Dem Turkish Restaurant, Crystal Palace

Saturday 28th January 2017

As far as I know, the Dem Turkish Restaurant opened only a few weeks ago. This was our first visit. The food and service was first class. An excellent meal. Well worth visiting. Watch out for the indoor BBQ.

Cafe Brindisa, Kensington

Saturday 28th January 2017

We left the Science Museum and went in search of lunch. We found Cafe Brindisa on Exhibition Road. Not cheap but good quality. Quite a busy establishment.

Tim Peake's space capsule

Saturday 28th January 2017

Back in London and a chance to visit the Science Museum. The reason?: to look at the recently unveiled space capsule used by Tim Peake to return to earth after his stay at the International Space Station. Definitely worth a visit. I also took the opportunity to look around some of the other exhibitions, including transport and steam power.

Scampi at the Ravensworth Arms

Thursday 19th January 2017

I was the guest speaker at a meeting of Gateshead Rotary Club held at the Ravensworth Arms near Lamesley, Gateshead. I was rewarded with lunch. I went for the scampi.

This was my 2nd visit to the Ravensworth Arms. My first was some years ago for a Christmas dinner. It was a bit quieter this second time!

Hastings Hill pub

Tuesday 10th January 2017

I had to be in Sunderland so I called into the Hastings Hill pub for lunch. I had the vegetable curry. I can't recommend it. It was a curry sauce poured over a few vegetables. I've had better.

Sabatini, Newcastle Quayside

Thursday 29th December 2016

Once onto the Newcastle Quayside, we were in search of lunch. We found Sabatini's Italian Restaurant. It was very quiet so we largely had the staff to ourselves. Excellent meal with good size portions. Not the cheapest of places but we were paying for quality.

Reflections on the Tyne

Thursday 29th December 2016

From the Baltic, we walked over the Gateshead Millennium Bridge to Newcastle Quayside. It was a very sunny day and there were some fantastic reflections of the bridges, Baltic and the Sage in the Tyne.

Gateshead Millennium Bridge

Thursday 29th December 2016

Any visit to Gateshead Quays should also include a walk across the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Opened in 2002, if was nicknamed the Blinking Eye because of its shape and the revolutionary way it tips up of open. The photo above was taken from next to the Sage.

The Sage, Gateshead

Thursday 29th December 2016

Come out of the St Mary's Heritage Centre and you can't miss the Sage, the great music centre on the banks of the Tyne, looking over to Newcastle. We weren't stopping but we walked through, heading to the Baltic at Gallery. I've been to a number of events here and it is also home to the Northern Sinfonia. It's worth visiting just to see the building.

St Mary's Heritage Centre, Gateshead

Thursday 29th December 2016

St Mary's Heritage Centre is a good place to start a visit to Gateshead. It is in the former St Mary's Church overlooking the Tyne, next to the Sage Music Centre. It has a short history of Gateshead and tourist information. There are occasional art displays as well.

Pie at the Redhouse, Newcastle

Wednesday 28th December 2016

We crossed over to the Newcastle Quayside looking for somewhere to eat. We found the Redhouse, a place I remembered from my 6th form days as a popular location for 18th birthday parties. The building itself is preserved from Newcastle's past. The original centre of Newcastle had been on the Quayside and next to the medieval Tyne Bridge, a site now occupied by the Swing Bridge (and not to be confused with the current Tyne Bridge which dates from the late 1920s and is the famous arched construction. The Redhouse still has its warren of passageways though we went into the bar at the front.

They were doing an offer of 2 pie meals for £12, drink included. Apparently this is on every Saturday. Lunch therefore cost me less than I expected and was good quality. Get there if you can.