# Let's talk about Teesside.



## farmerbarleymow (Feb 22, 2014)

I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread just all about Teesside, so all us Smoggies (and adoptive Smoggies) and anyone who has been there can talk about the area, for good or bad.

So to start, I'm born and bred in Stockton, and it is a very dull town with nowt to do.  I suspect it has always been like that at least since its mention in the Doomsday Book.  I escaped at 18 as there was very little future there given the dearth of jobs.  I've read that parts of it have a bit of a problem with heroin, which is sad. 

But it has a couple of claims to fame, being one end of the first passenger railway, and being the place where the friction match was invented. 

So not as posh as Yarm, but not as rough as the Boro is about the right assessment I think.


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## Casually Red (Feb 22, 2014)

its probably lost most of its charm since Lee Duffy passed on and William _Limbs in the Loch_ Beggs got banged up . I met both of them during my first week there . Beggsy, a blow in like myself, appeared out of some bushes and began following me on my very first night there as I was wandering around a  bit lost looking for my cousins address. Real characters who added to the towns overall _joi de vivre_.


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## Belushi (Feb 22, 2014)

I've never been. What's it like? My brother tells me that Middlesbrough is 'like a bigger Port Talbot' which doesn't appeal.


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## The39thStep (Feb 22, 2014)

Lived in Darlington and then a village called Hurworth went  to Egglescliffe Comprehensive


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

Casually Red said:
			
		

> its probably lost most of its charm since Lee Duffy passed on and William Limbs in the Loch Beggs got banged up . I met both of them during my first week there . Beggsy, a blow in like myself, appeared out of some bushes and began following me on my very first night there as I was wandering around a  bit lost looking for my cousins address. Real characters who added to the towns overall joi de vivre.



Lee Duffy didn't 'pass on', he died due to being knifed in a fight (started by him) after surviving several attempts on his life. He was the bullied who became the bully and had about as much charm as a common garden slug. Even as dull as Boro is, I can honestly say he didn't really 'add' anything of worth to the region apart from to those who get a bone on over gangster movies. He's that interesting that the only book about him that exists had to be fleshed out with bits about Viv Graham too. Never heard of the other fella.


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## neonwilderness (Feb 22, 2014)

Despite living quite close it's not somewhere I visit a lot.  My main experience of Teesside is either driving though on the A19 or changing trains at Boro.  I've not been to the station for a couple of years, but it used to be a right shit hole 

I quite like the industrial-esque coastlines though.


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## farmerbarleymow (Feb 22, 2014)

neonwilderness said:


> Despite living quite close it's not somewhere I visit a lot.  My main experience of Teesside is either driving though on the A19 or changing trains at Boro.  I've not been to the station for a couple of years, but it used to be a right shit hole
> 
> I quite like the industrial-esque coastlines though.



If you think Boro station is a shithole, you clearly haven't been to Thornaby station!  That's not much fun waiting for a train in winter in a gale.


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## sunnysidedown (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> Lee Duffy didn't 'pass on', he died due to being knifed in a fight (started by him) after surviving several attempts on his life. He was the bullied who became the bully and had about as much charm as a common garden slug. Even as dull as Boro is, I can honestly say he didn't really 'add' anything of worth to the region apart from to those who get a bone on over gangster movies. He's that interesting that the only book about him that exists had to be fleshed out with bits about Viv Graham too. Never heard of the other fella.



I lived in Boro for a bit (North Ormesby), interesting place in parts. I also used to live opposite the pub Viv Graham was murdered in up on Tyneside, don't think those two ever met face to face (they were certainly aware of each other though). What was the book?


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

sunnysidedown said:


> I lived in Boro for a bit (North Ormesby), interesting place in parts. I also used to live opposite the pub Viv Graham was murdered in up on Tyneside, don't think those two ever met face to face (they were certainly aware of each other though). What was the book?



There was supposed to be a 'winner takes all' fight between Graham and Duffy organised by a Newcastle crime family that Graham (probably correctly) suspected was a ruse to assasinate him. The badly written book can be 'evaluated' here:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=J8wYs9af2jUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false


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## weltweit (Feb 22, 2014)

No delete that, uncalled for ..


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## Casually Red (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> Lee Duffy didn't 'pass on', he died due to being knifed in a fight (started by him) after surviving several attempts on his life. He was the bullied who became the bully and had about as much charm as a common garden slug. Even as dull as Boro is, I can honestly say he didn't really 'add' anything of worth to the region apart from to those who get a bone on over gangster movies. He's that interesting that the only book about him that exists had to be fleshed out with bits about Viv Graham too. Never heard of the other fella.



i was being facetious . The last time i remember seeing duffy he was on crutches hammering on someones door with 2 frightened looking studenty dealers peering out the top window . Hed previously been shot in the leg and had a cast, not that it stopped him going after his victims. He was just this permanent cloud of bad news that hovered over the place, a tawdry little bullyboy as you say whos mission in life seemed to just be making the places life a misery.
Beggsy was a rather bright student from over here who started his beheading and dismembering spree while in Middlesboro. But who got let off on a technicality after his first victim , also a student, was found in a number of pieces . There were posters up in a number of pubs frequented by students warning them not to talk to him, as he had a habit of coming back every now and then and lurking about . Which he was obviously doing when he came out of the bushes on my first night there and started tailing me for a bit .

both tended to colour my view of the place from hereonin after that .

eta

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1593920.stm


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## Guineveretoo (Feb 22, 2014)

I was actually born in Saltburn-by-sea, since that is where the nursing home was, but we lived in Redcar. 

It was in the North Riding of Yorkshire in those days. Then it became Cleveland for a while, and then Teesside. Then I left


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

weltweit said:


> No delete that, uncalled for ..



What did you post?


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## sunnysidedown (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> There was supposed to be a 'winner takes all' fight between Graham and Duffy organised by a Newcastle crime family that Graham (probably correctly) suspected was a ruse to assasinate him. The badly written book can be 'evaluated' here:
> 
> http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=J8wYs9af2jUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false



I really wish you hadn't posted that...


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

sunnysidedown said:


> I really wish you hadn't posted that...



It's terrible isn't it?


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## sunnysidedown (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> It's terrible isn't it?



I can't believe how bad it is, I've been back to it 4 times now :-(


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## weltweit (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> What did you post?


A picture of the road that takes you PAST Teeside


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

weltweit said:


> A picture of the road that takes you PAST Teeside



Two points.

1) Most people from Teesside would appreciate and agree with your point.

2) We have a sense of humour. Well the monkey hangers don't but they're more Durham really.


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## weltweit (Feb 22, 2014)

I have no complaints about Teesiders. I crashed my motorbike there years ago and the very next people who happened along that road picked me up and took me and my buddy back to theirs for the night, to fix the bike and then a slap up breakfast in the morning. Back then I made a habit of having bike problems, the only other place where people were as friendly as that was France.


