OT: What I did on my holidays, part 2
Rik Shepherd
Short version : Rik and Carol cross the Tyne more times than is strictly
rational, visit two art galleries, and have some food.
Long version:
First thing in the morning we find out how the shower works, then go down to
breakfast. This is actually rather good for a British hotel breakfast, I
think. We vaguely recognize at another table as a Kenyan, or maybe
Ethiopian, runner. It's kind of hard to identify someone when you normally
see them on TV contorted with the stresses of marathon running.
Leaving the hotel, we walk through South Shields to the pedestrian ferry,
wait for a while, then cross the river to North Shields. This is our first
Tyne crossing of the day.
We walk to the North Shields metro, purchase a day rover ticket, catch the
next train to Newcastle, and get off at Howden.
Using a newly purchased AA street map, we walk down towards the Tyne and
find the North end of the Tyne pedestrian/cycle tunnel. The escalators -
which when the tunnels were constructed in 1951 were the longest and deepest
in the world, as well as being the first that cyclists could use - are out
of order, so we have to use the lift. This is a bit of a shame, as we'd
rather wanted to see cyclists on an escalator. At the bottom of the lift
shaft, a little tunnel takes you to where the escalators end, and the two
tunnels begin. Each tunnel has a mildly alarming 'Fire In Tunnel' sign which
can be lit up to warn people who haven't noticed the smoke and flames, but
these are unlit so we feel confident and walk into the tunnel marked
Pedestrian. The tunnels are circular, and tiled in a tasteful cream with a
green stripe, and there's a green stripe to mark the point where you leave
Northumberland and enter Durham (the tunnel was tiled before they invented
Tyne & Wear, of course). This is our second Tyne crossing of the day.
We come out of the other end of the tunnel, and head toward the Jarrow Metro
station. We pass an impressively ugly concrete cone, which emits an
impressively ugly noise as it attempts to extract exhuast fumes from the
Tyne Tunnel (road version). The noise of this thing must really be keeping
house prices down anywhere within earshot. We pass through the Viking
Shopping Centre on the way to the Metro. It seems slightly odd for Jarrow,
home of the Venerable Bede, who didn't have much nice to say about
Scandinavians, to call their shopping centre after a bunch of anti-social
Danes more given to pillaging than shopping, but I suppose it's better than
naming it after the Hunger Marches. Just.
So we catch the Metro to Monument station in Newcastle, crossing the Tyne on
the QE II bridge, our third Tyne crossing of the day.
From Grey's monument we walk straight down the road to the Laing gallery,
where we immediately scamper to the cafe. They've sold out of soup, so we
have roasted mediterranian vegetables on penne. After eating we go and view
the exhibition of paintings by the Cullercoats group. Apparently, a bunch of
artists decided it'd be really grand to live in the fishing village of
Cullercoats, up the coast from Newcastle, and to paint pictures of the
honest working folk there. So from something like 1860 to 1930 you couldn't
step out of doors in Cullercoats without someone painting a picture of you.
Whether you were going fishing, baiting the lines, waiting for your menfolk,
grieving for your menfolk, launching the lifeboat or whatever, there'd be
someone with an easel and a paintbrush. About the only place you'd be safe
was on board a fishing boat, obviously. After all this the Cullercoats
fishing industry vanished and it became a seaside resort. Coincidence ? I
think not.
We leave the Laing, walk back to Grey's monument, down Grey Street, turn a
little and arrive at the High Level Bridge. This is George Stephenson's
contribution to crossing the Tyne - a massive double decked structure with
trains running on the top deck, and a road way and pedestrian walkways on
the lower deck. Being pedestrians, we cross by the lower deck. This is our
fourth crossing of the Tyne.
From the Gateshead end of the High Level Bridge, we walk to the Tyne Bridge,
the classic arched symbol of Newcastle. This also has pedestrian walkways,
so we cross. This is our fifth Tyne crossing.
We find a useful ginnel which takes us down a steep incline to the quayside.
We scamper across the Swing Bridge. Last time we were here, this was swathed
in plastic, but now the plastic is gone, and the control room atop the
bridge has a freshly painted blue roof, to go with the lovely red of the
rest of the bridge. This is our sixth crossing of the Tyne.
We walk along the riverside, past HMS Calliope, a Royal Navy Reserve
training compound, to the Baltic Arts Centre.
