Durham City...



was heaving with people today. The weather was reasonably mild and fine so I was able to give up the gloves, scarves and hat. I might have thought otherwise if I had not had the thermals and socks on.

I firstly visited a fruit shop outside the bus station and purchased some strawberries but though expensive and only a few in a box I also purchased some Pineberries. I had come across them on the internet only a few days ago(and thought I'll never see any around here)Why are they called pineberries...because it said they have a similar taste to a pineapple. I have tried one, they still taste of strawberries but there is perhaps a hint of pineapple there.

I took a shortcut into Wilkinsons to look at plates again but decided they would be too expensive but too heavy to walk about with/carry on a bus.

Made my way into the market place and had a quick look at a kind of market that had set up stalls(what would you expect in a market place?)and made my way to the area where a selection of performers were taking turns to entertain the public. I had just missed a choir of young adults and the Salvation Army was about to play.

 

It feels like Christmas is coming when they play carols for the public and they do so much good in many communities.

 

I did not get the chance to enjoy their concert and saw very little of it because(and you would need to be a long time reader of my blog and also a forum I used to frequent for the full story)but to back track I attracted someone who has some problems and is a bit of a Walter Mitty character and fantasises and over some months my feelings/suspicions were confirmed. And I have managed to keep a low profile and avoid much contact.

 

But though he does not live in Durham City by chance we have bumped into each other approx. 3 times in recent months. Once on a bus in my town I boarded to go on a shopping trip and he was getting off to go to the Morman Church that is on my town.

 

Then the night I attended The Lumiere in Durham City as I struggled to get home in the bus station and guess where he was today? The Market Place where the Salvation Army was playing.

 

I gave him some of my time and we had a cup of tea in a local church that was having some kind of event raising funds and when he came out he legged it at some speed without checking I was keeping up with him(and as I have my own mobility problems)I went in a different direction and should our paths cross again I'll say I looked for him(a little white lie)

Again, there are some things he said today that don't add up and you have to have a good memory to be a good liar. As I have said before, I don't know if it is done deliberately or because of problems he has. But those who watch over him must think he is able to live a life on his own and they allow him freedom to go where he wishes but again I have heard tales by chance which show from someone who dealt with him at school and I have witnessed incidents myself.

 

I'm making no judgements on anyone's faith/religion its personal to each individual and you have to decide what is right for you but it came out today that he was going to try and get me into attending the church too. He said today he no longer drinks alcohol and that today he had broken the rules by drinking tea.

 

I took a different route and popped into some shops I have not visited before in the town and found something I have not been able to find in the past, it is a kind of cutter and scraper that you cut dough with when making bread but I have seen them on so many cookery programmes. Its only a bit of thin plastic(professional bakers use metal versions)

And too late for this year, I found some Christmas cookie cutters for a reasonable price(holly leaf, snowman, star)I forget what the fourth one is as I write this.

 

I finally saw the Christmas Tree that was originally part of the Lumiere a few weeks ago(which I had missed)made from plastic shop carrier bags(it looks much different when darkness falls)but when I caught it, it was still quite early in the day.

This post is long so I will continue in the next entry...