Spring 2013 - the P&G Associates Website

Christmas LunchThis well-supported annual event was again at TheAssembly Rooms in Newcastle and arriving guestswere greeted and then firmly directed towards theraffle ticket desk, as pictured below - this beforemost could reach out for a welcoming and warmingdrink.From the left: Ken Elliott, Harry Lowe, Barbara Ellis,Alice Coulthard and Anne Woodward.Next they had to negotiate thecheck-in hurdle and collect a namebadge,just in case they couldn'tremember who they were! First inline on the labels desk, Colin Harris'stie was another distraction.In all over three-hundred attended,so as you may imagine conversationlevels were pretty high, for many thisbeing a once-in-a year opportunity tomeet up with past colleagues. As insome previous years there was anoverspill into an adjacent room.The focus then moved to the food, a traditionalturkey roast, claiming to be from Northumberland.As usual a bottle of Champagne each waspresented to the oldest lady and gentleman, followedby a vote of thanks to the Company for footing thebill. The raffle draw was the final act, and this year’scharity, Blind Veterans UK - formerly St. Dunstan's,benefitted to the tune of £1,160, including acontribution of £150 from Waitrose which was madeat our October event.Later, after the meal, it was time for farewells andexchange of seasonal greetings before braving thecold streets of Newcastle.Peter Harrison provided the original write-upsthat form the basis of all the above reports.Mouth of the Tyne walkOur first walk of the New Year at the end ofJanuary was designed to be an easy loosener,following on from the winter break and festiveseason excesses.Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to take ahand, and in the week leading up to the walk, thenorth-east was covered with a couple of feet of snow.So numbers were halved by the day of the walk,mostly because it was impossible to get cars out oflocal, ungritted streets.Nevertheless, 27 hardy souls made it to the startpoint - The Wooden Doll pub in North Shields, wherethe salty sea air had ensured that all traces of snowhad disappeared.The first point of interest was the High Light - a tallwhite building, set on a hill, with a correspondingLow Light on the quayside, these are a pre-GPSnavigational aid to ensure that ships entering theTyne take the correct line in order to avoid theinfamous Black Middens, a treacherous outcrop ofrocks which has been responsible for many ashipwreck – Aaargh, Jim lad!Very quickly, we came upon the statue of StanLaurel, who lived in North Shields whilst attendingKing's School in Tynemouth. Then down to theriverfront and the fish quay with its own inimicalsmell, then on to the mouth of the river passing theBlack Middens, The Spanish Battery - gunemplacement manned by Spanish mercenaries in1545 - and the ruins of Tynemouth Priory.The hardier amongst us added in the extra walkalong the pier, whilst the more sensible continuedalong the seafront as far as Cullercoats.Two of the raffle winners; Brian Bell (left), and Sue Barton.Walking back along Tynemouth Long Sands.8 | The Associate