August 13 to August 25, 2008

2008-August-25
Today started with a surprise bit of rain - obviously, I’m jesting - and we had sort of thought it would remain so, but then, the weather turned - as it is apt to do in Ireland - and we ended up with a lovely, sunny, even WARM and sunny, day on our hands, without set plans. We discussed driving into and around Larne to see the layout; however, Mom preferred to walk into town, and I decided I could also use the exercise. We headed out and had a pleasant, leisurely walk down to Larne and I was amazed at how much less time it took to walk rather than drive. We spent a few hours wandering about shopping fairly aimlessly and just as I found myself flagging (waiting for mom outside a rather vile shop that fairly reeked of scents to numerous to even catalogue) and thinking about him, my Prince appeared. Across the street and heading in my direction was my George. We walked with mom for a bit, but, she’s a master at just taking off and disappearing (this skill already having required a fair amount of time during the trip in just finding her in order to re-group and/or move on - I shudder to think of what it will be like when she is older, and remembrances of my time working in Sandringham Hospital - a medical care facility for the aged - come to mind - as I recall, they had all the doors alarmed and yet there were still some residents able to “spring“ themselves - later to be found wandering down busy streets, with the dead giveaway being the fact that they were in bedroom slippers and sometime still their pyjamas), and so once we again caught up, decided to each do as we liked - mom declined the ride back, preferring instead to carry on and shop and George and I (being in search of a certain, seemingly elusive object - to make another attempt to locate same) to drive just out of Larne and then return “home”. We decided to go to Billy Andy’s for dinner and mom went to her room to (I thought) nap and I just puttered about with the business or getting sorted for travel and purchases and weighing everything. Eventually, she emerged and apparently hadn’t been sleeping, but reading, and we finally got underway - unfortunately too late, as although we arrived at Billy Andy’s for dinner at 7:30, they’d shut down the kitchen at 7:00 as there were no clientele - we three were the only ones there besides the bar tender and one other person who may (or may not) have been a client. They suggested that we try a place near the Harbour in Larne that might be open and serving food. We just missed being stopped on the road by cattle crossing (the highlight of the evening) and drove back into Larne, stopping at “Carriages” for dinner. The restaurant is featured in the “Taste of Ulster” book and the restaurant sources everything locally - even growing salad on site. The restaurant has a train theme - complete with original train seats, upholstered in a well-cushioned, red velvet and train windows with pull-type, heavy fabric, curtains. The walls on the other sides of the windows are painted with an array of views. The waitress suggested that Olderfleet Pub might be a safe place to go for an after dinner drink, but said that there wouldn’t be any music probably as it was not only a Monday night, but a Bank Holiday. Mom said not to go on her account and so George & I (not exactly being the pub type), decided we’d rather head back to the house and relax - which we did. So, here we are - I’m writing, George is trying to make Kathy’s DVD thingy do what he wants, and, it seems, Mom has gone to bed. Ah, well, it is Monday after all - not EVERYONE in Larne is on holiday ……………

