2015 Teesdale Calendar

A bit gobsmacked by this. Nicky came back with the 2015 Teesdale Calendar, and I have 3 photo's printed in it. (Raby Castle, Eggleston Gardens & Barnard Castle-night scene). I entered the competition a while ago and then as usual, forgot all about it.

Staindrop Carnival 2014

The Turf Richmond

Our secret guilty pleasure. The Turf in Richmond is one of the best, cheapest, abundant restaurants we've come across. If you can see the table of food we have, well, we bought all this, drinks and deserts later for cheaper than the price of 1 full course at the Rose & Crown in Romaldkirk.
My fave dishes are the chillli, lasagne and the burgers. Superb food at really good prices.

The ABBA Sensation at Thorp Perrow

I went last night with the family to see the ABBA Sensation at Thorp Perrow. ABBA are not on my top 10 of groups, I just went for Nicky and Elionwy. These guys were superb though. Great fun, a real rapport with the audience. It was the first concert I'd been too that was half concert and half picnic.
It didn't take long for the group to have everyone singing along, then clapping, then waving hands, then mass dancing. It even got to the state when some of the girls were using trees to pole dance with. Seriously!

The Dream Academy: Life in A Northern Town

The weather this morning just reminds me of this old video. It had to be added at some point.

Beamish Museum

We finally took a trip to Beamish Museum. So many people have mentioned it as a must see. It costs about £40 for a family ticket, but you can go back free for a year in that price.
It's called a 'living museum' and very similar to the Welsh St Fagans, except it's about 5 times the size. So big you have to hop on one of the free trams/trains/buses that frequently travel past when your feet start to get tired.
It really did live up to the expectation. Everything is accessible. You walk down a street from history, you can enter the shops, speak to the proprietors, leave the shops, pass some houses, visit the dentists, the farms, even the small gardens at the back of the houses.
It's also a photographers dream. I was told you would need a full day+ and they were right. There is so much to see, we just scratched the surface.

Judie Tzuke At The Sage

An hour out of Barney on the 12th of June, we visited Gateshead 'The Sage'. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't the space age looking building we found (just seen poking into the corner on the last picture).
Judie was as usual fantastic, and we all had the privilege to hear her daughters too. It was the kid's first proper concert, and they were blown away. I don't think they will ever hear someone quite as good as Judie.
When we came out the town was lit up looking very picturesque.