Generous drinkers at a Gateshead micropub gave a Peruvian cyclist lasting memories of Geordie hospitality by putting him up in the Hilton for a well-needed rest.
The Microbus on Wellington Street may have only been open a matter of months, but it has already proved that it has some of the kindest drinkers in the region. Punters enjoying a few pints on Sunday got chatting to a cyclist called 'Phillippe' who had travelled 33,000 miles before arriving in Gateshead as part of a tour of the UK.
After asking where in the area he could put up his hammock for the night, drinkers were quick to hold a whip-round collection so the man could spend a night at the nearby Hilton hotel. Microbus co-owner Gary Moore said the idea came from regular Dennis McClean on the "spur of the moment" with all of the customers chipping in to raise the £108 to cover the cost of the room.
"One of our regulars apparently bumped into the cyclist on the Tyne Bridge who had stopped to take some photos and asked him where he was going," Gary said.
"They got talking and he brought him in for a drink. [The cyclist] got chatting to some of the regulars in the pub and they asked him where he was staying for the night.
"He asked where he could put a hammock and I looked at one of the regulars, Dennis, and knew exactly what he was thinking. On the spur-of-the-moment, we had a whip-around in the pub for him."
Pub boss Gary then booked the room for the cyclist at the Hilton and even walked him to the door of the hotel before wishing him well on his journey.
"He was overjoyed and very surprised," Gary said.
"He said he had slept in a lot of churches, bus stops and had his hammock up on trees. He said no one had ever been so once to him on his trip and was quite emotional.
"He said he would remember how people in Gateshead were really nice to him. He had a really positive, nice experience and we were chuffed [to do that for him]."
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