2008-August-24
While the weather report was not great, we were surprised by the nice weather that appeared to be in the offing and decided to take a chance and head for the Antrim Coast. We had a pleasant drive along the Coast road, opting NOT to drive Toor Head due to the heavy rains that Ireland has been experiencing, and made it to our first official stop at Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge, where once again it is apparent that Ireland is changing. The car park was packed full, there were people EVERYWHERE, there was a considerable queue for tickets and the coaches and vehicles just kept coming. This is a far cry from our first visit, and even our second a couple of years ago. George, mom, and I endured the wait for tickets and made the long trek to the Bridge, stopping multiple times along the way to take in the absolutely gorgeous scenery and take photos and video. While waiting for our chance to cross the Bridge, we entertained ourselves by watching dolphins in the sea below. They seemed to be taking particular interest in some type of diving duck or cormorant that was floating about and would fly to another spot when the dolphins got too close. We were lucky in the weather in that we one had one short shower during this time and as both mom and I had hoods on our jackets, it wasn’t an issue. George, he who rarely will carry his umbrella and removed the hood from his jacket, got a bit wet, but didn’t take too long to dry out once the sun returned. George went across the bridge first so that he could video tape mom coming over. Mom didn’t seem to mind the height or the swaying of the bridge and was in fine form when she reached the other side. Due to the rain, there was only a small section of the Island we crossed to available for walking and exploration with the majority of it roped off. It was too bad as both George and I recalled how nice it had been on our last visit (with Maeve and Robyn) to wander about looking around and out to sea. Given the small confines of the area that we were able to walk to, our visit to the Island was considerably shorter than our last one and we queued up to return across the Bridge. It seemed to take longer to get back than it had taken to walk down and Mom had a bit of a rest part way along the pathway. Once back in our car, we were off to Ballintoy Harbour - another on our list of our favourite places to visit along the coast - for a cup of tea and a bit of lunch. “Chaos” best describes the scene that greeted us on our approach to the Harbour, as drivers jockeyed their vehicles for parking spots and avoided crushing humans seemingly oblivious to their presence. Roark’s Kitchen was overflowing and there was a queue to get inside. All tables were taken; however, mom approached a fellow who appeared to be possibly sitting by himself (which it turned out, he was) and the three of us joined him for lunch and a bit of chat. We didn’t stay long though as it was obvious that tables were needed. On the way to Giant's Causeway we made a quick stop at Portbradden, a tiny village perched on the edge of the sea and accessible by way of very narrow, VERY winding, road down to a turn around area and private road to the few residences at the sea wall. The objective was to show mom St. Gobben's (advertised as Ireland's smallest church). We once again found numerous tourists (has absolutely everything been discovered?) - where on all previous visits, we've been the only ones there. A treat though this trip - St. Gobben's was actually open, and mom enjoyed taking in all the small nuances of the chapel that still has wedding ceremonies performed in it. We signed the guest book and then headed back up to the car and onwards to Giant’s Causeway, where they (thankfully) have a shuttle from the visitor centre to and from the Causeway. The road down is narrow though and at one point in the ride down the bus must pull aside to let the bus that is on its way back to the visitor centre pass. We scrambled about on the rocks a bit, climbing up and down and wandering about. I had some concerns about mom going up and down, but she gamely managed and despite some of the negotiating required, declined assistance, making me wonder if we have some goat in our genes and whether, when I am her age, I’ll be able to manage as well. The long walk along to the cliffs was gated off - which was probably just as well - but, even so, despite the closed gate and signage, some people still were bypassing or climbing over the gate to get to the out of bounds area. After spending some time reading the information signs and walking about, we returned to the visitors centre and contributed once again to Ireland’s economy. We spent a good amount of time in the Visitor Centre shop and as the day was wearing on (it was now after 7:00 p.m.) and the weather was once again turning, we decided to forego travelling on to Dunluce Castle. By this time Bushmills was closed so a tour would have to wait for another day - and then we could see both Dunluce and Bushmills. Both mom and George had eaten a full meal at Roark’s and neither were hungry for dinner, and while I’d only had soup for lunch, it made no difference to me whether we stopped to again eat or just headed home. We headed home and did a re-heat of some meat and vegetables that were left over. Mom still wasn’t hungry and preferred instead to just have a bowl of cereal in front of the television.

2008-August-23
We were invited to a party in Bangor in the evening with some old friends and worked out a loose plan for the day on our travel down from Larne. Unfortunately, mom didn’t feel up to the drive and the party and opted to stay in Larne for the day instead. We travelled ahead without her, taking the coast road down to Carrickfergus Castle - a huge structure, that was built directly onto rock. We arrived in time for a tour and then spent some time on our own just wandering about the grounds and the Keep which is three stories high. The Keep has been restored and each of the floors accessible. Leaving the car in the car park, we then walked into Carrickfergus and wandered through a street market (buying some curry sauce for a dinner sometime during the week). We goofed around with the stocks and then returned to our car to carry on with a lunch stop and our original intention being to next stop at Jordanstown’s Loughshore Park for a “No Beating Day of 1,000 Drums”. By this time however the rain was again lashing and the wind was helping it along, making the weather fairly unpleasant so we decided against the outdoor a park, opted for the lunch stop and then a visit with George‘s “Uncle“ Billy (actually his cousin, but in the same age group as George‘s father, so therefore, an honorary “Uncle“). We had a pleasant visit and chat at Billy’s home in Newtonards for a couple of hours and then headed for Bangor. We needed to find the Coop store to pick up a particular type of wine and also some cider for the evening. After that we enjoyed driving around looking at the town and its architecture - particularly of the seaside residences - before heading to the party. The party was great fun, with lots and lots of food, and talk. Despite the number of people there and the table full of alcoholic choices, no one got into their cups and became difficult or otherwise. It was wonderful to be able to chat with everyone again after not seeing them for two years and also to finally see Austen and Tessa face to face (other than via web cam!) For George, it greatly pleased him to get together with the original members of “The Mutiny” (Austen, Jim, Doug, and him) - a band from his teenage years - as this was the first time in about 40 years that the group had been in the same room, at the same place, at the same time. It was a late evening and we arrived home at about 1:00 a.m. to find that mom had not just locked the spring lock on the door, but had also turned the skeleton key - effectively locking us out and necessitating repeated knocking at her bedroom window until she got up and let us in. As it turned out, she had gone to bed not long before, so we were happy to not have disturbed her half way through an eight hour sleep.

