(revisiting) Whitley Bay

8 of 10 in the ‘Places & Pleasing’ series

St Mary’s lighthouse on the coast
here at Whitley Bay
On a coastal island
at the tail end of a day

With rain flecks in the evening breeze
we crossed at ebbing tide
Careful not to slip and fall
though the slipway was quite wide

And from the island summit
‘Neath the white walls of the tower
we looked out to the northern sea
and its majestic power

This really is lovely place
in North East England fair
So we stayed a little while
and just revelled being there

©Jemverse

[St Mary’s island is a small sandstone promontory in Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear and the siting for St Mary’s Lighthouse, built in 1898. The island’s connected to mainland at low tide by a rocky causeway for around 16 hours each day]

Photo – Jempics

‘Whitley Bay‘ was first posted to Jemverse in March 2017

For sweet refrain

Sat in the sun by gatehouse walls
having wandered for a while
down ancient alleys often trod
in that familiar mile
Uncertain when this northern  stone
will feel my tread again
so here I capture memory
in words for sweet refrain

©Jemverse

Photo – the castle gatehouse, Newcastle – Jempics

Dog Leap Steps

Descended Dog Leap Steps once more
'down to the waterline'
Dire Straits hummed in my head
one last and final time
Then underneath the tall Tyne Bridge
I stood by water slow
as to the North Sea on the turn
its ebbing waters flowed
And the metaphor it was not lost
as I turned to climb once more
insightful to the knowledge
of what now lay in store

©Jemverse

Photo – the Dog Leap Steps, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne -Jemverse

Newcastle’s ‘Dog Leap Stairs’ featured in the song ‘Down to the Waterline’, the first track on the 1978 eponymous Dire Straits album.

Last Newcastle

Although I feel certain I'll be here again
I'm unsure when that will be
for this is my last business trip
before retired and free

I've loved these trip to Newcastle
up on the North East Coast
which of all the places I have been
I think I love the most

So when I leave in two days time
it will be farewell but not goodbye
as I will be back here again
my mind to edify

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Newcastle III

I'm back in Newcastle, it's been a fair while
but this city of bridges still brings a smile
so don't saddle me with mundane or purile
for these are words from the heart

It's a few degrees colder, I'll give you that
but I have a warm coat and some gloves and a hat
so don't take me for a weak Southern brat
for these are words from the heart

There are cities in England I've visited oft
but Newcastle is one which I hold aloft
so don't think of me as anything soft
for these are words from the heart

Yes I'm a southerner from the south coast
Shoreham-by-Sea as home playing host
but I'm happy to share of my travels and post
for these are words from the heart

©Jemverse

Photo – Newcastle-on-Tyne – Jempics

Of Taps and Newcastle winters

Went to the Tap, the weather was raw
but it wasn't the sleet or the snow that I saw
but rather the fair Newcastle town trade
that good conversation with a pint that was made
and convivial warmth with the victuals there
made the winter outside something better to bare
So I stayed for a while and chatted some more
before heading back out to what lay in store

©Jemverse

Photo – inside The Newcastle Tap, Neville Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne – Jempics

North Eastern pleasantries

I'm in Newcastle city again for the week
in situ at present here as we speak
so I thought it polite to give you a peek
of North Eastern pleasantries here

I'm in Newcastle city full of mystique
some things you'd expect and others unique
and though often the weather's decidedly bleak
there are North Eastern pleasantries here

I'm in Newcastle so with poet's technique
some of its essence I'll capture and eke
to give you the reader a mini critique
of the North Eastern pleasantries here

©Jemverse

Photo – Bridges over the Tyne at Newcastle – Jempics

Sunshine on Neville Street

Sitting in Newcastle Tap
here on Neville Street
I've had a lovely pizza
and the beer's going down a treat
Outside Newcastle sunshine
though chillier up here
shines as evening shadows fall
and I enjoy this beer
By and by I'll take a stroll
as this time is all my own
so I may as well enjoy it
all these many miles from home

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Newcastle II

I'm bound back for Newcastle
it's been quite a while
since here I have travelled
but now with a smile
I'm back to the city
through which flows the Tyne
for work, yes but seeing
some good friends of mine
so I know we will share
some pints at a Tap
before in a couple
of days I head back

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

The Bridge Hotel

Down the back steps is a courtyard
overlooking city walls
high above the valley
from where the Tyne it calls
Adjacent to High Level Bridge
its namesake for to trace
The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle
quite special to this place

©Jemverse

Photo – High Level Bridge from the courtyard of The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle, UK – Jempics