North East thread 6: Everyone's welcome!

[Someaddedsugar]

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

Durham does a good job of keeping hold of students. I'm another who came for uni and stayed. As is DH. Slightly more recent than you, just 20ish years ago.

Rain was interesting. I picked the boys up from school on Friday and there was a section of road that was definitely borderline for driving through on the way there and a little bit worse on the way back! But we survived!

It's Newcastle that lured me up here!

We still have quite a bit of standing water in the village. I tried to walk the dog along the village green area this morning and parts of it were literally underwater! I’m pleased we live at the top of the hill!

Anyone by Haggerston Castle? We're going next week but I can't find out how the park is!

@QuestionableMouse did you know there is a Facebook page. Maybe join and ask.

I didn't know! Thanks! 😁

Though TBH I've just looked at the van location and I'm not happy at all - we're right at the arse end of the park with nothing but fields around us! 😕

November 12th for the bus station. Bus companies are busy registering route changes with VOSA for that date.

Wow PickAChew, really will be in time for Lumiere.
Don’t know what VOSA is.

Vehicle and (checks again because I've already forgotten ) Operator Services Agency.

Go. North East are crowing about a breakthrough on their website. Unite still have to ballot their members, though. I'm hoping the indefinite strike doesn't go ahead, on Friday.

Me too, I’m not religious but I’m praying. I drive, but not to Newcastle and I love Christmas shopping at Newcastle.
Arnison and online will win, if strike goes ahead. But I still miss Waitrose.

Thank you, VOSA just rolls off the tongue.
I can’t wait for Bus station to be finished, north Road is horrible. How some of the short have survived is a miracle.
But the bus stops made it worse, hope someone will be paying for decent security.

I prefer Morrisons for a supermarket shop - I go to the one in Chester-le-St now, and used to go to the one in Bishop for decades. When I went shopping in the Ch-le-St Morrisons the other week, I was so impressed by the many helpful ways they had tailored various food offerings to the reality of many of their customers - the ones living on benefits or low pay who have to count every single penny.

I go to Chester le Street far too much. Morrisons is a good shop. The car park is always very busy.
Can anyone remember when there was a rumour that Morrisons were going next to B&Q at Dragonsville.
I thought you would go to Sainsbury’s @TheSummerySilveryPussycat .
I nearly tagged the wrong Pussycat!

I used to default to Sainsbury's at the Arnison Centre. But Morrisons is much better for fruit and veg, fresh fish, and interesting small ready to cook meals, and is the only place I can find my guilty pleasure, Bacon Grill. I don't care what bits of the pig it's made from, it tastes mmmm, and I believe in nose-to-tail eating anyway

Definitely lots of nose and tail adjecent bits in bacon grill 😂

Not a fan of Morrisons veg. I find it a bit flavourless. I'm a self confessed markses snob, though. Waitrose veg doesn't tend to be very fresh (we get deliveries because their other stuff is excellent, including their gluten free breaded hake! A few other things we like.are.cheaper than sainsbury's, too)

Morrisons self service checkouts are also complete arseholes. Even the new ones. I ended up dumping something, last time I went, as the barcode was too big for the scanner to read and I was blown if I was going to have a second.attempt at typing in the 3028 digit code.

There was a big plan for Morrisons to move into bits of B&Q all over the place, which fell through when they got into trouble. The one at Dalton park is open now, at least.

I am quite entertained by the fact that it took Durham so long to get its own dunelm, BTW 😂

Yes, I was rather excited about Dunelm, use to have to visit the Sunderland store. But I now forget to go and just do B&Q then B&M. Then have drive down to The Range.
Love a cheap shop, not that they are that cheap anymore, 😆
My Dad loves spam, and Pek in fact I’m going to treat him to some Iceland frozen battered spam. I will be favourite DD, for a minute anyway.

On the subject of tinned meat, what happened to corned beef? It's nothing like it used to be.

Actually, I think I know. It's processed into a sort of mush before being tinned, is my theory. They even had a stupid idea of selling low fat corned beef as well as ordinary - AFAICS the way to do this would be to mush it up, and then drain off some of the fat, before tinning it.

Corned beef should look much more like beef, only corned, as it were

I always put in fridge to harden the fat on tinned corned beef, then I can remove most of the fat.
My DH loves for it for his bait a corned beef/tomato sauce on a Stottie. I do love the slices in Aldi. Normally only buy the tins for pie or family favourite panacalty

Panackelty, just googled the spelling.

I love this. My mum makes the most amazing panackelty.

There is no correct spelling - you just write down what you think it could be

Anyway, it's what this Londoner calls corned beef hash, and it's lush. Corned beef hash round here is a stew, and not to my taste. Corned beef pie though, is great when made by an expert - I used to make quite a good corned beef pie, but it was never as good as the best ones made by local Durham people.

Corned beef pie made by my mother in law is amazing! I've asked her to teach me her secret recipe 😂

AlviarinAesSedai · Today 08:22

It's much easier to get out of the tin when it's cold, also, if you make an air hole in the top end. I always thought we were weird for having it in the fridge and cutting the fat off; nan used to keep it to fry onions.

What d'yez aal purrin yer panackaty?

My DM use to make a lovely corned beef pie, always used lard for her pastry.
My DM Panackelty was always yummy but basic. Very thinly sliced potatoes and chopped onions and sliced corned beef. Sometimes an oxo cube, mostly not. Was one of my favourite meals as a child.
The soft potatoes, but some were crispy , as I’m working class, we served with bread and butter. It’s the one meal I miss as a vegetarian. Don’t care about bacon 🥓.