January7th. The day dedicated to my arrival, by all accounts it was cold and snowing (not unusual in those days)
I was delivered as was my brother and sister before me in the front bedroom of my parents upstairs flat, my grandmother was in attendance along with “auntie jean” no relation, but considered as one by all families around, something akin to communities established in the late sixties where everyone looked after each others kids for the common good.
As I say home was a three bed roomed flat with a typical layout for the time it was built around 1875/6.
Stairs from the street climbing steeply towards a landing from which ran the small (back bedroom) followed by the living area next door. The master bedroom and the small front bedroom. Taking up space at the front.
The kitchen area was offset behind the living area leading also to the back stairs into the communal yard which we shared with my Nan who lived below us.
In the yard by the back gate into the alley was the coal bunker and toilet.
We were the middle of a block of 14 houses within the terrace at no8 my Nan being no7 Auntie Jean was no12.
Beyond the alley was a further terrace of 8 houses only which were houses rather than flats.
To the side was a common patch of land acting as a buffer between us and the farmyard.
The main street was a metalled road by the time I was born though when first built would have been cobbled in keeping with the rest of the village.
Opposite the front of the house was the cemetery enclosed by what seemed to be a gigantic brick wall about which I wondered if it was to keep us out or the inmates in?
We lived to the south of the village and as I grew obviously my travels were expanding year on year, the cemetery was the southern boundary while to the north and down the hill was the colliery which my father took great pride in telling me was at I square mile the same size as the city of Westminster.
Looking downwards from the vantage point near the church I could see row upon row of terraced housing with the occasional crescent thrown in for the elder citizens.
The top of the hill was where the church stood (still to this day) having been built around 1225ish.
The school I was first to attend was built within the quarry from where the stones for the church were taken, a dividing main road running from Sunderland to Newcastle meandered at that time through the centre of the village with council house adorning the side of the road along with houses further towards the east of the lords and ladies of out time.
To the east of our humble terrace also lay the trappings of wealth and glamour being the area where the golf course lay and just beyond that some very large detached houses occupied by doctors and lawyers, teachers and industrialists.
They were built(so I assume) because of their proximity to the railway lines affording ease of access to the city, sadly today it is used as part of the metro infrastructure allowing all manner of thieves and vagabonds access to the rich and stately homes while the owners are away.
Along the main highway there also ran our version of the Berlin wall only this one was red.
It was the dividing line keeping us from our hopes and aspirations of the day……..
Semi detached council houses.
They had gardens, inside toilets, plumbed in bathrooms, running hot and cold water and central heating there was even among the estate dedicated areas for children to play …
LUXURY.
These houses were a continuation of the development of social housing started in the late 1940s early 1950s.
Quite a few terraces were destroyed during the war being a heavily industrialised area due to the coal production and the shipyards on the Tyne and wear.
(Do you know there is a half submerged concrete built boat in the wear estuary?)
Targeted by the Luftwaffe always reminds me of ice cream that word one of my first memories is of the ice cream van coming down on a Friday ringing his bell until we got to school it was the only indication that the weekend was upon us as the ice man was there.
The big time came of course in 1958. 5 years old and time for school, I knew of it of course because of my sister and brother they used to disappear almost every day for what seemed like an eternity only to reappear with satchels full to the brim of wondrous things like crayons and paper to amuse me though if I used the joined up paper to draw efalumps and dragons on my sister would hit me.
