What's your name and where do you live?

My name's (NAME) and I live at (PLACE), Lanchester

And what about you?

My name's (NAME) and I live in (PLACE) in Whickham

So, How long have you lived in your houses?

I've lived in Lanchester, um, all me life, but I've lived in that particular house, twenty-one years.

Ok and what about you?

I've lived in that house for (pause) eight years now.

What made you move to the house where you are now?

I got married and moved into that house

I originally lived in a different area, in Gosforth area and moved because of schools

Erm, so where had you lived previously?

We previously lived in Gosforth

What made you choose the area in which you live, rather than anywhere else?

For me, I just lived there because I'd grown up in Lanchester, it's where I wanted to have me family and everything so I just stayed living where I knew, I suppose

We chose that particular house because it was near to the school, so it was within walking distance to the school, it was easier.

Ok, so where were your parents born and raised?

My parents (cough) are from, well, me Father was born in Whickham and lived for a few years there and then lived in Sacriston and then moved to Lanchester with his parents and my Mother is from the Durham area and when they married they came to Lanchester to live

Erm, (cough) my Mother was from the Durham area as well erm, and lived all her life in the Durham area, and my Dad was from erm, Stanley area, Stanley, Anfield Plain area. When they got married they moved in, first, in that area and then moved to Lanchester.

Ok, so is that where you were born?

I was born in Anfield Plain, I was born at home, in the place they had at Anfield Plain

I was born at Sedgefield which was a uh, a hospital, a maternity hospital really that's all that they dealt with. I was the first born so I was born in a hospital, which was usual in those days, second children were sometimes born at home, third and fourth.

Yeah, (cough) (NAME) was born, (NAME) was born in a hospital (interruption) erm,

(interruption) yeah, he was born in hospital, he was the first, I think a lot of people had their first in hospital, where now, although it's becoming a trend now

(interruption) yeah

So did you choose to have your children born in hospital, rather than at home, and why was that?

Well I was fairly terrified so I would definitely never had them other than in the hospital, but I only had the one (laughter)

Erm (cough) yeah, it was the done thing to have first (cough) the first ones anyway, in hospital, I would possibly have quite liked to have the others (pause) at home (interruption) It's still wasn't particularly encouraged, not as much as it is now (interruption) I suppose

(interruption) It's not that encouraged (interruption) now now mothers lead the way more, but in those days you were still (unclear) weren't you?

Yeah, yeah and both labours for the second two were fairly quick anyway. One was under an hour and the other one was just three hours so

You weren't in hospital long for your second and third were you? so

No, I was in about a day and, a couple of days with the second, and came home the next, well, within hours of the third, the third one

Well I wasn't well when I was expecting my daughter so I was in hospital four weeks prior to having her with preeclampsia and then I gave birth and me blood pressure was still high so I was in for another week after having her so I was in for quite a long time.

Well it's not unusual to have the week though is it afterwards 'cause

no, a lot of people did stay in, certainly for the five nights,

yeah I was in, it wasn't encouraged to come out before four or five (interruption) days anyway with the first (pause) baby

(interruption) no That's right. Well I was really in quite a long time, in all, so that was quite reassuring to be in hospital then rather than just being at home.

What made you choose the schools that you chose for your children? What kind of requirements or what did you look at when you were thinking about which schools you wanted them to go to?

Well, I suppose I gave that less thought because I stayed in Lanchester where I'd lived, so my daughter went to the junior school, well, the infant and junior school in the village, erm, which was the same one that I'd gone to myself and then after that I just really let her go where to the secondary school where her friends were going. There was a choice of two, sort of feeder schools, erm, but one of them was more difficult to get in to than the other, but because her friends were going, I just sort of let her go, because she was quite quiet and shy, and I just didn't want her to have to go somewhere and not know many people. So it was more important for her to feel happy there, than, erm force her to go, maybe to a school I would have preferred, erm, and then just sort of withdrawn, maybe, and not even do as well. So I just went with, I just went with the flow really.

Mm, the first school and the middle school in Gosforth (pause) were very good, and especially the first school was a very happy school, so everything was going really well, and, the middle school, was excellent as well, and we liked the middle school, so, their idea of things and the way the teaching was done there, which, I think gave (pause) all three a- an advantage really, 'cause they're had the middle school teaching rather than just from the first school and then straight into the big school. Erm, but then when it came to go into the high school, erm, at the time, although, it, apparently it's better now, at the time, it, the high school at Gosforth had erm, not such a good reputation and results weren't so good, erm, and at the time as well, erm, when we needed to start thinking about senior school, erm, a lot of friends were, and a lot of friend's parents were thinking about sending them to private school rather than to the high school, so it wasn't all, a case of necessarily going with friends anyway, erm (interruption) (unclear) yeah, so at that point

(interruption) and you were changing where you lived and everything weren't you?

Yeah, we were looking for a big house anyway, so it was a case of, we didn't need to be in Gosforth to, erm, to look for a house if the school wasn't suitable, we could move. And I guess we came back this way near towards (interruption) where we were from anyway, nearer family and everything like that

(interruption) nearer home

So, did you go to school near where you lived? Near where you live now or?

