There is gloom in the Toon. There is gloom in the countryside. There is gloom all over the North East. There is nothing worse than a Monday morning following the weekend when the regional football teams have performed badly.
And boy were Saturday and Sunday calamitous days in the FA Cup. Newcastle Utd humbled by little Stevenage, Sunderland by Notts County, Middlesbrough by Burton Albion, Hartlepool by Watford and Carlisle by Torquay.
The adults are so angry, they only seem to utter a grunt. The children are speechless and tearful. There seems to be a black cloud over the region, affecting everybody's moods. In the usual British psyche, Monday mornings are never usually the best. In the North East, the passion for football is so great that the ambience on the bus is often dictated by the recent results.
Today is the worse I have seen.
I am joining them, coming out in sympathy with Grumpy Bus Driver Syndrome. Not because of the football, but self induced good living which promotes tiredness and hence grumpiness ensues. I went to a fundraising dinner at a great hotel restaurant in Durham. The Fallen Angel Hotel is fantastic. All the rooms are themed like the Sci-Fi room, Le Boudoir and the Edwardian Express (like a smart train compartment). The food is very good and the generous hosts brought in their wine supplier from Corney & Barrow who supplied seven wines to go with each course. (It's a must if you are in the area.)
I turned the corner and there was a cheery local, bucking the trend, waving and smiling. Perhaps she had not seen the results. It bucked me up and the clouds began to lift.
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