To avoid the cold that still hangs in the air, I decided to head South this time. It was off to Newcastle for a day during the weekend. Catching the early morning train proved to be quite a task given that the previous night I had been working out at a Ceilidh (which followed a rather formal Burns' Supper).
Skip the next three paragraphs if you already know about Burns' supper (or don't want to know). Robert Burns, for those philistines who have never heard of him, is THE...
To avoid the cold that still hangs in the air, I decided to head South this time. It was off to Newcastle for a day during the weekend. Catching the early morning train proved to be quite a task given that the previous night I had been working out at a Ceilidh (which followed a rather formal Burns' Supper).
Skip the next three paragraphs if you already know about Burns' supper (or don't want to know). Robert Burns, for those philistines who have never heard of him, is THE national hero of Scotland. He is a hero not because of his love for the women (lassies) or his love for a tipple but it is his poetry that has shaped and inspired Scottish culture for over 200 years. Robbie Burns' birthday (25th Jan) is celebrated with a special supper in his honour. The one I had gone for was a rather formal sit-down affair. All were out in their best Kilts and tartans. The sight at the men's restroom was interesting - all urinals were being used by men 'in skirts'. It made a kodak moment but for fear of being branded perverse, I did not take out my camera and take the award-winning photo. And no, I didn't don a kilt - not because I am shy of displaying my legs in public, but because it was really cold! So i just wore a tartan tie (my clan for the night was 'Drummond of Perth').
Coming back to the supper - it has a fixed format in terms of what is served and also the sequence. The fare at the dinner is typical Scots - Haggis, Neeps and Tatties and there are speeches and toasts flying all round. The meal commences with a 'Selkirk Grace' followed by recitation of Burns' "To a Haggis" (Yes, the gentleman composed an ode, of all things, to Haggis!). The gentleman reciting the poem cut the Haggis rather dramatically with a sword. This was followed by a speech on the man himself and how he and his poetry have shaped Scottish culture - this speech, naturally, mentioned his love for the lassies. So it is only fitting that it was followed by a 'Toast to the Lassies'. Since the toast is usually followed by a "Reply BY the Lassies", most men make it a pretty non-caustic speech. But the toast to the lassies that day caused a minor flutter when instead of making jokes about women, the speaker ended up questioning the sexual orientation of the Scottish Politicians (you know, the Brokeback Mountain type jokes). He forgot that one of the tables had an assortment of Scottish MPs who were squirming in their chairs. The "Reply by the Lassies" was given by a very cute grandmotherly lady who, in the presence of her husband, talked at length about the questionable skills of men in the bedroom and the inability of men to say "I love you" (which is why they send flowers and chocolates, was her reading of the situation). The women laughed out loud and the men politely nodded (Most were thinking, "Not me. I am good in bed!").
The dinner was followed by a Ceilidh which I thought would be a tame affair given that the average age that day was around 60. But Scots never cease to amaze - they all showed that age cannot be a hurdle in enjoying oneself (especially after one has had more than a dram of whisky). The Ceilidh went on till late and "Auld Lang Syne" (with what all Ceilidhs end) was sung only at half past two. Hence the difficulty of getting up at 0630 the next morning to catch the train.
Given its history as a shipbuilding and a coal-mining town, I had expected Newcastle to be a dingy industrial town. It was a surprisingly pleasant blend of the old and the new. The town has a very Victorian and Georgian looking city-centre and across the Tyne (that is why it's called Newcastle-Upon-Tyne), it has the futuristic looking 'Sage Gateshead' (the concert hall) and the 'Millenium Bridge' that give the city a very modern touch. The latter is world's first tilting span bridge (whatever that means) - it opens and closes like an eyelid to let ships pass through. In fact there are seven bridges across the Tyne all very close to each other that gives a very crowded look to the river. But the walk along the river Quayside is a very pleasant one (fortunately, it was a clear sunny day that allowed me to enjoy the views).
The city derives its name from a wooden castle built in the 11th Century. That 'new' castle doesn't survive anymore as it was replaced by a 'newer' one in around 1170 (So the new castle is actually the older one!). The train line runs between (yes, between!) the Castle Keep and one of its gates. The main church of the town (St. Nicholas Cathedral, 13-14th Century) did not impress this just-been-to-Italy visitor.
Newcastle has a number of good galleries and museums. The Laing Art Musuem had some stunning Victorian paintings - John Martin's 'The Bard' and 'Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah' had me staring at them for quite a while. But the most interesting exhibit I saw was at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art which is housed in an old brick flour mill (one got great views of the river and the city from the top of this building). This particular exhibit was called "Working Class Hero", a tribute to John Lennon. It was set up in the staircase and consisted of around 25 TV screens at different levels right upto the sixth floor. Each of these TVs had a Lennon fan giving his/her own loud rendition of the Lennon's entire "Plastic Ono Band" Album. Since the album consists of a lot of screaming and howling, the effect is extremely amusing and ear-shattering. To complete the Museum spree that Newcastle sent me on, I also went to the 'Discovery Museum' - which had many exhibitions on subjects as diverse as 'People', 'Army', 'Science' and Fashion.
The city centre is called Monument as it has a towering monument to Earl Grey (Yes, yes. Of the tea fame!). The area seemed to be the Hyde Park of Newcastle with people distributing 'Free Hugs' and giving speeches on 'Racism' (courtesy Ms. Shetty, I presume). There was a gentleman who was not so gentlemanly when he was shouting at the top of his voice and giving a 'Only Jesus will save' kind of speech. When I passed through the area again a few hours later, he was still going strong...The city centre also houses Grainger Market which, apparently, at one point was Europe's largest under-cover market.
I was very curious to visit 'Seven Stories', a museum devoted to Children's Literature. It was a slight walk from the city centre and I took a bus. On boarding it, I requested the driver to let me know when the stop for the museum came. Seeing a reassuring 'sure' emanate from his lips, I dug into my guide book (I have, btw, become a 'Rough Guide' convert!). When I looked up after a while, I realised that all the passengers were staring at me - the driver had been shouting for two minutes from across the bus - trying to tell me that my stop had come. I apologized to all in the bus and quickly ran off before anyone could say 'dumb Indian'.
At the museum, when I bought the entry ticket, the lady at the counter warned me to be careful of Pirates. What? Pirates? Here? She saw my I-don't-want-to-see-the-Museum-anymore look and clarified that the theme for this weekend was Pirates and all children were asked to come dressed as Pirates. To see 3-4 years old with swords, eye-patches was a cute sight (not to mention this one wee one who had a stuffed parrot on her shoulder!). Very menacing indeed !!!!!
It would have been sacrilege not to pay homage to Newcastle's most famous export, Newcastle United. The stadium is situated close to the city centre and a quick walk got me there and an even quicker chat at the Coffee shop there disappointed me. The stadium tours for the day were over (these are only held on non-match days). So to atone for my sin, I visited the Official Newcastle Club shop and then plonked myself for a beer in the Shearer Bar (Yes, it is named after the most famous player of NU). I tried to imagine the situation in that bar (or for that matter, any other bar in town) when NU wins an EPL match (not too many of those this year - NU is currently at 12th position in the Premiereship!). Maybe I will visit it in the near future for one of NU's home matches.
I ended this trip with a nice Italian style pizza at a Trattoria called Uno's. The pint of Peroni ensured that I slept on my train journey back...
p.s. - The residents of this city are called 'Geordies' and every fourth one sports the black-and-white stripes shirt of Newcastle United. Go Magpies Go!
(Jan, 2007)
