29. Go to Friday Night Life at the Centre for Life

I have always been a big fan of the Centre for Life and so when my friend Sarah told me that they had started hosting a monthly Friday night event for adults I was super keen. All the fun of a museum with a bar thrown in! Dream scenario.

We booked tickets for the halloween themed October late night event; a day which also just so happened to be the deadline for one of my university assignments. For some reason, in the weeks running up to this deadline, I felt VERY confident about my ability to get this essay written quickly and so planned a whole range of fun activities for the week we had been given off from the university in order to write it.

I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to see where I am going with this… Turns out I have completely lost any ability I may or may not have once had to write an essay quickly and the “week off” ended up being an absolute mess. Reluctant to give up any of my social commitments I worked all day, went out every evening and by the time it came to handing it in was an absolute exhausted wreck.

Nonetheless, I was still determined to make the most of this experience and, upon arriving, soon livened right up. Now, I absolutely love children and always enjoy the opportunity for days out with my nieces and nephews, but I have to admit that there was something pretty special about being at the Centre for Life with just adults. You can take your time, check out the exhibitions that really interest you and have the freedom to participate in activities that you usually (if a little reluctantly) leave to the kids. My own personal highlights included eating insects with Astrid (I doubt that I will ever do that again, but it was interesting to try); meeting all sorts of unusual creatures – I held a tarantula and a scorpion and Sarah and Carmen both held snakes; playing a musical phone game and, best of all, riding the 4D motion ride!

28. Watch a film at Tyneside Cinema

I realise I’m going to sound super old here, but I remember going to the cinema in Hexham and it costing £2.50 for a ticket. That was a few (okay about 14) years ago, but in my head I still seem to vaguely expect a trip to the cinema to cost about £5. Obviously this isn’t the case and every time I go I get a genuine shock at how expensive it is.

It is because of my inability to cope with modern day prices (seriously, how old am I?) that I don’t go to the cinema an awful lot. When I do go, however, I like to feel as though I am having an actual evening out – not just essentially watching a DVD on a super big screen. Thankfully in Newcastle we have the  Tyneside Cinema and even more thankfully, I happen to have a lovely friend, Suzannah, who, for my last birthday, gave me an incredibly generous giftcard for the Tyneside – hurray!

Situated in a Grade II-listed building, the Tyneside Cinema was once a newsreel theatre, in fact, it is the only one time newsreel theatre to still be operating as a full time cinema in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has a hugely varied programme, showing films from all over the world and ranging from local, independent films to Hollywood blockbusters. Within the cinema are three main screens; a bar which, as well as serving LUSH food, also regularly shows films for free; a Coffee Rooms and a digital art gallery, as well as numerous artefacts from the cinema’s past.

Put simply, it is an absolute delight, and I have really loved being able to go there more frequently. I went for lunch ON MY OWN – super brave – and was also able to actually treat (trust me this is a rare occurrence) both my mum and Neil to a trip there. Mum and I went to see Bridget Jones (it was just like hanging out with an old friend) in the Roxy screen room which is nice and cosy, but nothing really to write home about. Neil and I though were able to see Life On The Road (Neil’s choice, FYI) in the Classic screen room and it was bloody amazing. We were sat on a sofa in the upper circle, watching the film with a gin and tonic in hand.. Just stupendous!

 

27.Head down Victoria Tunnel

Voted THE number 1 thing to do in Newcastle on TripAdvisor, a trip down Victoria Tunnel has been on my to do list for a long time and it absolutely didn’t disappoint. I headed there yesterday afternoon with my friends Molly and Sarah and participated in a two hour tour which was as funny as it was fascinating.

Victoria Tunnel is, in a nutshell, a 19th century wagonway originally built to transport coal from Spital Tongues Colliery to the Tyne and then later converted into an air raid shelter during WWII. It is 2.25 miles long, but only 700 metres of it are currently accessible. The entrance to the accessible section of the tunnel is in the Ouseburn Valley and that is where we began our tour with the knowledgeable and incredibly funny Steve.

Steve entertained us with various stories and facts as we walked through Ouseburn – my favourite of which was that back in the early to mid 1800s there were 129 pubs in Ouseburn Valley. Today there are just six and I still think of it as being a fairly boozy little part of Newcastle. Of course, back then pubs weren’t what they are today – Steve said a pub could literally be somebody’s living room, but STILL – 129. Wow.

