June 2023. Gateshead to Durham. We’d exhausted the in-laws in Beamish and Newcastle so had a leisurely cultural day to start June before the 2 hour trip home. Obviously Newcastle-Gateshead had the Bigg Market and the Tuxedo Royale before the millennium saw the Baltic bring culture to Tyneside, but it’s the old flour mills (and… Continue reading A CULTURAL AND CRAFTY INTERLUDE IN THE NORTH-EAST
SHOWING OFF THE CROWN POSADA TO TOURISTS
31st May 2023. Newcastle. Yes, I know I’m not a local. But I can still show off a pub that I know so well, just as I’d give an American a guided tour of the Fat Cat or the City Arms if they asked. Or even if they didn’t. Mrs RM wanted to show her… Continue reading SHOWING OFF THE CROWN POSADA TO TOURISTS
A MIRACLE ON PERCY STREET
31st May 2023. Newcastle. Three GBG ticks down, one left till I could colour in the Tyne & Wear chapter for another year. The problem with having done the whole book is you lose discipline and are much more tempted to wobble off from the Wobbly Duck and get distracted by old favourites on Percy… Continue reading A MIRACLE ON PERCY STREET
A QUICK ESCAPE TO THE WOBBLY DUCK
31st May 2023. Newcastle. You left us in the warm embrace of the Quayside Spoons, with your hero upsetting queuers by standing along the bar and Mrs RM corralling the in-laws to a spare table. And I appreciate “corralling” has certain connotations when applied to a MIL. At 19:02 I’d ordered my tea, a simple… Continue reading A QUICK ESCAPE TO THE WOBBLY DUCK
QUEUEING IN SPOONS – YEA OR NAY ?
31st May 2023. Newcastle. “Surely not you doing a topical post, Retired Martin ? I thought better of you”. Well, it’s the only thing of interest about our evening meal with the in-laws, as we resisted the charms of the many options on Side and Sandhill, and headed for the Spoons. Mrs RM wasn’t happy… Continue reading QUEUEING IN SPOONS – YEA OR NAY ?
FIVE BRIDGES (OR IS IT SEVEN ?)
31st May 2023. Firstly, an apology to reader Mr John Watson, who has sent me a stern Paddington stare, the equivalent of a 90 day Parliamentary ban by the Privileges Committee, I’d written “The in-laws had always wanted to visit Beamish, the living history museum just outside Newcastle“, when of course Beamish is very much part… Continue reading FIVE BRIDGES (OR IS IT SEVEN ?)
HIT THE TOON
31 May 2023. The in-laws had really wanted to visit Newcastle (in FIL’s* case, for the first time since before The House of the Rising Sun was No. 1) on their visit to Sheffield. It did at least take a couple of days out of their ten (10) day visit, and I needed five ticks… Continue reading HIT THE TOON
WASHINGTON – THE REAL ONE
May 2023. By an extraordinary stroke of luck, our quickest route from Beamish to the hotel on the banks of the Tyne took us close to a new GBG tick. Close enough, anyway, and my four passengers squeezed into a car suited for three were happy to get out for 20 minutes for a beer,… Continue reading WASHINGTON – THE REAL ONE
ALL ROADS LEAD TO BEAMISH
May 2023. The in-laws had always wanted to visit Beamish, the living history museum just outside Newcastle, and to be honest I’d been keen to see how it’s changed since we used to take the boys a decade ago when it was possible to entertain a pre-teen with a trip down a mine, a tram… Continue reading ALL ROADS LEAD TO BEAMISH
SHEFFIELD BLOSSOMS
May 2023. The last Tuesday of May, a great day to have responsibility for keeping the in-laws out of the house while Mrs RM worked. A great day to visit Sheffield’s free gardens. I was discussing with Mrs RM how little of Sheffield smart southern suburbs we’d actually visited since we’d moved 2 years ago… Continue reading SHEFFIELD BLOSSOMS
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