Went out like a light last night and had a solid sleep…..until waking at 5:30
The early routine is to make a cup of tea, review yesterday's photos, and write up the previous day's blog. From 7am cars are speeding past, rocking the van, on their way to the carpark 50m away. I don't know how Vera manages to sleep through this, it is one of her super-powers.
In a rare act of planning ahead, we are booked onto a tour of Jarrow Town Hall at 1pm, conducted by the Mayor of South Tyneside. So we slowly take the coastal route south, calling in at Craster for kippers, smoked mackerel, and a tub of smoked kipper pate.
Strangely the postcode we have been given for the town hall tour is located in a row of terraced houses in South Shields. Luckily we are early, so have time to use the address and retrace our route back to Jarrow.
We park up near the town hall, and just have time to go into the Viking shopping centre (would Vikings really have used shopping malls? Would have saved a lot of trouble and bloodshed) for bread and a newspaper. Cooplands the bakery is closed down and no newsagents, so it's into the large Morrisons superstore. We pick up our items and go to the self checkout to pay. A member of staff has to verify the coupon for the Guardian, and I put in a £20 note for the remaining £2.
The machine gratefully swallows my offering, and then does nothing. The assistant is called back, opens up the machine but cannot find the missing £20. Someone else is required……it is 12:50 and we explain the urgency of the situation and our appointment with the Mayor in 10 minutes. We are running out of time. What should have been so simple is turning into stress city. We split our resources, Vera goes off to locate the tour and I stay with the unfolding Morrisons situation. I have run out of time….I leave my name and contact details and say I will return
Vera meanwhile has been trying to get into the town hall, and cannot find an unlocked door, or any means of communicating to anyone inside. We rejoin at 1pm and phone the booking contact number.
Apparently we should be at South Shields town hall, where we had been 45 minutes ago. But there is one glimmer of hope, there are places on the 3pm tour and we book ourselves on that
We have unfinished business with Morrisons before we can leave this town.
The offending checkout still has our transactions in progress. The staff go through the process of searching for the missing note all over again. I think this could take all of the next two hours, surely they have a process for this situation, but envisage it will involve examination of CCTV records etc
The resolution in the end is very simple. We are simply given £18 change from the customer services till
Back once again to South Shields. Parking by the town hall is proving very difficult. Lots of car parks, but all are either staff only or permit holders only. We are about to give up and park by the sea front when Vera spots a sign for an untried car park. We're in. £2 all day parking, a bargain.
We have a late lunch. The bread from Morrisons, leftover picnic from Tuesday night, and the kipper pate from Craster.
South Shields town hall looks far grander than Jarrow, and the inside of the building is every bit as good as the outside.
We are taken round, as part of a small group by Margaret, the deputy mayor and two assistant deputy mayors. We are told about the history of South Tyneside, the smallest metropolitan borough in the UK. They are passionate about their area, and it's a really interesting tour
The council chamber, very comfortable, with electronic voting. Is it only Westminster that sticks to it's archaic traditions?
After the tour we need to decide where to stay tonight. It proves difficult to locate both a nice place to park up and a nearby pub. So to make things easy, we decide to go to the Tan Hill Inn - the highest pub in Great Britain.
I had stayed here 5 years previously when walking the Pennine Way, that time arriving at the remote Inn after dark. The approach across the remote and empty moorland was just as dramatic today, you really have a sense of isolation
Overnight parking is in exchange for a £10 donation to the air ambulance service, but there is a shower and there will be live music tonight
The shower is lukewarm at best, if not cold, but use it anyway as my hair does need a wash. All of the tables are reserved for food, but we take over a table where the people have not shown up
The only seats available in the main bar area are beside the fire. Normally this would be the best seat in the house, but tonight it was very hot
The music was provided by Robin, who is only 17, sometimes accompanied by his dad. Another great evening
excellent blog dave , just read it start to finish . sounds like you’ve had a good time ooop north , waye aye mon !
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