Upon reaching the entrance to the tunnel we were given a hard hat and a torch (and so OBVIOUSLY took a couple of photos) and were told that we were first going to hear about the tunnel during WWII before being handed over to another tour guide to hear about the tunnel during the Victorian times.

During WWII a lot of people in Newcastle didn’t have the outdoor space to build an Anderson Shelter to protect them during air raids and so an alternative was needed. The government initially gave just £9000 to convert Victoria Tunnel into an air raid shelter – a slightly optimistic figure given that the eventual cost exceeded £37000! Again, Steve told us a number of stories about life in the tunnel during the war. These ranged from sad stories, such as one about a man who suffered such horrendous shell shock during WWI that when WWII began he moved into Victoria Tunnel and stayed there for the entire duration of the war, to funny and inspirational tales. I won’t repeat all of the stories here; firstly because I have no chance of remembering them all and secondly because I would hate to ruin the surprises for anybody thinking of heading down the tunnel. I will, however, share my favourite story… During WII up to 7500 people could be spending around 12 hours a night every single night for weeks in the tunnel. There were only 600 bunks available and the tunnel was a damp place with (unsurprisingly) poor air quality and pretty horrendous toilet facilities. At some point the government became concerned about the health of people having to endure this environment night after night and sent somebody from the Ministry of Health to investigate. He spent 24 hours in the tunnel and then asked a local man what he thought about the situation and apparently the man responded:

“Wey man hinny, you’re better off damp than deed!”

After which the man from the Ministry of Health sent a letter back to the government saying something along the lines of “Being from mining stock, the people of Newcastle are possibly better fitted constitutionally to resist underground damp conditions than those in the south”. Or, as Steve put it, people from Newcastle were a lot tougher than “southern softies”.

After hearing the WWII stories we were handed over to another volunteer; Kelly. After having been so impressed by Steve, Kelly had a lot to live up to and she absolutely nailed it, providing us all with a range of humorous tales about the tunnel’s early days. Victoria Tunnel was the brainchild of two men, Porter and Latimer, who, eager to get involved in Newcastle’s thriving coal industry, had bought Leazes Main Colliery, only to discover that the coal they were mining was of low quality and thus unpopular with the people of Newcastle. Unperturbed, the men came up with a simple solution – they would instead sell their coal to people who seemingly had lower standards when it came to coal quality – Londoners. What Porter and Latimer needed though was a way of transporting their coal from their colliery down to the river Tyne and thus the idea for Victoria Tunnel was born. It took only 200 men just 2 years and 10 months to build the 2.25 mile tunnel and when they were finished they were taken out on a three night bender to the Bigg Market to celebrate. Yes, really. Apparently they were given a lot of pies as well, although I am not completely sure why. The tunnel opened in 1842 and, although initially a financial success, was in operation for just 18 years before the pit and thus the tunnel were both closed. Again, Kelly told us numerous other stories about the tunnel and again I won’t repeat them all. I can only say that considering we were essentially just in a dark space underground, with not a great deal to see, the two hours in the tunnel were perhaps the two most fascinating I have spent on any activity thus far on this blog.  I am so grateful to people like Kelly and Steve who give up their free time to provide such an interesting and entertaining experience and I really cannot recommend it enough.

26. Bouldering in Byker

I first tried bouldering years ago when at university in Bath. I really enjoyed it, but, as a poor student, couldn’t really afford to go regularly. As it turns out, my financial situation never really improved that much and three years later here I am, a poor student once more! 

Byker has two climbing centres – one situated in an old church, which I haven’t tried yet but would like to, and Climb Newcastle where I headed last Saturday with my friends Emily and Rachel (Barnesy). 

Barnesy almost bailed on the day after waking up with a horrendous hangover, but very bravely decided still to join us. I am fairly sure she regretted this pretty quickly as I managed to get us completely lost when trying to find the centre. In my defence Climb Newcastle is situated along Byker Wall which is, to anyone unfamiliar with it, an absolute maze. That said, so many of my blogs have involved me getting lost that I guess my excuses no longer have any credibility..

