Up North - by the banks of the Tyne.

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I hope 2 blogs in one day is not too much to cope with- but I must catch up as I am now back at home after a week up north. When I say "Up North" I am always reminded of a children's book I used to read, Stanley Bagshawe, where he lived with his granma " up north where it's boring and slow"- and so the phrase always comes into my mind and I laugh because now it is anything but "boring and slow". My old home town Gateshead reaches out across the River Tyne and the regeneration along the riverbanks is quite a tourist attraction these days. Behold culture - The Sage for music, The Baltic for art, the newly refurbished Theatre Royal , magnificent stone facades of Grey Street and the Grey's Monument, The Laing Gallery ( always a favourite of mine showing works from local artists among many) and look at the magnificent bridges across the Tyne. On sunday mornings there has always been a market at the quayside and it bustles with craft stalls, food to eat ( among them Taiwanese chicken and chips, caribbean food) , local producers of pies and cheeses and fudge and chili products. Fabulous. And for fun -you might say - some brave souls doing bungy jumps over the river and a Zip wire from the Tyne Bridge ...I think the most scarey bit there would be climbing over the railings before launching yourself on the wire.
And so a lovely time to visit family and friends, some shopping, dine out and to top it all a cinema visit to see a special performance the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. What a magnificent production - the costumes , makeup , filming and musical production were superb and so emotional- of course my sis in law Christine and I were crying!! And at the end of the performance there was an appearance of LLoyd Webber and some of the previous 25 years production teams and performers , some of the "phantoms" and especially Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford sang an encore....WOW !!! The music of the night is still reverberating on my head days later.
So just a few fotos of this little trip - next one in December to the Lake District for our family Christmas. Hope to hear from you all before then.
Love to all. XXX

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