In direct contrast to last time we visited the Baltic, when we arrived half
an hour before closing and weren't let in, this time we've got hours to
spare, as Thursday night is open to 10pm night. Unfortunately, half the
gallery is shut, including the viewing platform, which is one of the big
attractions of the building. Some hideous design flaw means that no-one can
use the viewing platform when the gallery on the same level is being
changed, which, sadly, it is. So there's actually only two exhibits. One
consists of a giant set of headphones in one room and a cooling tower,
reactor, control tower and tower block, all around 5 foot high, in another
room. This evokes paranoia. Or something. In our case, derision. Upstairs,
Jane and Louise Welsh have filled a gallery with screens at various heights
and positions, then backprojected films from Peterlee housing estate,
Gateshead multistorey car park (as seen in 'Get Carter'), an engine factory,
a computer chip factory, and an oil rig. This is interesting, but we're not
sure what it's saying. Probably something about dehumanisation. Or not.
After spending more time in the Baltic's bookshop than their galleries,
mainly because we're amazed at what people will publish, we leave and cross
the Millenium Bridge back to Newcastle. This is our seventh crossing of the
Tyne.
It's now just gone 6pm, and we need to eat. We go to Heartbreak Soup, an
interesting looking restaurant we didn't get into last time we were here.
This time we arrive just after they open, and we can stay. Hurrah!
Carol starts with a mushroom and soy soup; I start with a Middle Eastern
plate, which has a Jordanian beetroot, radish, and rocket salad and flat
bread, falafel and hummus. For the main course, Carol has pork, leek and
pepper sausages, with onion gravy and mustard mashed potatoes, while I have
a filo parcel of vegetables (slow roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, borlotti
beans & pine nut kernels). All of this is excellent, though Carol can only
finish two of the three sausages. For dessert, we share one portion St
Emillion, which is a frozen chocolate mousse, filled with Ameretto-soaked
Ameretti, and is very rich and very tasty. Terrific place, and they were
turning people away by 7pm - we only got in because we turned up ten minutes
after they opened. Bizarrely, the gents are plastered with record sleeves
from old 'Top of the Pops' LPs, which UKers of a certain age may recall.
After eating, we take a walk along the quayside, pausing to watch Royal Navy
Reservists practice standing to attention in HMS Calliope, and wondering
what the new music centre will look like when it's done. After a while, we
hobble up to Newcastle Central Metro station, and luckily the first train
that arrives goes to South Shields, so we catch it. South Shields is the end
of the line, and we walk through the town, which now appears to be full of
loud bars, back to our hotel.
I decide to transfer the pictures from the camera to Carol's laptop, and
while doing this find the car keys at the bottom of the bag that contains
the laptop and our books for the week. I'm sure there was a very, very, very
good reason for hiding the keys here, but I haven't made it up yet, even
though I've had a week.
And after visiting the bar for a drink, and a short walk, we retire to
sleep.
Melissa
about South Stitch and North Nitch?
Melissa (I love your reports, Rik!)
"Rik Shepherd" <RikSh...@orangemonkey.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3f76...@news.bnb-lp.com...
Annie C
"Rik Shepherd" <RikSh...@orangemonkey.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3f76...@news.bnb-lp.com...
| Thursday 18th September
After eating we go and view
| the exhibition of paintings by the Cullercoats group. Apparently, a bunch
of
| artists decided it'd be really grand to live in the fishing village of
| Cullercoats, up the coast from Newcastle, and to paint pictures of the
| honest working folk there. So from something like 1860 to 1930 you
couldn't
| step out of doors in Cullercoats without someone painting a picture of
you.
| Whether you were going fishing, baiting the lines, waiting for your
menfolk,
| grieving for your menfolk, launching the lifeboat or whatever, there'd be
| someone with an easel and a paintbrush. About the only place you'd be safe
| was on board a fishing boat, obviously. After all this the Cullercoats
| fishing industry vanished and it became a seaside resort. Coincidence ? I
| think not.
ROFL!!!
(the above bit just put me in hysterics... too funny ;)
Brilliant reporting, Rik!
Annie
Ann Cornellier
Melissa wrote:
> Am I the only one who reads "South Shields" and thinks Dr. Seuss? Something
> about South Stitch and North Nitch?
>
> Melissa (I love your reports, Rik!)
>
No, no, it's Star-bellied Snitches, and East and West-going Zaks!!
Ann in Ottawa
Melissa
"Ann Cornellier" <ann.cor...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:3F789B24...@sympatico.ca...
Ah, a woman after my own heart.
Melissa
Ann Cornellier
> Something
> > > about South Stitch and North Nitch?
> > >
> > > Melissa (I love your reports, Rik!)
> > >
> >
> > No, no, it's Star-bellied Snitches, and East and West-going Zaks!!
> >
> > Ann in Ottawa
>
> Ah, a woman after my own heart.
> Melissa
Thanks, Melissa, but after goofing up on the Earl Grey tea, I'm having
second thoughts about this. Wasn't it Star-Bellied Sneetches, not
Snitches??? Oh my poor memory.
Ann in Ottawa
Melissa
Ummmm... yeah, it was. Oops.
Melissa