Badger Galore
Staying ‘Up Over’ for a while.
Beauty and the Beast.
So…this last weekend we got away for a few days in Newcastle, on the north eastern side of the country. We stopped off in Hexham on the way over. I had not really looked around Hexham apart from going to a concert there a few years ago and was glad that we did have a look around. It is quite lovely with its Abbey, Old Gaol and parklands and well worth a visit. Similarly, I have never spent time in Newcastle exploring the city apart from quick visits to the quayside for concerts and Ikea and the Metro Centre at Gateshead.
Oh Dear! Newcastle was not so lovely. We could not get over the amount of litter everywhere. It just felt as if the people there did not care or had no pride in their surroundings unlike Hexham. It was loud and brash with overcrowded bars, staggering hens and stags and it did not help that I was leapt upon, just walking up the street, by a pitbull which just missed biting my hand off! It was on a lead and its owner yanked it back and smacked it but it did not help Newcastle’s case.
There were some nice surprises though. I didn’t know about the Cathedral nor that there was a castle, despite a probable clue in the city name. I didn’t know that it had been a walled city and that parts of the wall still remained that were not built by Hadrian. The nicest surprise was all the Kittiwakes nesting on ledges on the Tyne Bridge and the Baltic Art Gallery. They spend most of the year out at sea and come to central Newcastle, of all places, to nest. Go figure!
We had some lovely meals out, Nadon Thai the first night and Wagamama the second night. I had not been to Wagamama’s for ages and we felt it was a bit of a food chain cop out but we wanted something quick before the concert we were going to. The food was great though.
Will has developed an allergy to meat, we think because of a tick bite in the past though it has not yet been confirmed. He now avoids beef, pork and lamb but can eat chicken and fish. He ordered a pulled Shitake salad and when it came it just looked like beef. He gave me some to try and I was convinced it was beef so much so we called the waiter over to check that there had not been some mistake. They didn’t do a beef salad. My mind was blown!
The concert we went to was at the Glasshouse, formerly the Sage. We went to see Spell Songs with Karine Polwart, Kris Drever, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux. The songs are from the poems by Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris and Jackie was there too painting as the musicians sang and played. It was absolutely brilliant and like Hexham and Newcastle, new to me but it was a lovely evening.
We headed back along Hadrian’s Wall and found a Roman temple in the middle of a housing estate, as you do. Here is a taste of our days away.
‘Well, here’s another nice walk you’ve gotten me into!’
So…on Sunday we got away to South Lakeland, down the Barrow Peninsula, to Ulverston, birthplace of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame. We were there to see Kate Rusby at The Coronation Hall in the evening but had time for a lovely walk up to the monument on Hoad Hill and dinner at The Mill back in town before Kate’s lovely concert.
The London Lads strike again!
So…last weekend we were back in London to amuse the boy for the day as his pre-school was shut for a training day. We went to ‘Discover’ in Stratford, an Imaginative Play centre and then we took him for a chicken pox jab in Islington. He didn’t even flinch! The Pharmacist at the chemist couldn’t believe it. We had a well deserved ice cream afterwards.
