Monday the 10th August - To Ferryhill

I caught the bus from the Wilson's house to the Market Place, where I'd finished the day before. Just on the corner is a cafe called 'The Coffee Bank', which is owned by Mark Dunn, who studied on the same business set-up course as me two years ago. Inside, I started the signature-getting, and I left with about 15, and only one table saying 'not interested'. A few people had heard about it, and those who hadn't were soon fans.
Walking outside Chester-leStreet, it started to rain, and I got into the 'Church Mouse' on Chester Moor pronto. Here, though, the first problem of the walk raised its head - my laptop stopped working. It would go on, but nothing came over the monitor. To make it worse, it rained all day, which doesn't bother me except when it can't make its mind up, and I have to take my coat off..and on...and off.. It's a very good coat, incidentally - especially saying I didn't pay a penny for it -thanks Barbour!

I saw my first 'inexplicable shoe by the side of the road' (know from now on as 'ISSR') outside Durham, and my first 'tree with flowers and photos'

I took a 'drink-and-soothe-the-chafing-break' (DSCB) in the Duke of Wellington in Neville's Cross, and stormed through the rain to Sunderland Bridge (which IS a bridge, but not in Sunderland), and up the hill to Croxdale. I rested there, and made the first of my video diaries. I don't know how to put these onto this blog -apparently I have to link them up to MySpace, but if anyone can tell me how to, I'd appreciate it.

I'd arranged to meet my contact at Thinford Roundabout - all place where they used to hang people, I found out, but I'd taken longer than expected, and I met Harry Slater, with others at the 'Coach and Horses' about 3/4mile further out. It seemed like a welcoming committee, just like when I had entered St Paul's. Here's my first view of Ferryhill, plus two of my fellow-walkers:



They'd prepared a meeting for me with the mayor, who had waited behind because I'd taken a little longer ('finding my stride' I said...)., but that meant I'd missed out on the signatures from the workers in the Town Hall. However, I did learn that Ferryhill's most famous story - apart from the hundreds involving its mining history -is one about a 'Roger de Ferye', who alledgedly killed the last wild boar in England in hand-to-tusk combat about 800 years ago. You can see it on the Mayor's medal here:

Harry walked me to St Luke's , where I gorged myself on the contents of this photo:



I also met Linda Lyndsey, who took me back to meet her husband, John. Here, in the course of conversation, I told John that my laptop had broken, and within 3 seconds...he'd FIXED IT! It was something to do with the 'F11' button, and it's fit as a fiddle now.

That was the first great event of a great night. Linda and John's friends Cathleen and Richard turned up and we had another night of food, wine and talk. Richard's a legend: you could tell within two minutes of meeting him that he's someone you could listen to for hours -and I did!