Why might a linguist visit Newcastle upon Tyne? As everyone knows, the best way to travel is on expenses. So perhaps you are travelling courtesy of your department, giving a presentation at a conference.

Newcastle gives you a choice of two major universities, the University of Newcastle and the University of Northumbria. Lucky for you, both are right in the centre of town.

Of course, you can't work all day. There are plenty of restaurants, theatres, galleries and all sorts of historical and otherwise interesting distractions in and around Newcastle. But if you're pushing your per diem expenses, you want a receipt that can stand up to scrutiny. So how about a relaxing evening in a pub called Dr. Syntax? No department can turn down such an academic name.

You have a choice of no less than two Dr. Syntax pubs, about ten miles west of Newcastle. Very close to each other, one is in a small town called Prudhoe, and the other is in a neighbouring village called New Ridley.

Neither of these places is named after someone in our profession, unfortunately. Rather than being a linguist, Dr. Syntax in this case is a famous local racehorse of the early 1820s. Another 'Dr. Syntax' making the rounds at about the same time was a character in a series of cartoons by Thomas Rowlandson, but it would be rather speculative of this writer to say if one was named after the other.