Leavin' old Durham town again

A lovely last day with my sister.  The wind was still blowi ng a gale across the valleys but the sun shone brightly never-the-less.  Had lunch at The George,a very olde worldly pub still with all the original fireplace and hardware.

Met Dee off the train at Durham and found our resting place for the night at St Chad's near the cathedral and university.  The down side was we had to park the car fifteen minutes away from the YHA and of course we got lost trying to find the place.

Had a pleasant walk on the way back and enjoyed beautiful views of the cathedral towers reflected in the the river which flows beneath.  What an amazing feat of engineering and architecture considering it is over 900 years old.


We have to back track to my sister's again tomorrow as I left my sneakers there then it's off north we go.  Hoping to get north of Edinburgh before it gets too late..

Tripping again

Biking wiith my cousin Jon

 Much has happened since I last wrote but since I have not been in much of a positive frame of mind I was not too motivated to write much.  However, as with all experiences, good or bad, we can choose to learn from them or not.  I learned a couple of things; one, that there are even more negative people around than I and; two, I need the social stimulation of other people around me.  I don't handle social isolation very well.  Maybe that is something I will have to deal with along the way.  Anyway, on a positive note I have a few pounds in the bank, so no gain without some pain.......alas!

Old friends with my cousin Jon centre 

Enjoyed time with old friends in Newcastle and as always reminiscing and laughing about the old days when we were young and daft.  Met my old aunt of 92 who is such an inspiration and still has all her marbles.  Such an encouragement when you hear so much about Alzheimer's disease.  You get to a stage of thinking it is an inevitable part of old age but happily it is not.  My cousin Jon took me on a long run on his Yamaha (he decided not to take me on his racing bike for a first run (thank you Jon). As he would say, it was hellish!

View from Carol's back door yesterday

Am currently at my sister's near Durham city.  The wind has been howling and screaming across the countryside here.  I think it is the tail end of hurricane Irene.  Hoping it will all blow over before Thursday when I head off to Scotland and John O' Groats.  I'm not too worried about the weather so long the Scottish mists behave and we can experience the glorious views of the Highlands.  We have six days to see as much as we can which doesn't seem much but I keep forgetting that it doesn't take long to travel anywhere in Britain.  I have to switch from my Oz time and distance mode of thinking.

Am looking forward to catching up with Dee tomorrow, who will be traveling with me, one of my work colleagues from last year.  Staying at St Chad's YHA in Durham tomorrow night, part of the Durham University campus.

St Chad's, YHA Durham

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