Thank you for sharing this. Sunderland was a better place back then

Absolutely lovely to see old photos of Sunderland. So much has changed 😢

Thank you for these vlogs. I used to go to Sunderland every weekend to do shopping at Geordie Jeans, ice skating at Crowtree and get some chips from Carricks. My Aunty used to work in Binns and a trip wasn’t complete without popping into Woolworths for a poster and cassette and Joplings. I left the North to live in the south 25 years ago so watching these brings back loads of memories of my teenage days. Thank you 😊

Holmeside looks like *Mogadishu* with a little bit of *war torn Beirut* thrown in for good measure! Great video!

Love the video's. Shopped here with my Mother in the 70s & 80s. Great shops then. The nightlife was fantastic then also. Last time I was in the town centre would be about 2010 and even though I live approx. only 18 mile away I cannot see myself ever going again. Unfortunately its a ghost town, a pale poor shadow of a fabulous place that once was my home town.

Lovely video. Brings back lots of memories of my youth. So many interesting shops in the town at that time, sadly the town centre is now a shadow of its former self. I frequently bought books from Arrowsmiths, all part of my education. I worked at the Royal Infirmary in the early 60's and would call in to Bergs to buy LP's, EP's and singles. In fact I'd spend my bus fare and would have to walk home to Hylton Castle. (about 5 miles) Thank you for your research, bringing back such happy memories.

Another great video .Never knew about the bunker but Blandford street in the 60s/70s was positively swinging. My man used to work at Joseph's in the late 40s into the 60s then she went to Binns ,every kids dream was in josephs,we used to get toys to try to see what we thought ( had to go e them back). Mam used to say Mr Joseph ,who was Jewish & his wife were very good to work for & very kind , if they ever they got a 5 pound note from a customer it was such a big deal it had to be sent up stairs via a canister that you put the note in & then sent up a chute for scrutiny & a book has to be filled out. How times change.. Sad to see the demise of such a great street & Sunderland a shadow of its for.we self Loving these videos & the history...Great job.X

Your tours of Sunderland bring back so many memories i remember going to Bergs and buying Bohemian Rhapsody and the snow being so deep the bus driver telling me we might not get to Red house because of it but I didn’t worry too much as I had the record and eventually walked from southwick clutching it under my coat as the snow didn’t stop

History of railways, toyshops, old cinemas, shop at Binns = Heaven. 😁 I love Fred Astaire films and Busby Berkley musicals. My favourite is 42nd Street.

Thanks for doing this. Some really interesting information. 👍

Re the possible bunker under civic center. Where footbridge went across the burdon road cutting from mobrary Park(near jack crawford statue) there was a set of 3 flag poles which to me always seemed to be in a weird position. I'd have thought other locations on the site would have provided better visiblity for flag poles. Thus I suspect they may have been radio masts. Was lots of vent slats on the side of cutting for steps that met the footbridge on civic civic center side too. Definely something that needed ventilation. Could sometimes hear a slight humming noise from inside them. Seemed a bit more than fans, naybe gensets. An of course there was the route of the old railway cutting under civic's multistory car park. I suspect the cutting was still there maybe a basement void space with car park built on top of concrete piles&columns. But such could easily have been made into a bunker. And i definely remember there being loos in the civic center being on lowest level of public access. Down some steps which went down further, but no public acces. Lift had key switched buttons for levels lower than gents. Bathroom seemed to have a large firmly locked door felt unlikely to be a janitorial cupboard. I suspect that bathroom had potential to serve as a decontamination room.

Great memories from my time in Sunderland

Great 👍

Absolutely love your videos of Sunderland. It's all fascinating. I know your theme is local history and nostalgia but I'd love your take on the new developments within Sunderland and future plans.

Really interesting, you've done your homework there, I recognized all the places but then you mentioned different things and it brought back so many memories, thank you and well done

Bergs Records also had a good line in pre-loved LP's in the late 1960' early 70's. My biggest find was an almost brand new copy of Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" only a few months after it had been released as a double album in March 1970. The album has since been described as "Piccaso in sound" and "era defining". I can only assume that the original owner had been expecting something more conventional from Miles and hadn't taken the trouble to listen to it before buying it. Either that or it was an unwanted present. Showing no signs of wear and I suspect that it may have only been played once or twice. It however remains a fantastic album and I think it only knocked me back 30 bob (£1.50) at the time. I still have it and listen to it 53 years later.

Thanks for a nice vid! Love the channel because you have taken the trouble to study the history and always deliver a great commentary! I lived in Roker, Sunderland until emigrating to South Africa in March 1975 and knew the town (as it was then) quite well. Maxwells where I used to buy my model airplanes as a kid, Blandford St., which was round the corner from my Dad's shop, Wood's Health Foods in Waterloo Place and where I worked for a while. Arrowsmiths in Blandford was owned by an Aunt of a friend of mine, Alan Fletcher who worked in that shop. Lots has changed though of course - and not always for the better!

even in the early 2000s home side was bustling

Thank you for this excellent documentary - I can see you've researched hard to get such a good presentation. Sadly it all looks rather sterile now compared to the glorious past. Shame really.

A lass who loves her hometown ' Canny Auld Sun'land '

I work at The Point (the ritz). There is nothing left from the Theatre days. There are a few slight nods in the decor to the old days. The only things that remain are the external walls and the odd metal beam.

I’ve been in the entrance of the bunker under the Civic Centre, when you went in the main entrance to the Civic Centre, there was a staircase. I went up to the next floor, a big wide staircase, but also part of the staircase went down to a large door. When you open the door, there was a second door behind it, which was a thick metal door about 2 feet thick supposedly in the time of nuclear war. All the council leaders would go into there and administrate the region. The head of the park’s had a place so he could organise the burial of the dead, but of course his family would be left outside

i remember volume records next to the old bus station back in the 90s i bought lots of my thrash metal albums there

Good documentary like always

I remember in the 90s Sunderland town centre was packed every day and night its desolate now

and don't forget, the first sunderland burger bar. the wimpy bar on blindfold street

i don't think bergs was the cheapest. prices didn't really vary. but you could get 'underground' records there. I can't remember if you could listen to anything. that was binns.

Must catch up with your stuff. Subscribed

03:26 You mean "turn left." Interesting video

Nice look back on Sunderland's history. Surprised however that when you covered the museum, you missed off a key piece of trivia that the foundation stone was laid in the presence of General Ulysses Grant, former President of the United States.

What on earth have they done to Holmeside??? 😭😭😭 Thanks for the video though 🙏

It's sad that things have to change 😢

The Odeon organ is now in Ryhope community centre

Went in for my records

beyond where that pub is now was a famous zoo shop called the Fishbowl. they had a monkey in a cage and I bought lots of fish in the late 60s and 70s there. Lovely memories of a great childhood. Holmeside is big mess. I remember all the lovely shops and luxury goods. it is a shame that the county council did not k mark Holmeside and Blanchett street.

7th most bombed town city in ww2 in GB

Fab

Stroll on! That accent is horrible. I'm a Geordie (Gateshead must be, oh ten or twelve miles away from sun'lun but I'm telling you, that accent man!