Sunday, June 11, 2023

England 29/04

To toon.

R and I caught the bus to toon and had a wander and some lunch. It was pleasant and nice to be on our own. R decided he needed a puffer jacket to ward off the cold. We found some for a very reasonable price in Primark but the didn't have his size. Just as well really. We found a much nicer puffer jacket in M&S...yes for a good bit more. 

Grey's Monument.

Through the sharp toothed hoops and fire the busker ran. It was all over in two seconds after such a long build up.


Coronation tat. It was selling. 

A protest, I  believe.

Complete with a band.

One of those pedal beer bikes. Hard work on the steep streets of Newcastle.


Home for a rest and then a catered party had been put on for us at a local pub. It was a fun few hours and I think about fifty people came and went.


34 comments:

  1. I like that the coronation tat (and I bet a lot of it was) and the protest could co-exist. And like looking at the buildings too. The pub sign is great too. I wonder who the Greene King was. Charlie boy could probably claim that title

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    1. EC, as I discovered, they are not very royalist in The North. Good point about the Greene King.

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  2. It was cold enough fora puffer jacket? R will feel so much better with it on. The weather is crazy everywhere this year. I like seeing your shots of Newcastle.

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    1. Still in April Pat. We had a couple of days of below ten degrees. R went out in a polo shirt and a light jacket. Of course he was cold, as I told him more than once, but he is very pleased with his jacket.

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  3. The monument is majestic. A stroll sort of relaxation exploring any towns is my favorite too. Not a fan of royal family really. The sight of seeing him on poster turns me off.

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    1. Roentare, the monument is worth its own post. The town was quite busy and interesting. Not all of us are royal fans but I think they are of a positive benefit to England.

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  4. I love a good brass band. Maybe if more protests used them people would take notice!

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    1. That's a good point Caro. Perhaps our protests need to toned down without losing the message.

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  5. A marching protest with a brass band? What a great idea. Almost like a paprade. Much more civilised than yelling crowds disrupting traffic and glueing themselves to odd parts of the city. I see Adelaide's beer bike now and again in the summer.The catered dinner party sounds like a nice end to the day.

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    1. River, it was essentially a workers' rights parade and there was an extreme left wing young man preaching impractical idealist demands.

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  6. The band sounds good but what were they protesting for I wonder!
    Lovely selection of photo and I bet people queued for awhile to see that man go through fire.
    How nice that a catered party was put on for you both - that's a lovely thought carried out Andrew.

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    1. Margaret, workers's rights above. See comment above for more. Yes, people did queue for quite a while as the performer supposedly built tension.
      The party was a lovely idea. It was only days later we learnt roughly how much it cost, a lot, and that Sister 1 was harassed by security guards.

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  7. The Tyne and Wear May Day Rally started on 29 April weekend in Newcastle. Celebration of industry, trade unions and support for strikers.

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    1. Ah, thanks Rachel. I should have done my own research. It was rather good that a brass band was included, presumably sympathetic to the cause.

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    2. It was traditional for every colliery in the day to have a brass band. Many of them live on.

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  8. It does look a little chilly there in your photos. An M&S jacket will last a heck of a lot longer than a Primark one. Most Primark stuff ends up in landfill within a year.

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    1. Jay Cee, I am sure it will and it is so much more stylish than the bulky Primark version. Lordy the disposal of modern fashion is a crime that needs addressing.

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  9. I have a couple of coats bought on trips when it was colder than expected, reminders of wonderful trips.

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  10. Daughter still living there, along with other she was with at Uni. They don't seem to feel the cold. Otherwise it's a great place.

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    1. How cool Tasker. She must like it there. It is not a bad town at all.

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  11. Newcastle has preserved much of its central architecture very well indeed: shops, pubs, offices etc.

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    1. Hels, quite so. It really has. Preservation by neglect?

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  12. It was the PedalBus that fascinated me. I'd never heard of one. Then I wondered how, if it was a drinking part aboard it could be legal never mind safe. Apparently, though the steerer and brake man is not one of the people pedalling.

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    1. Graham, being England of course there would be regulations. We've seen the same in Amsterdam and Budapest and I've seen them online in the US. Yes, there would be a person in charge who does not drink and i guess steers. They seem to be a bit of fun, just not my kind of fun.

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  13. The band is good! I want to take off behind them marching in time.

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    1. Strayer, doesn't a brass band make you want to jig at least.

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  14. Nothing like the Royal circuses the British put on. Always a good laugh too that they take it all so very seriously along with the tat, no doubt made in China.
    Love that they had a party for you both in a pub, no cleanup.
    XO
    WWW

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    1. WWW, come Coronation Day, the northerners showed their true colours. They tried cleaning up uneaten food a bit too soon and were told to leave it.

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  15. Thank you for sharing this. I enjoyed your stories alongside photos. Be well, my dear.

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