Thief.

The Call of the Wendigo wrote:

I have hurt my right calf, running.

I hope this doesn't put me out of the Olympics.

It's still stiff but I didn't let that stop me spending half the day traipsing around town.

I've been into Newcastle-upon-actual-Tyne city centre and Gateshead today for the first time ever, having only previously been past on the A1.

It was all pleasant enough, some nice buildings in the city centre. Lots of Geordie young men in shorts.

I saw the Newcastle United ground looming on the horizon. Oh, and I passed the Angel of the North.

The famous bridge is a bit rubbish, it's like a 1:5 model of the Sydney Harbour bridge.

The the Newkey United ground is really near the city centre isn't it?

I thought the bridge looked quite.... underwhelming. I crossed across on one of the neighbouring bridges.

Yes, the ground must be quite close.

I like the bridge, it looks all right from the A1. I don't approve of the A**** of the North though, I think it's visual vandalism so I never look at it as I negotiate the J65 and J66 roadworks.

I've been a bit indifferent to the Angel of the North - it's not pretty but has become iconic and it seems the locals use it as a focal point when returning from the south.

I did have a look on Rightmove to see if any of the flats nearby were for sale, and lo and behold I found one for £47,950 with views overlooking it.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138834290

Butterfield wrote:

it seems the locals use it as a focal point when returning from the south

My personal 'boundary stones' are Brampton Hut on the A1 when going south, cos that's the first time Stansted is on a road sign, and Stansted is the main destination closest to where I used to live in Essex.

Coming back to Scotland I'd say it was Penrith, because when you get to there you've left the industrial, Mark E Smith north behind and gone beyond the hills.

Shopping for lampshades after successful back to back meetings, I explained politely to a Romanian gypsy that I didn’t carry cash, and she put a curse on me. She told me that part in English.

Fangirl Three wrote:

Butterfield wrote:

it seems the locals use it as a focal point when returning from the south

My personal 'boundary stones' are Brampton Hut on the A1 when going south, cos that's the first time Stansted is on a road sign, and Stansted is the main destination closest to where I used to live in Essex.

Coming back to Scotland I'd say it was Penrith, because when you get to there you've left the industrial, Mark E Smith north behind and gone beyond the hills.

Mine are Swiss Cottage, the Westway, the big Tesco on Cromwell Road, the river, and Holborn.

Before the curse, I was having such a nice day, including a lovely chat with a guy in an interiors shop who had the radio on about the manhunt. We agreed that if he’d been occupied in either of our beds there’d have been no need for Wandsworth and therefore no prospect of escape. A bad boy is always good.

I fell asleep last night while watching cave diving videos on Youtube.

Luckily it happened while I had muted the sound waiting for adverts to finish, so I didn't annoy anyone.

There's a point in life where I'm at an avoidance stage. Yes my head is all over the place with a lot going on, but I'm avoiding speaking to people as I don't want to hear about endless family member issues (this is silly stuff btw not serious), or in one case someone went out and got drunk. I don't want to know. Some things are easy to solve, some aren't.

Well it’s all mood dependent. Sometimes there’s no point in talking about things that can’t be solved, and sometimes there’s nothing more fascinating. And then sometimes there’s something so satisfying about verbalising the snappy summary of an easily solved thing - especially if it’s someone else’s problem, while at other times it’s tiresome to dwell on their slowness or your procrastination.

I've just got in from out.

I feel all bloated from drinking strong IPAs.

Just five days to go until the funeral. Luckily the final bit has been paid off (lucky some money I was owed paid what I intend to pay), flowers ordered and ready to go. Got three days back in the West Midlands. Just had to wash my trousers ready for the sad day.

I am sincerely glad that you've washed your trousers.

There's no need for a genuinely sad day to be made any sadder.

A dear friend of mine has had a horrifying labour. She was ignored for hours, despite the baby’s head being visible and stuck for hours. Only when it began to die was she taken for an emergency c section.

Once open the head was wedged too far down the birth canal to simply lift it out, so they had to slice right down through the front of her vagina. She’s now been told she’ll never be able to give birth naturally.

Poor thing is high on morphine, and the baby is now in an incubator with all kinds of infections from having spent so long in the vag itself. I can’t imagine the agony of having your vaginal canal cut open.

That is genuinely nightmarish.