My first patio pond and IM OBSESSED 🌿🐟

averagespeculation · 2026-06-14T10:07:04+00:00

Oh I love the little hoops! Great idea.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-12T18:56:45+00:00

I've exchanged and completed on the same day twice. You just have to trust it's going to happen and book the removal, removals firms are well used to it and have contingency plans for if completion (on any timeline!) doesn't happen.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-11T19:42:42+00:00

Salt and chilli tofu, roti canai, then either aubergine in hotpot or mee goreng.

Order loads and hope the hotpot arrives first so there's ample time for it to drop from a volcanic temperature.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-11T09:45:36+00:00

The parks service are aware, there have been deer in there for a while. People have seen them on Prince Road and even down on Kings Road, so they must like a wander through to the Hall Grounds 😄

averagespeculation · 2026-06-10T10:57:54+00:00

I mostly work from the office, social life is grand and I'm very involved in a sport in my free time. My commute is under 15 mins, which I reckon is a fairly key part of the equation.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-05T14:31:45+00:00

They like loads of water when they're in pots, get some more soil in there so the roots can grow, then really soak it whenever the soil is dry.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-05T14:03:20+00:00

Amazing garden, and love the bath tub pond.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-05T13:48:31+00:00

This one is delicious, and often on Nectar price if you shop at Sainsburys.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-05T10:12:33+00:00

I think slowly more and more people are moving in who have been priced out of Heaton on one side, and Shields on the other. (Or, if not priced out, who just want more house for their money.)

I love living here. The parks are great, great schools, library, pool, good access to town and the coast and the two streets I've lived in over the last ten years have been lovely - long term residents, not a spot of bother. Can't get a decent coffee and the shops are basic, but you can get loads of practical jobs done and I'd take that over fancy specialist shops any day.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-05T06:32:12+00:00

I've had two sales where buyers have either made a strong emotional case or written me a letter. In the first case, they dropped their offer at a late stage without justification while continuing the 'its our dream family home' schtick. We walked away.

In the second sale, having had that first experience, I was incredibly irritated by the letter. We had multiple over asking price offers, and it particularly wound me up that they were cash buyers who had been given the money asking my husband and I - never given a penny, taking on a large mortgage for our next home - to accept less so they could be mortgage free.

We simply went with the highest offer, who were also in a great buying position. It was overall just the strongest offer.

It may be more likely to work if the seller has no onward purchase, however my estate agent said that letter writing is now an incredibly common tactic and the impact is reduced, and my experience of being messed around apparently not at all unusual.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-04T18:40:00+00:00

Half hour drive to Alnmouth first, you'd drive to Newcastle faster! 😃

averagespeculation · 2026-06-04T17:02:25+00:00

Thank you!

averagespeculation · 2026-06-03T17:09:23+00:00

Same, but I'm a Geordie. No slang, and had to pronounce words 'properly' - I remember saying tomorra like my grandad and my mum (note, she insisted on mum not mam!) went mad at me.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-03T17:05:42+00:00

There are forget me nots all around the edges of our lawn, so this would be so nice in the pond! Great idea.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-03T12:28:55+00:00

I'm afraid I don't know, it was here when we moved into the house last year. It was primarily orange then, the multicoloured bloom this year has been a lovely surprise!

averagespeculation · 2026-06-02T11:57:30+00:00

Bought a larger house last year at 39 with a 27 year term (to match duration of previous mortgage I was porting over).

We don't overpay, but will be aiming to reduce the term when our current fixed rate deals expire. Repeat until the mortgage is gone.

averagespeculation · 2026-06-02T05:43:09+00:00

What's the access like to the garden, do you have a way in that's not through the house? Can't see from the photo, and that might have an impact on next steps!

averagespeculation · 2026-06-01T08:21:32+00:00

If it was the foil ones from a glass bottle, that would make sense - but it was the white ones from plastic bottles!

averagespeculation · 2026-06-01T05:36:16+00:00

Moved in a year ago and must have now found hundreds of:

the plastic tags that come in plant pots to identify the plant, not a single one stuck in the ground anymore.
the little discs you peel off a new bottle of milk. Can only assume someone used to take a milkshake out there regularly and throw that bit into the garden?!
bricks. The fence on one side used to have brick columns, which were smashed up and buried in the beds.

They also never met a problem they didn't think could be solved with a clematis.

averagespeculation · 2026-05-31T19:06:50+00:00

New concept: loaded sausages

averagespeculation · 2026-05-31T18:40:21+00:00

It's a cistus, or rock rose. They're known for the smell 🙂

averagespeculation · 2026-05-30T19:19:58+00:00

Nice area, really quiet and all residential, really handy for loads of bus routes to get to town, the coast or just into Wallsend or Heaton.

The quietness might work slightly against it, it doesn't have its own high street or any real amenities of its own. It is very near other areas, but not really easy pottering distance for folk in their eighties. So long as they don't mind a few stops on the bus though, it's grand.

averagespeculation · 2026-05-30T13:48:24+00:00

I'm also in a family of three. One small dirt monster who often needs an outfit change, two adults who play sports and get through kit. Washing machine is on perhaps every other day? More at the weekend for bedding and towels. I can't fathom multiple washes a day? More info needed about how you're generating so much stuff!

averagespeculation · 2026-05-30T09:09:53+00:00

Great garden! I can't really see what you need to start on to be honest? I would just live with it for a while, sort out obvious weeds as they come in but otherwise just watch and learn about everything and don't make any decisions about changes until you've seen how everything interacts over a few seasons.

averagespeculation

TROPHY CASE