I did, because, as I say, I've lived, I've lived a very boring life really, I've lived in Lanchester all me life, so I just went to school in Lanchester I went to the secondary schools which were just, I mean, they weren't in the village but they were where you went if you lived in the village. Erm, so yes, I haven't really been anywhere else

Mm, well, I was born in Anfield Plain, I went to school in Anfield plain, first school and junior school in Anfield Plain. Erm, and then yeah I guess I just went to the (interruption) comprehensive which was the, the feeder school from

senior school, which is in fact the same as the Lanchester one, they just led to the same school so really it didn't matter, although Anfield Plain isn't in Lanchester, it was the same community really (interruption) for schools and things wasn't it?

Yeah, so it didn't matter when we moved from Anfield Plain to Lanchester 'cause they just (interruption) went into the same school

(interruption) you were with the same friends and everything

Can you remember any teachers that you particularly liked or that you disliked, or that were a bit strange or?

I can remember them all, (laughter) without exception I think really, yeah, I can, I've got a quite, I've got a good memory right back and then, (NAME) went to the, when (NAME) went to the infants and junior school, she got some of the same teachers, that I'd had at infants and junior school, so they'd been really young, young girls when I'd been taught by them and they were coming up to retirement when, by the time (NAME) went there. Yeah, erm, I can remember them, I think again, being from a smaller community, you sort of knew your teachers and they lived round about and so you did know them so you don't really forget them that much. And then secondary school I think you remember when you're older anyway, and you do have some, well, I mean, my secondary school (pause) the first secondary school I went to for the first few years was (cough) very, very harsh discipline really, compared to nowadays. We still had caning and, so you knew all the teachers what, you know, which ones you could do what with really, so yes, I can remember all that. I know I never got caned as well. I seemed to work that out.

Yeah, it was, it was, yeah, it was different wasn't it? The whole discipline thing and everything. Erm, I remember, a particular teacher, it was an absolutely excellent maths teacher, but he didn't stand for any nonsense in his class and he could hit anybody with a blackboard rubber from the other side of the classroom (interruption) without even, without even, without even looking where he was throwing.

(interruption) Blackboard rubbers were very popular to throw, and pieces of chalk

He'd just, over his shoulder and it'd hit somebody on the head, if they were misbehaving, no problem at all. I guess you would get in to trouble for doing that now.

Yes, I can't imagine he'd get away with it, and of course, really, they didn't care who they told off really as long as it got everybody back to, they weren't interested that it wasn't you because they just wanted everything back to being right

Nobody ever misbehaved in his class (interruption) maybe the first few weeks, people tried, but

(interruption) no

I got, we got two new teachers, when I was in the second year of seniors, I can still remember their names, Mr (NAME) and Mr (NAME). And erm, Mr (NAME) was really really quiet, very, very quietly spoken, and you had to almost strain to hear him. And Mr (NAME) was really like friendly and really sort of you know, you erm, you liked him a lot, but when all came to all Mr (NAME) was absolutely run ragged by the whole of the class and they never paid any attention to him whatsoever. He used to let us do more things though, we could have, we could chew in lessons and that's sort of, it was all just we pushed and pushed to the limit. Whereas Mr (NAME) was so quiet you just thought that you couldn't walk over him, you just never said a word out of place, 'cause he just had this quiet authority that you just, I think he spoke so quietly that, you had to strain to hear him that you didn't have time to talk or misbehave 'cause you were trying to listen to him 'cause he was sort of different, I suppose, but out of the two, you would've thought you'd have, you know, maybe done more of what Mr (NAME) said, and less of what Mr (NAME) said, but it wasn't the way it worked out.

Mm, I remember, (cough) a very quiet, I can't remember his name actually, very quiet teacher, we only had him for a few terms (pause) in (pause) the junior school, who spent his first lesson, he spent about half an hour telling us this story about his mother and how his mother had given him this ring and he would twirl it round on his finger, how his mother had given this ring and how he'd always worn this ring, and how it was very special to him, and he never ever took it off and the only time he took it off was when he was angry and if he was going to smack some naughty children. And then he would just twist and twiddle it off and took it off and put it on his desk so then just never ever ever did anyone misbehave again, because as soon as anyone was misbehaving, he was just sat twisting his ring round his finger, and I think I can only remember him twice taking it off and put it on his desk, and that was a sign to everybody that that was it, that was far enough, and don't go any further otherwise there was going to be trouble. I mean, he never had to do anything, (interruption) it was just the threat that that might mean

(interruption) no I'd find it difficult to think back and think, I remember clearly junior school, and even then there was discipline, and we had a maths teacher for our last year and we used to get the sandshoe, it was like a sandshoe cupboard at the back and there was a large sandshoe in there. We'd had a large Dutch girl come to stay, uh, and she was very big compared to the rest of us and so she had this large sandshoe, and she was only with us a few months, but this big sandshoe stayed in the cupboard, and that was what we used to be disciplined with. And I look now at junior school children and I can't believe now that you would go up to the sandshoe cupboard and go and get your sandshoe and take it down to the front and bend over and you'd be whacked on the bottom. Now I'd just, I'd be horrified if that happened to (NAME), and yet for me then, although it never used to be me who'd get the sandshoe, it was just normal, you know, we never thought it was even wrong or, and the people who misbehaved were the people who regularly misbehaved so the fact that they got the sandshoe didn't actually stop them misbehaving all the time

