The Gig That Never Was .... For Us!

My friend Kath and I went to Newcastle yesterday to do some shopping and see the Scottish band Runrig.  I've seen them a few times in the past and always enjoyed their shows, for Kath it was going to be the first time, she'd had tickets to a gig of theirs once before but had been unable to go.

The weather hadn't been good over the previous 24 hours, with lots of snow in some parts of the country though none in our area, but it had snowed in Newcastle.  We were glad to see the road to Newcastle (55 miles from where we live) was fine and there was just a light dusting of snow over the countryside.

We found our hotel easily and soon were in Ikea shopping.  It was blissfully quiet in there - it's not the kind of place most people shop just before Christmas.  I only spent £25 but had a load of stuff, that's what I love about that shop!  We came out and were surprised to find the snow was falling heavily and had been for a while by the look of it.  We slithered on the roads in the car as we headed back to the hotel - England doens't often get snow and is always woefully unprepared and unable to cope with it. 

Our hotel was in Gateshead which was a few miles from the City Hall in Newcastle where the gig was being held. (That venue holds special memories for me because as a young teenager I went to some of my first gigs
there).  We decided to take a taxi into the city as the roads were lethal.  But try as we may we could not get a taxi, most firms didn't even answer their phones, reception staff at the hotel were very helpful and tried too but to no avail.   Kath and I had a discussion, our only option was to drive into the city in Kath's car and as the roads were so bad and it could keep snowing, we reluctantly decided to forgo the concert.  Luckily we had brought a bottle of wine and some nibbles with us so we ate, drank, chatted and watched TV and had a good evening. 

At least we could see the funny side of travelling 55 miles to see a gig and ending up only seeing the inside of Ikea and our hotel!  Seems Kath is doomed when it comes to seeing Runrig live, maybe it'll be third time lucky for her.