Day 44 begins.

3/8/2012

Day 44 begins.

Alnwick is a tourist town clearly. Every shop seems to be doing the utmost to sell tat. Sorry, I mean tourist related memorabilia. I don't need or want any of this, because it is going to add weight to the bag and besides, I have renounced excessive material chattels. And it is over priced as stuff seems to be in these types of places. My mood was good but there was still an element of nausea about the way I was being received here in Northumberland. Without wanting to defame anybody or entire districts I was feeling that here less of a warmth came to either tourists per say or me as an individual. I set out to the town to see if my feelings would be compounded or reversed. After all I had to give Alnwick a fair chance to prove me wrong, and it could infact have been my own mood that had been causing the lack of people contact overwhelming me.

I found that Greggs the bakers was the best spot to get free Wi-fi, as they also have a cafe in the back of the shop. I ordered a breakfast roll and a cup of tea as I spoke to the lady at the counter, (June) and she sent out the manageress (Christine) who found me not only a quiet spot to type but a power socket to use. I was amazed again as you can imagine, how people just went above and beyond what was really required to make me feel at home. I was planning to be here for a while and they didn't mind that, in fact at lunchtime they (Claire) came out to offer me not only a lovely jacket potato but free drinks all afternoon. By the time the shop closed I had made a brave effort to get back close to the target, but would need to come again tomorrow to follow up and complete my uploading of both blog and new poems. I had been served and attended to by June, Claire, Kirtsy and the manageress Christine, and as I left Christine offered me a gift of a bag full of goodies to take back to the tent with me. I nearly wept for joy, because here was the sign that my mood had not infact been caused by a lack of kindness on behalf of the people of Northumberland at all. They said that they were looking forward to seeing me again tomorrow and for me to have a pleasant evening.

Intuition told me not to go back to the tent yet but to enter a bar I passed, that was called of all things, 3 Wize Monkeys. The bar was laid out in a very alternative style and was so comfortable and tranquil I just knew I had to sit here for a while to try and write again. Soon after entering though I knew that it would have to wait as the barmaid Ellen who had originally spotted a chance to read her book came out and sat with me and we had a very enjoyable time chatting about her studies the town that was not very lively and the type of music they were playing here. I loved the choices they played, I hadn't heard Morrisey for a while or some of the older Joan Biaz and Bob Dylan esq material.

A while later Ellen introduced me to a young man called Kristian who also worked here and was about to do a live unplugged guitar gig upstairs this evening. He was a very interesting young man who was studying A levels and had done some poetry reviewing in his time. We chatted about most things and his studies, and he went to find a book that he felt he wanted to give me. I asked him why he had thought to give me it, if he felt it was an intuitive voice or something else. He said that he thought that if I was travelling that I might like a book to read to read in the quieter times. He was right about that of course, I had avoided carrying one to save weight, but if it was being offered as a gift then of course I could take it. It is called the Miracle of Reality, by Richard Dawkins. Also arriving were Kiri and Aimee two friends of Kritians also students, though of different subjects and different universities. Both very attractive young ladies were great to chat with and I learned a lot about the lives of the younger people of Alnwick and the surrounding areas. Together we all went upstairs to see the live music that was about to start. I thought back to last weekend when I had spent the time with the folk of the Delaval Arms pub and the alternative type of occasion that had been. This one proved to be just as great and I recorded some of the performances to give you an idea of the young man and his friends talents. It was a nice place to sit unwind and enjoy something culturally different to the raves or the discos that were beginning over the road in earnest. Kristian said that he was going to be busking tomorrow to get a bit more practice and see if he could earn a few bob extra for his studying.

We said our farewells eventually and the girls had gone a different way so I walked back to the site alone reeling with great memories of the evening and the random nature of the events that had unfolded here. I had been out all day and still not paid any fees for the pitch here, but my tent hadn't been clamped so I got in and zoomed off into the world of sleep.

Day 44 came to an end.