The loss of my grandma and uncle.

I live in Norway, but my mum is from the north-east of England (Seaton Sluice). As a kid, we spent all our major holidays there. We would all live in my grandma and uncles house when we were there. My grandma and uncle were awesome people. She would make me pancakes in the morning and he would take us for day trips when he wasn’t working. When we visited my uncle would sleep in a sleeping bag on the couch, so we could have the beds.

Basically all of my best memories from growing up are from Seaton Sluice and the surrounding area. We would go to the swimming pool, St. Mary’s Lighthouse, golf course and the Spanish City in Whitley Bay. Countless trips to Tynemouth Castle, because I had a fascination for castles. Shopping at the market in Blyth, where my uncle would always stop to talk with one of the stall owners he knew. Not to mention the 2 bottle crates and 4 bricks in my grandmas garden which we used to build a boat, bus, plane, or whatever our fantasy allowed. My uncle also had a shed in the garden which housed a large model railway.

My uncle died when I was around 7 or 8. My grandma deteriorated quite quickly after that and died a few years later when I was 12. She lived in a nursing home her last few years and the house was sold in 2000. At the time the impact of what I’d lost didn’t quite register with me. It was in adult life that it really hit me, and since then I’ve never quite got over it.

I regularly keep an eye out in case their house ever goes back on the market. I could never justify nor afford to buy it of course, as I live in Oslo, Norway still, and traveling to Newcastle isn’t as easy as it used to be. We used to be able to take the boat from Oslo to Newcastle, and there used to be a direct flight from Oslo Airport. Both are gone now as Newcastle is no longer a popular shopping destination for Norwegians. In many ways it feels like I’m not just mourning the loss of my uncle and grandma, but also the loss of Seaton Sluice as it feels like a large part of my identity.

Fortunately my mum is still around. We’re very close and always speak in English. I still read the Northern Ehco online, listen to BBC Radio Newcastle and watch episodes of Vera so I can feel like I’m still in touch with it all. I’ve watched all the episodes of “Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads” a number of times, and love it whenever a geordie appears in a TV show or radio play. Whenever a friend of family member goes to England, they pick up a copy of the Beano for me. The fact that we named our child Vera is no coincidence 😋.

I used to do yearly holidays to Newcastle/Whitley Bay after becoming an adult, but after we had our first kid, travel isn’t as easy anymore. I hope to take her there when she gets older though, to show her the sights from my childhood.

I’ll probably always mourn them. I got a tear in my eye yesterday when St Mary’s Lighthouse showed up on an episode of Vera. At the same time, the mourning feels manageable.

Ok, that post was way to long. If you made it all the way here, thanks for listening to my ramblings… And if you’re from the North East, give me a wave 👋.