'll be ok for him! He does love Shildon and I want to take him to York's museum too. I went when I was little and really enjoyed it!

I love York train museum.
Heard on the grapevine that Poundland and Hobbycraft are coming to Arnison centre. That will be me hardly ever going to town now. I’m so excited for Hobbycraft, bank balance not so much.

Also Field and Fodder is open on a Sunday. There is another farm shop on outskirts of Burnhope that I want to visit too.

Hobby craft would be very welcome, even if I only buy thread there.

Am I making this up or did there not used to be a pound type shop at the arnison?

Yes, Poundland was were Mountain warehouse is. Rumour is that they couldn’t renew lease, Arnison centre wanted to go up market.
But I still miss Iceland . Wish Wilko was as large as old Durham city store.
Still pleased shops are being filled, was worried they would be empty for months.
Hopefully new elvet bridge will be open soon feels like it has taken forever. Plus the bus station needs to get going. North Road is even more of a nightmare.

Bus station has been delayed massively, can't remember why but something specialist which for paperwork reasons will take a long time to sort.

More at the arnison is nice but poor Durham City. It is almost nothing but vape shops and cafés now. I would much rather potter round Durham to shop. I only ever go on for waterstones and meeple games/world now. I do all clothes shopping online because they're is just nowhere to go.

Does anyone know when the bridge will re-open - I know the board says "October" I have visions of continuing to drive the long way round because I'm oblivious to its reopening!

The WH restaurant looks amazing! I do love the idea of a pub Sunday lunch but quality can be so variable (plus DD now works on Sundays so we wouldn't get to take her)

DH and I have a bet going, that the bridge will reopen 31 October, so they can say opened before November .
It’s the shops on that side of North Road I feel sorry for. It’s got to be affecting their business.

Hi everyone

Can I join in, Darlington here.

Has anyone noticed there are a loads of "I want to move to the North, what's it like" type threads on here at the moment?

@Florelei

Am I making this up or did there not used to be a pound type shop at the arnison?

Yes, there was. It was a bit of a flop and didn't stay beyond, presumably, the initial rent offer. There was also a scary poundstretcher, there, next to brantano.

I'm intrigued what the supermarket and homewares store will be at the Elddis development.

Not good news for the bus station. Work has all but stalled because of party wall issues with the church. Probably won't be completed next year, now.

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea even the vape shops are folding. The one on North Road was repossessed by the landlord, last week.

Yes, @Flumpaphone and they're everything from enthusiastic to just plain rude.

I find the move to the north threads highly amusing. They love the cheap property but bemoan the deprivation and fail to understand that the two are somewhat linked. That and some people think we are all thick and unemployed. So they want a massive house in a naice area that is also dirt cheap but want to be surrounded by intellectuals and want outstanding schools for their children where little Tarquin can mix with the right sort.

I so often want to suggest to those people that they might want to convert to Catholicism with the wishlist they have then at least they can have the school and the 5 bed detached house on their £200k budget.

I thought Elddis was a successful garage!
I forgot all about Brantano. Didn’t mind poundstretcher, could be very hit and miss but some of the food was cheap. Crisps and sweets especially and toilet rolls
Just seen on Facebook that bridge should open 22 October.
That’s sad news about bus station. Surely that should have all been sorted out before it was knocked down!

I would have thought that, too. Probably the usual skimping of details on the bids.

Ha ha not just me then.

I have to admit I do smile when people suggest they look at Tynemouth, Hexham and Morpeth for cheap housing

I thought that there was a Poundland! Glad my memory isn’t failing.

Sorry if I have missed it but what’s the eldiss development? Is this in Consett near the eldiss factory?

Myrtle - the WH is lovely. It’s also dog friendly so we take our little dog with us and they give her a sausage.

I know what people mean about tynemouth etc. One of my DP’s friends sold his house two years ago and moved into rented because he wanted to be able to move quickly when he found the right house. However, he still hasn’t been able to buy because anything suitable was just getting snapped up. He’s now priced out of the Tynemouth market because prices have gone up so much.

It's just down from the Arnison centre, on Pit lane, between Bell's and the Health land's gym.