The difference then though, is if you misbehaved and you got into trouble like that at school, you'd get into even more trouble when you went home,

You wouldn't have said where, I mean now, you would, well, as I say, I wouldn't have wanted (NAME) to have had that happen, but it was normal then, and that was how it was. So yes, there was some quite, characters that have been teachers, that I've experienced anyway, I don't know whether they're quite so like that now. But yes, I can remember lots of them.

So would you say that teachers were better then than they are now, or would you (pause) what do you think?

I -- I wouldn't like to say really, because you can't compare, I mean I've obviously come across teachers with (NAME), erm, but (NAME)'s a completely different character to me so it's difficult to -- to compare that but certainly (pause) it was less structured, when I was at school. So you could have lessons that were spontaneous, you know, something that might have happened or you know, the teacher might have seen something that morning where now, when I've gone in to help with school, when (NAME) was little, it was, it's the same sort of curriculum, and it's like rotated through, so like, I'd go in one year, and they were doing, for instance transport, and then the next year it would come round like a slot and it'd be like much more structured now, that's what I think anyway, I mean, I don't know enough about it. But like when we were at school it was a bit erm (pause) a bit more (pause) sort of I think it could change, you know, if something happened in the day the lesson could just be picked up at whatever, you know, you would still be learning about your subject, but it might not be on that set

I think the curriculum's just taught differently but it's the same today as it was before, there was good teachers and bad teachers then and there's good teachers and bad teachers now isn't there? Some might necessarily know their stuff, it doesn't mean they're necessarily

(NAME) always seemed to bring lots of sheets of things home, whereas we had proper books with lots written in them so you could study, you didn't so much rely on the textbooks. 'Cause if you had done it all in your, in your book

And I think the fact you'd actually written it down yourself, helped you know and learn it anyway, rather than you just having the sheet (interruption) if you had actually written the sheet out yourself then

Well we were taught in maths, just formulas of how you did it, not -- not lots of formulas, just a formula to do a task, so you did long division, and once you were taught how to do long division you could have had the longest number in the world to do a long division sum with and it wouldn't have been a problem, 'cause you'd learnt how to do it. Where I found that with (NAME), when she was taught she was shown lots of ways. Presumably for her to understand it better, and choose a way that she was happy with, but I, I don't always think that's successful

it's confusing

And I think, unless you're particularly good at maths, I think you're best just learning one way, and eventually, you will understand why you're doing it, you don't necessarily have to understand it at the very beginning. And again, that's just little bits that I've come across really, just through seeing (NAME), and she has found it confusing that way, like, I didn't have the chance to get confused 'cause you just did that and did that, and when you did that and that you got the answer, so.

A lot depends on the teacher that you happen to get for things like that doesn't it, so, 'cause some of them know it all in their head, but they're not very good at explaining and think you should know

know it, yes, I think (NAME) found that she had one really good teacher at secondary school, and she really improved a lot. But for her GCSE two years she had a teacher who was very very good at maths, but really couldn't grasp that people didn't understand what they were doing, and therefore wasn't really good at explaining. Where sometimes I think if you'd struggled yourself more, you can then maybe explain, and I think we relied on that a little bit more at school, we used to often, it would be a friend that would help explain something to you, and you would get it more sometimes because they're explaining it in a different sort of way. And that can sort of work (cough) more, you know, but like you say, I think there's good and bad of everything, really. I don't feel that young people know as much general stuff as we knew, but that might be more

(interruption) not as much specific, I think there probably is

Yeah, I think we seemed to know a lot about, a little bit about lots of things, where now, (cough) sometimes I'll say something and you can't believe that they haven't heard of it or, but then maybe that's me not realising how little I did know about things back then. About general things, maybe I didn't. But I do feel that, I think good grief, did I know that when I was that age, I feel as if I did, but I don't know. It's hard to tell isn't it? Whether it's been accumulated since then, or (interruption) whether it was

(interruption) well maybe you did know it then.

But I left school at sixteen so I've been left a long time now.

Em, you said that your daughter is different at school to how you were, what were you like at school, did you like school?

