'It's grand up north in Newcastle' – have we done this yet?

By 11pm, the cobbled lanes down by the Tyne in Newcastle’s city centre are slick with rainwater, glowing yellow in the streetlights as a queue starts to form by Sea, a bog-standard nightclub with one distinction. Newcastle students flock here on Fridays. Judging by the state of the queue, they did well to flock anywhere. They are profoundly drunk, the girls swaying on their heels like buoys on a choppy sea, the boys jostling one another like adolescent walruses. This state of affairs might have something to do with the fact it’s chucking-out time at the triples bars, local establishments that engage in the daring practice of selling three treble shots of vodka for a fiver. But this isn’t another story of boozed-up Britain. Strain your ears over the whistle of the biting northeasterly wind, the distant thud of dance music and sirens, and you will hear a sound so distinct and unsettling it will transport you all the way from Geordie land to halfway down the King’s Road: braying.

“Millie, call my mobey,” squeals a pretty girl with a large nose, rooting around in her Chloé handbag, while further down the queue a shaggy-haired boy falls over as his friends go, “Haw haw haw.” There is a steady witter of posh speak — “Is that a can of cake?” a boy asks his friend’s girlfriend. “No, vodka and cake, do you want some?” — and somewhere behind me a young lady shouts: “Edmund… Edmund… Edmund.” I turn aghast to my stepbrother Jack, 21, in his second year studying biochemistry. He’d told me the toff invasion of Newcastle University (and the toon) had reached critical mass. But seriously, is anyone here tonight not posh? “There’s some,” he says, with a twinkle, “but the rah-to-scum ratio is really good in here.”

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Thinly concealed inverse snobbery or legitimate criticism of the 'rahs'? 🙂

Jack and his brother should try a Wednesday night in Durham…

…………….actually Mike, any night in Durham during term time 😯

Loads of them in Newcastle. Jesmond is awash with girls with ruffled up hair, and over sized grey joggers driving a mini that daddy bought them. And lads called Will or Tim, who also wear over sized joggers (usually Canterbury or Abercrombie and Fitch) and have pain stakingly manicured bouffant hair. Sickening.

i knew a toff called Will when i was at Uni. Complete tw4t who went to Eton. We should ban them all

It's all true. I used to work in Bristol and thought the "Hooray, Yah" population was bad but now I live in Newcastle and work in Durham and, unbelievably, it's even worse. Plus the lab is currently full of the bu&&ers doing their final year projects so no respite there either. I can't quite get my head around the whole dress style either, which I can only describe as "tramp chique", and probably costs more than my car to end up looking like you crawled out of a rather well appointed ditch. I'm still toying with the idea of fire bombing the Jack Wills shop in Durham and making the world a better place.

All I can assume is that the home counties are very quiet these days.

The worst point is that they seem to feel entitled to a good lifestyle / job without being prepared to actually work for it!!

Funny though when I went to Manchester University I was the only person from my school to go to Manchester. Although thats probably because I was one of few people in my school to actually go to University at all!

…………….actually Mike, any night in Durham during term time

Apart from the weekend, when they're all scared the locals will beat them up.

I grew up in Jesmond, and it was a great place to live for kids. Now its a wasteland, student flats make up the majority of most streets, and osborne road is a mess

try st andrews… half the population is a yah.
lived near someone who went to lectures in her X5, and new a guy driving around in his porsche.

half of them are real nice though… not as bad as one would expect.

we also seem to have a lot of german/norwegan elites here, almost like a mafia…

still, nice enough people most of the time.

Apart from the weekend, when they're all scared the locals will beat them up.

LOL and that's when I tend to see them ie. the ones who are too new, too brave, too stupid, or are too pissed run fast enough 8)

As someone who studied at Durham and now lives in Newcastle I think your being a little unfair. Plenty of Rah's are nice enough. In durham the prices go up on the weekend in normal pubs so most students stick to one of the 13 or so student bars.

Oh and it probably is inverse snobbery. Most broad generalisations are made on predjudice rather than fact. Hence all cyclist run red lights and knock old women over etc.

As someone who studied at Durham and now lives in Newcastle I think your being a little unfair. Plenty of Rah's are nice enough.

They are. But some are right tossers.