Anyway, we found it eventually (thanks both to Google Maps and a phone call to Emily) and started our climbs. Emily is a member so thankfully is able to sign us in. As a student (wahey!) it cost me £10.50 for entrance and shoe hire. I think it’s just a couple of pounds more without the discount.

Climb Newcastle has four sections with over 160 different problems, which are coloured coded by their level of difficulty. We were predominantly working on the easiest ones, although we did manage a couple of the next level up. I was pretty horrified to realise how hideously weak I am (apparently not exercising for a few months does that to you – who knew!?) but still really enjoyed it. I think the logical challenge of trying to figure out how to complete a route as well as the actual physicality of it makes it a really interesting way to work out. My poor fitness state, however, meant that I would definitely would have struggled to last more than an hour.

 I didn’t need to worry about making it past the hour mark, however, as as knackered as I was, I was in a significantly better state than Barnesy. It turns out that hangovers and climbing are a pretty hideous combination and, after initially nailing it, the poor lass genuinely turned green. My raw hands and aching muscles were more than happy to have an excuse to give up for the day and we all made a pretty swift exit. 

If anybody is wondering, Barnesy assured me she felt much better later in the day after eating baked beans. Cold. From the tin. Some girl!

25. Take a helicopter ride!

I expected to do many things when I began this blog. Something I didn’t anticipate doing, however, was taking a helicopter ride over Newcastle. Isn’t life great?

I’ve wanted to ride in a helicopter for a while now; it’s on my “pre 30 bucketlist” – and so, aware of this, my lovely parents bought me a “buzz flight” with Northumbria Helicopters for my last birthday. I booked it for today and this afternoon headed to Newcastle Airport to take to the skies. 

After a journey involving several forbidding signs and getting lost a couple of times, we eventually found the helicopter headquarters and, after a very short safety briefing, were able to sit and watch the planes and helicopter take off for a while before my flight. 

I shared my helicopter ridewith a lovely couple who handled the cheerful words my seven year old nephew, Cori, sent us away with very well..

“Bye, Annie, I hope you don’t fall out and die!”

Thanks, mate.

Fortunately I survived to tell the tale and if ever I somehow become insanely rich will travel by helicopter much more frequently. It was bloody great. As it was a buzz flight I was literally in the air for ten minutes. This was still enough time to give me the opportunity to enjoy some incredible views but if I ever get the chance to take a longer flight I’ll definitely do it!

24. Play mini golf at Parklands Golf Club

Neil and I used to play mini golf all the time. When we were first together and lived in Bath we used to play frequently at  Victoria Park and whenever we went away for a weekend we used to still end up playing. We played mini golf in Weymouth, we played in Bournemouth, we played twice on a trip with my family to Center Parcs in the Lake District (once actually at Center Parcs and once at a strange little course near Penrith’s train station). 

In recent years, however, we haven’t played at all. In fact, I couldn’t tell you our last game before today’s. When researching for this blog I discovered that Parklands Golf Club in Gosforth had a miniature golf course and obviously it made the list. We’ve been meaning to go for ages – we even tried a few weeks back, but a combination of bad traffic and bad Sat Nav meant we couldn’t find it (there is a very high chance that this was my fault rather than the Sat Nav’s.. Bad workman and all that..).

Today though – it was a sunny Sunday evening, I had spent all day studying and felt I’d earned a break and, perhaps most importantly, we had actually researched our route. It was the perfect opportunity for a long awaited game of mini golf. 

We arrived so easily that our failure to do so last time was laughable. The miniature golf course was pretty quiet and so off we went.

I won’t lie to you all – it was a bloody tense game. Actually, it was pretty predictable of our mini golf games of the past. Basically our pattern is as follows: I start well, Neil starts badly – gets annoyed with himself and so plays worse; I look as though I can’t possibly lose.. Neil plays better; the pressure gets to me and, somehow, against all odds, I lose. 

Today started as the above would suggest. I had a decent start; Neil messed up on two holes and had a tantrum. I pretended to be encouraging whilst really thinking “YES, I’ve done him here – come on!!”. At the half way point I had a TEN point lead but then, things started to go a bit wrong… Neil beat me on almost every single hole; I had absolute shockers on two of them and so we ended up on the last hole with my lead reduced to only two points. 

Neil played a decent first shot; I hit a terrible one. He got the ball in with his second shot, meaning I had two shots to win the game. My second shot was distinctly average – leaving me with a slightly difficult, but by no means impossible, putt for the victory. 

