Mumsnetters in north west?

[Hilary]

Just out of interest, are there any other mumsnetters in the north west. We have just moved to Lancashire.

Is that a 'No' then?

Hi Hilary I'm in the North West I know there are
others here too just think that some of them haven't been posting recently. Where have you moved from?

It's a bit of an old thread now but you can also check out another thread called 'Northern Mumsnetter meet up'. Oh and welcome hope you find it as useful and entertaining as I have.

I'm a lancashire lass! Where have you moved here from? do you like it so far?

I'm in the n/west.

We've just moved to Barrow. Came from deep South, and was looking forward to coming back North, (from North East originally). But must admit am taking a while to adapt back - must have been down South too long.

KMG, are there big differences? What are they? I have never lived anywhere else.

I'm a Midlands girl, having lived a long time in Lincolnshire, Nottingham and Notts/Derbys border. I was reluctant to move so far from my Mum (esp. since my Dad died 4 years ago) but apart from that, I love it up here. And it is only 2 hours door to door, amazingly.

What are some really great things to do with kids in Lancs and surrounds? Ds1 has chicken pox at the mo so we are not going anywhere but I can dream...

Sorry, Hilary, I didn't spot your first message....I'm in Lancs (Ribble Valley), and Rhubarb lives in Preston. I'm an immigrant from down South - Rhubarb is a bit more local.

Which bit are you in? I'll see if I can find some activities for you.

Of course I can't compare 'The South' with 'The North', but the biggest difference I've found moving from a very comfortable Oxfordshire village to Barrow, is that here people tell you straight out exactly what they think, in a very blunt way. At home (and it still feels like that, unfortunately) everyone tiptoes round everyone else's feelings, and is terribly nice all the time, and would rather say nothing than risk offending someone.

Gross generalisation and stereotyping, I know, but it is something that has struck me.

Of course there is a lot less money here, much more unemployment, and house prices are miles cheaper. This has a huge impact on the numbers of working mums, the free time people have and the way the spend it.

I could go on - some things I prefer, some I don't, some will just take some time to adjust to. But it does feel like a bit of a culture shock at the moment.

Interesting topic, comparisons. I've always had a foot in each camp, as I was born in London and lived there on & off for a while. People in the north are more immediately friendly, but it can be a superficial friendliness and can take some working out. The pace in the South always seemed faster and more buzzy, to me. Hope you settle in!

Three things strike me most about the North - the first probably more in small towns than cities:

1. there are a lot of natives and they are very cliquey (I'm lucky cos our town also has a lot of incomers, from all over the country, I can imagine it could be very hard to fit in and feel comfortable otherwise)

2. the weather up here is lousy

3. driving up here is a pleasure

There are a lot of people who've lived here all their lives, I've noticed. Lots of people have al their family in the town. ( hard for me cos I haven't)

More mums seem to work than where we've moved from.

We have barm cakes up here which we don't have in Lincs/Notts.

It rains loads.

People seem to eat a lot of pies - is this true or do I just overhear an unrepresentative amount of 'pie' conversations?

One thing that horrified me was that someone referred to me as 'sounding southern' the other day. What an awful thought! I actually don't come from much south of here, just a lot east and so I suppose they meant that I don't have a local accent but still...

The other thing I have noticed is that the local kids pay no heed at all to the fact that it is our garden they play in constantly, our climbing frame they play on when we go on holiday, our bushes they creep about hiding in when it's dark. We would never have dreamed of rushing about in someone else's garden when we were kids. Is that a local thing or is it just this bunch of kids being a pain? I get worked up about it as my husband works daytimes but is also working most nights so I am on my own with people creeping around in the bushes outside the window but if it is local custom, I had better get used to it!

I don't mean to sound negative with these observations, I do like it here, but don't really feel like I fit in yet.

I live in the Lake District - moved from London originally from New Zealand. Love the lifestyle here just hate the weather - although the last 2 weeks have been the best part of 'summer' so far!

I have found that there is loads to do with the kids - a great combination of enjoying the outdoors with 'cultural' things cropping up regularly - then there is always Manchester / Liverpool and Easyjet flights to Europe

Hi Hilary,
I live in Liverpool, have always lived here so cant really contribute to the north/south issue but I really like it here and apparently us scousers have just been voted the friendliest people!!

Easyjet flights to Europe...oh I wish we had the money!

Hilary which part of Lancashire do you live in. I'm not sure how near the following are to you. The catalyst museum near St Helens is a kids hands on type museum. You've also got Southport and Blackpool amusement parks and zoos. There also several theme parks Camelot (Charnock Richard) and Gullivers World (Warrington). The are numerous farms and nature reserves to visit. Knowsley safari park. Liverpool and Manchester have loads to do including several museums that have free admission. The list is endless also try tourist info they usually list local and non local attractions sometimes with free tickets or freebies.

Hilary, since you mention pies, it must be Oldham or Wigan or somewhere like that??? Give us a clue!

