Demolition

Right next door to a new hotel; remnants of something not so old.

Unexpected

So, our little bar has somehow been voted CAMRA Gateshead pub of the year.

We’d not expected this; there’d been a hope of coming in as runner up, but we couldn’t have imagined coming so far in our first year.

Our only real target was to make the 2024 Good Beer Guide; pub of the year wan’t really on our radar.

The bar

You know, while I’m only in this for the short term, I do love this place. We made this.

Time off with the dog

Due to a Network Rail arch inspection, the bar is closed and we’ve some time off.

Quality time with the dog.

Christmas camping

Christmas, the perfect time of year for camping.

Think about it; Boxing Day bus services end pretty early in the day. And it can be a real pain to get a cab late at night.

Fortunately, when faced with a long, cold walk home last night, there was an alternative.

Scaffolding in the snow

While waiting for a bus after work last night, I noticed that the scaffolding (which has been there for months) around the railway bridge was being taken down.

It all looked good in the snow.

Mr Sutherland

We went to our first gig in a while the other night. The surprisingly good Kiefer Sutherland.

Surprisingly because I’d assumed that music was a bit of a hobby for him. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.

Buses

You know, my love of public transport is beginning to wane.

As usual, I locked up with four minutes before my bus home was due. We have a live display, so bus times are pretty accurate.

And then the bus disappeared from the display. This has happened before, so I hung around a bit. But the bus didn’t reappear on the display as it has done sometimes in the past.

So I’m now having a pint of our rather excellent new house beer. Waiting for the next bus (01:05).