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt such pressure in my life, but somehow, somehow, I held it together and bloody well won. I can still hear the imaginary crowds roaring now..

How AWFUL is my golf stance!? I need serious work..

Afterwards we went for a pint in the golf club.

 It seemed like a great place for a pint, until we suddenly realised that we were the only people there who hadn’t been competing in an (actual, not miniature) golf tournament throughout the day. We became aware of this only when somebody called for our attention and third place, second place and then the winners were announced. We’d like, therefore, at this point to extend our congratulations to the victorious Anne and Chris.. 

23. Head out to the coast

I’ve been a little unsure over whether or not to include trips to the coast on this blog. As with the Angel of the North and the BALTIC the coast isn’t actually in Newcastle and so it feels a little bit like I’m cheating.

That said.. As cheating goes, it’s pretty harmless.. And, as one of my favourite things about living in Newcastle is that you can be in the middle of a great city and still only 25 minutes away from a breathtaking coastline, I figured I would go with it. Last week I was lucky enough to be able to take full advantage of the city’s location by heading out on two different trips to the coast. 

My first trip was to Tynemouth with Neil, Charlotte and Robin – on the same day as our trip to St. James Park. We took the metro in from Chillingham Road station, wandered briefly around Tynemouth Market, up Tynemouth’s charming high street, past Tynemouth Priory and then headed to the beach.

We got ourselves a hot drink each from Riley’s Fish Shack (anybody who read my Quayside Seaside post will know just how much I like Riley’s..) and then Charlotte and I “frolicked” in the sea.. By which I mean that Charlotte galloped around pretending to be a horse – standard – and I stood watching her in bewilderment.

The boys stood on the shore making smug comments about how a combination of wet trousers and sandy shoes would undoubtedly mean we would come to regret this little jaunt into the water. They may have been (ever so slightly) correct, but the day I go to the beach without paddling in the sea will be a sad day indeed.

After a little more time on the beach we headed to Longsands Fish Kitchen for lunch – smashing food enjoyed by all – and then on to Barca Art Cafe where we enjoyed an enormous, delicious (and incredibly reasonably priced) G&T each. Smashing!

My second trip to the coast came a few days later. I was babysitting three of my nieces and nephews and persuaded my dad that it would be fun if he took the day off work and took us all on a day out. Good man that he is, he did as I asked and we went on a fun packed, but exhausting (seriously, parents, how do you do this every day!?) day trip. 

We headed first to Heighley Gate Garden Centre in Morpeth to try out their Dinosaur Encounter Mini Golf. I won’t go on about it too much as I am (occasional cheating aside.. ) trying to focus predominantly on Newcastle, but if any parents are reading this then I strongly recommend it for a trip with (or without..) your kids. My niece, Hollie, who is 9, and my two nephews; Jaydon, who is going on 12 and Cori, who is almost 7, are kids with three very different personalities and they all loved it. It was great.

Anyway, back to the coast. From Morpeth we headed to Whitley Bay. We had hoped to spend some time in the rock pools around St. Mary’s Lighthouse, but forgot to check the tide times and unfortunately the tide was in. Luckily, it was a sunny enough day to just hang out on the beach; digging holes, burying Cori (obviously), making sand sculptures, paddling and just generally enjoying the beautiful views. Annoyingly, my phone battery had died by this point and I couldn’t take any photographs, but my dad took this one which I really like! 

22. Eat lunch on the steps of Grey’s Monument

Convinced that no blog about Newcastle would be complete without a mention of Grey’s Monument, I have been trying to work out how to incorporate it for a while. What I really wanted to do was to climb it. Once a month from April to September you can buy tickets to climb up its 164 steps in order to enjoy what I assume are some pretty spectacular views. I have wanted to do this for ages – my friend Jen did it last year and her photos were fantastic. I don’t really know where I went wrong though because I kept checking the website in order to buy tickets and it seemed to go from the tickets not yet being on sale to every ticket being sold out incredibly quickly.

Disappointed not to be able to climb Grey’s Monument, I was nonetheless still determined to involve it and I remembered that some time ago I met my mum there and we just sat on its steps in the sun, people watched and ate some lunch (a Boots Meal Deal if you are wondering – classic) and it was just a really lovely way to pass some time.

