The serious effort to lose weigh and get fit 2010 has commenced in earnest. I have acquired step counter with added gizmos but it still has the problem of falling off and messing up the accumulated step count.
My first venture took me through North Marine Park where there are still clumps of blue bells. I then walked about half way along the ramparts of the South Pier until just before the gates which are closed when the seas and winds make walking further unsafe. From this vantage point one can look across the South Shields Bay along the coast towards Marsden with its Grotto and alone to the headland before bay of Seaburn and Roker at Sunderland.
Looking back I could see the houses above the banking on the Lawe Top before crossing along the pathway between the beach and the amusement and the accommodations for the amusement Park employees and then through the almost deserted amusement park offering £12 pounds of ride tokens for £10 and where three tokens appeared required for the simplest and smallest of rides. The fish and chip restaurants were doing some trade as was the kiosk before crossing the road to the pier with people enjoying their meals on the seats overlooking the Little Haven Bay.
I walked back through South Marine Park noting that the number of swans seems to have dropped by one third before crossing back into North Marine and climbing the hill that way making this part of the journey easier because of the environment.
On Wednesday I was uncertain where to go walking. There was little sun but it was much warmer, warmer than so far this year because there was no cooling breeze and the atmosphere was close. I had enquired at two newsagents for note books and the checked the position at Smith before going to Wilkinson’s which had Reporter size books for 20 pence, yes 20 pence about a fifth of the price of those elsewhere. On my way I saw some garden furniture and then a breakfast table set with a narrow bar time table and two chairs which was ideal for the patio at the amazing price of £26. I could have arranged for home delivery for £5 but decided on collection as there is a loading Bay just outside the store. I then made my way to the supermarket to see if there was any cheap fish without success but 100 plastic pockets were on offer at £1 so I bought eight. This meant a heavy load on my back on the way home and my shirt was wringing wet and had to be changed. On Wednesday I enjoyed a piece of smoked haddock like fish for lunch, may have been smoked haddock, for the amazing price of 70p and in the evening a thick and juicy piece of steak with salad.
On Thursday I decided on crossing the river Tyne by ferry and then taking the bus into North Shields. There was a very pleasant singer guitarist playing in the High Street so I found a seat and listened for a couple of song. On leaving home I noticed that there was a plague of small flies and this was evident on both sides of the Tyne. I had noted the absence of flies until the day, caused first by the cold and then by the close warmth with 17th degrees well after 9pm. On my last trip across the river I commented on the saga of the call centre which was to have provided 200 jobs in an extraordinary modern building, which caused outrage when part of the roof appeared over the steep banking overlooking the river from the Top. The local paper announced that the firm had gone i to administration with the loss of job and an appeal from local residents to have the offending building demolished. Had I won the £86 million in the lottery last week I would have tried to purchase and lower the roof by one floor and turned into a home for my project. Another possibility to dream about, alas only dreams.
North Shields is a very similar community to South Shields in terms of its High Street and general atmosphere. At Wilkinson’s I purchased five display albums for my work and was tempted to stop for a cup of tea. There were also lots of plants for which I wished I had the space .I enjoyed three lamb chops with veg for lunch and a soup followed by a prawns from shell salad in the evening.
I had delayed going out on Thursday until Durham had won their game against Kent at Canterbury, a ground I have visited in the past and would have visited again had the match not followed on immediately after Leeds and Nottingham. Before the game came the news that captain Will Smith had been replaced by Phil Mustard, the wicket keeper, who once looked like becoming an England players with his aggressive battings style. I was not surprised at this development after reading his words in the annual report that he had found it difficult to build a long innings because of the responsibilities as team captain. Given that matches were lost and his own form had slumped it was difficult to see how he would continue as captain and retain his place in the side.
Later I discovered that Durham has had a cash injection from two Indian media moguls and that the county is working with other Test sides on a new 20 20 competition which is to feature the eight test grounds of Yorkshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Cardiff, Warwickshire and Manchester and Nottingham, but drawing on players from the whole of English Cricket and from India with the money to come from Indian TV rights I wonder how much pressure was exerted to change the captain because of the slump in form.
This had its impact on the first day of the match at Canterbury with some bad bowling and fielding to the extent that commentators could not understand the drop in form compared to the past two years. Kent Captain Key who had not a good season before scored 264 runs but his average at the end of the game was still in the 30’s Contrast this with 18 year old Ben Stokes who is the youngest first class player to score two centuries in successive matches ion their first season. He was unbeaten on 161 runs which enabled Durham to come within 6 runs of the Kent first innings total of 424. Benkenstein also scored his first century of the championship season. Kent then collapsed in their second innings, all out for 162 leaving Durham to score 169 for their second win of the season and their first away from home. It was not a clever start with wickets falling at 7, 19 and 37. Benkenstein and Blackwell then gradually took the total to 144 before Benkenstein who has found his form was out for 49. Shortly after Stokes came to the crease, Blackwell was injured and had to have a runner. I imagine he will not be playing in the home game against Kent or the 40 over game on Sunday. Stokes then hit six boundaries in succession to win the match and this included a six. He was the talk of the commentators who like his style and believe he has a great future. He has jumped in the championship averages into fourth position with over 70 runs per innings in his five matches to date, helped by being not out on the last two scores.
