As sisters, you have probably grown up living out of each other's pockets, so to speak. Have you always been close or have there been times when you've had crossed words?

(pause) I think there's been (laughter) a few times when we've had crossed words I think we were closer when we were younger (pause) than we are now

We were a bit inseparable when we were younger weren't we?

Unhealthily so

Yeah

Tell me about a time when you were growing up when you had a particular squabble or fight, which (interruption) maybe ended in tears?

(interruption) I remember we had a fight -- a fight in Earsdon Park once, can you remember?

(pause) No

Can you not?

I can remember my Dad separating wuh at this kitchen-door (pause) when I was about twenty seven and (laughter) you were about twenty five

Ee really?

Yes

Well I can't remember that but I remember having a proper fight in (pause) Earsdon Park (pause) (interruption) Proper

(interruption) Really

Ah yeah, like kicking and punching an- (laughter)

(laughter)

Well ah -- ah that's impossible 'cause I would never have kicked or punched you

(pause) (laughter) I did

(laughter) Ee remember my arms used to be scratched and I'd say, 'Mam, look what she's done to my arm', 'you -- you must have deserved it'

No she didn't, she used to say, 'hit her back!'

(interruption) Growing up, did either of you

(interruption) Knowing damn fine that I couldn't

Growing up -- ah growing up did either of you ever wish you had a brother, be it as well or instead of each other?

Oh as well as (pause) I always wanted a brother

(interruption) Did you?

Ye- an older brother so he'd bring his friends round

(pause) Did you?

I don't remember, no

(interruption) What kind of kids were yous when you were growing up?

(interruption) I don't remember

Wicked

Horrible (laughter)

Was either of you more the trouble-maker and the other more the goody two shoes?

(NAME)

(NAME)

(NAME) was the trouble-maker, I was the goody two shoes

Why?

Because she was always getting into bother and I didn't (pause) (interruption) She always did everything she shouldn't

(interruption) So tell me about -- so tell me about a particular time when you got yourself into a bit of trouble?

Oh which one?

(sigh) Ah God (sigh)

Drinking underage? Shop-lifting? (laughter) (pause) (sigh) Went out with the wrong people?

yeah, it -- it was just normal teenage things really, just a bit rebellious, not -- (interruption) not -- not bad things

(interruption) yeah, yeah. Growing up, did your Mam and Dad have rules about when you had to be in at night?

Yes and I stuck by them and she didn't

What happened when you didn't come home when you were supposed to?

(interruption) Massive arguments every night

(sigh) (interruption) Got yelled at

And the more they told her not -- to come in the less she would

Well eh it wasn't always on purpose, sometimes it just (pause) wasn't (pause) possible, I forgot the time or

Can either of you remember a particular time when you stayed out late and got into trouble for it?

I can. R- I remember (pause) j- just not coming home and thinking I could sneak in and they would be in bed at half past six in the morning and you were both sitting up waiting for us can you remember? (laughter) They were both (interruption) sitting

(interruption) Was that here?

Yes here. And I was working overtime on the Sunday at the Gas Board and I'd made such a fuss because they give all the lads overtime and I said, 'it's not fair, you haven't give any girl it' and they were going -- they were saying, 'well it's because it's moving furniture'. I says, 'it's not the point', I says, 'you can't do that' so they then decided they would scrap the overtime list, put everybody's name into a hat and draw your name out, well didn't my name come out for overtime on the Sunday? Well I'd been out all night, came in at half six in the morning thinking I could just pretend I had like

Got up

Just got up. They were sitting and my Dad was saying, 'and if you think I'm giving you a bloody lift to work you can think again' an- I thought, 'ee God I've got to get to Killingworth' and I thought, 'I can't not go after I've made this massive fuss about the overtime', so I set off walking and I got down to Earsdon and my Dad pulled up in the car, 'jump in' (laughter)

(laughter) But you must have been about twenty three or twenty four then?

No I was probably about twenty one (pause) About twenty one I think

Growing up, who was the strictest? Your Mam or your Dad?

