As a local, you are likely about to step over the threshold that many would not conceive probable in becoming a local student here at Durham. As a girl from the pit village of Blackhall Colliery on the coast of East Durham, coming to Durham University was never really on my list of options. If your experience was anything like mine upon telling friends and family you were “joining the dark side” in becoming a student, have no fear – I am here to set your mind at rest with some swift steps to keep your local allegiance and newly-acquired student status in perfect harmony with one another.
Don’t change how you speak
You will likely be perceived as if you are speaking some unfathomable language at times, but not half as much as people insinuate – don’t let that stop you.
We all know that classic Durham stereotype and many people, especially locals I knew who had graduated from Durham, will reinforce this imagined figure of a student who will make out that you are speaking some unintelligible babble. But worry not – I found that there are very few of these figures in reality.
Naturally, one must prepare for the classic Jimmy’s smoking area debacle of “I’m going to have to stop you, I can’t even understand a word you are saying!” as they laugh and gesture to a friend at this mythical being before them from the foreign lands of the city in which they study.
Though these moments are few and fleeting, do be prepared to correct the person who introduces you, genuinely awe-struck, to their friend as the girl who “is from Durham and… goes to Durham Uni!” despite “northerners statistically being more stupid than southerners” – as if you have defeated the great odds in becoming a student in this beautiful city you are from.
Unfortunately the quotes I leave with you here are things that have been said to me, but I merely jest at their insignificance. These simple-minded opinions are easy to keep at bay. Such examples are infrequent and Durham, in my opinion, get an unjust presentation for these stereotypes.
I have found many great friends from all over the UK throughout my time at uni, all with an amalgam of different accents that are (for the most part) entirely understandable. My accent itself is a weakened version of Pitmatic (not Geordie, Mackem, Poolie, or Smoggie) and I have found a certain enjoyment in sharing those odd dialectical sayings I have so casually passed in sentence unnoticed before with my friends who have no clue what it just meant.
You may even find that if you train your newly acquainted marras that they, too, will engage in the more commonly used every day pit yacker vocabulary for when “that lad has just throwed yous a proper hacky there like” (which would not be an unlikely occurrence to hear from yours truly in the queue for Jimmy’s).
Jimmy Allen’s and clubbing
And as if a genie has leapt from a lamp, I am obliged to discuss the wonder of Jimmy Allen’s to you, my blissfully unaware reader. Though you may be accustomed to day drinking in Durham or a night out on bank holidays, not many locals ever go into Jimmy’s (apart from my home friends that bound in with me every out-of-term holiday).
Proceed with caution, and do not let people conveniently cut past you in the queue because this is an unfortunate inevitability. Do call them out and stand your ground, do not let the reputation of being a friendly northerner excuse queue pushing – if for no other reason than the cathartic act of putting someone into their place (which just so happens to be the back of the queue).
I finally leave you with this piece of advice while on the topic of nights out. The evening attire is an extreme contrast to what you may see on a weekend. However, I must urge you to wear your bouncy blowouts, full faces of makeup, heels and sparkly outfits to the clubs. I implore you to continue in this glamorous tradition, and if you look for a particularly sequinned brunette queuing up for the karaoke be sure to pop over and say hi.
Knowing when it is ‘crossing the line’
As a local, I’d imagine you are highly in tune with our strong mining heritage. Unfortunately last year I saw a lot of anonymous confessions on Overheard and the like of students failing to understand the gravity of crossing a picket line. Last year, the university had some teaching strikes and I was taken quite aback with some of the reception from my fellow students.
Living in the city that hosts the Durham Miner’s Gala (one of my favourite days of the year might I add), I find it incredibly disheartening that people can come to our city entirely unknowing of our heritage and just what it means to cross a picket line. However worry not, if you hear something like this in the streets or more likely anonymously on the internet, might I suggest correcting this person and swiftly pushing them in the direction of the closest DVD of Billy Elliot.
Expect to become google maps
You are the local, congratulations! You now must know the ins and outs of the North East in its entirety! As someone as geographically inept as myself, I was stuck for landmarks when my friends asked me to take them on a tour of Durham in Freshers’ Week. I could confidently show them where H&M used to be (for which I still mourn), the route for DBM, the best places to get an ice cream, and other such valuable points. You may want to acquaint yourself a little more with the cultural side of our city, for all that story of swearing you saw a ghost in the cathedral as a child may be scintillating; it certainly lacks that historical flair your friends may be after.
Now, it isn’t an article for locals if I don’t mention the holy grail of the north east for student drinkers – Newcastle. Our go-to city for a good day-drink, bottomless brunch, Saturday night out, or anything alcohol related for that matter. Just be sure to have a few bars in mind for your posse before setting off as I can guarantee the moment you step off onto the platform of the station your friends will be expecting you to assume the position of tour guide. Again, one may advise against any stories of the Centre for Life trips when you were at school or having your UCAS day at the Utilita – send them off to D&P and away you go.
Finally, in the summer months it may be handy to point out the classic beaches that the southerners seem to yearn for. As someone who lives 5 minutes from the beach I am more than happy to restrain myself from the urge to dive into the refreshingly frozen and choppy waters of our beloved coast. By all means, take them to Seaton Carew or Seaham and show them around. Just be sure to watch from a safe distance, towels in hand like a good friend as they plunge into those marvellous waves.
The duality of a student/local hybrid – in conclusion
You now possess the almost supernatural quality of a student/local hybrid, there are certain conventions one must abide by. These include, but certainly are not limited to:
- Giving the cashier/server that “look” as you say your order as if to say “yeah I’m a student but don’t worry, I’m from here too” as if an undercover agent.
- Bragging about the fact you can go home for tea if you don’t fancy the college meal that night (guilty).
- On that note, use “breakfast / dinner / tea” to irritate all those “breakfast / lunch / dinner” users because they’re in your city now.
- Reinforce that your friends must refer to your mother as your “Mam” as if she hears herself referred to as “Mum” by anyone the repercussions are not worth thinking of.
- Telling all your local friends that “this is where I go with my uni friends” and doing the exact same when with your uni friends.
- Unashamedly bringing up any story from your childhood that vaguely fits into an area you are passing.
- The obligation to tell the story of the “horse with no tongue” statue in Market Square to everyone you meet.
- Spotting your village banner in the Market Tavern, and then forcing your friends to sit on the table under it.
- Enjoying your favourite Durham clubs when entirely unpopulated out of term time (Fowlers and Jimmy’s will never see a week without me I fear).
- Becoming strangely protective and proud over the accent that you never actually thought anything of before coming to uni.
- At least one trip to your local town / village to show your friends “the real Durham”, which they will most certainly love.
- Entirely ruin your current perception of Durham city centre, my imagined map has now truly been corrupted by lecture routes and the classic North Road slander (of which locals and students share a common disdain).
And so I sign this off as an incoming third year who has learned throughout her Durham experience that home is certainly where the heart is. And relocating from a little pit village on the outskirts of Durham all the way to its city centre has made me wildly proud of my heritage, despite my initial skepticism.
Yours truly,
A proud local student
