Light and dark

The kitchen windows look towards the North East and Jesmond, the Sun seems to rise over the City Centre and coast area.

The kitchen is always bright and sunny in the early morning and the light is not so good in the evening, which is why the photos of the kitchen seem dark.

sorbet flavoured walls

I am still waiting for the landlord to arrange for the damp patch on the wall to be treated. Landlord's Housing Officer is having difficulty getting any news for me about when it might happen. I am calling in to see her on a regular basis now to try and get it sorted out.
Jeff and I have put a couple of coats of this... "ECOS Feng Shui is a multi-surface coating for walls and woodwork which lends a uniquely harmonious feel to the home".

The fridge is now hiding the patch of damp, as you can see.

Gallowgate, Chinatown Gate and City Wall

The New Chinatown Gate at the junction of Gallowgate and St. Andrew's Street, with the new building and crane in the background.


Looking west towards Bath Lane we can see a large section of Newcastle's old Roman City Wall and the well preserved moat

Ready to begin painting

We have now finished coating the walls with the stabiliser and ready to paint, hopefully at the weekend. I have bought the paint from http://www.ecosorganicpaints.co.uk/ and its waiting, ready in the hallway.

College Days

Recently I continued some decluttering and came across a 21st Birthday card from Jenny, in which she mentioned booking Canes.
Ah yes... Canes being a place to eat in Bangor. Doing a google search I see that Canes is still open, as is The Greek Taverna, another place my associates and I were fond of hanging out at.
There were a few more, I can't recall their names at the moment. Lots of pubs, I liked a drink in those pre-teetotal days, Union Garth, Belle Vue, etc.

Stanhope Street furniture

As we walked back from the new recycling centre on Dunholm Road (which looks really cool with it's wooden panel surround and quirky signage... unfortunately I forgot I had my camera, I was so keen to see which items of recycling it would accept) we stopped off at the Brighton Grove Oriental Food Store where I bought pistachio nuts, a pack of my favourite fresh Iranian dates and some Zest Vegan Pesto.
I really like this shop as it has lots of vegan goodies like what I bought today, dried veggie mince, fantastic range of pulses, herbs, spices, sauces etc.
Then we stopped for a rest beside the junction of Dilston Road and Stanhope Street. At all the junctions new stone seats, signs and planters have been installed.
Then we called into Hutchinson's Fruit and Veg for tofu and cucumber, Iceland for frozen diced onions (these are excellent for those of us with reduced hand dexterity who have trouble chopping onions) then, rather hot and tired, went home!

Gravel Garden, Brighton Grove

Today has been really fine and sunny, quite a typical August day. My young neighbour Abdurhman who is 9, and I went to check out the new recycling centre on Dunholm Road and do a bit of shopping.
Abdurhman asked me to take a photo of this neat little garden on Brighton Grove.
Brighton Grove has an eclectic mix of small front gardens, some have nothing at all in them, some are semi wild and overgrown with flowers, bushes and hedges, some are paved over, and some have been used to grow fruit and vegetables, such as rhubarb, spinach, and strawberries.

In Gratitude

I would like to publicly thank the following people for all their help so far with my kitchen.
First of all Vix helped with the loan of a large ladder, and a small electric sander.
Jeff has helped with all the work above 6 feet where I cannot reach.
Arthur's Hill Time Exchange arranged for a volunteer, Alan, to help with sanding the areas I could not reach. Alan brought his friend along too!
Again a helpful neighbour removed the paper from behind radiator and behind the boiler pipes.
Jeff moved the fridge-freezer around the kitchen a number of times so we could remove paper from behind it, and then moved it out of the kitchen completely, each time managing to level it perfectly on the uneven floor.
Landlord's repair help line organised for a professional to check the damp behind the fridge, and landlord will be paying for all the structural repairs to the wall.
Thanks to Colin for checking the damp and explaining what will be happening with the structural repairs. Thanks to Jeff for volunteering to sand the wooden boxing in.

Distemper and Damp

The landlord's joiner arrived today to look at the damp in the kitchen. The bit which looks like rising damp.
He is sure it is damp, he said he could tell just by looking at it. But he is surprised where it is because he reckons that is a "solid" wall where damp should not be.
Therefore, it needs someone higher up the chain to look at it and tell him what to do. Whatever it is... the wall obviously needs treatment and will have to be drilled.
The outside wall where the radiator is is fine and has been treated, the greyish patches is "dead" mould.
As for the bit near the boiler apparently that's classed as "decorating" and is the tenant's responsibility.
The green stuff which looks like the mould that grows on bread is distemper, possibly applied during World War II when paint was in short supply.
I have been told the work will not cause much mess or dust so I can continue to prepare the rest of the room for painting and even start on the painting.

Update on Newgate street construction

The work on the extension to Eldon Square Shopping Centre is still going on, and when I went to do my shopping in the Co-op yesterday I found most of the roadway
area blocked off, as there are safety fences up.
This is looking towards the crossroads of Gallowgate, Newgate Street and Percy Street, from outside the Co-op building.

Update on new building on Gallowgate

A few months ago I posted a pic of a new building going up on Gallowgate. The building has come on a lot since then and this is what it looks like now! If you have a look at the older shot you'll recognise the same crane which has been working hard the whole time.

Black Bull, Barrack Road

This pub is a local landmark and is quite old. Its one of the oldest buildings in the area as it was preserved when post war demolition works were being carried out. Mostly its a quiet local pub but gets very busy on match days, being near St. James Park football stadium.

Renovation work on Queen's Court, Barrack Road

Thee is a lot of scaffolding on Queen's Court, the council are working on some renovations.
This building was erected in the 1950's and is a very popular place to live. It's owned by Newcastle City Council.