Cathedrals and clothes shops

Went to a service at St Paul's last week, so whilst down the town I felt I had to go here. It seemed a bit smaller than I remember (spent quite a bit of my youth here, either doing musical things or sitting in one of the chapels laughing at the tourists - (we were goths, alright?!). I also revisited some of the shops that Durham does so well. I used to think of them as post-hippy, a bit stuck in the 1970s but as they're still around now there must be more to it. Bought a top from here.

Home Sweet Home

Well, oop norf for a few days. As ever, t'Echo provides some good entertainment. I read this article this morning. I don't know what to make of it or who's telling the truth. From my childhood, I know that some parts of the NE (as, I'm sure, are parts of the NW, SW and SE) aren't particularly welcoming to outsiders - but I hadn't lumped in West Cornforth with those places.

Is this the victim of the 'village of hate'?

A former mining community has been labelled a village of hate and forced a persecuted woman to raffle her home. But are reports of a campaign of threats, intimidation and violence really all they seem? Nick Morrison reports.

BY any measure, it has been an horrendous ordeal. Within a week of moving in, the first brick came through the window. Over the next three years, there have been many more, including 23 bricks and bottles over one 28-day period.

But that has by no means been all. Rubbish has been dumped in the garden; dogs lifted over the wall to defecate; graffiti sprayed on the door; fireworks pushed through the letterbox; verbal abuse; threats to petrol bomb the house. In all, Mercedes de Dunewic has logged 180 crimes against her home over the last three years.
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A freelance journalist, she says she planned to write a book about how to change your life. The brick in the first week was the start of an ordeal at the hands of the village's youths which made her think that maybe she should change the subject of her work.
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She says she was calling the police out three or four times a day, but initially received little help. She now has CCTV installed, her windows reinforced and has spent £49,000 on repairs. For the last ten months she has slept downstairs with a fire extinguisher by the door. For the last year, she has only gone out when accompanied by a friend.
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Acting inspector Kelvin Vincent of Durham Police acknowledges that Miss de Dunewic has been the victim of a number of incidents but denies that West Cornforth has a particular problem with anti-social behaviour. He says action has been taken against a number of individuals, but disputes the figure of 180 crimes logged against the house.
the villagers' claims are true , there is no doubting the effect of her ordeal.
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Back in the coffee shop, Mrs Parkins says the village doesn't deserve the reputation it has acquired. But although villagers may be suspicious of Miss de Dunewic's claims, they don't dislike a woman few of them have met. "Nobody hates her," she says. "We're just angry at what she's been saying and what she's done to the village."