No Need To Complain
So last week when I went for my Wednesday morning run, I got to the gates of the Tyne’s North Pier, and found ‘em still locked at ten to eight in the morning. This meant that instead of me rambling on for 80 seconds, you got the rare treat of the video of the comedy swim start training (ZappoMan - the film is meant as a joke. Do NOT try this at home!)
Richard remarked that these gates always seem to be shut, as if the pier’s some sort of private property. Now, I’m not sure if it is or not, so when Richard posted the url of the contact page for the Port of Tyne Authority, who’re responsible for the piers, I called ‘em.
The Estates Manager, Brian, was very helpful, but didn’t know the exact details of when the pier was open, and one could take a leisurely stroll three quarters of a mile out into the North Sea. He suggested I go and have a chat with the watchman.
Now he was really helpful, and we had a great talk about the weather, tourists, sunrise & sunset times, tides, etc, etc. The upshot of all this was that the pier opening hours are rather dependent on the shift pattern that the watchmen are on. At the moment, with two of them working, they unlock the gates at some time between 8 and 9 a.m., and clear the pier for locking up at around 8p.m. Generally, in the evening, if you’re most of the way to the far end, they’re more than happy to wait for you to do the full trip.
Not very precise, but then again, why should everything run like a train timetable? Sometimes having a degree of uncertainty isn’t really such a bad thing.
Workout:
- Type: Swim
- Date: 07/09/2007
- Total Time: 00:45:00.00
- Distance: 1,142.63 m
- Average Pace: 3:55.47/100m
Flight attendants are always at pains to point out that they are there primarily for the passengers safety. How important is it then when they can’t give me the vegetarian meal that I booked? Pier watchmen I would guess would argue that their main role is safety, not opening and closing the gates according to a strict timetable.
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.local.geordie/browse_frm/thread/e416ca04773f8616/90c91bc99f358942?lnk=gst&q=pier+opening+&rnum=2#90c91bc99f358942
We’re going to have to agree to differ again.
Do they do much Scuba diving around there? I love cold water scuba diving (dry suit, etc)… in addition to great hiking, cycling, and computer software companies around these parts, we also have amazing scuba diving.
You tell me you guys have local dive shops and I might just have to find a way to come out there and race against you (and grab a nice dive on the trip)!
Do we have diving?! Yes. Lots. Quite a Mecca for it in fact.
Dry suit though? I last dived at Easter in 1988, around Plymouth. High points of the trip included our accommodation (a WWII gun emplacement approx 10ftx10ft, with eight bunks); finding the engine of a Lancaster bomber near the Plymouth breakwater; NOT picking up a live artillery shell from the seabed, and diving on the wreck of the James Eagan Layne. And we did this in WETSUITS . . . but you just wouldn’t believe how cold it was!
But I don’t do diving any more. Too much of The Fear for me. But you’re welcome to try yourself.