AT THE MATCH

My daughter Becky and her husband Mike arrived late on Friday evening. Exhausted after the long drive from London.

Saturday - After breakfast we drove to Newcastle and mooched around before the match.

We walked down to the RIVER TYNE. The weather was lovely and the quayside was busy. We walked across the Millennium Bridge to the Gateshead side of the river and went inside THE BALTIC ART CENTRE. We went up to the viewing platform and as luck would have it we arrived there at 12 noon - just as the MILLENNIUM BRIDGE was opening. It opens every day at 12 noon but I had never seen it open before. It takes about 3 mins to fully open and then it closes again. It just opens every day so that tourists etc can see it and it will also open if a tall ship needs to use the river.

We walked back across to Newcastle. The TYNE BRIDGE was looking lovely with the logo for The Great North Run in place. The runners will cross the bridge on 15th September on their way to South Shields.

We had booked a table at Strada for lunch so that was our next stop. I picked something healthy - sea bass with salad - it was delicious. Mike took a shot of BECKY AND ME - you can see him in the shot too - reflected in the mirror.

Then it was off to St. James Park. Mike had never been and the last time Becky was there was many many years ago. We had a look at the ST JAMES PARK GATES. These huge wrought iron gates which originally adorned St. James' Park between 1989 and 1999 were officially unveiled a few days ago as a monument at the stadium. The gates were taken down in 1999 and transported to farmland at Woolsington Hall in Northumberland by former Newcastle United owner Sir John Hall, with the intention of erecting them at a proposed new club training centre on the property's estate. When planning permission was denied and the club eventually changed hands, the gates remained hidden away beneath dense undergrowth until almost two years ago when they were taken to be refurbished and are now back in place at St. James Park.

Then we went inside the ground to take our seats. I had managed to get 3 seats together in the front row. The football was dire. Newcastle were poor. Depressing stuff. Then the rain started. Score - 0 - 0. Its going to be a long hard season unless Newcastle United buy some players soon.

A wet walk back to the car and then a quick visit to Lidl for supplies.

We decided to go ahead with the BBQ despite the heavy rain and Mike set it up on the patio underneath the awning. Becky and I stayed indoors. Mike did a great job and the food was lovely.

By the time I had cleared up and washed up I was too tired to blip so am catching up today - Monday.