(pause) I don't think they were I (interruption) think you probably

(interruption) I don't think they were very, very strict

(interruption) No

(interruption) Not compared to other people

No and I think we probably feared my Dad more 'cause my

'Cause we got threatened by him like he was some kind of, 'wait till your Father gets home!' di- didn't we? (interruption) It was like

(interruption) Yeah

Like he was some kind of

Whereas you -- you were just like shouting (interruption) and bawling an-

(interruption) All the time (laughter)

Fishwife

(laughter) We became a bit immune to it

Em, growing up, did you spend much time with your Grandparents?

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) Uh-huh, yeah (pause) a lot

(interruption) Em do

(interruption) I used to go every Sunday for my dinner

We used to spend all school holidays (interruption) at

(interruption) Yeah

Eh Grandma (NAME)'s house

Tell me about any special times that really stick out as memorable for you with your Grandparents?

Going to Cullercoats beach

Ah yeah

In the summer with loads of sandwiches. (interruption) And going

(interruption) Making Yorkshire puddings

Going and waiting for the bus and they would -- they would be so full that

(interruption) The buses would drive past

(interruption) Every bus would go past full and you'd have to wait for the next one and then that one would drive past full and you'd (interruption) have to wait for the next one

(interruption) God. Can you remember any traditions yous had (pause) growing up (pause) with your family?

(pause) Traditions?

No

How did yous used to celebrate Christmas?

Em always at home. Always with

(interruption) Family

Family yeah

(interruption) Ah, it was lovely

(interruption) What's your favourite memory of Christmas?

Ah, they were all lovely, they were all fantastic

Did you go on a lot of holidays as families when yous were growing up?

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) yeah, (interruption) every year

(interruption) Tell us about one of the most memorable holidays for you both

(interruption) Guernsey

(interruption) Ah, it's got to be Guernsey

We went to Guernsey and we just met loads and loads of people who lived there and we used to go back every year and meet them and (pause) join up with them again every year

And they were always really pleased to see wuh, weren't they?

And one lad actually bought wuh a lottery ticket to win a holiday in Guernsey (pause) and sent it to wuh

God. Tell me what you miss most about going on holidays as a family?

(pause) (sigh) I don't think you do, I think you just -- as you grow older you just get different holidays don't you?

Mm-mm, yeah

Do you go on holiday now then often, with your own family?

Yes, uh-huh

Eh where are some of your holid- favourite holiday destinations?

Em well I love Spain (pause) and Bulgaria

Many people experience problems when they are at airports. Has this ever happened to either of you?

(laughter) Hand it over to (NAME)

Yes (pause) em, we got to the check-in desk and realised that both of the (cough) children's passports had expired and couldn't get on the holiday

Ee

And ended up spending another (interruption) eleven hundred pound

(interruption) Ee God

To replace passports and pay for another flight to get on the original holiday

So did you get to go on holiday in the end?

Eventually, yes

Do either of you have a special place where you've never been to but you would love to go?

(pause) Em New York

What about you?

(pause) Where I'd like to go?

Any special place that you would like to go on holiday?

(pause) I've always, for some bizarre reason, wanted to go to em (pause) Marrakech (pause)

OK

In Morocco. I don't know why, I just have this picture in my head of what Morocco's going to be like (pause) with all the spice bazaars and the nice food and

yeah. A lot of people say that children today aren't like they used to be when they were growing up. Do you think this is the case when you consider what you were both like when you were growing up?

I don't think much has changed

I -- I don't think much has changed either

I think kids today are more (pause) spoilt (pause) but then is that relative?

Yeah

Is it -- is it just were we spoilt (pause) (interruption) comparatively?

(interruption) Yeah

During our time, given the money constraints and everything else and is it just that yous get the same they're just different to ours?

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) I don't know. But I don't think kids change much

Do you think there's any specific difference -- differences in how yous have -- how yous lived your lives and how your children are now living theirs?