Last Monday I had to head in to town to buy some work clothes (my freedom is very nearly at an end!) and as it was a beautiful, sunny day, I figured this was a good enough chance as any to spend some time by Grey’s Monument.

I may be completely wrong in thinking this, but I am assuming that most people who haven’t visited Newcastle will have no idea what Grey’s Monument is. All pictures of Newcastle tend to either focus on the Quayside with its famous bridges or, you know, on absolutely mortal people stumbling around the Bigg Market. If you live in or around Newcastle though, or even if you’ve literally visited it just once, you will know Grey’s Monument. Situated in the heart of Newcastle’s city centre, it is the chosen location for various markets, protests, performances and more. To me and many others though, it is first and foremost a meeting place with “Meet at Monument” arguably being my most frequently used sentence when making plans in Newcastle.

Sadly, on Monday I had nobody to meet and so I had to settle for my own company. Eating on your own, especially in such a public place can feel a little awkward, but I was determined to do it. I headed to Nudo and bought myself a nice big box of chicken, dumplings and noodles, and then made my way to the Monument. Of course, once there, I realised that there were dozens of other people doing exactly what I was doing and that nobody had any interest in me whatsoever and so I took out my kindle and spent a happy half hour or so, eating, reading and watching the world go by. I was even given a free Oreo Milkshake sample from Byron Burger. Smashing stuff.

As I sat there though I began to think I should really try to learn a little more about the man behind the Monument – Earl Grey himself. He is obviously quite a big deal.. he has tea named after him, but I know next to nothing about the chap. Neil’s parents once asked me about him when they visited and I was a little embarrassed at my lack of knowledge – the plaque on the Monument doesn’t really help that much either – it is very wordy and somehow quite difficult to get your head around.

Luckily, in this day and age, information is only ever a few seconds away and so after a short time browsing the internet I soon learned that Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, was a wonderful man. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1830 to 1834, he was a member of the Whig Party and, during his time in power, oversaw the Reform Act of 1832, which set in motion another 130 years of parliamentary reform, leading eventually to the rights of all men and women over the ages of 18 to vote. Charles Grey was also responsible for restrictions on child labour and for the abolition of slavery across all of the British Empire in 1833. The tea legacy apparently came about after he was given a gift of tea flavoured with bergamot oil and he liked it so much that he asked British tea merchants to make their own version.

I also did some research on the Monument itself and learned that Grey’s Monument was erected in 1838. Its 40 metre high column was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green and the original statue of Charles Grey, which stands on top of the column, was created by Edward Hodges Bailey – the same man who created the sculpture of Nelson in Trafalgar Square. I make a point of saying the original statue, because the head of that statue was actually knocked off after being struck by lightning in July 1941. It wasn’t replaced until 1947 when sculptor Roger Hedley created a new head, based upon fragments from the old one.

When I realised just how much Charles Grey had done for our country I was a little ashamed of how little I had known about him. It made me realise just how easy it is to see things on a regular basis and yet never really take them in. I think the best thing that has come out of my writing this blog is that it has encouraged me to be more curious, to take more notice of my surroundings and to actually make an effort to learn more about the places and things I so frequently see.

21. Watch football at St. James’ Park

Ahh St. James’ Park. What a glorious place. Newcastle United’s home ground since 1892; it is the seventh oldest football stadium in the United Kingdom and the ninth largest, with a seating capacity of 52,405. It’s situated bang in the middle of the city and it is often said that in Newcastle football is our religion and St. James’ Park our cathedral.

Thousands of Newcastle fans head here for every home game without fail. Our average attendance for the 2014/15 season where we finished a miserable 15th was 50,359. Last season, which ended in eventual relegation, we still had an average home attendance of 49,754. Geordies are nothing if not loyal.

Sadly, I can’t really include myself amongst them. The last time I saw Newcastle play at St. James’ was 11th November 2012. We lost 1 – 0 to West Ham. It was a bloody boring game. Kevin Nolan scored the winner. My main memory of it is that he didn’t celebrate – good man.

