Friday 27th February 2026

Woke around 0700...dozed for half-an-hour. Showered. Got some gear together and packed it in the car boot. Set off for Newcastle (-on-Tyne). Took the M6 up to Manchester, then across the Pennines via the M62, and from thence to Newcastle on the A1(M), stopping briefly at Wetherby service station on the way. Jim and Emma had tied the knot at Newcastle Civic Centre earlier in the morning, in the company of Kathryn, and Emma's sister Penny, who acted as witnesses. I got to High View in time to join mum, dad, Aki and Kath for lunch. Dad looked OK, but in too much pain to contemplate attending the reception in Byker, so I drove myself, Aki, Kath and mum in. The reception was being held in a small local brewery out toward Walker. 

We entered the downstairs bar area, which was pretty well packed...met Penny, and Emma's son Ronan. Mum's young piano pupil, Sienna, was there with her dad...he's an ex-professional rugby player...and is built like a brick outhouse! We were ushered upstairs to attend a wee ceremony presided over by Jim's mate, Martin, who was acting as celebrant. He gave a rather long, and rather dull speech, and Jim and Emma exchanged vows before the assembled guests, to the accompaniment of Finn on beer barrel!

We were then ushered by the staff back downstairs while they readied the space for the pizza party. It was very noisy, and no-one seemed up for directing mum to a seat, so she decided she wanted to go home. I drove her back to High View...got there just as dad was serving up a cauliflower cheese for dinner. I drove back to Byker and got there just in time for the pizzas. A small dancefloor had been cleared at one end of the rather narrow room, and the House Devils, a Celtic trio who delivered a rousing mix of Irish trad, Johnny Cash, and Celtic ceilidh tunes, played and called a couple of country dance routines. It looked like a rugby scrum...presumably Sienna's dad was in the middle of it somewhere! We left about 2100 and I drove Aki and Kath back to High View...the end of a long and exhausting day!