(pause) I do. In as much as (pause) I remember all I wanted to do was be grown up (pause) and for some reason my kids didn't want to leave school, they didn't want to (pause) be

Yeah

(interruption) Eighteen

(interruption) Responsible

They didn't want to be. (interruption) No

(interruption) I didn't want to leave school either

No. they wanted -- (NAME) and (NAME) (interruption) just -- it was probably the worst day of their life, leaving school

(interruption) I didn't want to leave school. It was the same with me, I hated leaving school

Whereas we kind (interruption) of like

(interruption) It was the best day of my life

Uh-huh, I -- I was dying to start work, dying to have my own money, dying to be independent, to be able to spend money how I wanted to an-

Even now, I'm dreading finishing uni' and having to go and find a career (pause) Em, as parents yourselves, have yous found yourselves using any of the same parenting techniques on your own children, which were originally used by (laughter) your own parents on you?

None (laughter) avoided them like the plague

What about you?

Em (pause) well I think there must be some because I think it's -- (pause) and I think if you look back I think you'd probably (interruption) think that there is

(interruption) I find myself (interruption) saying things

(interruption) Values and things

Ah God, yes

I think you do, I think (interruption) there's

(interruption) But I find myself saying things (pause) like (interruption) and I think 'ee my God, that's my Mother

(interruption) And you -- and you think you've turned into your Mam. Yeah (pause) and I have in the way that I drive round the streets and -- and look for them if they don't come home so yeah, I probably have

Equally, have you done deliberately a- anything different to your own Mam and Dad with regards to your own children, because of the way it affected you when you were growing up?

(pause) (sigh) Yes, I think I have (pause) definitely

I know I have but I can't give you an example but I know I have. I've -- I remember thinking, 'ah I'm not going to do that because' and I cannot think of an example but I know that I have

So do either of you consider yourselves as a worrier or a rational thinker? For example, if your son or daughter was out clubbing in Newcastle, would you worry all night about drunkenness and fights or would you simply trust that nothing was t- going to happen to them?

(interruption) I would worry all night

(interruption) Have these questions been especially written?

Yeah

Right

I would worry all night (pause) and I would (pause) text constantly to make sure they were OK

And what about you?

(NAME) would trust their own judgment

I'm not a worrier (pause) em I -- I tend to think that (pause) there's no point (pause) in worrying because (pause) when I'm in the house (pause) there's not a lot I can do, and worrying isn't going to stop anything happening (pause) so (interruption) I tend to just trust

(interruption) If it's going to happen, it's going to happen

That I've given them all the right tools to cope with situations outside in a way that's quite mature and I've been proved right

So why do yous think you differ in this way?

I think it's just your personality, I think you're just born (pause) different and I think that (pause) some people have a -- (pause) a worrying personality and some people have a laid-back personality and (interruption) some people have a

(interruption) So have you always been a worrier?

Always

See I don't know if I agree with that (pause) 'cause I think that sometimes the more that you (pause) the -- the more (sigh) (pause) safe your world is (pause) the more (pause) you're not experiencing stuff outside and you're not -- you worry (interruption) about potential knocks

(interruption) You worry more about it

You see I don't (interruption) agree with that

(interruption) Whereas when you've had the knocks you kind of realise that

You can get over them

People do (pause) and they sort themselves (interruption) out. Things happen for a reason

(interruption) Yeah

But -- but I don't agree with that because when I was (pause) yours and (NAME)'s age, I was down the town every Friday, every Saturday without fail, all weekend I spent my life down (interruption) the town

(interruption) Yes but that's twen- thirty year ago

But it -- but nothing's changed really. You know I still go to the town, I'm going to the town tonight and I'll walk through the town and I'll never think for one minute someone's going to (interruption) stab us with a knife

(interruption) Come and stab you

Or someone's going to rape us or anything but it doesn't -- although I've done it and I've been there for years every weekend, it doesn't stop me worrying when yous do it

Yeah

It's personality

learnt behaviour

Do you think this has anything to do with your upbringing, the way that yous are?

Could well be, (NAME)'s saying it's learnt behaviour, it may well be, I don't know but then if -- if I've learnt that behaviour why have you not learnt that behaviour?

(pause) Predisposition (pause) in personality

yeah. So where did you both go to school?

