The Back House

A Memory of North Bitchburn.

I was born in Sedgefield and lived in North Bitchburn until I was 7 years old, me and my twin sister Elizabeth and my mam amd dad who worked at the pipe yard.

We lived in no 1a Constantine Terrace, it was the back half of the house. Our cousins lived in Low Row, so did my granda and mother Coates (my nana). I have some happy memories of Bitchburn as when we moved away we came back every six weeks holiday, we played down the Naxy, were chased by the pit ponies and climbed the monkey trees. All the kids played out until it was dark, we played hide and seek along Low Row from no 1 which was Grants End as we called it to no 20 which was Peaks End. We used to take our granda's beer bottles back to Martha in the Red Lion and buy crisps with the money then run round the back and get the beer bottles back and go in and buy more until she caught us one night and gave us a flea in our ear. We played with the Aberdeen twins and Edward Smith from the pub and our cousins Trevor and Barbara who still live in Low Row.

We used to go to Jackie Bell's for pasties in Howden and to the fish shop on a Friday night for 6 pennorth of chips and the scrapings off the batter, and I remember my aunty Edna bringing homemade pies to my grandma's for us all. Those were the days allright. We were known as the Andrews twins then but as we were always up too mischief with the other kids we were called many other things, I remember me our Elizabeth and our Trevor finding some baby mice and keeping them in my grandma's lavatory . Then we took them into Petty shop and he went mad we had found a nest of baby rats . He took them off us we was all really upset . We were little buggas . Always mucky never clean . No one had much money them days but we were happy building dens and making bogies from old prams . Kids were kids in them days . Stayed out till it was dark and only went in for our tea .

I would love to hear anyone else's memories of that time, it was such a lovely time in our childhood.

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