Day to day musings of a cat minder/ sitter in North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne . For details of services go to http://www.catminders.biz

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Saturday 14 March 2009

"Scruffy Tynemouth "

Scruffy Dog walks on Scruffy Beach !





The Times set me straight this week when in an article in the property pages denounced us as scruffy with the words "even scruffy Tynemouth is worth a look if you are thinking of decamping to the seaside and are in search of a bargain " , going on to describe properties available for £160,000 for a townhouse or suchlike . I confess I haven't yet come across them in my weekly scan of the market and suspect they are mixing Tynemouth with our neighbouring North Shields ( "A common mistake ", I think sniffily to myself as I push the Times away and wish yet again that we could afford a less Tory paper ( but for reasons I don't fully understand we are able to get it for free , something to do with vouchers and the like ... and with the gas bill at £550 a quarter a more or less free daily quality paper is not to be sneezed at ( except by me , loudly , when they castigate us as above ).

This morning I return from my 8am swim ( I may be boasting here but after a week doing nothing much apart from moaning about my head I am entitled to enjoy my new found burst of energy and parade it for all ) to find D tasked with assisting our neighbour in the transport of a large pot containing a tree from our house on the edge of the village to its new location in the heart of the village . As our neighbour is in her seventies and the pot although by now located on a trolley and thus , theoretically , mobile , this is no mean feat , and the two of them set off . I would have offered assistance but for the fact that I was waiting in for the plumber , coming to take out the loft room shower , newly fitted last week but found to be faulty . As they departed I felt I should have offered a packed breakfast and those fluorescent armbands we used to wear on the school walking bus . But that's another story .
D returns after an age with tales of Bett's heroism , her stopping the traffic in Front Street and the shouted comments from drivers ( all friendly ) as they waited for the pot to be pulled by the pair across the cobbles . I wish I had a photo for you all .
Later , after the plumber has departed and the shower is allegedly fixed , D and I take the dog to the beach . As we pass a magnificent double fronted mansion(ette) on Front Street D tells me of Bett's tale of her early morning walk earlier this week when she witnessed a police Dawn Raid . At 6am , as she passed by , a band of policemen flew at the door with battering rams and all manner of things and barged into the house . Tempted to stay and see how things developed she decided to keep walking in case of gunshots ( after all this is Scruffy Tynemouth ) and later heard on the news of a drugs and money laundering operation in the heart of the village . Well !

Meanwhile my burts of energy continues unabated and I wash curtains stained by the kittens of yesteryear .
If Laura is reading she will tell me I am Spring Cleaning .
Long Overdue .

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I have said before re Spring Cleaning, although possibly neither of us remember, it is all part of the Natural Order of Things. I may add that it is still too early in the season Here In The Country for such things. We are still engaged with Winter Pursuits such as Cushion Making and Overeating.

BetteJo said...

Spring cleaning, nesting, who cares!? You're up and about and with energy to boot! Wonderful, enjoy!

joan said...

Hi Shelagh
We loved Tynemouth! a volunteer showed us around the lifeboat musuem and Mark (and a little girl we were fostering) went up to the observation room to see the view (Black Midden? rocks) We had a lovely day there, Scruffy Tynemouth No!
Hope you and your readers are well
take care
joan xx

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