(interruption) Em South Wellfield and then Monkseaton

(interruption) Wellfield

Tell me about your favourite school

South Wellfield

Middle School

Is the school far from your house?

No just at the -- well at time it was because we didn't live here so at the time it was probably a good (interruption) twenty-minute walk

(interruption) Oh a twenty-minute walk

How did you get to school?

(interruption) Walked

(interruption) Walked

What was your favourite subject at school and why?

Em (pause) (cough) I don't think I did em PE I think would probably be mine. (interruption) Games and PE

(interruption) What about you?

I (pause) probably

English

Liked (pause) most (pause) things at school (pause) And I think the subjects I liked best were probably (pause) to do with the teachers that taught them (interruption) rather than the

(interruption) Yeah that's the same with me. The actual subject itself

yeah. And it was -- some teachers just had a knack of -- they were -- they were born teachers

Yeah

And you wanted to learn because they were so interested and (interruption) passionate about their subject, and others were just

(interruption) yeah. (interruption) The complete opposite

(interruption) You just. Uh-huh, yeah, yeah

Can you remember a time when either of you got into trouble at school and why was it?

(pause) (sigh) I can't remember getting into trouble at school

No, I -- I n- (sigh) I mean we -- it was, you -- you'd get told off for talking when you weren't supposed to or (pause) (sigh)

Just little things?

Yeah

Running down the corridor when you weren't allowed to

Yeah

Em

But nothing really serious?

Not that I can remember

Eh what did your uniform look like at school?

Purple. Well until we went to High School we didn't have a uniform, you could wear anything (pause) and then when we got to High School it was purple and it was absolutely horrendous (laughter) Purple skirt, purple jumper, (interruption) purple tie

(interruption) Ee and you couldn't -- you got wrong if you wore plum, can you remember?

yeah, you could -- (interruption) it had to be purple

(interruption) 'Cause you used to get the high-waisted plum trousers from the pa- (laughter) the -- (pause) the shop in Whitley Bay, al- along Whitley Road (pause) em (laughter) and you -- ee, you always got wrong but we -- the higher you got into your -- like into fifth form you were more confident and you -- you'd sort of stand your ground

yeah, rebel a bit

And th- you were supposed to wear (interruption) like purple jumpers

(interruption) I remember this

And you got a lilac cardigan high-waisted (interruption) thing

(interruption) Yeah

With a -- a zip up the front (interruption) which you weren't supposed to wear either

(interruption) Yeah

But you kind of got to a point where (interruption) you stopped

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) I remember getting a em a lilac dress it was a bit like a dark lilac dress and em but it was too low cut here, the zip only came to here so you could like -- you had like all your bare chest showing and they called us in to say that it wasn't suitable for school em and could I tell my Mam and I said, 'ee no', I says 'she'll -- honestly', I says 'she's just spent all her money on this dress' and I said 'she just couldn't afford to buy us any -- any thing else'. And they said, 'well if we give you a letter telling her that we can do credit to get you a' and I said, 'ee no' (laughter) So I bought a em a badge, a Rolling Stones, you know the tongue and I stuck the -- (laughter) the Rolling Stones badge in the eh (pause) (interruption) i- in the neck-line

(interruption) Ah

Was there any particular teachers at school that yous were really close to and really got on well with?

Um (pause) my favourite teacher was Mr (NAME) (pause) in Middle School

Why did you like him?

Ah, he just, was just such a good teacher (interruption) an-

(interruption) Was Mrs (NAME) not your favourite? (laughter)

No I hated Mrs (NAME) but Mr (NAME) and Mrs (NAME)

Ah I remember her

She was -- Mrs (NAME) was lovely

Miss (NAME)

Ee yes. Miss -- Miss (NAME) but Mr (NAME) was probably one of the one- and there was another teacher at High School called

(interruption) Mrs (NAME)

I hated Mrs (NAME), ah what was he called, he -- he t- taught wuh French? Who was -- (NAME)?

You what?

Who was the French teacher at Monkseaton High School? You know, there was Mr (NAME) (pause) and there was? (NAME)

(interruption) (NAME).

