Saturday 28th December 2024

Woke around 0930. Got up and descended for a light breakfast. I popped out in the car to buy some provisions at Darras Hall...when I returned to my car I noticed white scratch marks to the rear off-side door...baffled as to when that may have happened. Drove back to High View and cooked a chicken jalfrezi using a jar of cooking sauce dad had been keeping in the cupboard...tried to make it tastier by adding tinned tomatoes, and coconut milk. 

Aki and I had an early lunch...soup...then headed off in the car for Jesmond Dene. Parked up at The Blue Bell, but no sign of Micha or Graeme...got a text message saying they'd parked up at the Visitor Centre. The barmaid at the Blue Bell pointed us in the right direction, and we walked along the banks of the Ouseburn, keeping to the road. Graeme, Tess, Jacob, and Daniel, and Micha, Catherine, Flo, Lizzie, and Theo, were all waiting for us near the petting zoo. 

Everyone looked fit and healthy...the kids now considerably taller than when we last laid eyes on them...the twins Flo and Lizzie are now 14! We walked on up to the old mill and the waterfall, then turned back through the Dene, and then into Heaton Park...nice walk. Ended up back at the Blue Bell, where we caught up over a swift half and some thick cut chips. Micha still working as producer on the Breakfast Show at BBC Radio Newcastle; Graeme working as PR for Gateshead Council. I was interested to learn that Flo and Lizzie play in a band, doing Nirvana numbers! Theo plays the drums. The two King boys are very introverted...you can barely get a sentence out of them. I thought they might have grown out of that phase, but it seems pretty well entrenched. Aki and I said our goodbyes, and we drove into the city centre, parking up near St James's Park. Walked into Chinatown, and did a little shop in the HiYou Supermarket...Aki keen to garner some ingredients for her New Years breakfast. Drove home to prepare dinner. Aki made a lentil dal, which we served up with the jalfrezi, rice, and naan bread. It seemed to go down well. Watched a bit of telly before Kath got back from work. We then had a game of Scrabble before bed...