The Vermont breakfast was up to its usual standard.  We had become accustomed during our recent hotel stays to table service being the only option due to Covid safety issues but unexpectedly the usual buffet service was on offer.   However, a time slot needed to be booked in advance to restrict the flow of people in the breakfast room. My choice of breakfast was scrambled eggs on toast which was one of the items that is cooked to order.

After breakfast we visited St Nicholas Cathedral and were surprised to see it had changed a lot since our previous visits. The space had been opened up to let in more light. Later, I found out from the latest guidebook that this was due to a project to make the Cathedral more open and accessible. Part of the project involved removing the Victorian pews and tiles which revealed secrets beneath.  The transformation is amazing. Whilst in the Cathedral I got my Pilgrimage Passport stamped with both a stamp and sticker, the latter being placed carefully to cover the bleed from a stamp on the reverse page. We had hoped to visit the Catholic Cathedral and bookshop but on arrival we found that it was closed on Wednesdays. So we returned to St Nicholas Cathedral tea shop for elevenses before driving to Jesmond Dene.

We had lovely walk around the parkland at Jesmond Dene taking in some of the historical features along the way. After our walk we shared a tuna baguette from the cafe, sitting outside in the sunshine until it was time to meet JD. On our way to his house we had a mini adventure. All the local carparks required coins to pay rather than a card payment so Mr C stopped off to visit a bank which he found was closed on Wednesdays. He found a nearby bank that was open. The cashier was bemused by his request for coins; “We don’t hold coins,”

After this diversion we  continued on our journey. We had a lovely afternoon chatting with JD and came away with a generous gift of paintings including one that Mr C had liked on two of our previous visits (the photo does not do the painting justice).

Back at the hotel, with the help of the concierge, we were able to get a space on the hotel carpark. When we entered our room, we were pleased to find that it had been serviced despite being told that it would not be when we checked in.

Dinner was in Restaurant 21. The food was a little slow to arrive due to the restaurant being unexpectedly (for them) busy. The service and food were excellent.

We walked back to the hotel along the quayside. I was amused to find that the Sage Gateshead building that appears as a giant slug by day had resembed a sailing ship at night, the structure almost invisible with the insides glowing.

Despite some pre-occupations throughout the year I managed to feed my Happiness Jar with at least one happy thought each day

What is a Happiness Jar? The simplest thing in the world. You get yourself a jar (or a box, or a vessel of any kind) and every day, at the end of the day, you grab a slip of paper and write down on it the happiest moment of the day.

Even on lousy days, you do this. Because even on lousy days, there is one best moment (or at least, one least-worst moment.)

You stick that little piece of paper in the jar.

Over the years, you have a record of your happiness.

On bad days, I will thrust my fist in that jar and go fishing — pulling up a handful of great moments that I would have utterly forgotten, had I not documented them.

Above is a photo of my Happiness Jar full of 2018 thoughts waiting to be emptied. Alongside are slips of paper with my first Happiness Thoughts of 2019. Like last year I am using a tear off calendar to remind me to record my thoughts.

After taking the above photo I emptied the jar and refilled it with my first thoughts from 2019. Below I share one of my Happiness Thoughts from each month of 2018:

• Staying at home in the warm because there was no need to go out in the snowy rainy weather
• Spending time with my nephew at Cosford Museum
• The clocks have gone forward and the sun decided to shine in honour of the occasion
• The Sunday Morning Easter Service at York Minster
• A spontaneous drive in the sunshine with Mr C led us to exquisite lemon and elderflower cake in Ironbridge
• Watching a baby wagtail on my garden path. He was reluctant to fly and was there for several hours whilst his parents fed him from time to time
• Driving Mr C to a secret location (Shropshire Lavender) for lunch followed by a visit to Boscobel House – A perfect afternoon
• The current phase of house decoration is complete. Once again I am home alone. Just waiting for carpets to be fitted
• Being able to lunch outside at Chain Bridge Honey Farm in late September
• A lovely drive in the sunshine followed by a walk around the walled garden at Attingham Park
• Mum cooking dinner (for Mr C & I) for the first time in her new bungalow. Brisket and especially yummy roast potatoes
• A day out to Chirk Castle, then Powis Castle. Both decked out for Christmas

I awoke abruptly at 1am in the morning to the sound of what I soon realized was the fire alarm going off. We both leaped out of bed just as the alarm stopped ringing so I returned to bed and when I was satisfied it was a false alarm I went back to sleep. I suspect it was one of the party goers thinking it amusing to set the fire alarm off. A little while later I awoke to the noise of loud voices outside the room; they went on for a long period of time which was most unwelcome. I dropped off to sleep only to be awoken again by more loud voices outside the room. It was one of those nights…

Morning came around all too soon but this didn’t stop us enjoying our breakfast even though we had chosen to meet earlier than on previous days. The service in the breakfast room was rather chaotic and not running quite as smoothly as we had become accustomed to.

After breakfast we strolled into town to show mum the highlights of Newcastle city centre. We walked through the Black Gate and into town, passing through Central Arcade before spending some time in Waterstones. We then made our way across town to St Mary’s Cathedral which I hadn’t visited before. I enjoyed the Cathedral even though it is currently undergoing work around the windows so workmen and scaffolding were present. Next to the Cathedral is an excellent bookshop where I was unable to resist buying a book. I could have spent more time in both the Cathedral and bookshop but my companions seemed in a hurry. After I had purchased the book we enjoyed a cup of tea in the Cathedral tea-shop. They had some rather delicious cakes on the counter but we all resisted temptation.

After our tea break we returned to the hotel to wait for JD whom we had arranged to meet for lunch. He came bearing gifts (two lovely paintings), one for me and one for my mum (thank you JD ). We went to the nearby St Nicholas’ Cathedral for lunch where the service in the tea-shop was even more chaotic than service we had experienced during breakfast. Sadly there was only one cherry scone which mum insisted that I had. We stayed and chatted for a while but got the impression that they wanted to close the tea-shop so we left and walked along Amen Corner to the back of the Cathedral so that mum could see the Vampire Rabbit. She didn’t immediately notice it but when she did she exclaimed, ‘What’s That’.

We walked back through the town and past the Mog On The Tyne tea-shop, before parting company with JD. He made his way home and we visited The Lit & Phil library before returning to Waterstones pick up a book I had seen there earlier in the day. We intended to have a cup of tea whilst there but unfortunately all the tables were full so we made our way to Costa instead. By this time it was time to return to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We had a very nice meal in Sabotini’s Italian Restaurant which mum decided was meal of the weekend and I couldn’t disagree. All too soon we returned to the hotel for a last nightcap there and to pack our cases for the return journey home the next day.