Newcastle Meet Day 2 (long)

Gillian and I arrived at the station at about 9:00am and sat in brilliant
sunshine watching the world go by.

Jackie...

Sounds like a very good time was had by all, seems the weather was good to
you.

Smokey...

It was when we were outside Jackie :-)))

JoeH...

biffo...

Good to see you had a very good time, and packed a lot into the time
available , well done all of you !!!.
Now where are the photos ?? ;-))

I must add that we never waited for the rain to stop before going out. It
just didn't rain while we were out - the timing of our moves was perfect
:))

Rabbit...

Oh pass me your halo and I'll polish it :-)

JoeH...

Thanks Sandra

Rabbit...

So the package containing Ayrshire sunshine arrived OK ??? ; )

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

The next to arrive were Bram, Foxy and Westie when their train arrived 5
minutes ahead of schedule. After some H&H (hugs and handshakes) we retired

Rabbit...

Who got the hugs and who got the handshakes though ??? :-)

to the coffee area of the Centurion Bar/Bistro to await the arrival of the

Smokey was next, after more H&H another coffee was purchased. DavidC
arrived via Metro and joined the growing throng (more H&H), a second table
was dragged into service along with more chairs.

Last to arrive (due to some misinterpretation of instructions or did the
host get it wrong LOL) were Splodge, Toyboy and Parrotfish.

Rabbit...

They took the scenic route :-)

Jen then got the message from Val about Len (thanks Val) and the
discussions turned to thoughts of a speedy recovery, *get well soon mate*.

After more coffee (we'd been there an hour and a 40 minutes by then) we
boarded the Quaylink bus to go to the quayside, arriving at 11:30 ish. We
bought day tickets for the bus so that in the event of bad weather or
tiredness or whatever, we could use the bus to go from place to place. As
it only rained while we were in the pub (ask Jen about it raining *in* the
pub) and everyone was happy and able to walk, we didn't quite get full

Rabbit...

Oi, Jen tell us about it raining *in* the pub :-)

value from the ticket but it was there if we'd needed it (no refunds
available, you should have read the small print LOL).

Rabbit...

Oh dear that's sad for a Scot to read, must have hurt the Tykes too :-)

By now some of us were suffering from dehydration (well it *was* 30 minutes
since we'd had a coffee LOL) so we decided to find a local hostelry to put
that right. Unfortunately the one we tried to go to first (The Crown
Posada) didn't open until 12:00 noon so we set off along the quayside,
admiring the view and snapping away, to the second choice pub. Guess what?
It was a 12:00 noon place too. By now it was almost 11:50 so we sauntered
back to The Crown Posada and took the place over.

A couple in there, then it was off to Lloyd's Bar for lunch (and, well you
can guess, I'm sure). While we were here our mystery guests arrived - I'll
let Splodge do the introductions.

Rabbit...

Your turn Splodge :-)

After lunch we walked to The Baltic for an arty interlude where some of us
went on a slide for the first time in many years. The slide was at the end
of this exhibit.

Back over the Millenium Bridge and into the Bonded Warehouse for a well
deserved drinkie LOL

Time was running away so we got the bus back up the hill towards the
central station for a farewell drink (what else) before people set off for
home or hotels. DavicC left us here (more H&H) and the rest of us headed
off to The Head of Steam.

Gillian and I then went to the station with Bram, Smokey, Jen & Dave (to
make sure they left LOL) and, after much H&H, they all departed on the
19:40 train.

Back in The Head of Steam we said goodbye (with H&H of course) to the
others and headed off home - PHEW what a day.

Thanks to everyone who turned up (in person and in spirit), I hope you
agree that it was a brilliant day.

Rabbit...

Sounds like a good time was had by one and all. Thanks for your virtual
guided tour,I enjoyed and hope the piccies include at least some of you on
that slide :-)

JoeH...

No photography allowed in or of the exhibits :-(

Rabbit...

for the photos ???;-)

David C....

Baltic policy, AFAIK.

Smokey...

Yes it was Joe, looking forward to the next one now :-))

Anita...

Thank you for a very informative post ;)

Old Grizzly...

Yes Joe my Spirit was with you along with many others i am sure and glad
it was a great day for all :)

JoeH...

It was a great weekend Len, you would have loved it I'm sure.

BunnyHare...

Sounds like a brilliant time was had by all
And to think I stayed home all day for a non event :-((

JoeH...

You *were* mentioned LOL

Rabbit...

Was anybody in Upsland *not* mentioned ??? :-)

JoeH...

I guess not. LOL

Rabbit...

I'm trying to figure out if that's good or bad :-)

Bram...

As Oscar Wilde said, "The only thing worse than being talked about is NOT
being talked about."

Rabbit...

True, true Oscar had many words of wisdom ;-)

Bram...

"Work is the curse of the drinking classes" is my favourite!!

Rabbit...

" I'm not young enough to know everything"

lol

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Thanks for that Joe.