Newcastle 1

A bit of work and a guitar lesson, this morning, and then the Minx and I set off for a couple of nights in Newcastle, armed with some recommendations from friends as well as tickets to see Goldfrapp tomorrow evening.

The journey east on the M62 is a fairly scenic one, as was the trip up the A1, with an hour's stop off so that the Minx could hold a Teams meeting from the car while I entertained myself in Starbucks.

We arrived in Newcastle late on in the afternoon, found a car park, and walked up to Motel One, which, in the chain's customary manner was very nicely done downstairs and a little tatty up on the floors where the rooms are. But I'm not complaining; it was fine and we were only in the room long enough to drop off our bags and freshen up, anyway.

After that we enjoyed a very pleasant stroll along the Tyne to Ouseburn, where we had a drink in the Free Trade Inn, which I really liked, and I was sorry we only had time to stay for one drink but the only booking I could get at The Kiln, where we were eating, was for seven o'clock.

And no wonder it was so busy! It was a great recommendation to us, as was the pub, by our friend Chris. The restaurant, which actually describes itself as a café, is also a working pottery and the work they had on display was wonderful. As was the food and if the service was a little slow and, well, inept, it was certainly friendly, and once we'd got a starter to go with our drinks, everything was lovely.

The high point of the evening for me, though, was bumping into Chris's son, Tom. Well, not quite bumping into; he'd sent me a text earlier in the day saying that our visits might coincide. It was through Tom and my daughter, Hannah, that I first met Chris and his wife, Janice, after Janice and my first wife met at a clinic when Tom and Hannah were only months old.

Over the subsequent nearly thirty years we have remained fast friends and it has been a joy to watch Tom grow from a happy, friendly toddler into the charming and confident young man that he is today. And as ever, he was excellent company this evening, and it's a shame that we only had a few minutes to chat before I felt obliged to let him return to his friends!