A harried Halloween

Nine holes with Marian and Eileen was good crack. We are all well matched and it was very relaxed. I feel under a lot more pressure at Belvoir for some reason--bigger course, golfers more intent on improving. Marian used to be a large animal vet. Now she’s a fish pathologist. Try saying that--very tricky. Fish are in danger here because of intensive agriculture and high levels of nitrogen and other farm runoff. Eileen lived in Wales for 32 years and moved back here 20 years ago when her husband died unexpectedly. She’s a lovely woman--very interested in Unitarian Universalism--a sure sign of intelligence. It was interesting learning from them how this area has changed over the past three decades.

Then to a tiny terraced house in the city to meet 2-year-old Lady, a springer spaniel whose 65-year-old owner isn’t up to the challenge of keeping her exercised. Lady's deaf and is a bit spoilt--seems to spend time on top of the sofa cushions or on her owner’s bed. She’s overweight from lack of exercise. She seems sweet but also nervous. I made an appointment to see another dog tomorrow to prevent me from adopting the first dog I saw.

Then home, where I ran up and down stairs to distribute candy while getting ready for a swing dance. We had more than 30 kids--twice last year’s count--and ran out of candy, so the lights were turned off early. The swing dance was great as we danced to the Belfast Jazz Orchestra, a really good big band.

The terraced house I visited was near Maymount Street, two rows of Victorian terraces that were made into a cake at Monday’s architectural heritage event.

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