Durham day

I'm on holiday with D, staying at a hotel near Bishop Auckland. We are a part of a coach party of, I hate to say it, assorted Misfits. Not the usual crowd at all, for some reason. I never know which surreal turn the conversation is going to take next, and under other conditions  I'm usually the one pushing the  chat boat out into uncharted waters!

Superb breakfast at the hotel was followed by a drive to Durham, where done superb volunteer .'pointers' (tourist sign posters) led us up a steep slope to the town centre. D's walking is very limited now, and he is slow. I had to ask the pointer to slow down for us. Once at the square, we exolored the town market, which is the type that sells knicker elastic on reels next to a fish food stall that also has a DVD department. You know the type. Aladdin, move over! We enjoyed a drink at a cafe upstairs, then I skedaddled to the shops but also found a very superior cheese stall. I bought some Comte, and an eco-friendly deodorant. Must remember to use the right item under my arms!

Next trip with the pointer was to the river Wear, to board a cruise boat. The weather had brightened up, and the sun-soarkled water had never looked lovelier. We went a little bit this way, a little bit that way, and the Skipper told us many stories , mainly about landmark  bridges and buildings, and student antics. It seems the Durham students are extra-boisterous: that's saying something!

After the beautiful boat trip, we were pointed back up to the town centre again. D and I went into a cafe and he ordered matcha green tea pancakes with blueberries, buttermilk sauce and maple syrup. Maybe I don't get out very much: this was extraordinary to me, and they came in a huge stack. After this meal, D didn't feel like going to the cathedral (uphill) so I headed off, because for me it was a must-see. D can spend hours in cafes, he doesn't mind  at all passing the time in eating and drinking establishments. 

When I got to the Norman, world-heritage cathedral (wow'! Just wow!) I decided to look for a plaque to a Petre (my surname) that my sisters TML and K and my late aunt J had spotted there on a visit in 1991, 'near a low doorway'. I strode confidently up to the main desk but, an hour or so later, after asking several purple-robed guides, including the one called Lillian who had been guiding there for 35 years, I decided it was more fun just to look at the other things the cathedral had to offer. New stained glass windows (one by Tom Denny), St Cuthbert's shrine, and so much more, caught my attention. I'd like to spend a whole day there some day. I bought a book on Northern Saints and walks/pilgrimages , to keep this flame alive, and headed back to find D. We took the minibus back to the coach, a wise move as it turned out because '7 minutes' of walking on Google maps'instructions would have taken us 70. 

After dinner, we had such bizarre discussions about psychic phenomena, roller blading, and the woman on our trip who has Written Five Books (on uniforms?) that I went to bed seriously confused, which is not like me. I only managed to fall asleep by listening to several episodes of the Guardian's The Long Read podcast back to back ! It wasn't the psychic stuff that confused me, it was the never being able to follow the conversation because it kept veering off in unexpected directions.

Anyway, Durham is great. And very hilly. And a University town. You knew that already, but do please visit. You will be very warmly welcomed.