Last Saturday - 9th Nov 2024 - I drove to Newcastle with my sister Sue. We grew up in Newcastle and were on a mission. We were also determined to visit places we knew in an immersive nostalgic experience. We had already invested an entire evening on line and on the phone finding an appropriate place to stay. We chose one on the superior grounds that it offered us 10% discount and a free bottle of wine. Win:win, we thought.
We arrived in good time and discovered that our room was across Osbourne Rd from the reception part of the hotel, in cool Jesmond. As we parked and unloaded, the street was filling with young men and many more young women wearing....very little. The hotel was surrounded by bars, restaurants and somewhere offering new teeth, relaxation and botox.
We climbed the steep stairs to the 3rd floor dragging our bags ‘n’ stuff behind us and fighting with the fire doors. Hundreds of them. The room was clean but sparce. The bottle of wine was there but no glasses. This was clearly the kind of establishment where you neck it.
Sauntering out for dinner, we requested glasses from the reception to be met with a blank stare. This was clearly a first.
This part of Jesmond is vibrant with students and others intent on having a good time and good times were being had. We ate at a wonderful byo ramen restaurant and were a bit embarrassed to find we were the only people with alcohol. Great food.
We repaired to a bar where martini espressos were 2 for the price of 1, well for heavens sake.
As we weaved home with our empty glasses we met two young men dressed as ....nurses? who were, they said, exploring their feminininitity through wine. I noticed they had a full bottle and we had empty glasses which seemed a coincidence made in heaven so we shared. They didn’t have glasses- it must be a thing. We chatted. What lovely people. I love Newcastle. We left them enjoying their femineity and climbed to bed.
The next day being Sunday we caught an excellent bu