NOT FAR

Slept OK again.  Mainly because I was exhausted.  The hotel was noisy as usual.  The walls are paper thin and my room was just behind reception so I heard everyone coming into the hotel or leaving, everyone talking/shouting in the corridor, phone ringing, doorbell ringing etc. 

Packed my stuff this morning and headed to Kings Cross Station.  The big plus point of my hotel was the location.  Took this photo from my hotel room window - the building with the tall clock tower is the station - just a few mins walk away.  Mind you there are 3 busy roads to cross before you get there so you spend more time waiting for the " green man " than you do walking.

I've tagged my shot for Mono  Monday even though it doesn't fit the theme of sharp or blunt. Thanks to Pinkhairedlady for hosting.

Train left on time at 10.30am.  As you can imagine it was packed full... mainly Newcastle fans.  Lots of passengers had to stand.   The catering staff seemed rather stressed and the choice of food was poor.  There were 3 things missing from the lunch menu ... seems as though they didn't re- stock at Kings Cross.  From what was available I chose a vegan sausage roll. ( the hog roast version wasn't available )  It wasn't very tasty.  I did enjoy the crisps and chocolate pud though.  Coffee was OK but there were no biscuits today.

The journey was a smooth one and we got to Newcastle exactly on time at 1.39pm. I caught my bus at 2pm and was back home around 2.30pm. 

Put on a load of washing and sorted out the boiler which had stopped working while I was away.  The room thermostat showed 10 degrees so I knew something was up.  Boiler just needed to be re- pressured. As it was so cold I put the gas fire on in the front room.  Sat on the sofa .... and nodded off for a couple of hours.

Just catching up with some TV viewing this evening.  Cats are pleased to have me back.  Both sleeping peacefully at the moment.... all cosy and warm.

Looking back over the weekend I can say it was a good idea to go to London even though I didn't get the chance to go to Wembley ... and Newcastle didn't win the Cup.  I had a nice wander around parts of London I hadn't been before and I spent time with Becky, Mike and Astrid.

I read this online re Newcastle defeat at Wembley .......

" Sadness is OK.   Sulking is not.  We need to learn from our mistakes, carry on and believe that in the future we can achieve greater things."

I do believe that its early days for Newcastle as the new owners are still in the process of building up the club after the dreadful years when it was owned by Mike Ashley.  They have a big job on their hands so success now would really have been unexpected.  Hopefully as time goes on we can build the team by buying some quality players and progress to the top.  Howay the lads.

Steps today - 5,601