I am now back from my doing my brotherly duties in the UK!

It was a shame that it was under such sad circumstances that I visited some of the most wonderful places of my youth. But I was also, at last, able to visit "Bury Market". I went on Saturday and it is everything and more that people had said, I sampled (quite a bit), and bought the famous bury black pudding (do they really have to make a 'light one' )? I asked the question, why? And got a shrug of the shoulders and a “there’s folks that know nowt about good food, but mind thee we don't sell many and then most ti forrin folks. Where did thee say yi came from?" I smiled took another free sample of the original and replied, Germany! "By Gum" said he "thee don’t have much of a German accent." smashing folk.

I also got a load of lamb chops, kidneys, liver. New potatoes, carrots. these I shall be cooking tonight.

My tours seem to grow in length and stature as the years go by, I seem to be trying to cram more and more, into less and less time, it may be that I wish to get it all done before the grim reaper makes his call

I started off by going to Melton Mowbray (Market Day is a Tuesday folks) I got a few pork pies and some sausages for my dear Sis.

I then went up to Newcastle for the funeral on the Wednesday. Thursday I visited some of those hidden places in Northumberland, places where my brothers and I spent a lot of our childhood and youth, camping, fishing, poaching, doing what normal kids did back in the 50s & 60s.

I visited Rothbury and climbed Simonside, may be for the last time? I lay in the heather and bracken and time machined my thoughts back in time, to the Sundays school trips that we went on, I remember catching my first trout by tickling in the river coquet at the ripe age of 7. Climbing up into the hills to pick bill berries, for mum to make plate pies with when we got home. I turned my gaze to the North and saw the snows still on The Cheviot, the place that my family originated from (My great great grand father was a hill shepherd on the Cheviots).

I had a nice roast beef lunch at the crossed keys Thropton,(a fire was burning merrily).

 I then headed up to Ford and then across to the wonderful wild coast of Northumbria, I missed the normal hot spots and headed for Low Newton, a crab sandwich and a cuppa in the old coastguard square.

 Then down the coast to collect my real oak smoked kippers from Craster(though double wrapped and in a container, the wonderful scent pervaded through out my car and is still lingering.

From there I headed across to Alnwick, just to see if it was as grand as ever and it was, (a line in my family are Percy's, In fact my fathers middle name was Percy, likely from the days of serfdom or more likely still from the days of the Border Rievers).

I then headed back to the coast and ended up at the North Shields fish quay, got some haddock and chips to take home for Sis and I. (Woman in shop said “not very big today Hinney, I'll gi yi three”. I am not kidding it was a mountain of chips (real ones) and three smashing haddock fillets .

That evening I just watched TV it was the great debate ahem

The rest of the tour will follow later.