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## lemontop (Feb 22, 2014)

I am from Boro but live in London now. In fact just heading back after spending a week there so am feeling quite homesick for the old place. If only there were more bloody jobs there!


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## Buckaroo (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> Lee Duffy didn't 'pass on', he died due to being knifed in a fight (started by him) after surviving several attempts on his life. He was the bullied who became the bully and had about as much charm as a common garden slug. Even as dull as Boro is, I can honestly say he didn't really 'add' anything of worth to the region apart from to those who get a bone on over gangster movies. He's that interesting that the only book about him that exists had to be fleshed out with bits about Viv Graham too. Never heard of the other fella.



.


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## Lorca (Feb 22, 2014)

I used to live by Saltburn and worked in a probation hostel in marton road boro for a while and i also worked in hartlepool and the pit villages as well. i'm a midlander, but i always thought teesiders were on the whole a friendly bunch. funnily enough, i always thought stockton was rough as fuck, perceptions though innit. mind, pretty bad heroin problem in the boro - i was told because its a port, dunno if thats true though.


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## Fez909 (Feb 22, 2014)

Lorca said:


> I used to live by Saltburn and worked in a probation hostel in marton road boro for a while and i also worked in hartlepool and the pit villages as well. i'm a midlander, but i always thought teesiders were on the whole a friendly bunch. funnily enough, i always thought stockton was rough as fuck, perceptions though innit. mind, pretty bad heroin problem in the boro - i was told because its a port, dunno if thats true though.


I always thought Stockton rough(er), too. But I'm from Boro so probably biased. Comparing it to Yarm is fairly offensive to Yarm I think


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## Fez909 (Feb 22, 2014)

Did anyone see this series when it was on?



I really enjoyed it. The first episode he goes back to Hartlepool and talks about growing up there. He's a likeable fella, and gives a good account of being a kid in the north east.


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

We're gonna end up talking about the Brambles Farm again. I don't think anywhere in Stockton is comparable. I think Grangetown probably has the worst reputation. That's not really Boro though, is it?


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## Lorca (Feb 22, 2014)

i used to see roy chubby brown occasionally in grangetown. never got his autograph tho


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## Guineveretoo (Feb 22, 2014)

I am not sure what everyone is on about, really. My memories of Teesside are from the late 50s and 60s. I remember Redcar beach, which was mostly filthy and smelly and covered in jellyfish, but still had donkeys on it in the summer. I remember Marske (pronounced Mask, not Marske, for some reason) which had a lovely beach, and also had a permanent funfair thing, and had lovely woods nearby (Coatham, I think?) where we used to go and pretend to be whatever we wanted. I remember pretending to smoke with my friends in a hut in those woods.

I remember going on the bus to Eston baths to swim, because the pool there was much better than the one in Redcar which was cold and scuzzy and falling down. I remember we went to Billingham ice rink, too, although I never managed to learn how to skate.

My memories are mostly happy.

I also remember the smells. It was quite common to have chemical smells from ICI or one of the other chemical or iron works in the area. Sometimes, a siren would sound, and we all had to stay indoors because there had been a chemical spill and the air was too polluted for us to play outside. We never got a day off school for that, though.

My school days were mostly happy - I went to Zetland primary school and I was in the choir, and we kept winning things. We went to Scarborough and Whitby and York for school choir events. I was also in the church choir, of the church next door, St Peters, so some of the choir events I can remember were probably them, rather than the school. I couldn't actually sing, and I can't now. I have no idea why they kept me in the choir. But I loved it.

Later, I was in the church youth club, and we used to smoke in the toilets in the church hall where the meetings were held. Everyone smoked in those days, including the clergy folk, so I don't think anyone actually realised. We bought cigarettes singly from a local shop near the sea front.  I can't have been more than 13, because that is how old I was when we moved, I believe. 

I was also in the Brownies and Guides in the same church hall.

The secondary school I went to was called Cleveland Grammar School and it was bizarre. We were not allowed to speak to the kids from the secondary modern school next door, even if there were relatives or best friends, so we had to part at the end of the road when walking to school. We had to wear grey stockings, not tights, and were not allowed to wear white socks because they were "common" or patent leather shoes because they were "common" and reflected your underwear.

There - that is me talking about Teesside.


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## Buckaroo (Feb 22, 2014)

.


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## Lorca (Feb 22, 2014)

This story about boro always makes me chuckle (even though it's pretty terrible really) Apparently the local kids were being poisoned from buying fake fags made out of battery acid and dead flies  from 'tab houses'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-14207370


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2014)

Lorca said:
			
		

> This story about boro always makes me chuckle (even though it's pretty terrible really) Apparently the local kids were being poisoned from buying fake fags made out of battery acid and dead flies  from 'tab houses'
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-14207370



From that article: 



> "But generally they're between 13 and 14 which is a lot younger than the legal age of 18 for buying and selling cigarettes."



I thought you could buy ciggies at 16


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## Guineveretoo (Feb 22, 2014)

It used to be 16,  but it has been 18 for a while now.


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## iona (Feb 22, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> I thought you could buy ciggies at 16


 
It changed (I remember 'coz I was months away from being able to buy them legally  ) in 2007, July I think.


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## Part 2 (Feb 22, 2014)

My school had an annual trip to Billingham Ice Rink. Don't recall ever going though. 

Took my lad to a Skatepark in Stockton a few times years ago. The owner was a legendary nutter called Turbo Tash.


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## Casually Red (Feb 22, 2014)

first house I lived in was beside the mosque. Every fucking saturday morning a massive big noisy wedding procession right outside my bedroom window..me hungover as fuck. Little fat Indian kid with an imaginary freind or something used to wake me up most mornings running up and down  shouting _Mr India Mr India_ ..really loud. Everyday. Mr India  was apparently Asias answer to Superman, and could go invisible. Right outside window, I wanted him dead . Prayed the pitbulls that roamed everywhere got him.
Was a house with an interesting history. I thought the mattress looked a bit manky and turned it over to reveal a large bloodstain. Menstrual or murder I know not.

Sitting watching telly one night some punter wandered into our living room demanding to know when the blues party was starting. Bold as brass. Me wideyed with a mouthful of fishfingers trying to tell him to fuck off out of it.
Few nights later a knock on the door from 2 very tense seeming black guys looking to buy some _horse_. Had the distinct impression they were looking to rip off a drug dealer by violent means or something like that . Suspicion was confirmed next morning by Ali in the asian shop when I told him what happened. He then informed me the previous residents were heroin dealers whod moved out in a hurry.
Id my stuff packed and moved out within the hour.

