SHAPES IN GATESHEAD

We had our first snow of the winter this morning.  Not much but its been so cold today that it is still hanging around - and this evening it has frozen to ice. 

I went to the Vue cinema in Gateshead this afternoon to see Stan and Ollie. I hardly ever go to the cinema and usually when I do I have a free ticket for a preview screening but I really fancied seeing this film.  And I wasn't disappointed.  It was excellent.  (And the ticket prices at Vue cinemas are a lot less than the Odeon charge.)

The Abstract Thursday theme is Shapes so I looked round Gateshead for a suitable image.  In the end I decided to take shots of some of the 19 images which make up  the sculpture " Opening Line". This sculpture  incorporates a broad range of images - including a bird, a musical instrument and the prow of a ship - reflecting the diverse culture and history of Gateshead. The glass and steel sculpture is 330 ft long and acts as a safety barrier for this busy route whilst providing an interesting focal point to those waiting for a bus. I processed the shots in Picasa and made a collage. Thanks as always to Ingeborg for hosting the challenge.

When I got home after the cinema I got straight into my pyjamas as I usually do if  I'm " in for the night " and cooked my tea.  I had just started eating it when the phone rang.  It was my brother C.  I asked if I could ring him back as I didn't want my tea to get cold - he agreed - but asked me to be quick. 

So I phoned back later - to hear his tale of woe.  It was like something from the film " I Daniel Blake ".  There had been a mix up with his benefits.  Basically he had 10p to last him till Tuesday.  Could he borrow some money to tide him over?.  Of course I said yes - and at first I said I could come down tomorrow to where he lives, go to a cashpoint and give him the money. But he said he really needed it tonight as his electric would be going off soon.  So we agreed he would come here tonight  to collect the money.  He's not good on buses (he has Aspergers ) so he said he would get a taxi here and when he arrived I could pay the driver.

I quickly changed from my pyjamas  and scraped some money together.  I don't keep a lot of cash at home but I just had enough to cover the amount he needed. 

So he arrived around 8 15pm.  Taxi cost £10.  He didn't want to stay here long as he had to get back to go to his local shop to top up his electric.  The shop closed at 10pm. I did persuade him to catch the bus to get home. ( Another tenner for a taxi would have been a waste of money. ) But the buses aren't very frequent so the first one he could get was 9.10pm.  Enough time to get to the shop hopefully. So he went off into the night with enough money to last him till his benefit comes through on Tuesday.  He wanted to pay me back on Tuesday - but I said not to bother.  I'm just glad I could help.

Steps today - 7,911