Florence part 4

Last night David and I went to see A Perforated Ulster, a taping of a BBC radio show. Imagine six comedians doing a series of sketches in a wide variety of accents. It was highly entertaining. Prince Charles and Camilla have just visited Ulster, so that was a source for much comedy.

Final Florence photos. Here’s an abandoned house I could see from the woods.

One of the things that I find interesting about Ireland’s many earls and marquis is that they were skilled at marrying wealthy English women, whose fortunes built many of the mansions on the National Trust inventory. Each of the Earls of Enniskillen imported their wives’ wealth to Ireland. I think it was the third earl who was a gambler and raced through his wife’s inheritance. He won these canons off another earl in a bet and displayed them to remind his detractors (of which there were many) that he didn’t lose all of his bets.

The final part of my tour took in the rose garden and walled garden. Here is the entrance to the former:

Rose Cottage, where the gardener lived:

They’re in the midst of re-establishing the gardens and they’re doing a first-rate job:

A parting shot:

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