Life begins again

Thursday 20^th March to Friday 21^st March 2014

Life begins again for us and naturally we think about Banjo almost constantly – the things that we would have been doing with him and where we would have been going and how he would have enjoyed things along the way, but also we are learning to live without him being there.

There was a very bright and pleasing bit of news come to us via SMS on Thursday morning – it seems that the marina had to back down from not refunding mooring fees for a boat that they wanted gone.

The marina definitely doesn’t like people in the marina on their boats.

All eight of us decided to have a seaside visit on Thursday – well it was ten of us, including Bombo and Sammie.

So off we were to Whiteley Bay which is just north of Newcastle – a fine sunny day was in-store for us -  not likely – the clouds settled over very quickly after we set off – in 2 cars – the wind came up even more and rain was in the offing.

now off you go and think about what you have done

Paul had done so much walking that his boot finally gave
up the ghost - a blow out

It was the tonic that we needed and we did have an great day out – walking along the beach with the tide out – stepping over the rocks and watching the surf as the wind whipped up the sea; being entertained with Paul’s impersonation of a Geordie accent – he has a great knack of being able to get most of these down pat (or is that pet!).

A fine meal at the seaside café – the food was satisfactory – the attentions of the owner were perhaps a bit too attentive.

Paul once again upset one of the locals in photographing the two toilet doors that each showed a “Gents” sign – one woman was getting ammoyed with him disappearing behind one which she saw quite clearly as being the ladies (it was also the entry for the disabled gents toilet).

The rain eventually made an appearance whilst we were having lunch as well as reading the newspapers – a great deal of discussion was taking place over the relative merits of an item appearing on page 3 of one of the papers. Something else to upset our lady friend.

With lunch behind us we then focussed on finding the location of “The Angel of the North” – rain was getting heavier; our satnavs (or is that SatNags) were striving to direct us through the Newcastle road system – with wet windscreens front and back and two cars of general colour – one white and one red – we didn’t always keep track of each other as clearly as we would have liked – I only had to go round the one roundabout again on one occasion when I lost Andy in the other car.

Who's that supporting my wife - I am supporting the camera

My angel in front - the geordie one in back

the gang's all here

Eventually we spotted our destination and then located the access ramp and parking area. With light diminishing and the rain only slightly abating we managed run around like schoolkids and generally being quite silly really.

For some of us we had a homeward bound detour to see Hadrian's Wall which runs right near to Greenhead.

Friday was leaving day as, in turn, we said au revoir to Andy and Sue who needed to be back for friends arriving and then to Elaine and Paul who wanted to explore a bit of the Lakes District before heading back to the boat.

After the house went from loud to quiet very quickly – we missed them all straight away – Dot and Diane decided that a day in Hexham to view the Abbey and then early doors would be appropriate – Gordon and I as usual just went along with it – much easier on us that way.

So off we went.

The main part of Hexham is built, as expected, up on the hill – the main parking area, courtesy of Tesco, is at the bottom – so a trudge up the hill was the first part.

The Abbey is right in the centre of town and easy to find. Entry, as is increasingly becoming the case, was by donation – the size suggested is increasing faster than the inflation rate – not that we object – these buildings do require a lot to maintain them.

Strolling around the internals and the underternals (the crypt) gave us a good idea about the history of the abbey; the area; and the people who lived there – which is exactly what we are looking for.

The building stretches from its origins in the 7^th century to the present day – a minimal amount of the original building still remains.

It is well worthy of a visit should you be in the area.

The gift shop hoisted some monies from the wallet and the cheese shop across the road did likewise.

A bit further on The Tap and Spline gave some respite from the still very cold weather and wind. It is quite a nice pub inside, although one customer was a bit boisterous in his opinions about the increase in the price of a pint – he left quickly after finishing said pint.

A little detour in walking back to ‘spoons for something to eat merely increased the appetite.

The atmosphere inside Wetherspoons was as expected and the meals are the same – good value and quite good to eat.

The return leg involved a bit of last minute directions as we traveled and despite the implications from the female half of the contingent, all four wheels of the car remained on the ground at all times.

We managed to see the sycamore tree and section of Hadrian’s Wall used in the filming of Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves (the Kevin Costner version) and inspected the rum shelves of the Twice Brewed Inn.

By this stage we were ready to return home; warm up again and had time for some cards before the effects of another full day became quite apparent.

Dumbass Marina Management

Monday 10^th March to Tuesday 18^th March 2014

There have become an increasing number of reasons why we do not favour returning to Aston Marina in the future and this week added yet another one.

The level of management expertise here extends just as far as any family contact – if you aren’t part of the family structure then forget it.

The great pity with this is that there isn’t a great deal of ability in handling customers – and that is what each and every moorer is – a customer – and listening to problems that they have.
Any question about a change is instantly greeted with a defensive position rather than a proper explanation.
The latest was  “why food and drink from the bistro was no longer being served on the outside deck overlooking the marina?” – the reply from someone who should know better aka A__x – “We are not interested in chasing after anyone who wants a ₤2 cup of coffee”
We did notice a lot of people just simply leave after having to take out their own coffee and realising that there would be no hot food available for them to eat in the bright sunshine.

Prior to that was a polite enquiry about getting a person from the workshop to help remove the sliders on the hatch – 3 weeks and no response – probably too small a job for them to be interested in doing (at all).
They seem to be only interested in anything that pays ₤’000s – like painting a boat rather than simple everyday boating work – the upshot then is if you ask someone else to come in and do the work, they need all sorts of insurance and have to pay the marina for the right to come and do work that they themselves are not interested in doing.

Would I recommend the marina to someone to moor there? – probably not – and only because of the management of the marina – I have to reiterate a previous statement – the boats are the entertainment for the other customers.

We are in saying goodbye mode – seemingly more farewells than Dame Nellie Melba – this week was going to be a last “early doors” – there will be more now; it was to be a farewell lunch with Phil and Lynn – we will be saying goodbye again soon; a last farewell to Roly and Bev when they left on Friday – we will still be here when they return.
Medical reasons have extended our stay but we will be leaving before April 10^th (our paid-up-to date).
It will allow us to complete a few more jobs that have been sidetracked as we found more important things to do.
Firstly there was match between Man United and Liverpool to see – Joan. Jim, Paul and I went along to see a 3-0 win to Liverpool – MU play like rubbish, but the atmosphere was unbelievable.
A trip up to Northumberland has commenced and we are thoroughly enjoying the time together with Dot and Gordon and also with Elaine and Paul and soon to be Sue and Andy – all of the gang will be back together.

The trip up was uneventful, apart from seeing the tailend of Paul and Elaine – well at least the motor home – we found the house OK.

our residence for this week

....and the view....

...and the boudoir

The countryside is magnificent in a wind-swept, bleak and cold way that could easily be associated with a Jane Austen novel.

all the dogs were in the back - they had to put up with Paul

Haltwhistle station

waiting in the rain

Newcastle station

in the pub

and lunch

Today is was off to Newcastle to have a bit of a look around – don’t let anyone put you off visiting this famous northern city – it will be on our list of must-re-visit places.
We had some lunch; wandered around a bit; managed to see the Millenium Bridge (footbridge) open up – pretty impressive.

"Sydney Harbour Bridge" look-alike

The Millenium Bridge upright - behind the statue

and opened