We decided to go to the May Catenian Conference in Newcastle/Gateshead, as we did not know the area. We set off on Thursday the 12th and called on Marg Paton in Stockport. She was looking better than last time we saw her - she was walking without a frame but she said her balance wasn't good and she couldn't risk going outside. She had laid on an excellent lunch of two types of sandwiches, trifle and apple tarts. It was lovely to see her after a gap of about 2 years. From Marg we went up to a Travelodge at Scotch Corner on the A1 for the night. We arrived at the Malmaison Hotel in late morning, unloaded the luggage and parked the car for the weekend. We then walked across the millenium bridge to the Baltic Centre, which holds displays of contemporary art. The main exhibition was of works by George Shaw who painted everyday scenes in a housing estate in Coventry - but with no people. It was unusual but there were one or two paintings which we wouldn't have minded having! At the top of the building is a viewing area, from where I took some pictures of the bridge - we were lucky enough to see it open with a boat passing through. From the Baltic Centre we walked into the City. We had a look at St. Nicolas Cathedral and walked up Grey Street, with its interesting archetecture, as far as the Earl Grey memorial. Agnes did a bit of shopping and then we caught a bus back to the hotel, where we booked into our room. On the Friday night after a nice dinner in the hotel, there was a Civic Reception in Newcastle Civic Centre. Unfortunately they had filled the place with tables and chairs and it was very difficult to circulate as we would normally do. On the Saturday morning Agnes went to Alnwick gardens and I went to the Catenian Conference. In the evening we went to the Banquet in the Gateshead Hilton. The food and service was excellent and we were lucky to have an interesting and chatty group of people at our table. On Sunday morning we went to Mass in the Sage centre, which is designed to provide the best acoustics possible and has no square corners. The service was excellent and we had a good view. After the Mass, we packed up the car and went to Mary Curtis's home in Durham. We took her out to lunch at a nearby garden centre and had a good chat. From there we went across the Penines to Penrith where we stayed in another Travelodge - this one was very tired looking and the hot water didn't work properly in the bathroom. From Penrith we motored down to Marian Curtis in Chester. Once again we had a very good chat and caught up with all the family news. We stayed overnight and then went to Leonie Rimmer's house in Malvern. She is not 100% yet after her hip repair and wrist trouble but seemed to be pretty active. We stayed overnight with her and finally arrived home at about 5.30pm on the Wednesday, after having had a very enjoyable break. The Millenium Footbridge. Millenium Bridge Open. Millenium Bridge at Night with Changing Colours. Agnes on the Millenium Bridge. The Baltic Art Gallery. Small Altar in St. Nicolas Church. Grey St. looking towards the Earl Grey Monument. Alnwick Gardens. Alnwick Gardens. Mass in the Sage Centre. Cardinal O'Brian giving his homily at Mass.