NorthDownMuse

King of the Ring

Today was our big day, touring the famous Ring of Kerry. Our tour guide was John O'Neill, self-described king of the ring. He was a great storyteller, had us in stitches during the first part of the trip. Stop one was a bog museum, with the turf cutter&

An evening stroll, part 2

The problem with this bloc importation is that the photos are too small. So I'll import one again. August 22

An evening stroll

Our hotel was across the street from Killarney National Park. So I took a walk this evening to Muckross Abbey and then along the lake to Muckross House. I've found a new gizmo that lets me upload 9 photos at once, so happy days. Uploading photos on this

Killarney Blarney

I postponed our Ring of Kerry trip by one day to get the better weather. Today, instead we started with a boat tour on Lough Leane, starting out from Ross's Castle, made picturesque by Cromwell's bombwells. We had a hilarious boat captain/tour guide. zMom on

Muckross House

Today we had horrible weather so we decamped from Dingle to Killarney. I took only one photo today, at the same beach I shot two days ago. This time I stuck myself in it. The wind was whipping with gusto. So I drove back to Killarney and we had a

Dingle 2

We drove around Dingle Peninsula today. First stop was Penny's Pottery in Ventry. Lovely stuff. Incredible how many talented people are concentrated in this corner of Ireland. Do lovely places produce or attract all of these talents? Next we stopped at the famine cottages. Mom didn't

Dingle

Mom arrived Monday 19 August around 7:30 a.m. We took a shuttle bus to Heuston station in Dublin, where we only just caught the 9:30 a.m. train to Killarney, just over 3 hours. Then on a shuttle bus to the Gleneagles Hotel, where I rented a

Visitors Part IV

In the three weeks before mom arrived, I was in Derry two weekends in a row. First to visit Julie, whom I haven't seen in a long time. And second to attend her mother Hilda's 90th birthday. Hilda has four children, nine grandchildren, and one great

Visitors, part three

I was in London July 15-17, then a few days off, then my third visitor arrived, Kylelane Purcell. I took no photos, she took lots. She's making them into a photo album, but that doesn't work for blog purposes. She came to me from Germany, where

Visitors, part two

After finishing the visa application, I resumed shoveling gravel into a wheelbarrow and humping it to the back garden, where I used it to create a border garden (covering exposed dirt that Paddy was tracking into the house). Roughly 1.75 tonnes. Not kidding. Probably 35 wheelbarrow loads. Then I

Settlement Visa

I spent most of the month of June applying for my settlement visa, which I can apply for during a 28-day window as the 5th anniversary of my arrival in the UK approaches. First I had to take a Life in the UK test. Then fill out a 20-page online

Brick Lane

On my last trip to London I took lots of photos of Brick Lane that I never elevated. So here goes: This store is called Cereal KillerJune visit to London, whenever that was.

11th Night

July 11 is when they light the bonfires, in advance of the July 12 celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. So beginning in maybe March or April, Protestant lads in loyalist areas start building bonfires. Which means open spaces get turned into garbage dumps. I cannot

A Night in November

... Is a play by Marie Jones, an East Belfast playwrite. I saw it recently and it blew me away. It's about a blue collar worker from East Belfast who loves nothing better than trying to humiliate his boss, who is Catholic and whom he resents for being promoted.

Ester

While I was in Ballymascanlon, my friend Ester the sculptor was at the house minding Paddy. She had some pieces in a show at Culloden Hotel. I went one weekend and  so can share two of her three pieces. The nuns, another artist, were called Soul Sisters. There were quite

Ballymascanlon

One of June's highlights was a weekend trip to Ballymascanlon for two rounds of golf, 36 holes. I've never played that much golf before. I played better on day two, so back-to-back golf is probably a good idea. On day two I was in a foursome,

Visitors Part One

My cousins Joanne and Candy and Candy's husband Dave visited at the end of May, early June. We went to a pub the night they arrived. Natch. Second day was Mount Stewart and Castle Ward. Candy is a master gardener and was in her element. Third day was

Thames Time

I was in London twice in May. At the beginning, for a web redesign meeting. And three weeks later, for the annual PRI party, which was on a boat cruising the Thames. Not too shabby. London is a beautiful city anyway, but it is particularly pretty on a clear spring

It’s been a while

Life has been full on for a while--FT work, FT dog, Saturday golf lessons, applying for settlement visa, trips to London, visitors. So the blog has fallen by the wayside. I wrote recently of Cafe 12, my home away from home in Hackney. Here are some photos from my last

May Bank Holiday

I was meant to go to Derry this weekend for the Jazz Festival--lots of my Swing Belfast friends would be there for the weekend. I didn't go Saturday because I was too tired from my trip. I didn't go Sunday because the Belfast marathon was on,

Andrei, Korush, Reza, Frizzi

After I left Fat Beehive yesterday, I wanted to get something to eat on the way back to the BnB. It was cold and raining and I didn't want to have to go back out for food. I crossed Hackney Road, heading to a kebab shop for a

Fat Beehive

Is the name of the design firm we hired to redesign our website. I spent 3 hours in a meeting with them today in London. Very impressed by the research they did and the proposal they laid out. Their offices were in Shoreditch, a very hip area. The street they

On the coast

Talysarn is surrounded by slate tailings. I took some photos but they didn't come out too well. I started my last day in Wales with a drive to Criccieth, a lovely seaside town. I had a look at Criccieth Castle then headed down a coastal path, with Porthmadog

Y Garn, Foel Goch

My day began with a drive from Talysarn to Rhyd Ddu to Beddgelert before returning to Craflwyn Hall to meet today's hikers. The drive, on a one-lane, windy road, was lovely. Above, a fence made of slate. Below, a ruin. Once at Craflwyn, I met the rambling club

Bodnant Gardens

My 3-night stay at Craflwyn Hall ended this morning. I had signed on for two days of hiking with HF Holidays. I was very impressed with the leader, the accommodation, the food, and the choice of hikes each day. Today I’m doing my own thing and tomorrow I’ve