All a bit of a culture shock for a lad from a little village


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## alan_ (Feb 22, 2014)

I've been up here for a few years now (you never know how your life will pan out or whats around the corner) and if I fell asleep on the train home I would wake up in Saltburn, so that narrows it down a bit. I saw the library picture from Fez so figured he was in the vicinity but never thought there were many other people posting on the boards from this area. There is of course a large student population that washes in and out every year and that is a contributing factor in arresting the post industrial decline that has hit hard here. I can confirm that there is a appalling drug problem in this area, that is, the drugs are appalling. Of all the places I have lived, Teesside has the crappest priciest gear (please feel free to correct or contradict me, no, honestly, please do). A few years ago the nationals were making a big thing about the cheapest bags in Britain in Brotton or Skinningrove or Skelton cos they were a fiver. On the other hand, I live across from the sea and when I lived in London that seemed like a fantasy


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## farmerbarleymow (Feb 23, 2014)

I think there are a few of us posting on here, but I'm not sure how many live there as some of us live elsewhere now.

I have many good memories of growing up there, but I just wouldn't want to live there again.  I think 18 years was enough for one lifetime.


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## Fez909 (Feb 23, 2014)

Chip Barm said:


> Turbo Tash.


Best nickname I've heard for years. Love it


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## DownwardDog (Feb 24, 2014)

I left Hartlepool when I was 18 in 1985 and never really returned much until toward the end of my parents' lives in the mid 2000s when I became a semi regular visitor. It was only then with the perspective of time and maturity that I noticed what a strange place it was. Things I noticed...

A shopkeeper had never seen a £50 note before and refused to accept it or believe such a thing existed.

A fat girl with tattooed feet pissing in a gutter at 3:50pm on a Sunday afternoon while laughing.

A very good friend of mine has made a life's career out of faking various medical complaints for DLA. He has a knowledge of ME, depression and back pain that would shame a FRCS. This is seen as a completely valid career choice and even a family trade that is handed down through the generations.

The curiously frank and direct manner of personal interaction. I met another old friend while I was with my wife and, after I introduced her, he looked her up and down in the manner of someone buying a horse before remarking loudly to me, "Fucking hell! Nice one! You must be really fucking rich to have pulled that."

I would see groups of women in the town who were obviously grandmother, mother and child. The grandmother of the tableau was often I what I considered to be an attractive young woman.

In a related phenomenon the local paper takes great delight in publishing pictures of beaming multi generation groups where the great-great-grandmother (usually charged with holding 'the bairn') appears to be about 55. As if consistent multi-generational impregnation at age 14 was something to be celebrated rather than a depressing litany of curtailed aspirations.

I would rather be euthanased than live there again.


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## Citizen66 (Feb 24, 2014)

Where abouts in Hartlepool were you from?


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## DownwardDog (Feb 24, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> Where abouts in Hartlepool were you from?



We lived in Trimdon then swapped it for the bright lights and glamour of Throston Grange when I was about 12.


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## Citizen66 (Feb 24, 2014)

So you probably went to Henry Smith's or Dyke House. I used to buy weed in Throston Grange.


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## Miche (Apr 29, 2014)

Hi. Born in Norton but moved to London aged 19. I"m 44 now and live in Folkestone, Kent. Lying in bed one night and suddenly felt homesick. People aren't as friendly down South, I haven't had a good belly laugh for yonks cause Teeside humour is Teeside humour. plus I don't fancy having a massive mortgage following me into my 60s. Drove back to Teeside a few weeks back to look at property, thinking of moving home... You can buy a 3 bedroom terraced house for 70k, whereas it would cost over 400k even in the London shitholes, for example.  Trying to get my head around it. I'm done with London and Folkestone.  Thinking of Thornaby.  I was raised in blue hall, and am working class, albeit not a chavvy one.  Sorry for ramble.  People think I'm mad for wanting to move back, but Teesiders are friendlier, and most people in the same boat there. What do you think? Funny, the first thing I did when I arrived in a Norton, I walked straight to Norton chippy for a fish pattie. Can't get them anywhere else!!!


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## Citizen66 (Apr 29, 2014)

Miche said:


> albeit not a chavvy one. ...What do you think?



I think you'll get grief.


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## farmerbarleymow (Apr 30, 2014)

Is Norton chippy still in that little alley at the top end of the High Street, through a rounded arch? I remember my dad getting all of us fish and chips for Friday tea when we were kids.


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## Supine (Apr 30, 2014)

Guineveretoo said:


> I was actually born in Saltburn-by-sea, since that is where the nursing home was, but we lived in Redcar.
> 
> It was in the North Riding of Yorkshire in those days. Then it became Cleveland for a while, and then Teesside. Then I left



I have redcar family - near the race course.  I was also born in saltburn by sea   

Big up the teeside massive


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## Guineveretoo (Apr 30, 2014)

Supine said:


> I have redcar family - near the race course.  I was also born in saltburn by sea
> 
> Big up the teeside massive


We used to live near the racecourse - in that we could hear it on race days, although we couldn't see it because there was a cemetery in the way, iirc. 

I don't have family there, so don't go back. I went back about 20 years ago, because I was passing, and parked up outside the house we used to live in, but wasn't brave enough to knock on the door and ask to look around.


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## not-bono-ever (Apr 30, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> Lee Duffy didn't 'pass on', he died due to being knifed in a fight (started by him) after surviving several attempts on his life. He was the bullied who became the bully and had about as much charm as a common garden slug. Even as dull as Boro is, I can honestly say he didn't really 'add' anything of worth to the region apart from to those who get a bone on over gangster movies. He's that interesting that the only book about him that exists had to be fleshed out with bits about Viv Graham too. Never heard of the other fella.




fuck them both - utter cunts that pair of them

that book is worth getting though, its blindingly terrible rambling shit


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## not-bono-ever (Apr 30, 2014)

Oh yes, have been to teeside a bit, the towns are bit grim, but get out a few miles and is nice


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## moose (Apr 30, 2014)

I once bought some tampons in Middlesbrough, and the woman in the shop said 'I'll wrap them in a paper bag so they look like a box of chocolates, pet.' I often wonder what the hell she was talking about.


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## farmerbarleymow (May 1, 2014)

moose said:


> I once bought some tampons in Middlesbrough, and the woman in the shop said 'I'll wrap them in a paper bag so they look like a box of chocolates, pet.' I often wonder what the hell she was talking about.


What a peculiar thing to do. Wrapping them in paper rather than buying tampons obviously.  

But then the Boro is a strange place, so weird behaviour is to be expected. Isn't that right Fez909?


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## Onket (May 1, 2014)

In the early 90s I worked in a shop in Wiltshire who used to do the same thing. I suspect it's not that uncommon.


