BIAF I have been to five Belfast International Arts Festival events in the past week but want to start with leftover Minor Foursomes party photos. The captain of the team is called Wee Lynn. See if you can figure out which is she. She brought me the loveliest flowers and two
Minor Foursomes Healing is progressing. Not in a straight line, but progress overall. In the weeks since the accident, 30 people have helped or offered to help, half of them golfers. I find that extraordinary. Below is my fourth bouquet, from neighbour Fiona. On 11 Oct. I took the Glider for 30
9 lives If a cat has 9 lives, i wonder how many I have. I think a fair few more. On 28 sept. I took my fourth ambulance ride to A&E. Is that excessive for a 62 year old? i dont know. But when i add a lot of near
Glen Saturday morning, 21 Sept, my old friends the Renzis arrive at my house and, after a brief tour, we set off for Donegal. We had a lovely beach walk for starters then, after a Guinness at the Glen pub and fish tacos in Downings, we settled in our wee cottage
Royal County Down I spent Friday to Sunday (13-15 Sept) at the Irish Open, held at Royal County Down Golf Course in Newcastle. I was one of 22 volunteers from Shandon who manned the 13th hole over five days. There were 10 positions on the hole and we rotated through them, keeping things
The value of variety I think I've made it clear that my golf has been rubbish all year. So I've made more of an effort to do things other than golf and house chores. I went to Mount Stewart one Saturday in late August for a lovely walk. The next
Banbridge On Sunday 18 Aug, I played with my partner Michelle in the Minor Foursomes Ulster South final. But first we went for practice rounds on the preceding Monday and Friday. Here we are with the Mournes in the distance. Banbridge is a tricky course. A road goes through it, so
Summer? Since my return from Yorkshire there has been a lot of PRI work and a lot of golf and a lot of rain. We do get the occasional nice day but cool, rainy weather has predominated. I finally made it to two festival events – one session in a pub that
Yorkshire peak #2 Today I had the luxury of being chauffeured around by my old schoolmate, Stuart Eakin, also a keen hiker. He drove us to a trailhead near Pen-y-ghent, where we began the climb up to its 2,277-foot peak. We lucked out with the weather again. I don't appear
Malham to Skipton In the morning myself and some other guests were driven into Skipton, 8 miles away. Most were getting trains to the south of England or to an airport to fly to the Netherlands. I plan to spend the next two nights in this scenic village, rather than go home to
Yorkshire peaks For the final day, I did the #3 hike up Ingleborough, 2372 feet, roughly 11 miles. Ingleborough is one of three Yorkshire peaks, misnamed because they are loaf mountains – like a bread loaf. The weather smiled on us, finally. We headed up a wooded valley from Ingleborough Estate to the
Fell walking I decided to do walk 3 today, 12 miles instead of 9 miles for walk 2. I heard rumours the weather was to improve. The rumours turned out to be incorrect, however it was another great day of hiking. We started by walking along a valley below a high ridge.
Ribblesdale Valley Today the bus let us off in Settle. We leave the bus and are met by driving winds and rain. The rain hit the pavement so hard it bounced off. We look at each other and grin. Eleven on my walk today and we set off into the hills, watching
Whitby to Malham Today was a travel day. One of the guides left me to the bus stop nearest Larpool House, which would have been a long walk with a heavy suitcase. I waited for an hour for the bus to Scarborough. None came. I flagged down a taxi and spent the next
Moor hiking We started the day in Castleton, a picturesque village, then hiked up a bridle path to a ridge along a valley. The occasional standing stone. On the descent into the valley we encountered a lovely grouse, adding to the kestral we saw yesterday while hiking along a cliff. Once down
Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby A lovely day of coastal hiking began with a steep descent into Robin Hood's Bay. Back in the day, alcohol, lace and other goodies were smuggled into caves in Robin Hood's Bay to avoid customs. The narrow little lanes are called Bolts, as that is what
A hole in the plan The intended route: Flight from Belfast to Leeds Train Leeds to Scarborough, changing at York. Bus to Whitby. What happened: Flight diverted to Liverpool because there was a hole in the runway at Leeds. ??!! I waited about a half hour with other passengers for the bus we were promised to
Intense interlude I had 10 days between returning from the US and departing for a hiking holiday in Yorkshire. As always, I'm writing in hindsight, so memories are fragmented. The highlight of week one was just working intensely for PRI – two weeks of work crammed into one. The highlight of
Almost heaven The week commencing 10 June was all about getting my ducks in a row prior to travelling to West Virginia on 16 June. An incredibly annoying array of tasks weighed on me. I tried and failed over multiple sessions to do my taxes online, due 17 June for international filers
Five rounds in seven days The match on Monday was carnage. Everything I thought I knew about golf, I forgot. It was unnerving to not be able to hit a tee shot – usually my best shot. I assume my nerves got the best of me, causing me to look to see where the ball was
Four rounds in five days In addition to yesterday's McKee match, I had matches Tuesday and Thursday this week at Shandon (the Challenge Cup) and a practice round at Ardglass Golf Club on Friday, where I will have a match on Monday 3 June. I did not play well in the Challenge Cup
Adieu Donegal Friday morning I walked Paddy then finished my book about a young lad trying to escape multi-generational trauma on the mean streets of West Belfast. Then went to the Olde Glen Bar, which allows dogs. Here's the gable wall: I met a woman from New York who walked
Donegal Day 3 Began at Tramore beach north of Dunfanaghy. Paddy is such a Donegal dog. It was windy so the sea was frothy. The beach was pristine. People are encouraged to collect rubbish on the beach, which they clearly take to heart – you pass this bin when you leave the beach and
Donegal Day 2 The day began at Ards Forest Park. More Frisbee throwing. Lovely beaches. Constantly changing light. Paddy in his heaven. I'm pretty happy too. Maybe because my mom is from Atlantic City – I love to be on a beach. But not a hot beach. Donegal is perfect. The water
Donegal Day 1 I am off the next two weeks and absolutely delighted. Monday I hosted book club so was busy all day mowing, watering plants, hoovering, food shopping, tidying. The nine of us had a good conversation about The Sixteen Trees of the Somme. Tuesday morning I played with my buddy Patricia.
