Lentic

Well Neil moved out today. He and the other 3 lads he will be living with went to Washington this morning to pick up the keys. ( They are not moving to Washington - just picking the keys up from there). Then Neil took about half an hour to pack up some of his stuff and then he was off. I got a bit emotional seeing him go. Silly really as he's only moving a few miles away but its not the same as him living here. He has moved out a few times before so I will soon get used to it I guess. Neil started his shift at work at 3pm so he wouldn't have had much time to settle in. He did give me a ring while he was on his break - a nice surprise.

The weather today was similar to yesterday - rainy and cold - but I was determined to go to Newcastle. I needed a bit of shopping and I needed a blip.

Today's Forum Challenge word is Lentic - which means relating to, or living in still waters (as lakes, ponds, or swamps). As my usual shopping route in Newcastle doesn't pass any ponds or lakes I did a bit of research online last night and came up with Leazes Park. I followed the directions I had written down and it was harder to find than I had thought - even though in the end I realised its quite close to St James Park - home of Newcastle United.

Leazes Park was opened in 1873 and it became the first public or people's park created on Tyneside for the purposes of exercise and recreation. The layout centres around the lake and a bandstand was built. The park continued to develop with deer, aviaries, tennis, and croquet until the 1980's when it it was acknowledged to be in need of refurbishment. With the support of the people of Newcastle this refurbishment became possible when the park was awarded a grant of £3.7 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2001.

The park is worth a visit and I think I will return when the weather is better - it would be great to sit by the lake in the sunshine with a picnic lunch.

So for my blip shot I have taken a photo of the lake and a few of the birds which live on it. As soon as I got near to the water quite a few of the birds clustered around me. They were disappointed as I had no food with me.