Well, so there we have it. Another way of blogging - via voice. My feelings on it are mixed. It’s nice to be able to share my immediate feelings on the move, but as I mentioned in one of the recordings, is it something I’m going to use regularly? I don’t know, but more on that another time

Well, to start off, I must point out that I have the biggest case of writers’ block since time began. I wasn’t actually planning to write a blog tonight, as Coatesy was meant to be coming over, but it’s now 21:10 at the time of typing, this appears to be very unlikely. Oh well, I guess this means I’ll have to drink the beer I bought for him…

*clink-clunk*

Can 1 is now open for business.

Anyway. The weather has been pretty kind the last couple of days. Seeing as I spent the whole of yesterday in bed, I thought today would be a good opportunity to stretch my legs. Of course, the question was going to be… where was I going to go? This question was answered very quickly, thanks to a posting on flickr by Whistling In The Dark showing that the Sainsbury’s store, which has been built nearby, has now completed, and is due to open in just over a weeks’ time.

I couldn’t resist going and having a look at it, so I donned my shoes, phone, coat, and needless to say, I took my camera.

It is located directly behind the Tall Ships pub, on the Clavering Roundabout. Unfortunately, getting to it is an absolute bitch, as you have to cross one of the busiest roads in and out of Hartlepool three times in order to get to it…

Technically, you only have to cross it once, but there is only a footpath on the “wrong” side of the road. You COULD attempt to walk there and back, but you’d be confronted with these….

Hundreds of molehills all the way across. Not fun, as you will hear in the voice recording. I ended up with my shoes and the bottom of my jeans caked in mud.

And, as I also mentioned in the voice recording, the council, after a year, have finally replaced the streetlights on the Coast road.

The old one is clearly the one switched on, and the new ones (which are white Urbis ZX3’s - the first installation of them in Hartlepool) are the ones on the right. At least I think they’re the first. I don’t know whether Andrew Dorrian (the Iridium Fan) actually reads the front page of this, but I’m sure he’ll be able to confirm that. (Update: He did. There are indeed the only ones)

Er, anyway. While I was there, I thought I’d take pictures of The Tall Ships, the newest “family” (quotes added, as Mamma Jamma states in the comments, it’s only a family pub if all of the members of your family are over the age of 14. At the time of typing, they do not cater for children. This may change in the future, and I’ll delete this should this ever change) pub in the town, designed to accomodate the middle classes. I got some funny looks by some guys in suits. Looks a nice place overall, though I didn’t go in, as I only had £20… I have a feeling I’d be lucky if that bought me half a coke and a bag of crisps.

So, with my photographs successfully taken, I had to decide what to do with the rest of my time. It was a day too good to waste. Seeing I was half way there, I thought I’d extend the walk to Hart Village. This turned out to be a very good walk. There was little of photographic value, so I just kept walking until the path ran out. I stopped in the post office, got some pop and crisps and headed back to Hartlepool.

I headed off to King Oswy and got some chips from the chippy there. It used to be owned by the family of someone I went to school with. Nowadays, it isn’t, and it has a different name. And the chips are more expensive. I walked back along the coast road, obviously so I could get some pictures of the lights being replaced. Unfortunately, they didn’t turn out so well. It’s hard taking pictures while grabbing half a bag of chips.

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