Saturday 16 October 2021

Sunderland on Sea ...

Fish have a habit of finding the Wear near Sunderland each year and swimming up to Stanhope to spawn. During the previous world war, many Mackems or humans from Sunderland, were evacuated to avoid the bombings of shipyards and enjoyed their stay in the hills so much they returned each year too. Some even stayed!

Yesterday, Saturday, on an impulse, it was decided to head East to the coast to deliver copies of The Light to friends in South Shields who planned to hand them out to anyone interested in information not found in the mainstream media due to censorship. After discussions with Joe and Pam at their house with a view of the sea, and some Tibetan rituals designed to open the third eye, a pleasant walk along the coast to Marsden Rock ensued and an encounter with Larry, a local lad from there, recently returned in retirement and now 70, which is quite old. After some time sharing memories, a bus arrived heading South to Sunderland, where a protest march for freedom was planned for about 1pm, and arriving there in good time I sought a police officer to discover the starting point, since they were expected to know such things, so they could help us cross the roads safely, of course.

Believe it or not, no coppers were seen anywhere in the centre of town, including at the police station, now closed down, since they find it a chore to have people popping in with their questions, which used to be their job ... anyway, a nearby local advised that demos usually started in a park nearby, but after walking down there no demo was found, though a student at a student house, reading economics and here from Nigeria, discussed Marxism for a while and took some copies of The Light for his friends. Back near the centre, a council run library, museum and art gallery was open for business and copies of the paper were left discreetly for folks to discover, and an employee accepted one to read on his lunch break.

At a cafe opposite, a lunch break was taken, with WiFi and a light lunch and a paper left there too, why not! A family of four at the next table included a child of 14 months exploring her world with curious eyes full of wonder and smiling at strange blokes as well as her adoring parents and aunt.

Heading for a bus stop to return to Daisy, patiently waiting in South Shields, the demo turned up with a few friends holding placards and some delighted to receive copies of The Light from the rucksack. Back at Pam and Joe's a cup of tea was taken and conversation ensued before Daisy returned West, filling up with fuel on the way ready for today's trip to Hexham and the ritual Stand in the Park.

Meanwhile, next door a teacher of non-duality, advaita-vedanta, called Vivek, from Bavaria, is here on holiday for a week, which promises to be interesting to say the least, as this life keeps on getting weirder by the day. In a good way ...

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