Retail Therapy

It was never going to be easy, arranging a day in town with three folk in their 60s, one in their 80s, two in their 50s and two teenagers!  We split off into various factions, then met up for lunch in the Tyneside Theatre cafe.  It's an interesting and elegant building, and we had a very tasty, relaxed lunch, then went our separate ways again. 

Nice to have a browse around the shops but I was bamboozled by too many to choose from, and wasn't really in the mood for it, so Liz and I found a nice art gallery to explore and looked for some nice stationery instead.

I do like being in a city, but just for a day or so, as a novelty.  It's just far too busy to really enjoy, too much to take in, the noise, the speed that everything happens, all the people  . . . . the sensory overload, I suppose. 

I did get a great surprise though.  Suddenly someone called my name!  Coming towards me was my friend Shelagh's daughter, who is at university in Newcastle.  She was as surprised as I was as she had no idea I was down visiting family.  Really lovely to see her!  It was the highlight of my day! 

Out to an Italian/Greek eatery in the evening, which everyone enjoyed. Lots of chatting and laughing and general catching up.