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## farmerbarleymow (May 1, 2014)

Miche said:


> Hi. Born in Norton but moved to London aged 19. I"m 44 now and live in Folkestone, Kent. Lying in bed one night and suddenly felt homesick. People aren't as friendly down South, I haven't had a good belly laugh for yonks cause Teeside humour is Teeside humour. plus I don't fancy having a massive mortgage following me into my 60s. Drove back to Teeside a few weeks back to look at property, thinking of moving home... You can buy a 3 bedroom terraced house for 70k, whereas it would cost over 400k even in the London shitholes, for example.  Trying to get my head around it. I'm done with London and Folkestone.  Thinking of Thornaby.  I was raised in blue hall, and am working class, albeit not a chavvy one.  Sorry for ramble.  People think I'm mad for wanting to move back, but Teesiders are friendlier, and most people in the same boat there. What do you think? Funny, the first thing I did when I arrived in a Norton, I walked straight to Norton chippy for a fish pattie. Can't get them anywhere else!!!


I lived just round the corner from Blue Hall on the other side of main road from the old bingo hall during the 70s and we're almost the same age. Remember the Red Rec? Many a happy hour spent there as a kid. I went to Norton Board School, which is sadly no longer there. The weird thing is that I've never been able to find photos if the school online - you'd think there must be photos of it somewhere.


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## Fez909 (May 1, 2014)

farmerbarleymow said:


> What a peculiar thing to do. Wrapping them in paper rather than buying tampons obviously.
> 
> But then the Boro is a strange place, so weird behaviour is to be expected. Isn't that right Fez909?


So many people come to Boro from Stockton and other Durham dumps that you can't really complain when weird behaviour occurs: It's in their nature


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## farmerbarleymow (May 1, 2014)

Fez909 said:


> So many people come to Boro from Stockton and other Durham dumps that you can't really complain when weird behaviour occurs: It's in their nature


Nah, you've got that wrong. Boro just attracts the more deeply weird people from the surrounding area, doing those areas a favour by removing our undesirables. The undesirables are magnetically attracted to the Boro - a bit like flies round shit.


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## Citizen66 (May 1, 2014)

Fucking Stockton gives it stiff competition though like.


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## farmerbarleymow (May 1, 2014)

Citizen66 said:


> Fucking Stockton gives it stiff competition though like.


True, but Boro is definitely worse.


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## Citizen66 (May 1, 2014)




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## DownwardDog (Oct 2, 2014)

I've just returned to Hartlepool on a fleeting visit in order to bury a relative. I happened to be walking past the "Clippies Club" when I saw two acquaintances from my youth smoking outside. They were "Raggy Tash" (no explanation necessary) and "Stargazer" (wears thicks glasses and has some manner of brain damage). Raggy Tash recognised me and even though he hadn't seen me for 20+ years and his opening greeting wasn't "Hello, how are you?" or anything in a similar vein but:

"Alright. Just stand here for a minute, mate. There's two blokes coming out and it's gonna be the best fucking fight you've ever seen."

Also, 1 in 10 of the visible population has an aluminum walking stick which I presume is, in the main, a theatrical prop used in disability fiddles.


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## Onket (Oct 2, 2014)

Does Westgate in Weardale count? I'm not the best when it comes to things that far north. 

My Grandad was from Westgate. I never met him but he moved away and my Dad grew up in Leicester. 

If it's any consolation I was gutted when I learned that I have family from the North East and  therefore have North East blood in me. I found out 5 or 6 years ago.


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## Citizen66 (Oct 2, 2014)

Why? You'll be amusing and happy with low wages. Heavenly.


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## Citizen66 (Oct 2, 2014)

Sorry, you'll be partly amusing.


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## neonwilderness (Oct 3, 2014)

Onket said:


> Does Westgate in Weardale count? I'm not the best when it comes to things that far north.
> 
> My Grandad was from Westgate. I never met him but he moved away and my Dad grew up in Leicester.
> 
> If it's any consolation I was gutted when I learned that I have family from the North East and  therefore have North East blood in me. I found out 5 or 6 years ago.


Westgate is Teesdale rather than Teesside. If Teesside was Mordor then Westgate would be Hobbiton or somewhere 

It looks like quite a nice place, I pass through if heading over to High Force or somewhere.


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## Onket (Oct 3, 2014)

I'm sure it is quite nice now, holiday cottages n that. 

He would have been living there prior to WWII.


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## neonwilderness (Oct 6, 2014)

Onket said:


> I'm sure it is quite nice now, holiday cottages n that.
> 
> He would have been living there prior to WWII.


There was nowhere nice up north prior to WWII


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## DownwardDog (Oct 10, 2014)

I was visiting a friend in one of Hartlepool's many ill manors today. A youth wearing a ski mask, very much in the style of Jihadi John, came screaming down the street on a, presumably stolen, scooter. He came to a brief halt and threw a starter motor (?) through a bay window of one the houses. All the residents of the street came out and started capering and hooting like a troop of bonobos. The woman with the modified window came out and with a glum resignation obviously borne of long practice began taping a Walkers Crisps box over the broken window. I'm leaving on Monday and I doubt I'll ever be back.


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## Perry Solstice (Oct 11, 2014)

Okay motherfuckers, let's talk about Teesside. I always liked the name Cleveland, though admittedly, if we're being historically accurate, Cleveland only refers to the area south of the Tees, the north bank being the start of Durham. Obviously, I'm referring to the ancient boundaries, not the area covered by the short-lived County of Cleveland before it was broken up and the name swept under the carpet along with the child abuse that is synonymous with it. I've always felt (as a son of Middlesbrough) more in common with Yorkshire than with County Durham and the Northumbrian cities, which makes sense given that I am from, essentially, north Yorkshire. I do recognise though that the area covered by Teesside - Middlesbrough, Stockton, Billingham, Thornaby, etc - is a city in all but name, and a big one at that. The spaces covered by the chemical industries between Billingham and the coast are enormous.

Teesside is a social experiment in many ways. The long serving Mayor of Boro happily trots out to the media that "We should target children whilst they're in the womb… because it's clear that you can work out by the parents which kids are likely to have problems." South Bank had its moment of fame being the first estate in Britain to be effectively a panopticon, with cameras on every corner of the housing estate. Radioactive waste is buried in the landfill sites on the north of the river. People will take more punishment here; it's never been allowed to be the city it could be. It really was a powerful place for a long time; now it's just here; the descendents of the thousands that came to work the iron and steel are just here, shepherded, dormant, drugged, drip-fed and weak. Gladstone's 'infant Hercules': a bovine mutation guided benignly from pushchair to pension. Targeted in the womb.


