Durham

A few weeks ago it was time to renew my passport, and, after being given the option of Liverpool or Durham, I chose Durham. I had heard it was worth a visit, and I just hoped that, by then, we would finally have seen the last of the bloody snow.

We had a cold, sunny day, and spent it (between going to the passport office) looking round the excellent market, the shops and walking along the riverside.


A view of Durham Cathedral and the River Wear.

Durham has one of the UK's most picturesque cathedrals, and next time we plan to see more of the Cathedral and Castle area, and also to visit in the summer when the days are longer.

Illiteracy is alive and well in Scarborough

This is not the first time I’ve written about the appalling literacy standards among the employed (as opposed to the unemployed, who are often automatically regarded as illiterate) and it’s not the first time I’ve had a laugh at the apparent thickness of a particular travel agency’s staff.

Last week I just happened to be looking in the window of a high street travel agent in Scarborough (there isn’t any other kind in this useless dump) and could not believe just how thick their staff must be. The place was closed over dinner, with an apology for the “iconvenience caused”. In the window there was an advert for “painballing” alongside adverts for holidays with “dayitme” flights and some advising that people had to make their own “tarvel” arrangements.

The sad thing is that all we ever hear is that school leavers are getting so much more brainy with all the A* GCSEs they are suddenly achieving (if these “intelligent” individuals had to sit the old O level exam that would show them just how bright – or not – they really are!)

I can just imagine that those responsible for such open displays of illiteracy are those who are shown on TV each year jumping up and down and shrieking about how intelligent they are because they’ve passed a few exams which my cat would probably find easy.