Detective Work Pt 3

I left the CD of photos that match this entry behind. However thanks to Beck all is not lost and they are sailing their way to Australia. I'll add them at the end of the trip.

I figured I'd have to have a pint or two where my Great Grandfather used to drink but it was still early in the day so I went looking for some local information. After perusing the local history section at the Library at Stanley and some internet time I went for a drive further afield to have a look at some other significant locations.

Just to the north of Newcastle city is Gosforth where Grandad was baptised. After checking out a few churches at the base of spires and towers I found the Gosforth Catholic church. Further to the north is Wideopen, where he was born. I held next to no hope of finding the cottage in question but instead went for a drive around the town before heading back to Flint Hill.

It was about 6.30pm and I figured a pint at the Prince of Wales was in order. The pub was almost empty but very smoky. I sat down with a pint to carefully examine the insides and wonder how it might have looked eighty years ago.

It came time for a second pint so I wandered around to the bar, ordered another and asked the bar maid about the history of the pub and the local area. The pub had been around for a couple of hundred years. I mentioned Grandad, Derwent View and that my great Grandfather
used to drink there. This solicited the interest of a couple of locals and we got chatting about the local area, what I liked about it and who might know what about who.

A regular had been brining in a copy of a local book "Dipton remembered" that had many photos of the area back to the 1800s. A quick phone call had him down to the pub and I had a good look through the book with many photos making me wonder whether they had people Grandad might recognise a long time on.

After a good chat and a couple of pints it was well and truly time for food so I wandered down to the Chippy in Dipton for a pizza and a further look around. I felt greatly vindicated to find tuna pizza on the menu, after many years being derided for such creations.

My detective work and exploration had come to a very good conclusion and I was ready to head on the next day.