I liked it, but I mean, she liked it as well, as in, as in, she liked going and meeting her friends and everything but I was more, (NAME)'s a lot quieter, although I wasn't as noisy at school as I am now, I think I was a lot, I did interact a lot more than (NAME) ever did, so, erm (pause) and I -- I I think I always wanted to understand, some would have said I don't understand and wanted to understand and needed to understand, where (NAME), didn't want to be the focus of attention ever, so she was sort of, she used to just sort of merge into the background, and because she was no trouble, you know, she wasn't sort of misbehaved or anything, then so she sort of just somehow slipped by a lot of the time where like I didn't, I was always, everybody knew who I was,

Hmm, it's very easy for quiet, the quiet children to just fade into the background isn't it? Especially if they're in with the noisy ones or naughty kids or whatever

Yeah it does make you think, and really, when I had (NAME) little, I hadn't realised how quiet she was, because she wasn't like that at home so much, but once I started taking her to playgroups and things, I started to realise, you know, that she would just rather just stand and watch what was happening, rather than join in, erm, yes, so she was diff- definitely different to me, erm, certainly at school. Yeah, there was difference there, but yeah, I -- I'm, I mean I enjoyed school, I mean I left at sixteen which is what the majority of people did, I mean very few people stayed on at school when I left school. It was really people who were classed as sort of academic, and you sort of got, the people who left with like five GCSEs or maybe a few more went in to, you know, banking, or civil service or whatever. Erm, and the others would stay on and do A-Levels and then like go on to maybe university or maybe to teaching or something like that. I would have liked to have taught, I would have liked to have taught domestic science of all things which is like totally different to what it was when I went to school and what (NAME)'s done in, I don't know, what's it called now? It's not domestic science anymore, what's it called? It's em, food and design or something like that. So it's nothing like cooking, I mean heck, I don't think they learn to cook that much in it. But I would have liked to have taught that. I don't think I'd have liked to have been teaching the food and design they do now. But when I left school at sixteen, although I could have stayed on, I had enough to be able to stay on any do A-Levels, it was teaching that was absolutely over, there was far too many people that wanted to teach.

You did proper cookery didn't you when erm, you used to come home with a casserole or an apple crumble or a, (interruption) in a little basket with a cover over (laughter) You used to have all the, all the erm, timing plans, you used to have to do the timing plan first, (interruption) (unclear)

You used to have like nine o'clock, set the things out, and then twenty past nine wash up, nine thirty, put the oven on, you had to time everything you were going to do

Yeah, but then you came home with something, like you could have for your tea that night, and apple crumble or a proper casserole or a pie or (interruption) (unclear)

(interruption) (unclear) For GCSE I had to make an afternoon tea for a garden party or something, I can't remember what the event was, but you had to make about six dishes, you know, you had to, I did flans and sausage rolls and all in this, quite a short time, and plan it all to and then you had to set the table with cloths, and make it all look, present it really well

And then you used to have to rotate that with the sewing things as well, (laughter) I made a nightie, it was more like a tent (laughter)

I did, I used to be quite good at sewing really I don't know, but I -- I did, we had to do, when I first started school you had to sew an apron, which you used for cookery. So you did, in needlework you made your apron, then you used it for cookery. That was first, when you first went to senior school for me, and then erm, and then you did the sewing and started off with a skirt, which you would never have worn in a million years (interruption) with some horrible material and petershem round the top, which, I don't think anybody would even know what it was now, and erm, did, then I went onto a nightie

(interruption) no We made a flowery nightie, we had to do it with little puffy sleeves, so that you could learn to do the elasticy bit (interruption) round the sleeve

(interruption) (laughter)

And how to put the lace on and things (interruption) it was a bit like a tent

(interruption) my needlework teacher was called Mrs (NAME) and her daughter ice-skated, she was an ice-skater, so she used to make all her outfits, and so she used to be sewing them when we'd be in the class. And she used to make, we used to love all these like sparkly fabulous things she used to make for herself.

You said that you left school when you were sixteen, when did you leave school (NAME), and em what were your first jobs when you left school?

I stayed on at sixth-form, erm, sixth-form then was, I guess a lot smaller then that a normal sixth-forms are now, I think there were only well, it wasn't even, there was normally thirty people in a class and in sixth form, there was less, less than that. I'm guessing there was probably about twenty,

Hmm, when I (unclear) 'cause sixth-forms were always in schools when we were in school weren't they? So, and I remember the row in upper sixth, there would only be twenty, twenty five in each of the years. Where (NAME)'s just left sixth-form college and there was five hundred in that college so there was a lot less

And I think in the school in Whickham there was probably about fifty or something in the sixth-form in each year, or it was a bit more than that, don't know. Erm.

It depends on the size of the school, but I mean now, the majority of people stay on don't they, and it's just a few leave, where in our day most left and just a few stayed on (interruption) didn't they

(interruption) Yeah, erm, and then you got to be a prefect in upper sixth erm, and then I left and I was going to go to university but then I wasn't well so I didn't go erm, and I started nursing initially, and just did a few months of that 'cause again, I was ill. Erm, and then ended up setting up a business so I did that for quite a lot of years until, erm (pause) (pause) about eight or nine years ago. So that's what I was doing until then.

