Did Quite A Bit This Weekend But It Helps When Much Of The Time...

all you are doing is sitting on a bus.

I had plans on Friday but I shelved them. I got myself ready at a leisurely pace. On the way to the bus for my bus to the music event in a neighbouring town, I seemed to bump into people who wanted to chat. I was convinced I had missed the bus and that meant one final chance an hour later. That meant hanging around and possibly the place I was going would be packed. I nearly gave up but I thought just maybe the bus could be a minute or two late.

I arrived at the bus stop to find someone waiting so I had not missed it. And as I arrived the bus pulled up and I made it with seconds to spare.

Twenty minutes later and I was at the venue and had a pick of the seats. It was a great night, the club has been going for twenty seven years!!

Two of the bands/performers appear at the club on my town(sometimes for free)occasionally they perform for a whole night and there is a small cover charge. The difference is that our club is a weekly one and depends on a lot of goodwill, we need people to purchase raffle tickets and donate prizes so we can have the special nights.

This other club runs perhaps six months across the year. I believe(I could be wrong)that our club is given free use of the room because it brings in extra custom for the bar. This other club probably have to hire the venue. They also offer a buffet and they try to have a headline act for the end of the night and they don't come cheap.

I have had people say the nights there are too expensive but sitting here, writing this if it wasn't the trouble of getting home(so taxis are to be added to the mix)I'm not sure that it is that expensive, Its cheaper than a theatre ticket. I'm paying for my club 52 weeks per year. The other club is approx six to eight concerts per year,

Looked in that way...its not too bad.

After the interval(and buffet)and other acts the night ended with American Roots. An alternative name for a fairly popular and famous band best remembered for their version of a  Neil Young song After the Gold Rush. When singing that and other songs they are known as Prelude. I have seen them three times now in the last three years, they never disappoint. I know that better images exist than my own but if you saw the cameras being used, its no wonder.

On Saturday I just decided to take off and go to Stockton on Tees(now for the boring bit)My usual route is get to Darlington and change to another service to Middlesbrough that calls enroute to Stockton. But I can count on one hand how often I have been to Stockton in 50 decades.

However, I worked out that if I visited the town where I was at the music club last evening, I can travel as quickly and as easily but for some reason its never promoted by the bus company.

I left my town and arrived in Sedgefield. Now, if I stay on that bus I can go all the way to Sunderland and quite quickly(various towns enroute)If I get off that bus I can board another bus that runs between Sunderland and Stockton/Middlesbrough. And they also have another bus that runs between Middlesbrough and Newcastle(and big towns again along that route)and if timed correctly I can catch a bus that will bring me home. So Sedgefield is reasonably served most of the day/evening. The only destination that is not well served is that little jump from Darlington and my town. The last bus being around 7pm. If that could be improved it would offer more freedom locally. This route also takes you through countryside and some villages I have never heard of.

I did not need much shopping wise but all the kind of shops I am likely to want to use(other than supermarkets)were under cover in a shopping mall and were larger branches so they offered more choice. Worth knowing for the future. The bus stops right outside the mall too.

Coming home this bus passes by a kind of butcher's wholesale retailer in Sedgefield which is popular so you can pop in there and buy some meat products. I did today but I'll be honest for the amount I eat and looking at prices I think my local supermarket(Tesco's)and the discount retailer Aldi are as cheap and offer as good a quality. I could not buy any diced lamb today at the butcher's wholesale. And comparing my diced pork and beef at Aldi's it was no more expensive, the quality was as good and there was the same amount.

I have some lovely meals planned and on Friday I again had a lamb casserole cooked in the slow cooker(you could call it a stew, a casserole or a chunky soup)its optional. Again for quickness the ready meals I buy are as tasty, offer variety and probably work out around the same price. But if I want to cook from scratch and use the slow cooker its another option.

Not sure what I am doing today. I could stay home or I may bus ride into Durham and collect tickets for the Lumiere in November from the theatre. They are free. You can watch the event without tickets but if you have them you can go into the area a few hours earlier. I've also suddenly got into my head about going to see the Angel Of The North. The reason is the theatre is not opening until mid afternoon so I may as well fill the time whilst waiting. I can leave early in the morning and then return for when the box office opens around 14.30 and then perhaps catch the bus around 15.15 and come home.

The bingo may be on or off in the evening the person in hospital has been transferred to a larger hospital further away from home and its unlikely that one of our group will get home for the night at the club. So it will depend if enough of the remainder of the group still want to go. If its called off and I know in good time there is an illuminated parade around the river and Cathedral around 8.30pm I would quite like to see. But I won't hang around for hours and if the bingo is on I shall go there instead.

I have had a sleep earlier so at present I am having a bit of a surf around the internet and playing a few games. The last few nights have been milder indoors in the early hours but its a bit chilly again. I may have to put on a jumper, my slippers and a hat.