My first venture took me through North Marine Park where there are still clumps of blue bells. I then walked about half way along the ramparts of the South Pier until just before the gates which are closed when the seas and winds make walking further unsafe. From this vantage point one can look across the South Shields Bay along the coast towards Marsden with its Grotto and alone to the headland before bay of Seaburn and Roker at Sunderland.
Looking back I could see the houses above the banking on the Lawe Top before crossing along the pathway between the beach and the amusement and the accommodations for the amusement Park employees and then through the almost deserted amusement park offering £12 pounds of ride tokens for £10 and where three tokens appeared required for the simplest and smallest of rides. The fish and chip restaurants were doing some trade as was the kiosk before crossing the road to the pier with people enjoying their meals on the seats overlooking the Little Haven Bay.
I walked back through South Marine Park noting that the number of swans seems to have dropped by one third before crossing back into North Marine and climbing the hill that way making this part of the journey easier because of the environment.
On Wednesday I was uncertain where to go walking. There was little sun but it was much warmer, warmer than so far this year because there was no cooling breeze and the atmosphere was close. I had enquired at two newsagents for note books and the checked the position at Smith before going to Wilkinson’s which had Reporter size books for 20 pence, yes 20 pence about a fifth of the price of those elsewhere. On my way I saw some garden furniture and then a breakfast table set with a narrow bar time table and two chairs which was ideal for the patio at the amazing price of £26. I could have arranged for home delivery for £5 but decided on collection as there is a loading Bay just outside the store. I then made my way to the supermarket to see if there was any cheap fish without success but 100 plastic pockets were on offer at £1 so I bought eight. This meant a heavy load on my back on the way home and my shirt was wringing wet and had to be changed. On Wednesday I enjoyed a piece of smoked haddock like fish for lunch, may have been smoked haddock, for the amazing price of 70p and in the evening a thick and juicy piece of steak with salad.
On Thursday I decided on crossing the river Tyne by ferry and then taking the bus into North Shields. There was a very pleasant singer guitarist playing in the High Street so I found a seat and listened for a couple of song. On leaving home I noticed that there was a plague of small flies and this was evident on both sides of the Tyne. I had noted the absence of flies until the day, caused first by the cold and then by the close warmth with 17th degrees well after 9pm. On my last trip across the river I commented on the saga of the call centre which was to have provided 200 jobs in an extraordinary modern building, which caused outrage when part of the roof appeared over the steep banking overlooking the river from the Top. The local paper announced that the firm had gone i to administration with the loss of job and an appeal from local residents to have the offending building demolished. Had I won the £86 million in the lottery last week I would have tried to purchase and lower the roof by one floor and turned into a home for my project. Another possibility to dream about, alas only dreams.
North Shields is a very similar community to South Shields in terms of its High Street and general atmosphere. At Wilkinson’s I purchased five display albums for my work and was tempted to stop for a cup of tea. There were also lots of plants for which I wished I had the space .I enjoyed three lamb chops with veg for lunch and a soup followed by a prawns from shell salad in the evening.
I had delayed going out on Thursday until Durham had won their game against Kent at Canterbury, a ground I have visited in the past and would have visited again had the match not followed on immediately after Leeds and Nottingham. Before the game came the news that captain Will Smith had been replaced by Phil Mustard, the wicket keeper, who once looked like becoming an England players with his aggressive battings style. I was not surprised at this development after reading his words in the annual report that he had found it difficult to build a long innings because of the responsibilities as team captain. Given that matches were lost and his own form had slumped it was difficult to see how he would continue as captain and retain his place in the side.
Later I discovered that Durham has had a cash injection from two Indian media moguls and that the county is working with other Test sides on a new 20 20 competition which is to feature the eight test grounds of Yorkshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Cardiff, Warwickshire and Manchester and Nottingham, but drawing on players from the whole of English Cricket and from India with the money to come from Indian TV rights I wonder how much pressure was exerted to change the captain because of the slump in form.
This had its impact on the first day of the match at Canterbury with some bad bowling and fielding to the extent that commentators could not understand the drop in form compared to the past two years. Kent Captain Key who had not a good season before scored 264 runs but his average at the end of the game was still in the 30’s Contrast this with 18 year old Ben Stokes who is the youngest first class player to score two centuries in successive matches ion their first season. He was unbeaten on 161 runs which enabled Durham to come within 6 runs of the Kent first innings total of 424. Benkenstein also scored his first century of the championship season. Kent then collapsed in their second innings, all out for 162 leaving Durham to score 169 for their second win of the season and their first away from home. It was not a clever start with wickets falling at 7, 19 and 37. Benkenstein and Blackwell then gradually took the total to 144 before Benkenstein who has found his form was out for 49. Shortly after Stokes came to the crease, Blackwell was injured and had to have a runner. I imagine he will not be playing in the home game against Kent or the 40 over game on Sunday. Stokes then hit six boundaries in succession to win the match and this included a six. He was the talk of the commentators who like his style and believe he has a great future. He has jumped in the championship averages into fourth position with over 70 runs per innings in his five matches to date, helped by being not out on the last two scores.