And I've stick to, stuck to the same thing, I left school when I was sixteen and I went to work in the Civil Service in the Inland Revenue, which is now Revenue and Customs, and I've been there now for thirty years, erm, so I've stuck to, I've stuck to living in Lanchester and I've stuck to working for the same employer all those years, but I've been very fortunate because it's been very flexible, so although I was full-time obviously when I started work, when I had me daughter I went part-time, and then I also went, erm, part-time with part of the year where I could have longer holiday in the school holidays so the job's been very flexible round sort of looking after me daughter. And now I -- I'm part-time still, but I work every day, but I just do thirty hours a week. It's been very good for that. And I mean, I've been promoted within me jobs and I've moved about to different jobs within there but on the whole I've enjoyed it really. So it's been very good, socially, I know a lot of people, it's quite a close knit sort of erm, community if you like, especially when we were just Inland revenue before we moved places. Erm, it's not the same now, but then I don't know whether that's what everybody says as they get older. I can remember people when I was young saying it wasn't the same so maybe that's just an age thing, an age thing. But there has been changes, you don't always think for the best but, I shan't be leaving there till I retire. So, stick it out a bit longer.

Can you remember when you had you first job, what you looked forward to buying, what kind of things you got excited about being able to buy that you weren't able to buy when you were at school?

Well the first job, I suppose, that I did was between waiting for my exam results, I worked as a waitress in a restaurant in the village. And that gave me a lot more money than I'd ever had and it was all in the summer so I did a lot of holiday cover so I -- I had a lot of cash that I hadn't had before. But it's one of those catch twenty two's because I was working so much that I wasn't actually getting out to spend the money very much. And once I saw the money mounting up in my building society account I wasn't so keen to spend it to be honest, but once I started work, and you're mixing with other people, and you see, you know, other people, what they're wearing and whatever, and they you start to get more into the shopping. And I went to work in Gateshead, which is near Newcastle, and it meant that erm, Thursday night was late night shopping so I used to always go over on Thursday night and have a couple of hours in the shops and uh, it was mainly clothes really that I bought, erm, I remember, I lived with me Grandparents and I remember buying a carriage clock for them with one of me first pays, just 'cause they wanted one, and especially me Nanna had liked them, so I thought I'd buy one of them, so I did quite like, you know, being able to do that, erm, but again I was lucky because I didn't have to pay me board or anything, but me bus fares were quite expensive at the time and I was on a junior pay scale at sixteen so I wasn't earning a fortune

One of the things that I was keen to have as soon as I could manage it was a car (interruption) I think, being able to drive (pause) to run a car and drive and have driving lessons

I wasn't that bothered about that to be honest, even though I had a good bus journey to work, the bus journey to work, was again, it was like a community thing, you know. I'm always late, as you know (laughter) everywhere I go, I used to run always for the bus every morning, it's a good job I had a distance to run, I could make up some time running, erm, but the bus used to, the people n the bus all used to know you were going to get the bus so they would be looking out for you, the bus used to be going along the end of the road and I was running down beside it and it used to just stop because somebody says 'Oh, she's here!' And I'd get on (interruption) erm, I didn't mind that bus journey and I used to read on the way to work, I used to read on the way there and on the way back.

(interruption) (laughter)

So I didn't really think about driving, I was looking forward to like going on me first like holiday, I did enjoy that. I remember erm, I would only be seventeen when I went to London for a long weekend with a friend and erm, we were erm, really treat ourselves, we booked first class on the train and we had breakfast in the dining carriage in the morning going down and stayed at a lovely hotel and we got taxis and thought you know we were probably about thirty when we were in fact seventeen but I saw the King and I with Yul Brynner, really really Yul Brynner, erm, and it was just, and that weekend will, it cost me a lot of money at the time, the whole thing cost quite a lot of money and I took a hundred pounds spending money, which was a lot, and erm, I remember me Dad saying, 'how much have you spent?' when I got back and I said I'd spent on hundred pounds and he said 'oh, that's not too bad 'cause there's the train down and the ticket to see the King and I and' and I said 'no, no, no, I've spent a hundred pounds and I'm not counting any of that, that's just what I've spent when I've been there' he said 'A hundred pounds? How have you spent a hundred pounds?' and I said 'well I've shopped and I've bought things, and we went to nice places for our food' and (pause) we had a great time. So that, that was something to do, I wouldn't have done that without having worked. And then after that I did want to drive a bit later on but it was between paying for driving lessons or going on holiday and again I chose the going on holiday really. So, I suppose, (interruption) I

(interruption) When did you learn to drive? How old were you when you learnt to drive?

I was erm, twenty when I got a car, bought a car when I still, when I still hadn't, I hadn't you know, driven, and erm, at the time I had a boyfriend who could drive and friends who drove and I just got the car and literally I just used it all the time and someone was always in that could drive. I'm not sure, I think now you have to have driven for so long before you sit in with somebody but, maybe you did then but I didn't worry about it I'd just do that, and then I passed me test, I think I might have actually been twenty one before I passed my test, but I drove for most of the year before I took my test, and passed it. But passing my test meant I could drive to work, because the rest of the things I did there was always somebody in the car with us to drive. So I drove, but there was somebody in the car with a full licence. But it was quite nice when I did drive to work, not having to go down to get the bus, not missing the bus 'cause I was late, so erm, that's quite good. But it's quite hard driving in to the, on your own, when you're used to having somebody in with you, and then you go and you're making, you're never just checking with somebody are you? You're all right to pull out mind, saying that, 'cause there's only you in the car. But it was good being able to drive. I had a lovely yellow beetle. Which was gorgeous. But then I hit a cow (interruption) it had a very large dent in the front of it after that.