By the way - any of you with school age children - there is a magazine called Primary Times which is distributed free every half-term, and it has a section called Roundabout with details of loads of activities, many of them free. There is a Lancashire edition and a Cheshire/Gtr Mancs one. If you don't have school-age children yourself ask friends or neighbours who do - some schools only give out one copy per family but some give one to every child and there are often lots of spares floating about.

The latest is due out w/c Oct 7. (I have just started working for it hence insider information!) I have been extracting information on activities from the internet. Some local authorities are a better source of information than others, but all you need to do to get it, generally, is type your town/authority into google, and then go to (usually) the first link - the authority homepages will usually have sections on Tourism, Leisure, Parks, Countryside, Libraries etc and then those links will often lead to a What's On page.

Alternatively - or as well - try your local Tourist Information office, they will have leaflets with details of activities which aren't always on the internet. There are some amazing activities available.

Hilary, my email is [email protected], if you would like to email me with where you are etc I could let you know some of this stuff direct, or arrange to get together if you want?

Welcome Hilary, as Janh says I'm from Preston but have lived in Oldham and Manchester too. Just let us know whereabouts you are and I'm sure we can find things for you to do in your area.

People up North are very friendly, but yes they do have this habit of assuming it's ok to play in your garden, strike up a conversation at the bus stop, etc etc. It's just our way of being friendly. Northerners are quite close knit so tend to know everything about everyone. Only in the big cities will you get some anonymity, but locally people tend to have lived in the same place for most of their lives and know their neighbours. It can seem intimidating at first, but try knocking on your neighbours doors with a bottle of wine, they will appreciate it and they've probably been gossiping about who you are and what you do, so they will be more than happy to find out for certain!

Also log onto www.netmums.com to see if they have your area covered. They provide info on things to do in your area with children, info about schools, dentists, places to go, things to do, playgroups, etc.

And yes we do eat a lot of pies, parched peas, rag puddings, hotpot and so on. Once you've tried our local delicacies you'll never look back!

What are parched peas and rag puddings? I'm a yorkshire lass and haven't heard of these, am I missing out on something?

Everybody knows everyone else's business round my way too, we put tall fences up to stop other kids playing in our gardens and we also like pies. Pie and peas (mushy or 'steeped' peas) or 'mucky fat' (dripping) on bread are pub favourites around here. We drive quite a lot as the public transport is ok but not totally reliable and we either live in poverty or have working mums as anything over £20K is considered a good wage.

And fish and chips are cooked properly around here - the fish is skinned and it is all fried in dripping, not vegetable oil. We have proper beer too not just chemical excuses for beer.

I've got to admit to feeling a little embarrassed by my yorkshire accent when I'm around people who have a 'posh' southern accent.

No offence to anyone living south of the N/S divide, I'm sure the south has a lot going for it too but I'd rather stay up here thanks, its all I really know and I'm happy that way.

Oh, Pam, don't ever be embarrassed about your accent, I think Yorkshire accents are lovely (and I have a "posh" Southern one meself! People round here look sideways at me sometimes when I say "no" instead of "naw" and "barth" instead of "bath". I think it would be sad if we all talked the same.)

My DD1 is at uni in Leeds so we are spending a lot more time t'other side of the Pennines now. She's just moved into a shared house in Headingley, it's really weird, the back door is no 20 XXX Place and the front door is no 19 XXX Terrace! Some friends came to see her yesterday when she was moving in and she got confused and gave them the right street but the wrong number and they went to the house opposite.

PamT - what culinary delights you are missing out on! Parched peas are peas that are quite literally parched (burnt I reckon!) but have a lovely smoky flavour, and rag pudding is a suet type pastry, filled with meat and veg, rolled up like a parcel, wrapped in an old rag and boiled for about an hour. Very fattening and very lovely!

I thought pies were purely a Wigan thing, didn't know that they had them to a great extent in Oldham. Depending on where you are, try,Martin Mere Bird Sanctuary, Pennington Flash at Leigh (free), Haigh Hall (free but with small charges for tramploning and making things), Botany Bay at Chorley is very good, nice shops for you and a play area for the children. Eureka at Halifax is well worth a visit and not too bad a drive (if you do, thinking of the other thread!) from Lancs.

One thing my boys are missing is a dinosaur museum ... anything with a few old bones and fossils and a dinosaur skeleton will do. Is there anything in Lancaster or Preston or Carlisle? Does anyone know?

KMG, there is going to be one at the Warrington Art Gallery and Museum soon, a bit further than Preston but not too bad. It's called Jurassic and will be on for several months and will have exhibits that used to be in the museum in York, which (if it's the same stuff I saw several years ago) is very good (eg an apatosaur - I think - with eggs and babies - and a very noisy T Rex.) It starts on Sept 28th.

www.warrington.gov.uk/Museum/exhibitions.html

There is also a list of half-term activity sessions including dinosaur crafts etc.