July 2024. Morpeth.
Mrs RM was already in a mood when we reached Northumberland.
Just up the road from that rowing club newbie is Barnacre Alpacas, and Mrs RM had her heart set on saying hello to this little newbie.
But, having driven to a remote location near Hadrian’s Wall, we find no alpacas on display, and CCTV cameras on a sign saying “No entry – prebooked guests only“. Yes, a minimum of 3 nights if you want to see and walk those fellas. Pauline just said it’s great; Mrs RM is now determined to visit “despite the lack of pubs“.
Morpeth’s chintzy cafes and nostalgia wasn’t really compensation for that disappointment, and a second new GBG entry (riches !) wasn’t much better.
The town now has a recent Guide contingent of Proper Pub (Joiners),
Spoons, Tap and Spile, micropub, bistro and the Black Bull, a smart Punch town pub.
It’s perfectly pleasant, a bit too smart for the last boozer in town,
and a bit lacking in trade on a Thursday afternoon,
even at £3.40 a pint.
And it showed, a slightly flabby pint of Anarchy Blonde that got tipped two-thirds down. I know, I know, I should have taken it back (the staff seemed great) but the others wouldn’t have been better and IT’S NOT MY JOB.
Back to the tourism. Actually Trip Advisor was no help, possibly suggesting an alpaca farm, fudge factory or beach 15 miles ago.
So, apart from admiring the tribute to Ms Davison.
and those figurines on the clock tower,
and the apostrophes,
you need to head down to the river.
“Run across those stepping stones and I’ll take the **** out of you on my Instagram when you fall in“.
Little things please little minds.
A bit like this little bit of philosophy.
I reckon Taylor Swift is omnipresent; it’s Mrs RM that’s omnipotent.
retiredmartin 
“despite the lack of pubs“. Alnwick doesn’t suffer that.
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No it doesn’t ! Sadly we were only able to visit one, but it is a cracker (and it’s not THAT one).
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Not Craft Union’s most northerly pub ?
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But how was the Bass in the Joiners?
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Sadly, untested this time.
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Note the church clock denotes the number 4 as IIII and not IV. Still don’t know why church clocks do that.
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Interesting. I missed that.
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When Roman numerals were in use by the Roman Empire, the name of the Romans’ supreme deity, Jupiter, was spelled as IVPPITER in Latin. There was a feeling that using the start of Jupiter’s name on a clock dial, and it being upside down where it fell, would be disrespectful to the deity, so IIII was introduced instead.
The internet’s a wonderful thing.
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Did the Romans have clocks? I question this AI answer.
Personally I’d venture that it had more to do with clerics not liking the first syllable of “Jupiter” that much (Judas and all that).
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They all do it apart from the one in Bingley West Yorkshire.
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Did you try the stepping stones? And did you run across them?
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If you click the link on Mrs RM Facebook (underlined in the post) you’ll see me in action. A brisk walk, I’d say
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Leave your stepping stones behind you
Something new calls for you
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Over a hundred years since Emily Davison got trampled by a horse and yet horses still don’t have the vote. What a waste of time!
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