----------



## farmerbarleymow (Oct 18, 2014)

Perry Solstice said:


> Okay motherfuckers, let's talk about Teesside. I always liked the name Cleveland, though admittedly, if we're being historically accurate, Cleveland only refers to the area south of the Tees, the north bank being the start of Durham. Obviously, I'm referring to the ancient boundaries, not the area covered by the short-lived County of Cleveland before it was broken up and the name swept under the carpet along with the child abuse that is synonymous with it. I've always felt (as a son of Middlesbrough) more in common with Yorkshire than with County Durham and the Northumbrian cities, which makes sense given that I am from, essentially, north Yorkshire. I do recognise though that the area covered by Teesside - Middlesbrough, Stockton, Billingham, Thornaby, etc - is a city in all but name, and a big one at that. The spaces covered by the chemical industries between Billingham and the coast are enormous.
> 
> Teesside is a social experiment in many ways. The long serving Mayor of Boro happily trots out to the media that "We should target children whilst they're in the womb… because it's clear that you can work out by the parents which kids are likely to have problems." South Bank had its moment of fame being the first estate in Britain to be effectively a panopticon, with cameras on every corner of the housing estate. Radioactive waste is buried in the landfill sites on the north of the river. People will take more punishment here; it's never been allowed to be the city it could be. It really was a powerful place for a long time; now it's just here; the descendents of the thousands that came to work the iron and steel are just here, shepherded, dormant, drugged, drip-fed and weak. Gladstone's 'infant Hercules': a bovine mutation guided benignly from pushchair to pension. Targeted in the womb.



I remember the child abuse thing - that was pretty grim at the time.  

But an anecdote, possibly untrue, about Bernard Manning or some cunt like that amuses me.  Allegedly he was doing a show in a venue in the area at the time, and remarked to the audience that he was surprised so many people were there, as he thought they'd be all at home with their kids.  The story goes he got kicked out the venue by angry audience members.  I'd like to think it is true, as it would be pleasing.  

I'm from Stockton, and I've always felt I looked north rather than south, perhaps because my mam is Scottish.  But yeah, when I've been back it seems like it has been hollowed out in economic terms, and that is sad to see.  It seemed OK when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, but since then so much has shut down everything is that much more precarious.  

Interesting argument about it being a city - I don't think I've ever thought of it in that way.  I think the overall population is somewhere around half a million, so that would certainly qualify as one, but it seems to me to be too disparate and fragmented to be one.


----------



## Perry Solstice (Nov 27, 2014)




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## Perry Solstice (Dec 5, 2014)

*Bump.*

*12pm tomorrow.*


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## Perry Solstice (Jun 20, 2015)

Get in touch.


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Boing!

Looking at moving to Teeside next year (GF is going to be studying to be a paramedic there), will need to buy a house and looks as though Stockton or Redcar are the best bets. Due to the fact I haven't lived in UK for over 30 years my chances of a mortgage are less than zero, but I have been busy saving and will have about 80,000 Quid available. Any tips?


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## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Boing!
> 
> Looking at moving to Teeside next year (GF is going to be studying to be a paramedic there), will need to buy a house and looks as though Stockton or Redcar are the best bets. Due to the fact I haven't lived in UK for over 30 years my chances of a mortgage are less than zero, but I have been busy saving and will have about 80,000 Quid available. Any tips?


What do you want? Redcar is a bit quiet. Stockton has more going on, and is closer to Middlesbrough/the rest of the world. Do you drive? Public transport is shockingly bad in Teesside, so that might influence things a bit (towards Stockton/away from Redcar).


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Terraced, min. 2 bed house would do. Yes we'll have a car, I lived in the North before and know the issue with transport.


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## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Terraced, min. 2 bed house would do. Yes we'll have a car, I lived in the North before and know the issue with transport.


Are you looking to buy outright or would you get a mortgage? 80k is a hefty deposit, but in the NE it would easily get you a house outright in a shitty area.


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Are you looking to buy outright or would you get a mortgage? 80k is a hefty deposit, but in the NE it would easily get you a house outright in a shitty area.


Buy outright I would have no chance of getting a mortgage


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Looking at Right Move there are some good deals at that price in Stockton but not knowing the area I don't want to drop myself in the shit too much.


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## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Buy outright I would have no chance of getting a mortgage


Wow, you can buy even more than I thought if you're looking at Redcar. A 4 bed terrace, right on the front. £80

Rightmove - Error


----------



## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Wow, you can buy even more than I thought if you're looking at Redcar. A 4 bed terrace, right on the front. £80
> 
> Rightmove - Error


Yep, one of the main reasons of us going there, don't need to worry about working there and enough cash to buy outright.


----------



## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Looking at Right Move there are some good deals at that price in Stockton but not knowing the area I don't want to drop myself in the shit too much.


Yeah, I don't know the area too well. I can ask my mam for you if you have anything in mind. She's still in Stockton. 

For instance, this looks fine to me, doesn't look like it needs any work, and it's pretty central. But I don't know if 'central' is a good thing or not in Stockton.


----------



## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

One thing that might sway you one way is that Stockton seems to be 'on the up' a little, while Redcar's been in decline a while, and the recent news about the steel plant etc is unlikely to help. If you're planning on living there forever, it shouldn't matter_ too _much, but if you plan to sell on in a few years, you'd probably find that easier in Stockton.


----------



## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Yeah, I don't know the area too well. I can ask my mam for you if you have anything in mind. She's still in Stockton.
> 
> For instance, this looks fine to me, doesn't look like it needs any work, and it's pretty central. But I don't know if 'central' is a good thing or not in Stockton.


Yes please! Thats the main thing I don't know of any areas that I would be advised to "avoid". I've got family in North Yorkshire and they are all saying Stockton and Redcar are generally good, but don't know the areas in enough detail.


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> One thing that might sway you one way is that Stockton seems to be 'on the up' a little, while Redcar's been in decline a while, and the recent news about the steel plant etc is unlikely to help. If you're planning on living there forever, it shouldn't matter_ too _much, but if you plan to sell on in a few years, you'd probably find that easier in Stockton.


It's going to be a relatively long stay, 5 to 10 years minimum.


----------



## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> It's going to be a relatively long stay, 5 to 10 years minimum.


Just spoke to my mam. She said Norton is the place to be looking at the minute. fbm might be able to give you more detail on the 'good bits' in Norton, but my mam's colleague said there's a house for sale on her road. 75k. Two bedroom terrace. Derwent Road. Apparently it's a nice street.


----------



## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Just spoke to my mam. She said Norton is the place to be looking at the minute. fbm might be able to give you more detail on the 'good bits' in Norton, but my mam's colleague said there's a house for sale on her road. 75k. Two bedroom terrace. Derwent Road. Apparently it's a nice street.


Thanks, won't be buying until next year late spring/summer but it's a start.


----------



## neonwilderness (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Just spoke to my mam. She said Norton is the place to be looking at the minute. fbm might be able to give you more detail on the 'good bits' in Norton, but my mam's colleague said there's a house for sale on her road. 75k. Two bedroom terrace. Derwent Road. Apparently it's a nice street.


Not sure if it's still the case, but I think south of Boro used to be alright too - Yarm/Stokesley area?


----------



## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

neonwilderness said:


> Not sure if it's still the case, but I think south of Boro used to be alright too - Yarm/Stokesley area?


