North East thread 6: Everyone's welcome!

[Someaddedsugar]

Just starting a new thread for anyone who wants to join!

I took ds to Crook and bloody hell it was terrible along from WH and past Stanley Crook school and then down. I was crawling along and probably wouldn't have seen anything until it was glued to my windscreen. But then driving home again was much better, still foggy but with some visibility. All in the space of 20 min.

We'll be heading to the Christmas market in Durham after the lantern parade - first time we'll be visiting so hope we see some nice things (not just food!). Is it very busy?

The weather has been dismal - I was looking at photos from this time last year and it was bright and crisp. We've all had colds so has been a good excuse to hibernate!

Well we braved the Christmas Market on Sunday. But couldn’t face the marquee or cloister. So was just a busy Sunday.
Hope all the traders did well, because I didn’t see that many people with bags.

we were going to go but I decided against it. The other weekend I took one of my children and their friends to an afternoon cinema showing and we came out of there at 3pm. The amount of completely pissed up aggressive adults was unnerving to me.
Durham has started to feel like a drinking den and not much else to me

Hi

Does anyone have any idea when the bus station in Durham is due to be ready? It still looks like a building site and it's been like that for so long now.
I'm absolutely fed up with the shambles of trying to get a bus in the evenings now. It's a bunfight on a good day trying to get the 21 but with the winter weather and pouring rain with no shelter it's just awful.

@Whiskeypowers my DP was saying last week that Durham is now mainly restaurants and bars. I saw that Yorkshire Trading is going to become a Stack apparently? I can't quite understand how it'll work with the shipping containers etc but curious to see what it looks like.

It'd be nice if we got a few more shops, especially with H&M closing down.

We braved the lantern parade and Christmas market. The craft tent cost £4 for entry!

We are trying to support the independent shops in Durham - there are some lovely ones, but I agree overall the shopping is dire now for everyday things. Such a shame.

I went to the Metro Centre at the weekend and found the same, there seemed to be a very limited selection of shops still open compared to what I remember.

@Tallpaulwho I thought the bus station was next spring but I don't know why I've got that in my head!

@PacificCoastHighway I was disappointed last time I went to the metro centre. It's another place where the bigger shops don't seem to do well.

Newcastle still has a good range of shops though - I love a visit there!

It’s not going to be shipping containers in the old M&S store! @Someaddedsugar . They are doing something different.
Yes the drunk people is very off putting. They also walk together shouting and don’t more out of way.

That makes more sense @AlviarinAesSedai - I couldn't understand how it would work 😂

They are doing two new Stacks: Durham and Bishop Auckland it was in the Northern Echo and Evening Chronicles ( but I read on Facebook) .
I’m hoping at least Yorkshire Trading can maybe go in old H&M store. Because when they were in The Gates the store was about similar size.

I’m also hopeful about the Santa bus running again.

Just checked and bus station is due to be completed by Summer 2023. So I reckon November 2023 just in time for Lumiere.
Home Bargains is due February 2023 and Starbucks this Friday. At behind Bells(Arnison centre)

In addition to the two Stacks planned in Durham, they're also looking at opening one in Middlesbrough. The Sunderland one is really popular so they seem to have big expansion plans.

I did go shopping on Sunday, didn't go in the marquee because I'm afraid I don't want to pay to walk around. It didn't seem too busy though. The cloisters was nice and not too busy either, could walk around easily and I bought a fair few foodie things for dh's stocking and had a chat to several of the producers.

The person who does the nice loose leaf tea was lovely and charged for a while. She is involved in the shop in Prince Bishops that has all the local stuff. She was talking about the empty shops etc and saying how we don't really have more than anywhere else but because we're so compact it looks bad. Plus she said the PB has been sold so we should see some of the empty units getting taken soon and also that a lot of the empty ones on Silver Street is that shops shut and owners then to the chance to renovate the flats above then covid hit so it all got delayed, she says that there are shops wanting to move in just they've not been able to.

So positive really. So long as it isn't more cafes or vape shops!

Went to the Warhammer shop. Not independent but so lovely, the guy who manages it is amazing and has an encyclopedic knowledge of what my kids own and collect. Also went to Meeple World and the Art shop on Saddler Street.

Silver street was looking so much better, the other week, than it has for a long time.

We didn’t get to the Christmas market, as ds2’s school was closed for a “mental health” day, so I was on duty trying to keep him from disturbing DH, too much, as he was working. I accompanied ds1 to the arnison centre to look at Lego, in the afternoon, instead, to give him a short break from his brother’s noise!

Yes, Silver Street is looking better.
The Santa bus is back. On Go north east Facebook page. Yeah

It's so cold at the moment! And the fog appears to have come back - I thought we'd seen the back of it for this year!

Freezing fog, it’s horrible. But it hasn’t snowed too much, so that’s a plus.
I hate 🥶 winter. Can’t wait for Christmas, lighter nights are coming.
And time off work and DD back from university.

I’m travelling from Steel Town to the Freeman daily. I had to cancel Friday’s treatment, too snowy and icy to be safe. Got there today, still snow here, it’s frozen and the visibility going in was minimal and worse coming back!

It has been freezing - not ideal in our draughty old house!

We were at Kielder last weekend and had a great time in spite of the drizzle, thanks to those who offered helpful tips a while back!

I spotted that the old Mountain Warehouse shop on Silver Street is being fitted out and the former Superdry shop looks to have been taken as well - I am interested to see what they will be. Such a shame that we have lost so many shops in the past year or so.

I read somewhere that STACK in Durham will be a sort of leisure complex with a street food court, games room and roof terrace.

That’sa long drive Gil take care

Did anyone with children see the Puffing Billy road train?
Hope your treatment is going well Gilead.
There seems to be lots of student accommodation going above the shops on Silver Street. Problem is loads of the shops in Durham are just too small. For example want Yorkshire trading to stay. Would love love Wilco to be able to return.
They’re shops on North Road that could be especially British Heart Foundation furniture shop (old Argos) I’m old enough to remember when it was a supermarket (Walter Wilson’s) I think.
Pleased weather is getting warmer again. It can snow a tiny tiny bit on Christmas Day.

I saw that cars were apparently stuck on the A1 at scotch corner yesterday.

So pleased it's going to get warmer this week. We've spent a fortune on heating this week and I'm terrified of the bill at the end of the month.

Hope your treatment is going well @Gilead.

I wish we had a department store type shop in Durham. A mini-John Lewis or similar with a bit of choice would be amazing. It feels like a lot of the bigger shops prefer the retail parks.

What is happening with the weather! My head was sweating in my woolly hat.
Definitely needs a mini department store. Retail parks are great if you drive but a bit rubbish if on bus.
Went Newcastle last week, it looks so sad without Waitrose. But very busy.