Small Town Girl

Living in a small coastal town in the North East often makes me feel suffocated and itching to escape its confinements. Although South Shields has pretty scenery with the National Trust protected coastline, beaches and inner town parks, the main centre as well as the housing estates are dismal. Brick houses, rubbish-filled gardens, buildings dirtied by pigeons and seagulls seem even bleaker, with the grey sky that resides all year round and the miserable people that loiter around the streets.

Being someone who is well travelled (Europe, New Zealand, America), I know that there is more exciting places out there. Every time I return from a holiday, I am filled with dread as soon as I see the familiar row of shops near to where I live.

South Shields is full of people with no ambition. They will remain in the same town until they die, after marrying someone they went to school with. And I’m not being stereotypical. It’s the truth. I know people who have only been as far as Newcastle. They live in South Shields, they work there, they socialise there. They have no desire to experience other cultures.

Added to this, my town is full of charvahs. Wearing tracksuits, berghauses and huge hoop earrings, they are generally either on the dole or have three or four children at the age of 22. Their social habits? Drinking on street corners, causing fights and engaging in casual unprotected sex. Their attitude? They care about themselves and everyone else can f**k off.

When I was younger and naïve, I used to be scared of groups of charvahs, keeping my head down and scuttling past them. But lately I’ve developed an “I don’t care attitude.” I’ve realised that they have nothing going for them and by showing you aren’t bothered, they are more likely to leave you alone.

Another problem with small towns is no privacy. Everybody knows everything about everyone; even things you didn’t know about yourself! There are no secrets; this is a place where the local celebrities are either those who are out partying every night (the “IT” girls and boys if you like) or those who work behind bars.

And this is all why I felt proud when Joe McElderry won The X-Factor. Here was someone getting their big break and managing to escape from a town with no prospects. One day I hope to getaway too.