Where I Live - Part I

I have been in the north-east of England for almost two years now, living in a village which is officially part of Gateshead. Here is a quick tour.



This is the local garage. It is about a minute's walk from where we stay. The bastards aren't open 24 hrs, but this remains the place to go if you've run out of milk, sliced bread or cigarettes.

The village is built on a kind of circuit design. I try to regularly take a walk all the way round, which works out at a lovely bite-sized half hour. This is the "bottom Coop", which is on a parade of shops down at the bottom of the village. There are shops at the "top" of the village too, but for some weird reason we never seem to frequent them.

The village's most notorious landmark. Officially called the "Derwent Tower", it is actually almost universally known as "The Rocket". Due to be demolished some time soon, the Rocket is a useful landmark if you find yourself lost in the general area. It has about two tenants left, or something. Down beside the "bottom shops".

Just further on from the Rocket, as you carry on your walk around the village, this is "The Clav", one of the local Working Men's Clubs. Oft frequented by my father-in-law.

Carry on past the Clav, and you start to climb the hill, towards the "top shops", a couple of churches, and the A1. The first real feature you pass is the "Dunston Activity Centre", where you can pay your rent, engage in various community activities, and which also houses the local library.