Last night, as I was typing in fact, Michael Jackson died. 24 hours on and pretty much everything that can be said has been said. There is some controversy around the cause of death, but unless something shocking or pivotal comes to light, I won’t mention it again from now on. I just thought I should say something, it’s the death of a true icon.

Went to Newcastle, as planned, to meet a friend of mine. The mill, pictured left, is no longer a mill but a modern art gallery – the Baltic. It’s free so we went in – I’m not a modern art sceptic so I did enjoy most of it, although it perhaps isn’t for everyone I think anybody can appreciate something that looks good, whatever it may be. It may seem unusual to recommend a gift shop, but I really do with this one – it’s so refreshing to see somewhere that stocks cool, fun, sometimes even inspired products. There’s stuff you’d actually buy here instead of the standard tacky rulers and shitty velcro wallets.

The gallery actually reflects what the rest of Newcastle is like – modern yet classic, unpretentious but not at all crass. Anyway, I don’t want to go on all night – it was nice to meet up with my friend, we won’t be seeing each other again for a very long time indeed.

Home tomorrow – best start packing.