I’m pleased to report that the retail foray for CD’s into Newcastle on Saturday was a success. Well a success in so much as I was able to get over the purchasing something hurdle. As for the quality of my purchases well we’ll just have to wait and see as I have yet to have a chance to listen to them properly. For reference my purchases were Sonata Arctica’s ‘Reckoning Night’ and ‘Universal Migrator Parts 1 & 2’ by Ayreon. I’ll pop something down here about them once I’ve had a good listen.
I did put the Sonata Arctica disc on yesterday afternoon but I was still suffering from a hangover following Saturday’s excesses and didn’t really take much in. Billy and I had met in town and wandered around our usual haunts before taking a breather in the Duke. Over the last year or so this has become our regular Saturday port of call replacing Trillians/The Jubilee which had held the dubious honour since about 1980. There are always about 7 different real ales on the go so we can usually find something we like. The fun is in the finding.
Suitably lubricated I felt I could approach the task of purchasing something with fewer mental shackles, and so I could. The purchases were made in RPM which, handily, is directly opposite the Duke. Whilst not the cheapest store, I guess Windows still holds that title, it has a great selection of music from early 60/70’s rock to up to the minute dance, with most points in between. I know I’ve become something of a regular fixture here because the staff have started to greet me in the street/pub/metro etc.
After making the purchases the obvious thing to do was celebrate which we decided to do in the Newcastle Arms. Known as the Top Arms due to the fact that there also used to be a Newcastle Arms near the Quayside which was know as…yes, you’ve guessed it…The Bottom Arms. The celebratory ale was Port ‘o’ Call from the Bank Top Brewery in Bolton. It was a lovely dark strong porter and a pleasant change from the usual light summer ales you get at this time of year. I always enjoy having a drink in the Top Arms due to the characters you tend to get in there. They and the pub itself are a bit rough and ready but I’ve never felt in the least bit uncomfortable in there…not sure what that says about me though…hmmm?
This was certainly turning into one of those days where your capacity for more alcohol seems limitless so Billy and I made an executive decision to tell Steph to meet us back at my house. I hurriedly phoned Gill to make sure all the crap that was lying around on various chairs and the floor was cleared away but, bless her, she had already done this in anticipation of my actions. So off to the local Co-op for some wine and nibbles and a pleasant evening was spent listening to a couple of albums, watching some wonderful dodgy 80’s rock videos and generally having a good chin wag…life rarely gets better than this.
I did put the Sonata Arctica disc on yesterday afternoon but I was still suffering from a hangover following Saturday’s excesses and didn’t really take much in. Billy and I had met in town and wandered around our usual haunts before taking a breather in the Duke. Over the last year or so this has become our regular Saturday port of call replacing Trillians/The Jubilee which had held the dubious honour since about 1980. There are always about 7 different real ales on the go so we can usually find something we like. The fun is in the finding.
Suitably lubricated I felt I could approach the task of purchasing something with fewer mental shackles, and so I could. The purchases were made in RPM which, handily, is directly opposite the Duke. Whilst not the cheapest store, I guess Windows still holds that title, it has a great selection of music from early 60/70’s rock to up to the minute dance, with most points in between. I know I’ve become something of a regular fixture here because the staff have started to greet me in the street/pub/metro etc.
After making the purchases the obvious thing to do was celebrate which we decided to do in the Newcastle Arms. Known as the Top Arms due to the fact that there also used to be a Newcastle Arms near the Quayside which was know as…yes, you’ve guessed it…The Bottom Arms. The celebratory ale was Port ‘o’ Call from the Bank Top Brewery in Bolton. It was a lovely dark strong porter and a pleasant change from the usual light summer ales you get at this time of year. I always enjoy having a drink in the Top Arms due to the characters you tend to get in there. They and the pub itself are a bit rough and ready but I’ve never felt in the least bit uncomfortable in there…not sure what that says about me though…hmmm?
This was certainly turning into one of those days where your capacity for more alcohol seems limitless so Billy and I made an executive decision to tell Steph to meet us back at my house. I hurriedly phoned Gill to make sure all the crap that was lying around on various chairs and the floor was cleared away but, bless her, she had already done this in anticipation of my actions. So off to the local Co-op for some wine and nibbles and a pleasant evening was spent listening to a couple of albums, watching some wonderful dodgy 80’s rock videos and generally having a good chin wag…life rarely gets better than this.
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