Angel

tucked
beneath an angel's wings
sunlit embrace

The first day of our mini-break on Tyneside saw us stop off at the Angel of the North in Gateshead. As former residents of Gateshead, it's surprising how few times we've actually gone right up to it, although it was a dominant part of the local landscape. 8yo was born here, but we have no photos of him in a buggy underneath, so we must assume it was his first visit.

Next we went through to Saltwell Park, which was our regular Sunday stroll, and where 8yo learned to walk. There were lots of familiar landmarks, but also signs that no place stands still. We were surprised to see the old red brick Gateshead College demolished to make way for housing - the College has relocated to the Quayside, and the centre of Gateshead is making a dramatic transition from the brutalist Get Carter car park which dominated it for decades to, well, a giant Tesco.

We were staying on the Newcastle side of the Quayside, but still found time to walk over to the Baltic before dinner, so Day One was definitely a Gateshead day.

The Angel was looking great from the front in the sun, and that would have been the conventional view. I liked the simplicity of this side view though, set off against the blue sky, and with a few figures at the base for scale.