Back to my favourite type of post; a pub in a town I can really explore as if for the first time.
Which is almost true of Houghton-le-Spring, a 40 minute bus trip on the Number 35 from Sunderland, enlivened only by the close-up of the Penshaw monument.
This was my third trip to Houghton (HOH-ten-lee-Spring). I’ve no idea what I was doing in 2014, if I’m honest. Must have been a good trip.
But in 1980, the year before the mine closed, I visited my Auntie Doreen* who gave us tea and boiled fish paste sandwiches in her terraced house. Sunderland had just lost, I recall, so her mood was grim. It was a different world to the Fens.
It still is.
Being lazy, I could just tell you Houghton is Chester-Le-Street without the cricket, or a posh Skelmersdale, and probably upset no-one.
But you can’t beat a church with a name like St Michaels & All Angels.
and you can’t fault a place with a Chinese takeaway called “Lovely“,
or a free raffle at the Spiritual Open Circle,
and a speakeasy run by Miss Nancy.
Nancy’s is probably a clandestine micropub, ashamed of its generous opening hours.
I accidentally deleted my extensive notes from the Sunderland trip**, possibly a blessing, but I can tell you that the lady in the spotless Costa was a gem, and that the High Street was neat and bustling. Which is more than you can say for Maidenhead.
Inevitably the new GBG entry is a Spoons, and it’s of the brutalist classic variety (See also: Peterlee).
The local history section, which runs across the whole pub, seems to commemorate the famous BRAPA visit of 1999 while Si was at Sunderland Uni.
All human life is here, thankfully most of it not standing at the bar.
Now you’ll know how I’ve felt about declining cask quality in Spoons recently, and I rather doubted this was a real ale hotbed.
But that Maxim, the Mackem’s own Plum Porter, was a beautiful cool pint to wash down my regular order of chicken selects for a late lunch.
There were tables of lads, tables of Old Boys and sofas of gentlefolk, all happily chattering away about the Black Cats prospects.
The eternal optimism of Sunderland fans in a thing of wonder.
* I asked my Dad about Doreen last night. He told me that a) She wasn’t a relative; everyone was referred to as “Auntie” in Waterbeach and b) on his teenage visits after the war they didn’t see the appeal of the Penshaw Monument.
**Undoubtedly Huawei’s fault, as are the little watermarks on some of my photos, not my fault, oh no.
retiredmartin 
Had Double Maxim on when I was last in there after ringing the bells for a wedding. Was pretty damn good! Also had a wander up the high street and through the park, was rather less impressed…
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Most places pale against mighty Durham City to be fair, Chris 😉
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You say that, the high street in Durham isn’t exactly great!
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I’ve said that before on here!
The high street in Stanley has more character than Durham.
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Chris,
But Roger Whittaker sang “I’ve got to leave old Durham town And the leaving’s gonna get me down” so it might have been “great” years ago.
I don’t know. It’s one of those places I’m long overdue a visit.
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It was good before the micropubs got there 😉
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Oh it’s a beautiful place to live and spend time in – and as a day-tripper it’s a great place to visit. I guess back in the day, before they invented out of town shopping centres, it would have been bustling. But these days if you want to do any form of shopping that doesn’t involve coffee, cake or pasta then you’re struggling really. Some nice pubs though, happy to give a guided tour if you make it up!
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Thanks Chris.
A Proper Day Out in Durham is a good idea.
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Breaking news.
Humphrey is at it again.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7284773/Pub-chain-Sam-Smiths-closes-flagship-bar-drinkers-broke-ban-using-mobile-phones.html
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One of my local(ish) ones too 🙁
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T’other Mudgie,
That reminds me that elsewhere in Cheshire – the Borough Arms, NOT the highlight of our day in Crewe – I’ve seen a prostitute working from a pub.
Humphrey doesn’t prohibit that does he ?
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Why would he? That is completely traditional and would fit in any C17 inn (or earlier).
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Scott,
And cock fighting, and dwile flonking ?
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Perhaps he’ll sell it to a swearing and mobile phone friendly pub chain. Must be one in Cheshire.
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I was going to ask whether Huawei are paying you royalties, in exchange for the free advertising you are giving them?
On a more serious note, I’m thinking that my next phone could be a Huawei, although it does rather depend on what the orange fool in the White House does next with his mission to piss-off the Chinese.
When I was a lad, mum and dad’s friends were always referred to as “auntie” or “uncle,” which used to confuse the hell out of my sister and I.
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I’m a Russian bot.
Actually, I get fewer blog views in Russia than in the Lebanon or the Faroes.
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I get quite a few views in Russia, not as many as Ukraine, which is number three on the list, after Britain and the US.
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🇺🇦? 😉
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One Plus.
Great phone.
Day 3 on the dry and I’m discussing phones with strangers.
Ye gods !
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I assumed you still had a butler who brought your old BT phone on a tray. May be getting you mixed up with Mudgie.
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I was a bit surprised to see such a traditional interior, given that brutalist exterior.
Is the “le” in Houghton-le-Spring really pronounced “lee”? Sounds like an act of defiance against the French. 😉
Don’t think I could find a Chinese restaurant called “Lovely” in the States, which is a real shame, I think. They’re all Golden Dragons and Jade Palaces over here.
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Spoons interiors are quite uniform, age apart, but the buildings themselves vary enormously.
Definitely “lee”. That’s what my “auntie” called it.
You’re right. Very dull Chinese takeaway names in US.
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Interesting one. Chester-Lee-St is often pronounced like that, but Houghton is usually just HOE-tun! Never heard it with a ‘lee’, although occasionally a ‘le’. The subtle difference in accent between Durham and Sunderland is fascinating.
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Those watermarks are spies you know…it’s true
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