Mike
Northerner
Collingwood, '96-'99

…………….actually Mike, any night in Durham during term time

Apart from the weekend, when they're all scared the locals will beat them up.

I once ventured into the legendary Fighting Cocks with another student(but Geordie, so slightly local-ish) on a Saturday night. We were 'be-friended' by an incomprehensible local who looked like he would like to rip our arms off. To be honest, coming from a fairly rum northern town myself, it didn't seem particularly dodgy.

And yes, Durham was full of rah-types, which isn't a problem in itself, but I was glad to get away in the end.

Aristotle
North(west)erner
Mildert, '96-'00

Oh and it probably is inverse snobbery. Most broad generalisations are made on predjudice rather than fact. Hence all cyclist run red lights and knock old women over etc.

Maybe – unfortunately I find most broad generalisations are based on fact to some degree. 😉

Aristotle
North(west)erner
Mildert, '96-'00

My wife was at the comp on the swamp at the same time.

Ourmaninthenorth of these parts was at Gray. He's a bit of a rah though 😉

Oh yes, the posh folk have always studied at Newcastle. History, English, agriculture, law, fine art…
not many toffs in chemistry though…

No more than any other Uni. They just stand out more in Newcastle as you can pick out the accents easier.

I don't know what you mean old chap. Living in Gosforth one simply can't see your point about these students. I think you're on a bit of a sticky wicket there!

just be glad you dont live in st andrews.

Grey, 2001-5. Chemist.

I've just moved from Heaton to Gosforth. Definately a step up in the world, I felt under dressed in Sainsbury's, I'm used to scruffy students not yummy mummies.

STW Durham/Newcastle meet? I've been on a ride with Miketually at Hamsterley but all the rest of you unless you ride with Gosforth RC or Midaircrisis i've never met, I don't think??

jonb, if you feel underdressed in Sainsbury's then go to Gosforth Asda. You'll feel a bit better 🙂

I'm from Durham (Sherburn Secondary Modern, 68-72 ish then City of Durham Cooncil till 1980)
I don't think we've met.

Wee yanaawot a wuz just awwa thu toon on thorsday wi work.
Nowt that much hiz chaanged if yiz wu gunna askis like. A grafted awa jezzie furawyl in the 80s and tha wuz aalwiz sum posh bords aboot…

Noo aav bin livin doon the shiyaaaz futhu last five year – feelz like yonks!

+1 for newcastle/Durham STW meet.

Lots come north as the unis are good and the parents can buy accommodation, they get some mates in and it pays for itself.

I thought I lived in a fairly posh place when I lived in Gosforth. Having just moved in with my lass in Ponteland that's been blown out the water. Darras Hall looks like someone has run through the Footballers Wives set with strong prit stick on them. Their gates cost more than my house.

right now on North East news, 2 toff students talking cycling AHHHHHHHHHHHH

darlovelo.com, or something

I used to teach the duke of northumberlands son in the agriculture dept. at newcastle, what a bunch of tossers him and most of the others were.

+1 for newcastle/Durham STW meet.

+1 as well but make it a few weeks so the weather is better and I can shed some of the lard accumulated over the winter 8)

Not many chips on this thread then!

Sainsburys? Asda? There's waitrose in the toon now is there not?

Only if they are made from fresh King Edward potatoes and covered in the finest French brie

+1 for some sort of Newcastleish forum ride.

I used to teach the duke of northumberlands son in the agriculture dept. at newcastle, what a bunch of tossers him and most of the others were.

Apart from one very good friend, nearly all the agrics when I was at Newcastle were indeed complete tossers. (1981-1986)

I used to teach two of the people quoted in that article.

I'm Durham too (87-90)…. like most places, the more vocal rahs seem to be the abiding impression but there were plenty of normal folks there too.

I was at Castle, so you're probably all in awe of me now 😛

Shall I start a thread on t'other bit for a ride??

Ran into the clay pidgeon society on a ride once- tweed, guns and an old jag, they had it all.

Generally people are alright, sure there're some nobs but that's true of any group …even northerners!

Having said that, been to Klute once and won't be going back…

Me
Collingwood '07-'10

Thread started to organise a ride…

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/stw-durhamnewcastle-meet