Cleadon Village Primary working those pom poms
I have to admit, it didn’t start off well. My journey to Hartlepool was grim, with delayed trains and missed connections and rain, rain, rain all the way. I made it in the end though and the view over the marina from my hotel room window cheered me up no end.
The next morning, after a cooked breakfast served by Premier Inn’s finest waitresses I was raring to go. Senior librarian Kathryn Armstrong picked me up. As a bonus, the one-and-only Korky Paul (www.korkypaul.com) was sitting in the back seat, guaranteeing a sparky start to the day.
My first venue was Cleadon, just outside South Shields. Cleadon Village Primary School has a brand new state-of-the art building with curved walls and pleasantly patterned carpeting. All the children wore black plimsoles, I guess to protect the pleasantly patterened carpets, and had the coolest purple sweatshirts. Hello to all the Y5s and Y6s I met and thank you for buying so many books!
After lunch it was a short drive to St Oswald’s in Hebburn. I was their third visiting author of the week but the first Y5 & 6 had met. Once again they were a great audience and I was impressed by how attentive and enthusiastic they were (unlike the teacher who spent most of the hour on his laptop!).
I arrived back at my hotel about 4.30 with plenty of time to relax and see the sights. The historic marina area looked really interesting with the black sails of the Victorian warship HMS Trincomalee looming behind the museum buildings. Unfortunately it was too dark to see it properly so I ended up across the road in Asda instead. I live life to the max, I do.
Next morning I was up and packed and off to Middlesbrough. ‘There are some lovely buildings here,’ I told the taxi driver as we drove through the old town. I think he thought I was being sarcastic. ‘Nobody ever says that about Hartlepool,’ he said.
The train journey from Hartlepool to Middlesbrough takes just under half an hour. It’s not the prettiest landscape I’ve ever passed through but so what? It was interesting looking out at old wrought iron bridges and derelict, abandoned warehouses and buildings; a reminder of a region with a proud industrial heritage.
view from the train