Cream tea anyone?

So Northerner and Doris dose Jeeves have a lady friend? He left, and forgot his jacket, so I thought I'd bring it back , but he's not here hhmmmmmmmmm.

He might've been worried he'd get pulled into the billabong with the croc, ya think? Hmmm, might as well check the refrigerator while we're here. Northerner might have something good in there!

Wow! Where's my cold turkey? And the smoked salmon? and the escargots? And the jar of caviare is empty too. Jeeves sudenly seems to have developed a ferocious appetite...

Hey Doris sounds like Northerner's home. I heard the frig door open. Oh Oh I hope she's not terrible hungry after all the food we ate of hers. Is that you out there in the kitchen Northerner, it's DJM and Flowerpot we were just out in your garden. We might have to take you out for dinner we got a little hungry waiting for you.

Ooooo Dinner would be just great! A Sunday dinner. Roast beef with Yorkshire pud. and all the trimmings plase!!!!!

Great,( It'll be cheaper to take her out to eat rather than have to restock her refrigerator!) Heh heh.

Okay Girls where should we go, some place nice and cozy, middle range in price, and lots of history breathing through the walls. Ooh I'm going to come here for real one day. Look at all these old buildings. I don't believe in ghost but I like to here the stories anyway, don't you Doris? So Diane this is your neck of the woods led the way.

Well, girls, I live in the north-east of England. You could go for a really terrific ice-cream at Suggitt's in Great Ayton. Captain Cook, the famous explorer, went to school there. It's a pretty village at the foot of the North York Moors with village greens and ducks. Also some excellent pubs for a meal.
Head up to Bonnie Newcastle for a day shopping and see the new Millennium Bridge at Gateshead.
And you can have a great few days at either York or Durham. York is a must-see when you come over here one day. Ancient city, walls, castle, cathedral, loads of museums (the Viking one with state-of-the-art visual effects is really cool). Black-and-white timber houses from the Middle Ages - you'll love the Shambles!!!!
All in all, I'd vote for York!!!!!

Durham's pretty good too, lots of history there, you can go to the castle, the cathedral and wander around the old winding cobbled streets searching for bargains. there's a plant stall on on saturdays where i get most of my bargains from. here's a link to a virtual tour: http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dla0www/c_tour/tour.html . this is a pretty good site, lots of photos to look through..

take care, lil

Won't argue with you Lil. Really need several days, to go and visit BOTH of them!!!

yeah, theyre not far away from each other really, take the train. should really go and visit york again myself, havn't been there since a school trip to Jorvik about 15 years ago!

lil

I took a few days out before my course started. Went to visit both of them. Can't remember how many years since I'd been to Durham or York. They're both excellent. Jorvik has state-of-the-art exhibits now, lots of stuff. A time-machine that bounced me all over the place. Then a trip round a street-scene with waxworks sat in a chair going round in a pulley of sorts. Of course it's all done by computers. Probably some mirrors too. Definitely cool!!! Doubt if they'd be suitable for an old person though. I don't think my Dad could have managed these exhibits which are all in the dark. Been to Whitby recently? They've an exhibit all in the dark with various ghoulies leaping out at you. A visit to Hartlepool's Historic Quay is good too,

i didn't think much of the hartlepool historic quay myself, i went earlier this year.. maybe if i'd went on a nicer day when it wasn't raining! i'm thinking of going to york now though, before it gets too cold, are there any gardens round there?

lil

I quite enjoyed the Quay, but once you've seen it there isn't much more to do. I meant to go round to the town centre but didn't get there. Meant to walk round to the Headland too. Never mind, do that some other time.
Don't know about the gardens in York. Should think there's public parks of some sort. It's a fairly compact city - comparing with some other urban sprawls that come to mind. So, probably nothing too big.
I went on quite a few of the mini-cruises - one from Preston Park to Yarm, another around Durham. Of course, York's on a river as well. Memories of O'level geography - messy little diagrams showing areas with rivers, coal etc spring back into memory. Tried to walk on section of the wall at York - big mistake! I don't like heights and I suddenly realized the wall was only on one side, with nothing but a drop at the other side. AAAAARGHHHH!!! Had to retrace my steps, not looking down. So, no, walking right round the walls of York is an ambition that'll remain unfilled.
Rain can be a bit off-putting. I went to Scarborough on a rainy day - a shame. I'm sure those sands are lovely, but not in the driving rain!!!!

Oh it all sounds so nice I can't wait to come Diane my stepdad is from New Castle, I think I told you that. Thanks for the virtual tour Lilith I cruised through but will save it to look at later with greater detail. It will be so wonderful, when I do get to go there, I'll have the knowledge of the history, and great places to go.
Now Diane we still haven't picked a spot to eat. My Dad tells me the pubs have good fish and chips how about that?

This message was edited Monday, Oct 15th 9:45 PM

There's supposed to be a shop in Durham that has excellant fish and chips. I was with a tour group, and there were so many in line of our bunch, i snuck away down the street and found one of your lovely bakeries,and bought several of your jam pastries with whip cream or clotted? Had one in each pocket, wrapped of course, and 2 in my purse! We didn't have time to see the castle or the cathedral as we were headed elsewhere (York?)

Oh you guys don't know the half of it. Fish and Chips is something that varies so much from town to town that it literally is a question of what you were brought up liking being the "best" fish n chips. Everyone here in Yorkshire swears by the oil being beef fat but it tastes all wrong to me, being a southerner, and I like my chips not tasting of anything but the potato, all crunchy on the outside and melt in your mouth on the inside. The fish preferably is line caught cod, the adrenalin it produces when fighting the line makes for sweeter flesh, but that's getting very hard to find now because the fish stocks are reduced to almost nothing by overfishing.

Ah yes !! Did someone say that croquet was a relaxing game ?? Gosh, you haven't played this have you. It's the single most vicious, psychologically damaging and nasty game ever invented. The image of genteel folk tapping away on a sunny evening is totally Hollywood, I'm afraid. Remember that Wimbledon is STILL the Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.....

Very serious game.

York is the MOST beautiful place, but it does get overcrowded with tourists. There are the most gorgeous back streets filled with bookshops (my idea of heaven!) selling anything you've ever wanted to read, and loads of 'quaint' little shops that will sell you anything from a left handed doodab to a walrus toothbrush. The walls are great and give you the best views of the city as you walk around them ; but they ARE narrow in places and precipitous so not for the faint hearted.

As for Newcastle, it's great !!!!! Of an evening you walk round the relatively small city centre, popping in and out of the bars and pubs and disco and the place just swarms with the friendly people doing the same. If it's at all cold you'll be amazed at how the locals don't appear to feel the cold at all, but all walk around in thin football shirts or, for the girls, tiny figure hugging party frocks. I guess the further North you go in this country, the friendlier people get.

Enough already - I'm waffling on a s always.

Bi everyone, lunchtime, I'm suddenly ravenous - must be all the talk of fish n chips !!

Jo

I always heard that Harry Ramsden's was the best for fish and chips. Outskirts of Bradford. Well, a few miles away. Spent three years in Bradford and never managed to make it there...
My most memorable fish and chips. The day we moved into our new home, in 1963. Removal van and boxes all around. Guess who'd forgotten where the box with the cutlery was? My Dad, that's all. Bought fish and chips from the chippie, ate it with our fingers. Ee by eck it tasted good!