(interruption) (laughter)

And that was eh, coming home one night in the dark, there was a herd of cows and this one ended up on top of my bonnet. Mooing -- mooing at me through my windscreen, I screamed back at it, then it climbed off and I went to try and find help, but fortunately, with being a beetle the engine was at the back, so (interruption) I could still drive it

(interruption) ah, yeah of course

And it was good when you had a beetle with a great big dent in the front because everybody let you out at junctions (interruption) without exception so that was it. That's what I bought. Mainly holidays, and then I did go on to want a car.

(interruption) (laughter)

But you got married quite young didn't you?

Yeah, I did, I was erm, how old would I be? Twenty one, nearly twenty two I think when I got married. How old were you when you got married?

Twenty five, and then I didn't have (NAME) until I was twenty eight

I think I had, yeah (pause) I think I had probably had (pause) maybe two out of the three kids before I was twenty five.

Yeah

A lot of people got married young

Yes, a lot of people did get married young, yes, because a lot of my friends, they're already had their twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, which I can't believe 'cause I just think of it as such an old        young, but now (interruption) no

(interruption) But a lot of people did that, it wasn't looked at as being out of the ordinary, but the I suppose not so many people went to university and things then did they (interruption) so

(interruption) people didn't live together much did they (interruption) so, really, your options were

(interruption) no (interruption) really the people coming out of university now are like twenty four (unclear)

So that makes a difference (unclear)

It was different wasn't it?

I mean people now seem to be a lot older in getting married really, if in fact they do get married, don't blame them if they don't but there you go

They do seem to be a lot older now, some of them are a lot older aren't they?

Uh-huh, but like you say, you were that young, it didn't seem, at the time, it wasn't like, ooh! You're twenty one and you're getting married (interruption) (unclear)

(interruption) Well, I don't know, it didn't seem, it didn't seem young then did it really? (interruption) compared to (pause) now

(interruption) No (pause) to now

I wouldn't want, (NAME)'s eighteen now, and I wouldn't want her to say I'm getting married at twenty-one, I'd just think it was really young. But when I was twenty-one I didn't think I was really young of course, which is what I try to keep remembering all the time

No, I suppose you don't

Not really do you?

You said before that one of the things you like to spend your money on was holidays, have you had a chance to travel much, abroad or, anywhere?

Well, we lived in Hong Kong for about three months, just before the handover to China, that was very interesting, very very interesting place to go to (pause) erm, got quite a, quite a culture shock, erm, even within Hong Kong itself, the difference in the, from the very very very rich, to the really poor, on the same street even (interruption) (unclear)

(interruption) It's quite a small space to live in isn't it?

It is, it's very crowded but you get these multi-million dollar erm, developments and things and all this really extravagant buildings and extravagant people with designer everything, and then you walk a little way along the street and there's this little old lady dragging a cardboard box and that's her bed for the night. Em, it's all very different, it's very (pause) very very cramped, I remember coming back, we came back erm, just, not many days before Christmas, and I remember coming back and going Christmas shopping and everybody complaining here about how crowded Northumberland street was and how busy the Metro was, and I got on the Metro and it (interruption) it felt like it was empty

(interruption) it was empty

Because in Hong Kong, there's people whose job on the, on the subway was to stand on the platform and push people into the (interruption) spaces on the train

(interruption) spaces (pause) I've seen them on the television, the pushers, yeah. Well I haven't been that far afield, Although when I was young I did all the like all the holidays, I suppose all the things that young people still like to maybe do now, I went to you know, to erm, all the sort of places, Benidorm and, you know, where you sleep all day and you go night clubbing all night, so I did all them sort of things, so you don't see much of the place to be honest, but it's hot to sleep all day under your umbrella erm, so yeah, I did that, and I've been to Spain, you know, all the really cheap holidays where it was like, I can remember one was seventy-nine pound for a fortnight, it was on a bus to Spain and erm, been to France, camping on a bus as well when I was younger, just it sort of seemed very important to get a fortnight's holiday I, just to you know, go away with friends and things. I would never not have done that, I really enjoyed it, it was like a different world when you were on holiday, when you're young, when you're away from your parents, I suppose, it's a bit like what it must be like going to university now where if you leave home and live away, it's so different, and when you go on holiday, when I went on holiday, and you were leaving home behind, you sort of could be anybody you wanted to be, you know, whatever, you -- know, there was no parent saying it's four o'clock in the morning, it's half past four, where've you been? That was quite good. Erm, so I enjoyed all of them holidays, erm, and then, when I met (NAME), who like who I married eventually, we did sort of like coupley type holidays. But then again, just to sort of resort type places. And then after that when we had (NAME) we went to France and would get a gite and that with a pool or something, and we were quite like happy not to be anywhere wild then. And I mean, I wouldn't want to go on a package holiday now, I'd much rather just, erm, arrange to fly somewhere and find some accommodation. Taste changes, but I wouldn't not want to have wanted to do all that sort of holiday then. But I haven't really, I mean, I've been to America, and that is the furthest away I've been, again that was to Florida, to like holiday-type places. It'd be lovely to travel, but depends on money

Yeah, it'd be quite (interruption) nice o go to Australia

(interruption) You went to New York didn't you?

