Newcastle: A City Born to Shop

Shopping in Newcastle? Well surely theres not much to say about that... My sentiments exactly until I started writing this book! Theres our market heritage to think about, local big brand successes, shopping rituals and all manner of shopping habits we dont even realise we have - the amount of times Ive heard `oh I dont have any memories of shopping only to be regaled a few moments later with heartfelt tales of first trips to Fenwicks Christmas window or how mothers sent their children to the `steal works with their divvy number. Shopping is such a part of the fabric of our lives we often dont realise the role it plays and how it has subtly changed over the years. As a small French man supposedly once said, the Brits are a `nation of shopkeepers and certainly as a nation we do love to shop. But did you know that Newcastle was the birthplace of some shopping practices we take for granted? Have you ever thought how many parts of the city are named after its markets? It may be such a part of our psyche we dont even realise that we Geordies are shopping addicts! So grab a cuppa (did the Ringtons man deliver your teabags maybe?) put your feet up (dont tell me thats a Callers sofa?!) and let me take you on a trip down memory lane See more