Great Northern Run - Geordie edition part one.

I thought I would share our latest great adventure with you all, whether you like it or not. We had been invited by Lesley Roley to attend the recording of her latest album, way up north in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Having never been there we decided we needed a bit of a break so off on the train we went.

Of course things are never easy for grumpies like us, so when we got on the train to find our reserved seats occupied I just had to say something, well quite alot actually and even though there was an empty seat on the other side of the table, I refused to use it and made the lady sitting in our seats (and I mean she needed both seats!) move into it. Mike just stood and watched me.

Three and a half hours later we were in Geordie land. What a surprise. We had imagined a city very much the same as those found here in the Midlands, we were wrong. Instead we found a place full of history and culture. Let me show you what I mean.

Bessie Surtees House from the 17th century

Part of the orginal city wall.



The hotel where we stayed



A painted building

That's the history, well some of it. Having arrived just after lunch on Tuesday, we spent the afternoon wandering around the shops before getting a bite to eat and making our way to watch Lesley.

Wednesday was spent crossing bridges, looking at art and checking out the opposition for Sunday. Needless to say, we weren't surprised to find the following at St James' Park:

They need one?

That's probably enough culture for now. I'll have to bore you with the other 999 photos some other time.

I would like to share a conversation that we had though. We were sitting in the Turkish restaurant we found (we love Turkish food) having finished our meals. After about 20 minutes we were still waiting for the guy we assume was the owner to come back to us and ask about coffee or desserts, you all know the drill. Having been to Turkey a few times, we do know that if they have no-one else in the restaurant they like to keep you there so they look like they have customers. Anyway this is how it went:

Me: Do you think he is holding us hostage?

Mike: He's not holding my ostrich.

Mike's Myeloma deafness strikes again. I laughed so much I needed tissues!

P.S. Blatant advertising here. The fantastic Turkish Restaurant is called Seven Hills and is situated on Sandhill. Just in case anyone stumbles onto the blog and fancies a good meal.