The Late Shows

Hello everyone. Well Bret and I have settled into Newcastle quite well. Even though we live a bit outside city centre, we live in the arts quarter called Ouseburn Valley (think Miami's Design District, minus the prostitutes and robberies) so there are lots of cool pubs and art galleries nearby. Bret goes into work 2-3 times a week, and works from home the other days. I'm about to finish my third temp job (it's a bohemian life, indeed). I've got 2 interviews lined up, but if they prove unsuccessful, I'll simply temp part-time, so I can write more.

Anyway, so as I was saying, living in Newcastle has proven to be quite good for our social lives. There are always lots of events, festivals, shows, and there are lots of restaurants to try. Last weekend was particularly fun because we went to a shindig called The Late Shows. It's a yearly event in which all the museums and art galleries stay open until 11 pm. There is free wine, a free bus service taking you to the next gallery, and there's no cover charge.

Bret and I started the nite with our friends at Nancy's Bordello, an artsy gastro-pub with fab decor and lots of plants. We had ordinary pub food, but it was pretty tasty. Full and happy, we headed off to our first stop on the art tour: The Biscuit Factory. I had frequently seen signs for this place, but I had not bothered to investigate as I thought it was literally a place where biscuits were made.

However, as I soon found out, this was not Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! The Biscuit Factory is a wonderful large art gallery with lots of contemporary art work on display and for sale. I'm really into knit decor right now (I have a thick wool crysanthemum in my house) so I was particularly drawn to the cashmere cupcakes and cashmere bonbons. But there was also lots of wall art as well. I loved the thickly textured, brightly coloured acrylic still lifes, the primitive story-book farm scapes, and one artist's glittery weaved hens with their baby chicks.

Our next stop was Art Works, just a few blocks away. There we viewed more interesting contemporary stuff, but we were starting to feel the sensory overload. So, we opted for a switch: the science museum!

The Life Centre is a large museum, usually packed with small, snotty children. But for one nite, the children were asleep, and it was the adults that came to play. And what fun we had! We went through numerous exhibits about the arctic, world population, ageing, stem cells, the science of motion, and nutrition. Bret really wanted to see an astronaut special with Ewan McGregor, but we were too late.

To end the nite, we decided that we should head over to Jazz Cafe and wind it down with a sexy cocktail and some smooth tunes. But there was a cover charge, so unfortunately, we had to settle for an old unglamourous pub called Rafferty's. After our beers and ciders, Braudia parted ways from the others and headed home for a cosy nite of sleep...