HANDMADE / FLOWER FRIDAY

HeartFreeks challenge word today is " handmade " and Ive chosen to blip this figure of a rugby player.  It is a handmade figure carved in Wales from real coal. ( I found it really difficult to get a good shot of it as the detail didn't show up well ) For Flower Friday I have added some wild flowers I picked in the back lane. 

Went to the Health centre this morning to get a shingles vaccination.  ( you can get one if you are over 70 ) The nurse asked if I wanted a flu jab at the same time.  I already had an appointment booked on Monday at the chemists for a flu jab but decided to let the nurse do it.  After leaving the Health Centre I went to the chemists to pick up my repeat prescriptions and I cancelled the flu jab appointment.  Next I went to the bank and then had a wander around the churchyard of St Marys Church.  Even though it was warm and sunny the churchyard looked very Autumnal with all the fallen leaves.( see Extra )   Next I did some shopping in Herons and Tesco.

Back home to do a few chores before settling down to watch TV for a bit.  No cat on my knee this time.  Both of them were enjoying the sunshine sprawled out on different windowsills.

At around 5.45pm I went out to catch a bus to Newcastle.  I was heading to town to watch the footie.  Newcastle were playing Leeds.  Even though kick off wasn't till 8pm I decided to set off early as the buses in this area at the moment are rather hit and miss.  The bus company are having trouble finding enough drivers to run a full service and every day they have to cancel some journeys. Fortunately the bus I went out for came on time ..... but the traffic was terrible and we crawled along most of the way to Newcastle.

I still had a bit of time to spare before kick off so I just had a wander around for a bit and got to the footie ground around 7.30pm.  Im not keen on going to matches  on a Friday evening - I prefer Saturdays at 3pm - but it was a lovely warm evening so it was nice to be out in the fresh air.  The attendance was 50,400 approx - including quite a few Leeds fans.

The Newcastle fans were in a volatile mood due to various grievances we have at the moment.  The owner is unpopular.  The manager is useless.  And the Premier League are " in the bad books " for messing up a takeover bid ( its quite a complicated situation and I don't really understand exactly what's going on ). So the fans were encouraged to protest this evening.  Posters were given out to be held up before kick off. The posters were designed to be made into paper aeroplanes which were to be thrown on to the pitch on the 18th minute.  ( this represents the 18 months which the Premier league have dragged out approving or not approving the takeover bid ) And whistles were given out to be blown whenever there was a break in play.  The protest didn't really seem to make much impact -  apart from annoying the ground staff who had to clear up all the paper.

The match ended in a 1 - 1 draw.  Newcastle did have a few good chances but in the end I guess a draw was a fair result.  Our best player by far was Allan Saint-Maximin and he scored the goal.

The bus home came on time.  Traffic was bad in town but once we got across the river the roads were clear.  I got home around 11pm. 

Steps today - 13,421