The things I am grateful for in Consett

I enjoy living here, in Consett, more than I have anywhere else in a while. I was born in another country, but have lived in the UK for over 11 years now. People around here are always surprised to learn that I like (and prefer) to live up in the North. It has been up North where I have met my loving partner and their family; and it is in the North where I feel at home. I enjoy the cold, the rain, and the tough and kind people that live here. I wanted to share with the Consett Magazine Readers some of the things that I am grateful for.

I am grateful for our house. It makes me happy to look out the window and see our beautiful plants. It’s nothing fancy, all of the plants are in pots, as the front of the house is cement floor. I like to watch people walk past and smile when they look at our potatoes in “grow-bags”. I like to admire our beautiful, alien-looking borage. Did you know that borage’s leaves, flowers and stalks are edible and taste a little like cucumber? Borage is also great for bees and beneficial pollinators, as it contains high levels of nectar which is pollinator food. 

After waiting for years, we can now grow plants in our allotment too. It’s so much fun to work in the allotment. I love cultivating plants not only for the personal benefits they bring but also for the diversity they add to the land and the benefits they provide to other living beings. 

I enjoy learning about companion planting: which plants like to grow together and which ones don’t…-by the way, borage is also a great companion for strawberries if you want healthier and tastier berries – look it up! How can I increase biodiversity and how can I do such a task without using any animal/plant-killers, in a way that enhances life overall? 

(Borage on the left and wild-flowers next to Green Keepers on the right)

Consett deserves biodiversity. I personally want to see more flowers and plants growing everywhere! As I was walking out of Green Keepers in May, I saw lots of wild flowers behind the shop and they made me smile (second picture with flowers and shrubs). Green Keepers is another place I am grateful for. What a privilege to have a zero-waste shop just a few steps away from home. I enjoy talking with the people who work there, and shopping there is very cost-efficient too. 

Life in Consett would not be the same without the Grey Horse. I love going to the Grey Horse. When you enter you are met with warm smiles from the hard working staff. I especially like to go when it’s a bit more quiet: you can hear people’s voices in the background, a crackling of packet of crisps being open, beers being poured, and there is a quietness that feels relaxing and enveloping. In the winter, I love to sit by the fire with a warm glass of mulled wine; in the summer, sitting outside with a pint of cold beer and salt and vinegar crisps is what hits the spot. 

As I enjoy my life in Consett, I am also reminded that I am an immigrant here: “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country”. I have an accent that does not match the locals, and look “different”. There is a permeating fear that someone will deny what is home to me. I could not live where I was born due to a variety of circumstances, and Consett is my home. 

As I settle myself into a place where I was not born, I will continue to try and learn it’s heritage and find community.  I am most grateful that I get to share my life in Consett with my beautiful partner and our cats and plants.  What are you grateful for in Consett? 

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