(interruption) Mr (NAME). He was lovely as well. But they were just -- they were nice teachers. They were -- they could -- they weren't -- they were people people as well as teachers

Yeah

Em and y- everyone in the class was an individual

They used to treat you (interruption) with respect

(interruption) Uh-huh, yeah, very much so. And in return, they got respect back

Yeah

Miss (NAME), she was em (pause)

(NAME)

I (interruption) liked her

(interruption) Ee I remember when I had (NAME) she was at yours with (NAME) ee and I was still calling her Mrs -- Miss (NAME), she's -- apart from the fact it's Mrs (NAME), she's going 'Will you please call us (NAME)'. I could not call her (NAME)

At school, were yous close?

Yeah

(interruption) Mm-mm

(interruption) Did yous hang out together like at break-time and things?

Not until we got older

Were yous in the same friendship group?

When we got older, when we were younger, 'cause you were always friends with (NAME)

Mm-mm

But then when you hit about twelve (pause) thirteen we all hung around together didn't we?

Out of school, where did yous used to hang out?

(sigh) The bus-shelter

The shelter

Can yous (interruption) remember any good times there?

(interruption) Shiremoor

Loads

Ev- all of them

We used to em (pause) put a bike in the middle of the road and make the handlebars look twisted and then lie somebody beside the bike and when the car -- (laughter) when the cars came they used to stop thinking someone had fell off their bike and then we used to run away (laughter)

Can you remember the radio?

(interruption) And the hat?

(interruption) And the hat?

Ee (interruption) God

(interruption) And the big battery

We had a transistor radio and we used to listen to the Top Twenty on a Sunday night, was it on six till seven?

Mm-mm

And they'd count down from twenty to one. And we had this (laughter) transistor radio but the batteries kept wearing down so my Dad got wuh this you know the great big square (interruption) massive batteries, the industrial ones and he wired it up to that and we carried (laughter) this radio

(interruption) Industrial batteries

(interruption) yeah, yeah, yeah

In a hat

Round in a hat. Ee God, it was on of them beanies, like do you know what I mean, the beanie cap -- hat things?

Yeah

It was one of them

Ee God

But ah there was loads of good times then (pause) loads

I think you've had a lovely life

How old were yous both when yous passed your driving tests and got your first cars?

I was twenty six

Twenty one

Did your friends think yous were cool when you passed your test or were yous too old?

(interruption) I was too old

(interruption) No

Too old?

You were probably quite 'cause that was -- I mean to pass your driving now -- 'cause you had your own car from being about nineteen

But then so did everyone else I knew so it (interruption) wasn't really

(interruption) yeah, so it wasn't really (interruption) a big thing

(interruption) But were they not older than you?

Mm

Ah, were they not?

Can you remember any like wild parties when yous were growing up? (pause) Or any wild nights out?

I don't think we were -- (sigh) I mean we used to go out but I cannot remember any wild like (interruption) wild wild

(interruption) Nothing where nothing tragic happened or anything like that?

No

No

No

Did yous used -- did you used to tell your Mam and Dad when yous were going out or did you used to lie to them sometimes?

(interruption) Yeah sometimes

(interruption) When we were younger we used to fib

Where did you used to tell them yous were going? (sigh) Like different people's houses and things?

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) Em yeah

(interruption) Did you ever go out clubbing?

(interruption) Babysitting at (NAME) em

(NAME)'s

Ee can you remember that?

Did you ever go out clubbing when yous were growing up?

Uh-huh

Uh-huh

Tell me about something funny that happened to you when yous were in a club

Cobbler (pause)

But I can't think of anything (interruption) particularly funny

(interruption) But I can't think of anything funny (interruption) I can remember

(interruption) Nothing really sticks out?

I mean it's not really funny, but I can remember meeting (NAME) and it -- and it was Plate Day at the races and he'd won (pause) and for some reason, I was at the bar and he was at the bar (pause) and I'd picked his pint up and said, 'is that lager?' and drank half of it (pause) and he said something funny back but then he ended up buying us a drink

Was that -- was this when you first met him?