Yes, we went to New York, that wasn't, that was lovely, that was erm, that wasn't a holiday in that sense, as in somewhere nice and hot, it was (interruption) yeah, it was nice and cold

(interruption) sightseeing (pause) for the experience (pause) I'd like to go to New York

It would have been nice if we'd had a little bit of snow, that would have been nice (interruption) in Central Park but erm

(interruption) I would like to go in the winter time

It was cold but it was sunny and bright but it was like a crisp (pause) (interruption) aha

(interruption) crisp and nice

Erm, I don't think it would be very nice actually to go when it's really hot (interruption) it's not the sort of place, 'cause you're walking around so much, sightseeing and things, it's not the sort of

(interruption) no (interruption) I would, yeah, I would want to be, I mean I've been in really hot weather, I mean, we've been to Italy, and to Rome, one particular, hot summer, and you got so much you wanted to see and it's just hot and you're so, you get all so bad tempered and you're really too hot to be bothered but you know that you're there and you really want to see

If it's hot you just want to be in a place where there's just a pool

There's too much to do really isn't there? I think if it's sightseeing it's maybe better to go

It was nice for ice skating in Central Park and it was all nice wasn't it?

Yes, I would like to go

It was very nice weather but I think it would've been nice to have a little bit of snow I think. It would have been nice

Uh-huh, I'd like to go there, and I probably will, maybe not this next Christmas, but the one after, I might go and do that and uh, there's nowhere I'm desperate to go, I do quite like, I do quite like home, really

I would quite like to go to the Rockies

So Christmas is coming up, do you have any traditions, any things you used to do when you were little, or things that you do now?

Um, well, for me, my Christmases have been fairly static, like with everything, really, I'm quite a static person I think, I've erm, with being an only child, I've always had Christmases at home, with my Grandparents who I lived with, and then my Dad, and his wife used to join us, with my Uncle (NAME) and everything, and my grandmother would make me dinner. And then once I got married myself, I started to have Christmas dinner at my house, erm, and I always had my grandparents, and my Dad and his wife, and then me husband's mam would come every other year to us, because she went to her daughter's house the other years. So it's been like just a traditional family Christmas I suppose, and (unclear) family members have come and gone and, sometimes we we have neighbours and, one thing and another but em, we have quite a big Christmas dinner on the day erm, and then the last few years, well, just really the last year in fact, that was where (NAME), (NAME)'s sister, and family came as well. Erm, with (NAME)'s mam so we were like altogether that year, so that was quite nice. But it's traditional to have the big Christmas lunch on the Christmas Day. And I like to be at me own house really on Christmas Day, it's a selfish thing really, although I do work quite hard on that day, it's still quite nice, it's just a traditional day really. We don't go to bed until it's nearly time to get up on Christmas morning, but, it gets there, we get on top of it and it's coming around a bit too quick for me but

yeah, it doesn't -- doesn't seem to be five minutes from last Christmas

No, I can't believe it

it's come round very quickly

You've mainly had yours at home haven't you, with your (interruption) mam there some years?

(interruption) yeah, we've normally just had it at home, I think it's better with kids, children want to be at home don't they?

(unclear) They like to be I their own house don't they?

Yeah, it's quite erm, quite, quite tradition to be up very early Christmas morning

get the presents opened

Yeah, presents opened and erm, I can remember five O'clock or something being dragged out of bed to try and get the presents opened, put (interruption) the turkey in and

(interruption) But I can remember myself wanting to be up early to open my presents when I was little, running in and saying 'has he been? Has he been?' so, yeah, all that's quite nice, but it is different now that there's no like little ones in the house, it does make a difference a bit

Yeah, it does, and I think the main thing is being at home for -- for Christmas morning and it's different now (interruption) because

You can't get teenagers out of bed now to open the presents (laughter)

No, although in our house that still happens, 'cause they drag each other up out of bed

Oh, mine doesn't -- doesn't want to get up. We usually go to the midnight mass on the erm, Christmas Eve so erm, so we don't get in till half twelve, twenty to one

We usually have a candlelight carol service on the Christmas Eve, which is nice 'cause it makes it feel Christmassy because by the time Christmas Eve come you don't always feel like it's Christmas, yeah, but then you go to that and

yeah, it's always a mad dash, (unclear) but now the shops are open as soon as Christmas Day is over, but I don't like to go to the sales

No, I don't like the sales, I would rather pay full price than go to the sales on boxing day

(pause) Em (pause) so (pause) what do you do now for work, what job do you do?

Erm, I'm a financial services administrator, for an estate agency

So what does that involve?

That involves looking after all, everything in the administration for erm, the mortgages and everything related to the mortgages and all the erm, financial arrangements that are involved

And what did your parents do?

