A view of the interior of the Metro Centre at Gateshead. This is the largest shopping mall in Europe we were told

Up early and walked Mix before breakfasting in the farmhouse. Then, with Mix deposited in the farmhouse with Olive and arrangements made for Rowan to be regularly let out, Rachel and I set off for Newcastle, well, for Gateshead actually.

The purpose of our journey was to replace Rachel’s telephone and I had been told that there was a simply superb Apple Store within the Metro Centre. I was also keen to see the largest shopping mall in Europe, having visited its opposite number in America in Minnesota a number of years ago.



A view of the Apple Store which is in the red sector of the centre – there are four main coloured sectors: red, green, yellow and blue with a Platinum sector in the middle

We made our way into the Apple Store where we were greeted by a charming young assistant called Georgia. It turned out that this was her first day and that we were her first customers. She treated us well and soon Rachel was ensconced with an advisor who was setting up her telephone and ensuring that it worked in tandem with her i-pad. In fact the advisor worked with Rachel for more than half an hour ensuring that she knew exactly how everything worked. It was really very impressive.

We had time for a look around the centre before setting off for home. As one would expect I took a few photographs:



This gives a view from the first floor – I was taken by the cleanliness and the decor. Everything felt spacious and the shops were well presented



I wondered whether to offer this picture. We had a snack in KFC which I enjoyed – Rachel certainly isn’t sure that she wishes to be photographed outside such a place!



This is a picture of the ‘Village Street’ – I liked the way that the Centre contained such a variety of experiences



Rachel is being overlooked by two shoppers who are always present in the Centre

We drove home, stopping in Berwick to collect Cathy who had arrived by bus from Luss. Back home we had tea and coffee after which I took Mix for a walk before dinner in the farmhouse. Learned that Digger had had a busy day taxiing Mum to the hairdresser and back, and working on his dome in the allotment, while Olive was preparing for the examination marking which she will start tomorrow.

In the evening while Cathy got stuck in to the upholstery tasks she has set herself, Rachel and I watched an old episode of Endeavour, after which I watched the News before walking Mix and retiring to bed.

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