Birds, kebabs, curries...not just a night out itinery

Too many celebrations in one weekend can make you either want more or a nice lie down. A night out in South Shields was pretty hilarious seeing the same old haggard faces from many years ago who must religiously go out every Friday. They even wear the same clothes and drink the same drinks. It brought a smirk to my face when I walked past a take-away named 'Abra-Kebabra'. No guesses what they sell. The next night we went to the posher side of South Shields where the haggard faces are more nip & tuck ones, a quieter pub in Cleadon.

Now as I recently had a night out in South Shields, you'd think that I would have seen most weird birds, but at a BBQ near the beach on sunny Sunday, I snapped this one. I guess it is some sort of burlesque seagull with feathered ugg boots. Great for cleaning your blinds.

Later on we met up with friends for birthday and engagement celebrations at Tiger Tiger and Spice Cube for poppadom's and curry. As always was good to catch up and see what pointless banter is left for us to talk about. It appears there's an awful lot left.

Congratulations to Andy & H, a love match doesn't just happen in tennis, but new balls you will always need mate.

6.2 miles of fun

I cannot believe that it's a year since doing the 10K North Tyneside coastal run. It was full-on sunshine last year. This year, we had sunshine again, and no wind apart from that which came from a heavy night out the day before. It's scenic all the way and once you turn the corner to see St. Mary's Lighthouse it doesn't seem too far until the finish. I managed 56 minutes this time, a minute ahead of last year. That tells me I'm getting better or my watch is feeling as old as I did after a couple of mile. It was hard going even though I do that sort of distance every week! Seeing the girlfriend's smiling face and the thought of a whopping great Easter egg makes it all worthwhile though.

That's me with the halo in the photo behind a young Rob Brydon.

Some people can sleep on a washing line

Forget Sport Relief, this fella is 3000 metres up above Germany's highest mountain on a rope can you believe. He walked along it for 995 metres to break a world record for charity. What happened to good old fashioned sitting in a tin bath of beans in your speedos, or having your armpits waxed, or running naked to each of your neighbours and asking them for a cup of sugar? These sort of people are just show offs. I wonder if you asked him the time he would look at his wrist? Or ask him to check if he has deodorant on.

King of the Castle

I can't remember the last time I was in Otterburn, maybe when I was a kid with the school, but at the weekend we stayed there at the Tower Castle Hotel. The lady in my life had decided to surprise me for my birthday, isn't she good? She chose well as it's got awards for its food and as you may know I like a bit of food and to whittle on about it on this web site from time to time. In between the lush food which is all supplied by its farm and local suppliers, we managed a game of darts and some hill walks which helped to soften the belly.

The best walk was in the Cheviot's where the contrast between pure blue sky, green grass and thick snow was at times spectacular. It was fun to step into knee deep snow and try and work out where to go without seeing tracks and paths. That's why we got a bit lost and managed to take a longer route making it 7 miles instead of 5. I still feel full of those Northumbrian breakfasts so could do with another long walk, or maybe a game of darts again. That's what you do when you're this age...

Pushing the love boat out...

So, did you lovers out there treat your women good at the love weekend? Like they say to kids, "Everyday is Christmas for kids". It's the same in my house, the girlfriend might be younger than me but I don't say that to her, but I do say, "Everyday is like Valentine's Day". It still didn't stop me pushing the love boat out (euphemism not intended) with a Saturday night special menu presented to her on the day and prepared and cooked by yours truly.

Keeping it local, we had home-made craster kipper pate with herbed toast. To add to our kipper breath, for mains, it was fillet of beef on a crouton topped with a portobello mushroom and marsala sauce, sauted pototoes and creamed spinach. Both a mouthful to say and eat, but it went down pretty well. Now to make sure you get full brownie points, give the girl a homemade Lindt and almond chocolate fondant and top it with homemade honey ice-cream. You know you've got the fondant right when it oozes gooey chocolate when you delve into it. This picture proves the moment, although it does look a little like something left on the beach on a Sunday morning....

Forget flowers, forget chocolates, deliver these goods. She was wowed, star struck I reckon but well deserved. Happy Valentine to my beautiful girlfriend and to you and all who sail in you.

Bitterly...c...OLD

Good to see the snow back apart from the chaos it appears to cause in our country. I thought I wouldn't let it stop me though so I went for my weekend run in 4 inches of snow and I forgot how good it feels to step in and out of fresh snow and avoid the yellow patches. I got a few funny looks but the jaw was opened the widest from the old lady struggling through the snow with a walking frame. She thought I was mental, but what about her? Surely that's just as mental - going out at the age of 80 with a walking frame with dodgy wheels navigating through snow and ice. Oooh, the eldery of today...

Council find the cause of pot holes trying to hide under blanket

Some people act older than they are. Take my old friend in this photo for example (it's not Eddie Izzard or William Shatner), he loves to wrap up like an old woman with a blanket and a puffy. He once fell down the stairs in his underpants you know. Anyway it was good to see him and his woman visiting from his foreign land, even if he was ill and couldn't make the previous night out, he made an effort to eat every bit of my lush food the following day (including home made fishcakes, his plate pictured here ready to cook).

Let's hope he hasn't put on weight or his parachute won't fit and the council will have to have a word...