I’m not exactly sure why I haven’t seen Newcastle play more often. I’ve always supported them, but until I met Neil (an absolute football obsessive) the support was always a little vague – I was happy if they did well, but it didn’t really affect me if they didn’t. Post Neil though, that all changed – I began to really care. I was ecstatic if they won and pretty hideous if they didn’t. Unfortunately my new found passion came at a time when, the glorious 2011/12 season aside, they brought mainly disappointment into my life. And so, I suppose that despite the fact that I genuinely do love the Toon, I just didn’t really enjoy watching them. It wasn’t worth the horrendous mood I’d end up in for the rest of the day if we lost.

This season though, everything changed; we got relegated, but Rafa stayed. What should have been a miserable end to the season wasn’t and things at Newcastle now feel more positive than they have for a long time. 

All of the above though, might still not have been enough to make me actually go to a game was it not for our friends Robin and Charlotte. Robin is a Brighton fan, Charlotte isn’t a fan at all, but they still wanted to come to Newcastle for the weekend and go to the Newcastle Brighton game. They even agreed to sit with the home fans – what a smashing pair!

And so, after a day of frolicking in the sea and a little light boozing at Tynemouth, yesterday we headed merrily to St. James’ Park. Once there, of course, I couldn’t really work out why I had stayed away so long. It really is a magnificent place.

There are people far better equipped than me to give a report of the game, but I will give it a bash.

 Brighton started better, but Newcastle took the lead through a Lascelles header and continued to dominate the first half. They almost got a second when Yoan Gouffran (a man in the midst of a lovely resurgence) came close to getting an absolute cracker of a goal, but missed by a whisker, rattling the crossbar instead. In the second half, Brighton again started well and almost equalised when Knockaert hit the bar. They then had a man, Sam Baldock, sent off after he was given a second yellow card for what initially appeared to be a pretty bad foul on Newcastle’s keeper, Sels, but after having seen replays was probably pretty harsh. Newcastle were then pretty comfortable and got their second when Jonjo Shelvey scored a beautiful free kick. After that we just sat back really and soaked up the pressure. I think it’s a pretty significant sign of how much things have changed that, despite winning 2 – 0, I felt a little disappointed that we chose to sit back, rather than to go on and try and get more goals.

That said, I was obviously in pretty high spirits and, fortunately, Robin is a good natured chap who took defeat very well. Neil likes Newcastle about as much as he can like any team who aren’t Shrewsbury Town and Charlotte was just pleased that her first football game hadn’t been as boring as she had feared. Everyone was therefore kind enough to join my celebrations in true northern style – by heading to Redhouse for a pie and a pint. Perfect!

20. Hustler Pool and Snooker Club

One of the nicest things about having friends accompany me on my toon explorations is that they suggest things to do that I would never have thought of. 

The idea of a game of pool at Hustlers was Carmen’s and I don’t mind admitting that I was a little cynical when she first suggested it. We were sitting in the Old George Inn and I thought that really she just fancied another pint and, as I explained in my previous blog, I was reluctant to include too many eating and drinking places in the blog. She soon convinced me, however, that as a Pool and Snooker Club it was totally different than just including another pub in the blog and so off we went. 

Neil has been to Hustlers a few times with his friend Mark, but I’d never really considered going myself – mainly because I’m absolutely crap at pool and don’t even get me started on snooker. I tell you what though, I bloody loved it. 

I actually enjoy a game of pool – I’m rubbish, but it’s fun. When I go to play at a pub, however, I always feel as though people are watching and waiting for their turn and so, unless you have genuine skills, you end up just feeling a bit of a twat. I sort of thought Hustlers would be like that, but on a bigger scale. I mean it was an actual pool and snooker club, so surely everyone there would be really good and taking it really seriously… And maybe they were, but what I hadn’t taken into account was that, in a place like that, there are so many tables that you can find a relatively quiet spot, play, be crap, have fun, and nobody cares because they are all busy playing themselves.

We played doubles – Astrid and myself against Carmen and Sarah. The first game was a pretty competitive thriller with both teams getting down to the black and Carmen and Sarah eventually ending up victorious. Sadly that was the first and only competitive game as despite skills like this..

And moments like this..

Carmen and Sarah got better and better and Astrid and I, well.. Didn’t. 

I think they won about 4 games to our 0 in the end – a pretty conclusive result. No matter though, because as both a competitive person and a person with a newly discovered love for pool and snooker clubs, I am absolutely going to demand a rematch one day..