Uh-huh, and then he went off dancing on stage 'cause there was like a stage and him and his friends were all dancing on the stage and then he came back and found us (pause) and he asked if -- if he could take us out and I said you can -- ah yes give us a ring tomorrow if you still want to and he ran the length and breadth and up and down stairs and everywhere in that cobbler to try and find a pen to write my (interruption) phone-number down

(interruption) God

And in the end he ended up writing my phone-number on his arm here -- chest here in black eye-liner pencil

God. Can you remember when you first met Dad?

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) Where were you?

Well (pause) I we- I went out with his friend first and that was how I met him

Ah right

And then a while after me and his friend finished I was in town and it was New Year's Eve day-time and he ran up behind us and got a hold of us and wished us a Happy New Year. And then every Friday from then on we would meet (pause) like we'd always end up in a same -- in the same pub

Uh-huh

And every week he kept saying, 'ah, give us your number and I'll take you out one night' and I did this for about three weeks

Did you give him your number?

I did but he never rang. And then the next week he was going, 'ah I lost it, give us it again and I will ring you', and he never. So then the third time I went, 'ah no, it doesn't matter' but anyway, he must have kept it 'cause he rang the next day

Ah right

Even though I hadn't give him it again

So going back to your school days, what were some of the games yous used to play when yous were growing up, like did yous ever play (interruption) hopscotch or?

(interruption) French Skippy, Hop Scotch

Two Bally

Two Bally, em Normal Skippy

What was Two Bally?

Throwing two balls up against the wall and singing songs to the -- (interruption) to the rhythm of the balls

(interruption) Or sometimes three balls

Em wha- what were some of the songs, there was em?

When I was one, I ate a scone, the going out to sea, I jumped aboard a

A something

And the sailor said to me, we're going (interruption) this way, that way, forwards, backwards, over the Irish sea

(interruption) This way, that way, forwards, backwards over the -- and you had to go over the Irish sea, (interruption) and you had to

(interruption) With a bottle of rum to fill my tum' (interruption) and that's the life for me (laughter)

(interruption) And that's the life for me (laughter)

Ee they'll be saying (unclear)

'Cause you had to keep doing, 'u- up the dee dee, over the something' and you had to like throw your ball up or over whichever way you were singing

Uh-huh

Yeah

I remember when we were very, very young

Marbles, we used to play

Marbles

And if you had a steely, remember if you had a steely?

Mm-mm (tut) we used to carry wor box of marbles (pause) (interruption) around

(interruption) Ah and -- and did you ever have a box of jewels?

I was just going to say, when we were -- that's what I was going to say before marbles when we were young (interruption) we had jewels

(interruption) You used to go to the jumble-sale and buy like a -- I bet they were -- some of them were worth a fortune you know know, (interruption) I bet people put them in the jumble-sale

(interruption) We had boxes of jewels and we took th- we took wor jewels to school

And you would -- and you would pick the diamonds out the brooches and things and just keep them in a box of all your little jewels and then you would swap if someone (interruption) wanted

(interruption) I've never heard of that before

(interruption) Aye

(interruption) Bizarre. But ee we loved wor -- I mean I can remember just talking about the jewels how kind of proud I was of my jewels, ah it was like

Attached to them?

Uh-huh, yeah

So what did yous do a- like after school to keep yourselves occupied? Were yous part of any clubs or did yous play any sports or anything?

No we just sat at the shelter (laughter)

Brownies

Well I went to Brownies

And I went to Brownies

Yous went to Brownies?

But we had a fight (laughter) at Brownies

(laughter) Did we?

And we couldn't be in the same group 'cause we -- (laughter) we fought so I had to move to Sprites and she had to stay in Leprechauns (laughter) 'cause we fought too much (laughter)

So do yous participate in any exercise now?

Yes I go to the gym

No I do nothing

Tell me about some of the classes you do at the gym? (interruption) What's your favourite?

Em (interruption) I do -- ah my favourite's Zumba

What's Zumba?