Yarm's a bit on the expensive side (for the area), need to look at how far the money will go it's not an endless supply.


----------



## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

neonwilderness said:


> Not sure if it's still the case, but I think south of Boro used to be alright too - Yarm/Stokesley area?


Still nice, but expensive (in NE terms).

You can pick up some lovely houses in the sticks if you really don't mind where you live.

This doesn't look bad, and Guisborough is alright: Rightmove - Error


----------



## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Still nice, but expensive (in NE terms).
> 
> You can pick up some lovely houses in the sticks if you really don't mind where you live.
> 
> This doesn't look bad, and Guisborough is alright: Rightmove - Error


Hadn't thought about Guisborough but you are right it's not bad.


----------



## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

My mam has just sent these over and said they're all in good areas. I know you're not looking to buy yet, but it might be helpful for next year and for expectations etc

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49472110.html
Rightmove - Error
Rightmove - Error
Rightmove - Error
Rightmove - Error
Rightmove - Error

Apparently the last one is especially good value for the location, though the lack of interior shots means it must need extensive work doing.

Love the description: "picturesque Village Green with its *iconic Duck Pond*"


----------



## Fez909 (Sep 30, 2015)

also, not sure why this is so cheap. 3 bed end terrace in stokesley for £70k!

Rightmove - Error


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Thanks, definitely something to work on!

My GF is in the office now going through all suggestions with a beady eye 

Oh house has to have a garden (that's one of my conditions for her getting  dog)


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## farmerbarleymow (Sep 30, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Just spoke to my mam. She said Norton is the place to be looking at the minute. fbm might be able to give you more detail on the 'good bits' in Norton, but my mam's colleague said there's a house for sale on her road. 75k. Two bedroom terrace. Derwent Road. Apparently it's a nice street.


Bearing in mind I've not lived there for quarter of a century...so take this with a pinch of salt.

Fairfield in Stockton used to have some decent bits - the older areas rather than the sprawling estate right on the edge of the town. No idea of prices though. 

I lived in Norton until I was about 8, so this is even more out of date! The High Street and around Norton Green was always a good area - nice old houses, and the ones on the High St seem to have massive gardens if you look at aerial images. That said, I'd guess they'd be somewhat more than £80k. 

There's some decent older houses a bit towards Stockton along Norton Road - that used to be a good area, but might be different now. 

Blue Hall was always a bit rough back in the day, but it might be better now.  

I think generally Billingham was best avoided when I lived there - it's just houses, an ICI plant and nowt else. Although one local amenity is Billy Bottoms - the local beck that we used to take the dog swimming in.


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## Fuchs66 (Sep 30, 2015)

Another plus point for the area is actually the chemical industry (yes I know it's not what it was), my experience might get me a position there.


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## farmerbarleymow (Sep 30, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Another plus point for the area is actually the chemical industry (yes I know it's not what it was), my experience might get me a position there.


My dad used to work at ICI Billingham, back in the 70s/80s. Don't know the scale of the industry in Teesside nowadays, but certainly less than it was when most of extended family worked in it.


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## Pickman's model (Sep 30, 2015)

farmerbarleymow said:


> My dad used to work at ICI Billingham, back in the 70s/80s. Don't know the scale of the industry in Teesside nowadays, but certainly less than it was when most of extended family worked in it.


did they destroy it?


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## farmerbarleymow (Sep 30, 2015)

Pickman's model said:


> did they destroy it?


Yes, family sabotage.


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## Buckaroo (Sep 30, 2015)

farmerbarleymow said:


> My dad used to work at ICI Billingham, back in the 70s/80s. Don't know the scale of the industry in Teesside nowadays, but certainly less than it was when most of extended family worked in it.



.


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## not-bono-ever (Oct 5, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Boing!
> 
> Looking at moving to Teeside next year (GF is going to be studying to be a paramedic there), will need to buy a house and looks as though Stockton or Redcar are the best bets. Due to the fact I haven't lived in UK for over 30 years my chances of a mortgage are less than zero, but I have been busy saving and will have about 80,000 Quid available. Any tips?



this is no use at all but with the A1 being shut at nightd, I had to divert via Barnard Castle last weekend whilst en route to Newcastle.  my, I forgot how nice it was up that neck of the woods. came back via thr a19 - some lovely places around there


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## AysaCloudsinger (Oct 9, 2015)

Worked in south bank for a couple of years. Worst asda to visit ever. Only peterlee comes close.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 9, 2015)

AysaCloudsinger said:


> Worked in south bank for a couple of years. Worst asda to visit ever. Only peterlee comes close.


Been warned off about South Bank already


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## AysaCloudsinger (Oct 9, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Been warned off about South Bank already


Were you considering living there like?!


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 9, 2015)

AysaCloudsinger said:


> Were you considering living there like?!


No I was warned off before I even considered


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## Fez909 (Oct 12, 2015)

Tour de Yorkshire coming to Boro 

Middlesbrough announced as one of Tour de Yorkshire host towns


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 12, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> Tour de Yorkshire coming to Boro
> 
> Middlesbrough announced as one of Tour de Yorkshire host towns


Yep, read about that yesterday


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## contadino (Oct 13, 2015)

Not sure where precisely Teeside covers, but stopped in Tynemouth a few weeks back and thought it was fab. About as gentrified as Harrogate but without that whole Yorkshire chip on t'shoulder thing going on.


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## Citizen66 (Oct 13, 2015)

River Tyne being a clue that it isn't the river Tees.


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## Fez909 (Oct 13, 2015)

Citizen66 said:


> River Tyne being a clue that it isn't the river Tees.


Comes on the thread, bigging up the local 'rivals', slagging off half the residents (south of the Tees is Yorkshire). 

*tut tut* contadino


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## contadino (Oct 13, 2015)

They seemed so friendly... How was I to know..?

So there is actually a River Tee? Srlsly? Off to scour the map looking for it now...

Soz.

ETA: To be fair, it looks more like a babbling brook than a river. I had to Max zoom just to get the name to show up. I'm sure it's lovely there. Wind in the Willows'n all.


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## Citizen66 (Oct 13, 2015)

TEES ffs.

TEES fucking SIDE!


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## Citizen66 (Oct 13, 2015)

contadino said:


> They seemed so friendly... How was I to know..?
> 
> So there is actually a River Tee? Srlsly? Off to scour the map looking for it now...
> 
> ...



Don't venture there as you'll get your head kicked in. It's 'friendly' but dark as fuck too. Don't expect America.


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## Fez909 (Oct 13, 2015)

contadino said:


> They seemed so friendly... How was I to know..?
> 
> So there is actually a River Tee? Srlsly? Off to scour the map looking for it now...
> 
> ...


I was only joking but you're still digging! 

Babbling brook?!


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## Citizen66 (Oct 13, 2015)

Fez909 lets organise an urban meet at The Brambles Farm. 

