Broad strokes

A lot of ground to cover since the end of August.

I visited Mary and Julie in Derry on 6 September. I visited Rowallane with my friend Nigel on 9 September.

Walled garden above and part of the stable block below.

My own garden has been productive almost the whole year, allowing me to deliver flower arrangements to friends.

The one above was refreshed to produce the one below:

I went to see comedienne Maisie Adams on 19 September, she was hilarious. For instance, she could not say Magherafelt. It came out as Maker Felt. We roared. Indignantly, she said she did not come to Belfast to be laughed at. Skip a beat. Yes, she DID come to be laughed at, but not like that!! One of the audience members was from Comber. She asked what Comber is famous for. "Potatoes" everyone roared. "Fuck off" she said. The whole audience was dying at this. Comber Earlies are a prized potato variety and she couldn't get over the fact there was a potato festival a half hour away from where she was standing. English people are so funny.

Culture Night the next night – good craic. I have videos of a Scottish pipe band and of an opera singer, but I can't upload them to this platform. On 26 September I went to a protest at Stormont against the pollution of Lough Neagh. Much larger than the ones I've been to in the past – progress on one front at least. I wish I took down some of the signs, very clever. No Neagh Never No More. And: This eel isn't as slippery as the Earl of Shaftesbury (the man receiving money from the industrial removal of sand from the lough bed).

The same day I went to a wonderful evening at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace. Bronagh Gallager reading Heaney's poetry was one highlight. And the music of Neil Martin and Anthony Toner another.

I've played a lot of golf, obviously. I have two friends who can't drive ATM for various health reasons, so I was chauffeur a lot in September and October.

On 1 October I took my friend Ali to the beach for a long walk then a grocery shop – she's one of my non-driving friends. My friend Aelish was here that night, I took her to the airport the next morning for her to visit her dying brother in Malta. We had a proper catch up.

Sunday 4 October I headed to Wicklow with my friend Patricia for a round of golf. Our luck with the weather continued.

Above she is putting, with Terry observing. I booked the holiday through Rory's Travel Club – a Northern Ireland discount travel club. Terry and Brendan are also Rory members who joined us for a round.

Here we are cleaned up having dinner, with Terry's wife Mary joining us.

We stayed at the Tulfarris Hotel on Blessington Lake. It was a lovely place and the course was fun to play, although a bit more water than I like. On day two, we took the tourist route – see next post.

September and early October