Dance a dance for the Toon!

My day did not go quite as I had hoped.

I took the train from Hexham to Newcastle this afternoon and hoped to find a coat (and perhaps more) in the Sales. Of course, I'm ridiculously late for the sales. I had no luck at all.

I also realised that it is a very long time since I was either in Fenwicks of John Lewis. There are loads of brands I have never heard of. I felt out of place with the unfamiliarity of it.

I even tried TK Maxx, where friends have done well. I needed a corkscrew. It has taken me all these months since the flood to realise that my favourite (and only) corkscrew is missing from the kitchen. Well, there is the Swiss Army Knife if I was desperate!


You will realise that my lack of knowledge is not because I have been abstinent, but because the majority of wine bottles have screw tops!!!

I could have bought one in either of the big stores, especially if I was prepared to pay £30 or even £50. There was one for £12, but I was feeling grumpy when I saw it. TK Maxx had none.

As the dusk fell, I wandered into the Grainger Market in search of the soft topped socks that Mum prefers. A lot of stalls were closed by 4.30pm. Had they even been open today? The stall I wanted was still open. There were piles of the socks, but none in navy............ I bought a packet to show willing.

I still had time on my hands before meeting Julie for the lecture on microbial resistance at the Lit and Phil. Cafés were closed or closing, so I ended up having a pizza in a pizza/pasta place. It was very poor.

The first half of the lecture was someone talking about the lab work in the NHS and I didn't find it very interesting. I don't like it when lecturers use acronyms and don't explain them. In fairness, she was very enthusiastic about her subject. The second half was about Clostridium difficile and was fascinating. We even had to interact with the lecturer through our mobile phones!!

On my way home, I was a few minutes early at Newcastle Station and heard music. A young man was playing the piano in my blip. He played well and the music was lively. The pigeon appeared to be dancing along, but was in fact waiting for tiny bits of bread being thrown his way by the pianist.

It was a very happy end to the day.