Oh I love Zumba. It's em this new dance craze that's sweeping the world I think. This guy's done some research (pause) in America I think, I can't remember his name, but he's discovered that ex- you burn more fat

Mm-mm

If you exercise in (pause) sharp bursts

yeah, like little bits at a time?

So this Zumba is formulated to -- to work like that. And you just -- the music's dead (pause) good em it's from all over the world, a lot of kind of like yeehaaing and

Yeah

Mexican. (interruption) You know the fast Mexican stuff

(interruption) yeah. Reggae and stuff

Em and you do little short dance routines that are quite energetic that might last for about f- well the length of the song

Yeah

So if the song lasts for seven minutes, you'll jump around for seven minutes (interruption) then you kind of have a bit of a rest

(interruption) Then do you stop after that? Yeah

Then you'll learn different steps to the next song that comes on

Right

Then the next so- and you kind of work (interruption) like that through the class

(interruption) yeah. So what do you do to fill in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?

(cough) Shopping

Yeah shopping

Just shopping?

Shopping, shopping (interruption) and shopping

(interruption) Re- retail therapy

Looking at clothes on the Internet

Yeah

And more clothes on the Internet

Mm-mm

So eh what do yous both work as?

I manage a em (pause) mental health scheme (interruption) in North Shields

(interruption) And what do you do?

I work for Newcastle University em marking children's test papers

Can yous remember your first jobs and how old were yous when yous got them?

I was sixteen, seventeen in the December

Well ah but that wasn't your first job 'cause you worked in a Hairdressers on a Saturday and I worked (interruption) in em

(interruption) I only worked two Saturdays and then she sacked us and took on (NAME) what's her name 'cause she thought I was -- she thought I was (pause) fifteen (pause) and leaving school in the -- (pause) (sigh) she -- I think she must have thought I was leaving school in the June or the July but I wasn't. I wasn't leaving till the next year and she wanted an apprentice (pause) so she took on (NAME) ah she was -- lived in (PLACE)?

Ah yes (interruption) (NAME).

(interruption) Little, dark

Yes I know who you mean

Little dark girl

G- g- eh g- em?

No you're thinking of (NAME) and it wasn't any of the (NAME).

Ah right

(NAME)? (NAME) (NAME)? She was a little tiny little thing

Well my first job was in Binns which was a big department store in Newcastle and I worked in the (interruption) cafe

(interruption) Ee I used to get a fiver for working on a Saturday

In the restaurant

Ee I thought I was loaded, I was so rich

And I -- we used to get paid on the lunch-time, go into the Bigg Market on the market and buy an outfit for the F- Saturday night (interruption) and then

(interruption) With the money that you'd earned?

With the money I'd earned. And then keep the rest of it for wor bus fare and a few drinks while we were out on the Saturday night

yeah. Can you remember what you used to spend your money on when you -- when you got it? (pause) (sigh) Tabs?

(laughter) Probably. Makeup (pause) I really -- c- clothes I would ex- clothes makeup and (interruption) probably

(interruption) Drugs and alcohol?

Probably yeah but I mean it was only a fiver

yeah. What did your parents do to earn a living?

My Mam worked for the Gas Board as a Drawing Office Assistant and my Dad (interruption) worked for a building company

(interruption) Excuse me, she was a tracer. (interruption) (laughter) You were a qualified tracer

(interruption) Can yous ever remember being like particularly well-off or poor or were yous always comfortable growing up?

We were always quite comfortable weren't we? (pause) We -- compared to s- other people we were. Compared to (NAME) and (NAME) and (NAME) we always seemed as though we

I think probably the only -- if we weren't it was because

You -- were yous always made to feel like yous were comfort -- yous were like (interruption) quite comfortable?

(interruption) yeah, (interruption) yeah

(interruption) Uh-huh

(interruption) Yous never felt

(interruption) And our Mam worked full-time which of a lot of Mams (interruption) didn't

(interruption) Didn't

Work so (interruption) we did -- we did always have more

(interruption) So yous never felt like yous were poor or yous were?

And we always had a holiday. None of wor friends ever had a holiday and we always did

So yous always felt like yous were quite well-off?