I reckon we might just about survive being from the area and saying the right things.


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## contadino (Oct 13, 2015)

OK. Gonna just stfu now and lay it on the osm cartographers.


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## alan_ (Oct 13, 2015)

Its joint 28th longest

also 
Port of Tees and River Tees - SkyscraperCity

but it needs updating with the steel and all that


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## Citizen66 (Oct 13, 2015)

28th out of how many though. 29 lol?


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 17, 2015)

Fez909

Been looking again do you know what the area around the University Hospital is like? There's a couple of nice looking places for sale there at a reasonable price.
Eg: Rightmove - Error


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## Fez909 (Oct 17, 2015)

Fuchs66 said:


> Fez909
> 
> Been looking again do you know what the area around the University Hospital is like? There's a couple of nice looking places for sale there at a reasonable price.
> Eg: Rightmove - Error


No idea I'm afraid. Will ask the mother.

Looks like your typical Teesside (ex-)council estate on street view.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 17, 2015)

Fez909 said:


> No idea I'm afraid. Will ask the mother.
> 
> Looks like your typical Teesside (ex-)council estate on street view.


OK cheers, I'll probably be going there in December to take a good look round then, just trying to concentrate on the more likely areas, Norton is still looking good.


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## DownwardDog (Aug 10, 2017)

Ok, I'm back in Hartlepool.

I stopped at a traffic light this morning and had to wait while two elderly men crossed the road while transporting a fruit machine in a wheelbarrow. I realised one of them was my late father's' friend "Jim". His principal claim to fame was making it on to the committee of the local workingmens' club at fifteen years of age.

I stopped to talk to him. Both of his granddaughters are heroin addicts and he had recently enjoyed a trip to Turkey where they had "English food and everything."


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## not-bono-ever (Aug 11, 2017)

Poor Teeside. I have been looking at the Salmon numbers in the river this year- they are down about 80% of late. Seals being blamed.


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## Fuchs66 (Aug 11, 2017)

not-bono-ever said:


> Poor Teeside. I have been looking at the Salmon numbers in the river this year- they are down about 80% of late. Seals being blamed.


There has been a pretty big increase in the seal population in the North East going by my last trip home!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## farmerbarleymow (May 7, 2019)

Bumping this to link to an interesting blog I've discovered, full of snippets of history of Teesside and stuff.

Hidden Teesside -


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## Maidmarian (Dec 8, 2019)

From Fishburn . Sorry


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## DownwardDog (Feb 8, 2020)

Another Hartlepool trip, this time to be the executor of a will. Excellent conversations I have heard in Brexit Ground Zero:

(One woman to another)
How's your mam, Sue?
I think she's alright in herself. I saw her on Sunday and she shit herself then asked for a choc ice.

(Teenage mother to her child)
Luna! If you spill that orange I'll go fuckin mad and you won't get a sausage roll.


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## UrbaneFox (Feb 9, 2021)

DownwardDog, I love your updates, thanks


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## Fez909 (Feb 10, 2021)

DownwardDog said:


> Another Hartlepool trip, this time to be the executor of a will. Excellent conversations I have heard in Brexit Ground Zero:
> 
> (One woman to another)
> How's your mam, Sue?
> ...


There really is something in the water up there. My auntie is a nurse and has been doing Covid vaccinations. She said they sometimes have some doses left over so anyone who happens to be around can get the jab. My grandparents are in their mid-80s, with multiple health issues, so pretty high risk - she called and asked if they want to come get the vaccine?

"Nahh, you're alright. It's a bit late to be going out"

It was 7pm.

ffs 

My sister is 33. She's pretty healthy except for she has diabetes, which apparently puts her in an elevated risk category. She told me she turned down her vaccine appointment recently because they could only offer her a place 2 miles away and she wasn't sure how she'd get there.


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## steeplejack (Feb 10, 2021)

A few photos taken around 'Boro from a pre-pandemic visit in August 2019. The beach is at Blackhall Colliery, from the famous closing scene of _Get Carter_ (all horrible colliery / waste tipping conveyor belts long having vanished).

Middlesbrough and Hartlepool get a bad press but I like them and the folk I have met there have been really sound.


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## Chilli.s (Feb 10, 2021)

steeplejack said:


> Blackhall Colliery


I remember that beach from before get carter and it was nothing like that, thank fuck.    All the NE has come on so much... today it's like the new cornwall. 

Great pics


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## UrbaneFox (Feb 11, 2021)

I fell into this thread, and am intrigued by all things Teesside.

Just noticed this in today's Guardian: Stockton council is proposing demolishing half of Stockton. Sort of.

“Ever since Woolworths closed in 2008, Stockton Council has been rethinking what the town centre should be,” says councillor Nigel Cooke.









						Bulldoze the high street and build a giant park: is Stockton the future of Britain?
					

What do you do when M&S, Debenhams and New Look are all gone? Knock down the shopping centre and replace it with green space. Could the ‘visionary’ plan of Stockton-on-Tees spark a revolution?




					www.theguardian.com


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## farmerbarleymow (Feb 11, 2021)

UrbaneFox said:


> I fell into this thread, and am intrigued by all things Teesside.
> 
> Just noticed this in today's Guardian: Stockton council is proposing demolishing half of Stockton. Sort of.
> 
> ...


I remember the Castlegate centre as a kid, and the big woolies up near the top end near Yorkshire Bank.  Used to chuck water bombs onto passers by from the roof of the indoor tripe market.  Like many towns it's taken a hammering with shops shutting so this sort of makes sense, but they might regret it in winter with icy winds blowing in from the North Sea straight onto the High Street.


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## UrbaneFox (Feb 11, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> I remember ... the indoor tripe market.


Another casualty, I expect


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## farmerbarleymow (Feb 11, 2021)

UrbaneFox said:


> Another casualty, I expect


Not at all - I've never eaten tripe, thankfully.


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## The39thStep (Feb 11, 2021)

Havent been to Stockton since I was a teenager to be honest and that was to see a couple of bands  aside from one occasion  which I'll tell you abou which actually isnt really about Stockton and more about being young and daft.

I  lived in a place called Hurworth,  at the bottom end and the top end was where the more affluent houses and families were.  I went to Eaglesciffe Comprehensive and  quite a few of the boys at the top end went to Stockton Grammar. Our paths only crossed in the village to be honest. Anyway there was this kid same age as me who lived at the top end who went to Stockton Grammar, he was about the same build as me ie tall , fairly good at sports and popular with the girls at the posh end. He used to think he was a bit handy, bit of a rebel but he couldnt cut it tbh so we were sort of friendly with him and then not so friendly in bouts.

