NorthDownMuse

Hook Peninsula

Before I move on to today’s adventure, two photos from yesterday. From the top of Enniscorthy Castle, I liked the look of the rooftops below. The dot on the hill in the distance is the Norman tower atop Vinegar Hill: I should also mention that we saw the film

Enniscorthy

My day trip to Enniscorthy began at Vinegar Hill, site of a decisive battle in the 1798 Rebellion. More than 12,000 rebel fighters gathered at the rocky outcropping and Norman tower that sit above Enniscorthy. They were surrounded by more than 13,000 forces loyal to the King (English

Wexford & Rosslare

I started the day walking around Wexford. Where I saw: 12th Century walls. 15th Century church ruin, with info placard. A gory story from the 1798 rebellion against English rule. A memorial to a leader in the 1916 Revolution. Two artists on the right painting the building on the left.

The Journey

On the way to Wexford today, we stopped three times. Once for a very good brunch at a restaurant near Dublin Airport; second at Brittas Bay, about half way between Dublin and Wexford; third in Gorey, further down the coast. On the way to the beach at Brittas Bay, I

On the road again

Tomorrow we leave for Wexford, due south of Dublin. David is spending a week at a Plein Air landscape painting festival--as he did last year. I’m going for half a week to check out Wexford. Today I arranged with a neighbourhood teenager to take care of our cat. This

Buba

I played golf this morning--not terribly, but still with plenty of frustration. This evening I headed into the city for a birthday dinner with Sophie and her friends. The Cathedral Quarter is honeycombed with entries--narrow passageways between buildings. This entry has incredible lanterns at either end. You can barely make

My Tri

This morning I ran about 24 minutes (a slow climb back up fitness mountain) then, after my morning chores, I went to a bike shop and got a new tyre and inner tube--I’d had two flats in quick succession the last time I tried to ride my bike. Then

The Wreck

I swam in the morning and golfed in the evening. In between, I successfully avoided my office (filing, work on a freelance article, deleting e-mails, looking at job ads) by doing lots of little house chores and by sitting down and reading a book--something I have failed to do for

Victoria Victoria

I had a private golf lesson today with Victoria, one of the pros at Belvoir. It was really helpful. I wish I’d had a lesson with her last summer. Among other problems, I’m using my wrists too much, and my torso is lagging my hips when I swing.

Feeling flat

I got a lift back to Belfast with trip leader David Doyle and Karen, one of the hikers. In the afternoon, I decided to go for a bike ride. Two flats later, I gave up on that idea. The last photos from the trip: me showing off my Walla Walla

Con-tent

I got a lift to Gortin Glen Park this morning with Patrick Yu, an immigrant from Hong Kong who came to study human rights law in Belfast in the 1990s due to the troubles here. Our group hiked about eight miles then we camped at the Shepherds Rest campsite, on

Weekend Preview

Friday was a boring day for me--lots of quarter-end work then David and I went out for pizza. It was an exciting day for David. After nearly five years with Lightwell, a US-based IT consulting firm, he gave his notice today. He is moving to a British IT firm that

Lord Adonis

I get my hair cut near where my friend Anne O’Dwyer lives. She told me about this place, which charges 18 pounds instead of the 30 pounds I was paying. We both have short, easy haircuts, so don’t want to shell out for the full salon experience. I

Sustainable NI

So I didn’t get the Sustainable NI job. It seems I fall short on every job I apply for because I don’t have experience in local government in Northern Ireland, or at Stormont, or in marketing, or in working with local media. I thought I’d like to

Love Island

There’s a show here called Love Island that I haven’t seen--I’m not a big fan of reality TV. I read the other day that two of the stars died recently. I decided I should see this show to understand what it’s all about. I think I

Valiant effort

This morning I got on my bike--still a bit tight from Saturday’s hike--and cycled to the leisure centre where I swim. The pool was closed for maintenance. Ugh. I was so proud of myself for finally trying to swim after two months away. It was not to be. So

DoR

This morning David and I dug out the fish pond liner and backfilled the figure-8-sized hole with rubble and dirt. I have a photo somewhere of the bloody thing, pre-removal, but I’m not able to find it ATM. The pond was in the wrong place and was unattractive. I’

Slieve Foye

I have always wanted to visit the charming village of Carlingford, just over the border sitting on the south side of Carlingford Lough. Today the group I hike with did a hike on Slieve Foye, which hovers over the village. It was a lovely day and I enjoyed meeting many

The futility of woman

I worked from 6 am until noon today--the deadline--on a job application for a job as a sustainability manager, working with councils in N.I. on sustainable development. The application was 11 pages long and broke my spirit. Trying hard to sell yourself while having a nagging feeling that you

365 OneDrive

Today I was in the thick of my quarterly writing assignments. We’ve moved from the Purcell remote server, AKA Purver, to 365 OneDrive. My friend Kyle Purcell is the founder of Purcell Communications, which runs a stable of two dozen financial writers for hire. My tired brain had to

Premature conflagration

At 5 a.m. we left our house in East Belfast to drive downtown to catch the 5:30 a.m. bus to Dublin, which takes two hours and allows mom to catch her 9:50 a.m. flight home. Customs clearance is provided in Dublin, so travellers need to

Coming up Roses

Today we got in a second round of golf at Belvoir. Mom misses playing golf and enjoys being out on the course and telling me what club to use and how to swing. Then we visited Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, an international trial garden for commercial rose breeders.

Visits

A lot of people who wanted to see mom weren’t available when we were in Belfast before so we are playing catch up. This morning we met Anne (half of Anne and Rick, whom we visit in the winter in Naples) for brunch. She spoke sadly of how her

St. Patrick's

Today I took mom to St. Patrick’s Church in Belfast city centre. I used to be able to pull photos off the internet--but that doesn’t seem to work anymore. Here is a brief history [http://saintpatricksbelfast.org.uk/our-parish/history/] of the church. Afterward we spent probably close

Old Friends

After the Open, I drove to Derry, where we had dinner with Peggy and Sean O’Dwyer at their lovely home on a hill overlooking Derry. I forgot to take a photo this time, but took one on a visit a few years ago: Peggy cracks me up. She’s