Yeah

Can yous ever remember any times when money was particularly tight (interruption) or not?

(interruption) Yes, I can

Hello

I can em my Dad

Lost his job

Pa- packed his job in

Ah he did, that's right yeah

'Cause he couldn't stand it. Was that -- was that Comfort Systems?

Mm-mm

And he -- he hated it and he ended up packing it in

Uh-huh

(interruption) And working for a

(interruption) And he was on Unemployment Benefit for -- for a while (pause) and he couldn't get any other benefits because my Mam worked so my Mam was the main Bread Winner of the family em and I remember we wanted to -- it was the year I started work and left school

Yeah and we couldn't go on holiday

And. Well we could (interruption) but I

(interruption) But we went in the September

Uh-huh and I ended up giving my Mam, I used to get ten pound a week

Uh-huh

Like Unemployment Benefit (interruption) because I had just left school

(interruption) Yeah

And was going to start work but I hadn't found a job em and I gave my Mam all of that ten pound a week

God

For about eight weeks or nine weeks

To put (interruption) towards the holiday

(interruption) And we ended up going on holiday to Guernsey (interruption) again

(interruption) Ah right

Em (pause) so that was quite difficult but then my Dad got a job for Autella didn't he? (interruption) Did he start with Autella?

(interruption) Well he did but then -- he did and then the company that he'd left, two of the blokes from the previous company set up on their own

Ah right

And then he went to work for them

But that was a while after Autella

Yeah

And didn't he have another job in between that?

No, I don't think so. I think it was Autella (interruption) to WMS

(interruption) Was it?

Can either of yous remember a time when yous were both directly affected by death?

(pause) My Dad

Well yeah, I would say that's -- I mean m- my Granda but that wasn't like a massive (interruption) em thing

(interruption) No. 'cause we kind of knew it was going to happen with -- I think my Dad, probably for me

(interruption) And me, yeah

(interruption) My Dad is the big it -- it just was such a shock and it was like, he was so young and we were so young and

yeah, (interruption) it just wasn't expected?

(interruption) It was. (interruption) No. horrible, horrible

(interruption) Yeah

So what did he die of?

(interruption) He had a brain haemorrhage

(interruption) Brain haemorrhage

And was it all really sudden? Like from when he got the brain haemorrhage and (interruption) then to when died, yeah

(interruption) It was, yeah

Well it took four weeks for him to actually die but em ah wow but em the brain haemorrhage just was like really, (interruption) really sudden

(interruption) Straight away?

Yeah

Can yous remember where both of yous were when your Dad actually died?

Eh I was in bed, it was through the night and I got a phone-call

I was in bed

(interruption) Yeah

(interruption) Off his sister and then I went through to (NAME)'s and woke her up (interruption) to tell her

(interruption) Ironically, I'd slept downstairs for the whole of the four weeks and (interruption) he had -- he had

(interruption) And then the one night that you

Well he seemed to have picked up 'cause he was talking wasn't he? We'd all had a little bit (pause) from him and em (pause) I went to bed because I -- I felt quite sure that he would still be with wuh the next day and I thought I just needed to have a (interruption) night's sleep in bed

(interruption) yeah, a good night's sleep

And I got -- your Mam woke us up about six o'clock in the morning

So personally what do yous believe happens to yous after yous die? Do you believe in life after death or do you think it's all too far-fetched?

I don't. I would like to think that we all just went (pause) to heaven and all wor spirits just floated around together and we all met up again

What about you?

(tut) (sigh) I don't know. I don't know. I -- I think that I'd like to believe that (pause) em (pause) your soul leaves your body, I -- I tend to go along the reincarnation route

yeah, the k- reborn as something (interruption) else

(interruption) I k- I think kind of souls float about and find a body to be -- a baby to be born. (interruption) And then

yeah, or (interruption) you're born as something else

But then other people might just say that's just your (interruption) DNA and genetic makeup and stuff but

(interruption) Dead far-fetched as well. Yeah, I just think 'cause it's so -- like life's so complex there's just got to be something after it I think (pause) there's just got to be