Erm, my Mam did erm nursing of erm mentally and physically handicapped people, and my Dad originally was a builder, and then a quantity surveyor

(pause) My erm parents, well my mam was an assistant nurse, well, like an auxiliary nurse, erm, with like the old, the old people really I suppose and then did a little bit on the psychiatric ward. And the me Dad is, well he was in Civil Service, so a similar job to me own I suppose. He'd been to sea first, he didn't go into the civil service until he was older, because he'd been to sea first in the merchant Navy so he did that little bit and then went into the civil service when he had responsibilities.

Can you tell me a bit about the house you live in?

that I live in? Erm, I live in a house in Lanchester, it's, it was originally a three bedroom detached and we extended it above the garage so it's a four bedroom detached now. Erm, it's got a bathroom and an en-suite, and me daughter's just recently gone to university, so we've been decorating her bedroom. Erm, it's gone quite grown up compared to how it was erm, and we're waiting to have the carpet fitted. No matter how long we've lived here, all our married life, which is like twenty one years, there always always always seems to be something to decorate and do, it never seems to end and it keeps just going on and on, we keep saying this is the last job, but it never is really so, but we're happy here, if we move now, it will just be into something smaller, maybe in a few years time

(pause) My house is in Whickham, and it's a four bedroom semi, again it's been extended above the garage but that was done before we bought it. Erm, we changed the bathroom, we put a new bathroom in and a new kitchen, erm, but again, there's lots and lots of things that need to be done to it now. A lot of the things that were done when we moved in is needing to be redone and erm

How long have you lived there?

Eight years now

We recently had someone say when you get that finished that will be you done, but I said yeah, but it's finished for about the fourth time now and there's always something else to start, but we've kept going, you move along, because tastes change. That's another thing that, for us is different, 'cause when I was young people had the house, and the house we lived in when we were young never changed did they?

no, they didn't appear to

years after you'd left school you could go back to the houses and they'd be just the same

things like sofas and things, me mam's sofa was the one she had when she was married, and it's been covered a few times, but it's still the same one

people didn't change things did they? They didn't change things as much as people do now. mind saying that, we've still got the same sofas, they're twenty one years old, we've had them recovered once. They're nearly ready to be recovered again, but (NAME) says not quite

And do you speak any other languages other than English?

heck, no, I didn't do very well at other languages at school

no, well I did French and German at school, and got O-Levels in French and German but I wouldn't even like to try and start to speak the language to be honest, I think after a few years you just forget it don't you?

I'm terrible at French, but (NAME) who did O-Level French and got it, and he, we go to France and he's really quite good. Erm, it takes him a while with the vocabulary, sometimes he can't think of the erm, what it is in French, he might have to look that up but as far as the grammar, and putting it into sentences and that, he does really well, but I find it very frustrating, I like to organise things and (NAME) doesn't organise them as quickly as me, and having to wind him up to tell him to

I think at a push I could probably struggle my way through, but

I can still understand a little bit in French if people speak it slowly, I can understand it, I can get the gist of what they're saying, but I can't speak it

I think it's easier that way to try (interruption) to work out what's being said

(interruption) and I wouldn't have a clue of past participles anymore, I remember we had to learn about them, but that's as much as I remember

No, I don't think I would either. And then it's confusing as well doing the French and the German, (interruption) that makes it difficult

(interruption) yeah, I don't see the point of that really, unless you're really good at it and you're a whizz at languages you may as (interruption) well just stick to learning one

but then at that -- at that time if you were -- if you were academic then you had to take (pause) (interruption) well those instead

(interruption) the two

because I wanted to take like cookery or something, and they said no, no, you can't do that 'cause you're clever enough to take another language, so therefore you have to take another language so you would have to take another, like history or something like that

Yeah

they wouldn't let me take anything else, it was like, if you take, if you're -- if you're good enough to take six or seven academic (interruption) subjects you have to take all academic subjects

Uh-huh

You couldn't take art or. And I remember when we were at school, when we went to senior school, that was when they first started to get computers into school, and it was all the people who weren't bright enough to take the academic subjects who were made to do computers

Well, I -- I (unclear) not quite computers, but typing, if -- if you weren't so good you did typing and erm, I never did typing, and I wasn't a good speller anyway, I was worried about that aspect, I knew I didn't want to type in an office, I knew I'd end up working in an office, but I certainly didn't want to type, and erm, once the computers came in, about nineteen eighty-four in my job when the computer system came in, it was just visual, it was just display units with keyboards really, but all these people, who had not really quite managed, you know at work, they were doing very sort of erm, basic duties, (laughter) were suddenly absolute stars (interruption) in computers because they could keyboard and anything and you'd think like wow! (laughter)

(interruption) (laughter)

And now, we do everything on the computer, you know, letters, and everything, we used to always have typers who did them, but now, we do our own. And like I am so slow on the keyboard, and I think God, I'd have just got myself into that keyboard class, all them years ago, I'd be benefitting now

it used to be the not so bright people who used to get to do the computing, and stuff,

It used to be like (unclear) who went in there and did typing and that, but now, it would have helped me, loads, I'd be whizzing through me letters instead of looking where the Q is because I can't quite remember

(laughter)

Ok. Thank you