All's well in Newcastle

November visit to Newcastle
I spent the first ten days of November back in Newcastle, visiting with Kate and Sean ... again!!! It was great. We saw two Shakespearean plays - Much Ado About Nothing and King John, the Pirates of Penzance operetta, Lord of the Dance Irish dancing, and three films: History Boys (10/10), The Queen (10/10), and I alone saw Borat (probably 3/10 but very funny in spots). The Irish - mother, father, and three of the nine kids (four if you count Sean and five if you count the fact that we saw Brian in Edinburgh) were over for a visit. They all went to a soccer match. I didn't because I've been to so many in my life, I wanted to leave my seat for someone less fortunate.
The two top photos give a small idea of the beautiful rooflines in Newcastle. The next photo is of the front entrance to Cafe Royale, our favourite place to sit, eat and to drink coffee. The photo beside the one of Kate and Sean is of Eithne, Niamh, Clodagh, Brian, and Eanagh in Edinburgh. We spent the day there ... it's only a little over an hour to get there by train from Newcastle.

A RAMBLE TO REMEMBER
I belong to a group called the U3A (University of the Third Age). It's actually an interest group, with many activities to suit a variety of tastes. The sub-group I belong to offers walks in the country, culminating in a pub lunch. Here's a photo of Wednesday's walk. We walked for five miles with a stop about halfway to climb a tower (referred to as a 'folly') in the middle of a field. We climbed 260 steps and the view from the top of the tower was well worth it. In this photo, my little pinhead is at the back (left). Although you see mostly women in this photo, there were probably five or six men on the ramble. Jasper, the dog, is also a male. The pub where we had lunch was quaint and fitting. What a great day!!

SAM The Cute
I thought I would post a few pictures of Gill's dog, Sam, my fairly constant companion. He dogs my every step :-). As you can see, he's very cute. If you were an acquaintance of Beans many years ago, I'm sure you would agree that Sam looks a lot like him. Sam is a Border Terrier. He loves people and other animals and never barks. Well, that's not quite true. He barks if he's upstairs in my bedroom and he hears the garden gate open and close. Otherwise, we never hear a peep from him. I always expect small dogs to be a bit yappy so his non-barkyness is a bit of a surprise.
Sam and I go for long walks in the countryside and around Somerton almost every day. I think we're fairly equal in our love of these walks. One day, we walked quite far and ended up at a great pub. I hope to repeat that ramble one of these days. The two shandies I had were delicious!!
In these photos, I'm trying to get my bedroom tidied and he's taken over the bed. He loves sleeping with his head on the pillow, just like a human. It's cute.

A VISIT TO LONDON On my way to Newcastle, I spent a few days with 'Nephew' in Surrey (just outside London) and had a lovely time. He's always a little unsure about the upheaval wrought upon his solitary lifestyle but bravely puts up with my not-so-infrequent visits. One of the highlights of the visit was a trip by train and tube to Brick Lane in London to have dinner with friends. That was fun. The tube stopped in a tunnel for about 15 minutes ... interesting! My claustrophobia was in overdrive and my paranoia not far behind. I don't think I was alone in trying not to think about July 2005. My nephew was standing beside someone with a backpack. He was thinking too.
On one of my days there, we went to have apple pie baked by a friend of Nephew's who is 95 years old. The pie was delicious and the friend most interesting.
The photos are self-explanatory except for the one of my nephew, his real niece and her partner Martin, and me. I cooked dinner for them one night. Monica (nephew's niece) is the daughter of my dear old friend Stella who died about eight years ago. I always enjoy our times together.

Childe and Me at the Cafe Royale in Newcastle
Hallellujah ... some minutes to sit at the computer and write about my latest escapade. I have recently returned to Somerton from ten days in Newcastle to stay with 'the kids.' I had a lovely time with them, of course, and am already looking forward to my next trip there. That's not so far away. I'm going back on October 31st for another ten days! Kate and Sean have booked a few plays and have included me in their plans. Lucky moi. We're going to see The Pirates of Penzance, King John, and Much Ado About Nothing (I think :-).
I'm now feeling that I can find my way around Newcastle relatively well. On this visit, I spent quite a bit of time at the Cafe Royale, with and without Kate and Sean. It's an irresistible place as all of their food is delicious and the ambiance is just right.
Kate and Sean are both well and working hard. They spend long hours at their respective hospitals but love their jobs. They're enjoying life in Newcastle and are exploring the area every chance they get ... me too, when I'm there.
Gill and Brian are both well. Here's a recent photo of them. Brian and his fiancee, Lili, were here this past weekend as today is Gill's birthday. We've been celebrating since Saturday. She's 77 today but still looks so much younger than that.

A RECENT VISIT TO WALES
Last week, Gill and I drove to Wales, to a place called Eglwys Fach, the home of Gill's friends, Gill (yes, another Gill) and Zuhair Chalabi. Gill and Zuhair moved from Winchester to Wales last year - quite a big step as they are in a remote, rural area, having lived right downtown in Winchester for many years. On this map, look for Aberystwyth - Eglwys Fach where I was is about 1/4 of an inch in from the coast at Aberystwyth.

We had a seven-hour drive (with me driving all the way), right up into the Cambrian mountains and through some lovely villages and small towns. The scenery, once we started climbing the mountains, was breathtaking. All the signs were in Welsh, with loads of consonants and few vowels! We've been having remarkably good weather - warm but not too warm, and sunny - and it held for the entire visit.
Gill and I stayed with the Chalabis (she's English, he's Iraqi-born) for two days and then Sam (now a one-year-old dog and still too cute) and I drove home. Brian arrived from Oxford on the day I left, as prearranged. He and Gill went on to visit Welsh relatives after their stay with the Chalabis.
On my long drive back to Somerton, I only got lost once! In truth, I wasn't so much lost as I kept missing the egress onto the M4 highway at Cardiff. It was quite confusing but, after three tries, I finally did it. Hallellujah! It was great to have met the challenge of that relatively long drive. Now, I feel as if I can drive almost anywhere ... except London, of course :-).