I know nothing about Newcastle upon Tyne. But I do know that I have to check out of this Perth apartment in one hour, and that there is a direct train from here to there. And there is a Hotel du Vin. The one in Edinburgh had a signature ‘cigar shack’ — a cozy circular hut with a fireplace and cushioned lounge seating where guests gathered for a smoke, drink, and conversation. After staying in self-catering apartments for weeks, a hotel social scene will be fortifying.

River Tyne dissects Newcastle upon Tyne from Gateshead. Hotel du Vin sits on top of a hill above an area of bars, restaurants, and public spaces called Quayside. Hotel map in hand, I descend the hill to stroll the promenade. Across the river on the south bank, an installation of large bold letters reads: “GO WITH THE FLOW; SWIM AGAINST THE TIDE.”  ?!  Further scrabbling my senses is the sight of a giant caterpillar-edifice-thing. I don’t know whether to love it, hate it, or find it absurd. Time will tell.

 

 

Just one look at the spectacular array of bridges restores my equilibrium. I love bridges.

They unite.  They invite…exploration. Newcastle and Gateshead are joined by seven, yes, SEVEN bridges spanning the Tyne!  Many bridges to cross…

 

The Literary and Philosophical Society tour begins at 10 a.m.

A sweet middle-aged docent, Jeane, informs our group of eight. The’ Lit & Phil’ was founded in 1793 as a conversation club with emphasis on lectures, discussion and experiments. Inadvertently, it became somewhat of a museum having been the recipient of a mummy, a wombat, a platypus and other oddities. In 1825 it opened as a library with collections of science, philosophy, voyages, and classics. Only in 1891 did it permit novels! On display in glass cabinets are various curiosities including a pen with notes from a lecture given by Oscar Wilde. When Jeane concludes the tour, she grants us permission to visit the velvet-roped off areas, including the music library upstairs.

It is stunning that sheet music by masters such as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin…are there for perusal. I tenderly slide one off the shelf and ‘Handel’ it as if it were Holy Grail. The handwritten musical notation dances across the page in a language I don’t understand but I revere its Beauty, and shudder at the sublime past in my present.

To market, to market…Grainger Market is located in the heart of neoclassical Newcastle.

It opened in 1835 and today has over 110 stalls of eclectic hodgepodge. This could take days to explore and I have yet to visit the public library, art museum, and The Great Exhibition of the North — a two-month event of art, culture, and design. And what about the ‘peek-a-boos’? Intriguing sights you pass along the way that you must investigate? I came to Newcastle intending to stay a couple nights. Turns into eleven. Isn’t that the way? Given Time, any place holds revelation when our mind’s eye is open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIDEO:

Mood Bells

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first night at the cigar shack, four guys (late 30’s?) step inside. They ask me where I’m from, the usual. Geordie (name changed to protect the innocent) is kind enough to fill a page in my notebook with a list of things to experience while in Newcastle. Before the night of conversation ends, he gifts me with a lil’ treat (an Amsterdam delicacy). High on hospitality, I nod a good night to the good kids.

One night after a late dinner, a man wearing khaki-colored pants and a button down shirt enters the shack. He is a member of The Queens’ Counsel, an elite group of barristers that wear silk robes and wigs. “Wigs?!” I ask. “I thought that tradition went out in the 18th century.” He briefs me on his current trial, which reconvenes in the morning. It’s close to midnight when Barry (name changed to protect the innocent until proven guilty) returns from the loo with two Jagermeisters’ in hand. Ouch. After that nonsense, I wish him luck and recuse myself. Wouldn’t want to be him, or his client in the morning…

Another night, friendly couples stumble into the shack, three men wearing Viking helmets. Between their “Geordie” accents and full day of imbibing spirits, communication is limited…but entertaining (for five minutes)!

My last evening: A young, newly wedded couple sway on the terrace. I wave from the shack and offer my “Congratulations!” Arm in arm, they waltz inside with mischievous and pleased looks on their faces. “We’ve left our reception early.” David and Gerrie are endearing as they gush love and adoration. “We’re done saying goodbye to everyone,” says the groom. “I got the Executive Suite don’t ya know and we intend to use it…it’s got double tubs and a mezzanine. Yeah, a mezzanine! We’re soul mates, ya know?” He proudly displays the bottoms of his shoes. They read, “ME TOO”. He adds, “She says I DO and I say, ME TOO!”

The morning sky is a mosaic of puffy whites on blue as I cross the Gateshead Millennium Bridge to The Great Northern Exhibition for Martin Green’s “Aeons” music installation, an ‘adventure in sound along the river’s edge’. The audience wears headphones and audio is triggered by sensors along the way. Words about the vastness of time are accompanied with poetry and musical composition. The narrator encourages, ‘rather than get caught up in our sense of Time, which is the blink of an eye, Release. Flow. The river has flowed long before our arrival and will do so long after. It is past, future and present. If you have regrets, unfulfilled dreams…drop them. Let yourself be in the Moment.’

 

 

Before I head up the hill to the hotel, I turn to revisit my first look and impression of my Time on the Tyne. I now understand the duality of meaning in

Tim Etchells’, “With/Against” installation. It reflects the ebb and flow of the tidal river below. The artist speaks to the river and “to processes of human compliance and resistance, the desire to drift, and social acts of struggle and defiance.” And Time did tell… I love that big worm.