The five of us were able to sit at the same breakfast table that we had the previous morning. I opted for eggs Benedict but found that there was a little too much hollandaise sauce for my taste. One of the lifts was out of order, delaying progress to and from the hotel rooms to the amusement and frustration of the guests due to it stopping randomly at some floors and not at others. This meant that we set off for Tynemouth more than half an hour later than we had intended. The concierge shuffled the cars around on the car park and parked mine next to the Ferrari that is always parked outside the hotel.

On arrival at Tynemouth, we were lucky to find two convenient car parking spaces. Once the cars had been parked we went for a walk past the Spanish Battery and the Life Brigade Watch House before making our way into town to find a tea-shop. Mr C’s first choice of tea-shop, which was the last one we came across, proved to be disappointing. As we arrived, a table became free and we made our way to sit down at it. Whilst we were making ourselves comfortable the waiter told us to go away for five minutes whilst he reset the table. After such a rude reception there was no way I was going back and the others felt the same. We made our way back along the street and entered a small (almost hidden) tea-shop that I had spotted earlier. It was very full and busy but we were squeezed onto a table and made very welcome.

Our next port of call was Tynemouth Castle and Priory which we all enjoyed for different reasons. By the time we had finished exploring the grounds it was time for a late lunch. We chose a cafe near to the seafront and sat in a corner table overlooking the castle remains. We lingered for quite some time, talking about history, philosophy and the current migrant crisis including the view that many migrants probably have no intention of observing the culture of the countries that they are migrating to. Eventually it was time for my brother and his fiancée to return home and for us to make our way back to the Vermont.

As we arrived back in Newcastle the traffic was queued up for a long way past St Nicholas’ Cathedral and we could see lots of policeman, police cars and an ambulance directly opposite the Cathedral.  We struggled to find a restaurant that was open on a Sunday evening, but eventually settled on Cafe Rouge where we had an enjoyable meal. Whilst walking back  to the hotel after dinner, we noticed another police car and ambulance in the same spot as we had seen the earlier incident.

Back at the Vermont, we noticed a lot of security guards outside its Livello Cocktail bar area. One of the security guards got into the hotel lift with us and we got chatting to him. He told as that the security guards had been drafted in because there was a private function taking place in the Cocktail bar. We had a nightcap in the hotel lounge area and arranged to have breakfast at an earlier time the next morning.

This morning I got up earlier than I usually would on a Saturday so that Mr C & I could help my mum order wallpaper from a local retail outlet. When Mr C returned mum to her house we picked up some heavy bench ends that were cluttering up her garden, but that is a story for another day

When we returned home I noticed (much to my annoyance) that the new tyre that had been causing me a problem was flat as a pancake. After Mr C removed the heavy bench ends from his car he went to look for the electric tyre pump which was nowhere to be seen. He improvised and blew up the tyre with a bicycle floor pump!

I phoned the garage where the tyres had been fitted to explain that I had a problem. Initially the after-sales lady suggested I take in on Monday. I wasn’t too keen on this idea and asked if someone could look at it today. It was agreed that I could take it in to be looked at straight away.

When I arrived at the garage I explained what the problem was and handed over the key. A short while later I was called to look at my tyre. There was a screw embedded in it in such a way that the tyre could not be repaired!!

I expressed my surprise that this could have happened within a few days of the new tyre being fitted. I went back to the waiting area whilst the after-sales lady went to check the price of a new tyre. When the after sales lady came back she advised me that I would only have to pay for the tyre at purchasing cost to them.

Whilst the tyre was being fitted I sat and watched people come and go, buying accessories, picking up a new car and listening to their conversations. It was an interesting hour or so
After the tyre had been fitted I returned back home and persuaded Mr C that I needed to take him out for lunch. I can confirm that the car now feels right (whilst driving) and I am happy with it again after all the recent dramas.

Lunch was delicious and relaxing

When I eventually got to the pump I chose the ‘pay at the kiosk option’ and took the hose. As I pulled it towards me to fill up, it dragged the hose for diesel off with it. I hadn’t noticed but someone had managed to twist all the hoses around each other. As I went to pick it up and replace it  the pump spewed diesel all over my hand. Lovely! I untangled the wires and tried again and it did the same thing.

By this time I was getting a bit flustered but I thought third time lucky.   I managed to get the hose to the car  without incident but nothing happened, there was no petrol forthcoming so I pressed the ‘pay at the kiosk’ button again. Still nothing happened and when I went back to look, it said ‘pump in use’ and it had reverted back to the previous sale. I rather sceptically pressed the button a further time and this time I got the helpful message ‘preparing pump’. At last I got to fill up the car, after which I found a tissue to wipe the diesel off my hand.

I went inside to pay then hopped in the car and set off towards work. On the way there I heard an odd clunk and wondered what it was. I found out when I got to work that it was the petrol cap cover banging shut. It is the first time ever I have forgotten to put the petrol cap back on the car!! Thankfully these days they are attached to the car so you don’t lose them and mine has the added benefit of clipping over the cover.

What a start to the day…