Anyway when we was in with him he was always banging on about his school and how they did this and that and for whatever reason he once said we wouldnt last five minutes at his school. So I said right I'll come to school with you one day and if anyone asks just say I live near you and I'm a new starter. All my mates think this is a  fantastic idea. So he agrees and I queue up with him one morning to get on their school bus, the other kids who lived in the village and went to Stockton Grammar weren't excactly pleased to see me but when Andrew explained what the plot was they all thought it was great, mainly because they though he was great., which really wasnt the point imo. So we get there and I spend a day at his school  daringly masquerading as a new pupil . A fanatstically brave and daring exercise into total banality to be honest and a complete waste of a day.It was all boys so no girls to impress with my darring do. I went to a Latin class, answered a question in history, had  a brief conversation with a teacher who kindly asked about my previous schooling which I had to lie about, spoke to the PE teacher about joining the footbal team , carved our little gang name The Huworth Hen and Hatchet Boys on a desk and that was it it.All I can say is that you might not get away with it these days but I'm not sure to be honest who would want to get away with it.
Two years later I'm working at a brickyard and this cunts is at university.


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## kalidarkone (Feb 12, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Not at all - I've never eaten tripe, thankfully.


Its gross


----------



## pseudonarcissus (Feb 12, 2021)

kalidarkone said:


> Its gross


It’s perfectly delicious outside the U.K.


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## farmerbarleymow (Feb 12, 2021)

pseudonarcissus said:


> It’s perfectly delicious outside the U.K.


And it can bloody stay that way.


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## Elpenor (Feb 13, 2021)

I went to a wedding at Tall Trees hotel, which is Teesside I think. Anyway afterwards, I drove back to the Middlesbrough Travelodge and stopped for petrol, the cashier was snogging someone over the counter when I walked in to pay, the guy moved away so I could pay, and then resumed when I left the shop.


----------



## dessiato (Feb 13, 2021)

Mrs Dess and I have been thinking about moving back to the UK. If we do, we thought that it might be a good idea to look at Teesside because it would be easy access to Lincolnshire and to Edinburgh.


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## farmerbarleymow (Feb 14, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Mrs Dess and I have been thinking about moving back to the UK. If we do, we thought that it might be a good idea to look at Teesside because it would be easy access to Lincolnshire and to Edinburgh.


It's so many years since I lived there I don't know what it's like much any more, but like anywhere some parts are run-down/deprived while some are posher and more affluent.  I suspect the North Sea wouldn't be so inviting to go swimming in compared to the sea where you are.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 14, 2021)

steeplejack said:


> The beach is at Blackhall Colliery, from the famous closing scene of _Get Carter_ (all horrible colliery / waste tipping conveyor belts long having vanished).


Remember seeing a man collecting coal on that beach when I went up there in the late 80s.  He'd sensibly brought a wheelbarrow with them.


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## DownwardDog (Mar 14, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Mrs Dess and I have been thinking about moving back to the UK. If we do, we thought that it might be a good idea to look at Teesside because it would be easy access to Lincolnshire and to Edinburgh.











						Check out this 2 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove
					

2 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Stephen Street, Hartlepool, TS26 8QB, TS26 for £5,000. Marketed by Bond Wolfe Auctions, Birmingham




					www.rightmove.co.uk
				




Just learn to put the word 'like' on the end of every sentence and you'll fit right in.


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## dessiato (Mar 14, 2021)

DownwardDog said:


> Check out this 2 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove
> 
> 
> 2 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Stephen Street, Hartlepool, TS26 8QB, TS26 for £5,000. Marketed by Bond Wolfe Auctions, Birmingham
> ...


Corrected for you.

What's wrong with it that it should be so cheap? And what's in that yard next door? I'm guessing it needs gutting, and there's a nasty storage site next to and behind it. There's got to be something very wrong.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 14, 2021)

DownwardDog said:


> Check out this 2 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove
> 
> 
> 2 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Stephen Street, Hartlepool, TS26 8QB, TS26 for £5,000. Marketed by Bond Wolfe Auctions, Birmingham
> ...


That's mad - I could buy it on the credit card.  My parents first house when they moved back to the UK was £4,000 - but that was about fifty years ago.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 14, 2021)

dessiato said:


> There's got to be something very wrong.


It looks bleak with the pebbledash.


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## pseudonarcissus (Mar 14, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Corrected for you.
> 
> What's wrong with it that it should be so cheap? And what's in that yard next door? I'm guessing it needs gutting, and there's a nasty storage site next to and behind it. There's got to be something very wrong.


It’s an auction reserve, I suspect there will more than one bidder, like.


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## DownwardDog (Mar 14, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Corrected for you.
> 
> What's wrong with it that it should be so cheap? And what's in that yard next door? I'm guessing it needs gutting, and there's a nasty storage site next to and behind it. There's got to be something very wrong.



That's not a yard, it's the "back street" which has been fenced off in the most neo-brutalist style possible to try to contain the incipient heroin fuelled crime wave.

I know the street quite well as my mate's gf lived there. It's very handy for the Odd Cod, you'd probably be able to smell it every night.


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## dessiato (Mar 14, 2021)

DownwardDog said:


> That's not a yard, it's the "back street" which has been fenced off in the most neo-brutalist style possible to try to contain the incipient heroin fuelled crime wave.
> 
> I know the street quite well as my mate's gf lived there. It's very handy for the Odd Cod, you'd probably be able to smell it every night.


But cod?

Seriously though, I'm very tempted to look more at it. Assuming the interior is solid, a refit wouldn't be too expensive, and I could flip it, or let it.


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## farmerbarleymow (Mar 14, 2021)

DownwardDog said:


> That's not a yard, it's the "back street" which has been fenced off in the most neo-brutalist style possible to try to contain the incipient heroin fuelled crime wave.


Is that still a big problem up in Teesside?  I remember hearing about it after I'd left.


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## DownwardDog (Mar 14, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Is that still a big problem up in Teesside?  I remember hearing about it after I'd left.



I haven't lived there for years and am an infrequent visitor but, from the reports of friends and family, it seems to be absolutely rife.


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## not-bono-ever (Mar 14, 2021)

.


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## farmerbarleymow (May 7, 2021)

What the fuck is wrong with the people of Hartlepool?  

Presumably the radiation from the nuclear power station has addled their minds.


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## DownwardDog (Oct 31, 2022)

I have a lot of elderly relatives and am apparently the only one of my many cousins who is not an alcoholic, gambling addict or an undischarged bankrupt. I am therefore the executor of many wills. It is to discharge the duties of this office that I find myself back in Hartlepool so here are your new reports from Brexit Ground Zero.

Family of five in Asda all wearing pajamas at 4:30pm.

Woman in a mobility scooter waiting for the tattoo shop to open shouting at her younger companion (daughter?), "GET US A MORRELLS PORK PIE, WILL YER!" (Morrell's Pie shop being a local institution of analgous cultural heft to the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Florence.)

12 year old lad screaming at his dead eyed mother,"WHERE'S ME VAPE YOU FUCKIN PRAT?"


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