2008-August-22
It was a “free” day and we decided we’d like to go into Ballymena. We were hoping to see the trophy for the first Mid-Antrim 100 (later 150) held on Wednesday 24th July 1946 on the Ballygarvey circuit, outside Ballymena - George’s father, also George Dummigan, (249) riding a Rudge motorcycle, was the handicap winner. Mom opted to stay home and instead struck out on a walk into Larne, declining a ride down on our departure. We found a convenient parking spot and then went looking for the city offices. Our inquiries resulted in an impromptu tour of the Mayor’s chambers, but unfortunately, with the recent refurbishment of the city offices, the trophy had been placed in storage. City staff advised that they would attempt to locate it and would contact us if they were successful. We then did a bit of a walking tour of Ballymena, shared an Irish Breakfast for lunch, went in search of a particular object we are trying to find, picked up some vegetables for our dinner, and then returned to Larne, where mom had a nice dinner for everyone underway, with only our vegetables needed as an accompaniment.

2008-August-21
It was a free morning, which we spent with Kathy and Tom prior to their departure to our home as the exchange. It was great, as we hadn’t expected to be able to meet them, so was the silver lining in the cloud of Belfast. We got to know each other and went over all the various fundamental things with regard to their home. We saw them off and then headed out ourselves as I had pre-booked us on a Traditional Irish Music cruise on the “Maid of Antrim" on Lough Neagh. We originally had plenty of time between our departure and the casting off of the Maid of Antrim; however, a few stops, a few wrong turns, and before you know it, what we had thought would be a super-leisurely dinner, ended up just being a leisurely one (mostly due to the length of time it took for our food selections to arrive). We had dinner at the Galgorm Manor Hotel Resort & Spa at the Grill overlooking the stables (which had a couple of horses to entertain us). I wasn’t feeling terribly hungry, so just ordered two appetizers (the soup with bread and then a seafood kebab) with a glass of Magners, while mom had the seafood kebab, and then Tandori chicken with a Hennessy and soda, and George skipped the appetizer and just had his main-a steak. Then we were off to Ballyronan Marina for our cruise, but on the way attempted to find a bank machine for cash (the only one we found didn’t recognize either of my Canadian cards) and stopped for gas, as we were on the verge of sitting by the roadside holding our heads in our hands lamenting our fate. We finally made it to the Marina and actually ended up being about 20 minutes early - the crew hadn’t even arrived - which gave us time to make a quick stop at the main building. Mom was feeling car sick and wanted to ride shotgun on the way back - which was no problem for me, as it would give me a chance to have a nap. I scraped together all the pounds and euros we had, and explained to the operator that we had been unable to withdraw money from the only bank machine we’d found on our way to the Marina. He suggested that, as there were drinks available on board once underway, we hold onto it until after the cruise was finished and then we’d work it out. We had a great time out on the Lough. There were three musicians who played the entire time (except for VERY short breaks to have a sip of their drinks) and we were lucky in that the weather didn’t turn bad on us. Sandwiches and tea were served as a compliment to the cruise and we were back in the harbour as planned, two and one-half hours later at 10:00 p.m. We paid the operator in a combination of euros and pounds and made a note to send him a thank you card as well as an extra 5£ for his understanding. Mom rode in the front on the return trip (and basically every trip since with one short trip exception) and I rode in the back, alternating between ignoring the fact that George was driving mostly on instinct rather than listening to our rather annoying GPS lady, and trying to nap. We were late home and our beds were particularly inviting.

2008-August-20
We gingerly made a cup of tea - first needing to wash the combination of grime and dust off of the pot and then each of the cups in turn prior to be able to use them, as they had been put away into the cup board dirty with grease, grime and remnants of previous drinks coating the insides (including the bottoms). We then were on our way into Belfast. We couldn’t even imagine cooking in the Belfast kitchen and had decided to have a late breakfast downtown. We weren’t so lucky at immediately finding a place for breakfast and mom decided she wanted to wait for The Crown to open and have her breakfast (or semblance thereof) in there. George and I struck out in search of a restaurant where we could have an Ulster fry - we found one and settled into it and cups of tea and coffee. Once we were done, we headed back to The Crown to locate mom and also meet with a potential home exchanger from Magheralin that we’ve met on a previous trip. We found mom in one of the “snugs” making her way through her breakfast of a Guinness and a bowl of Irish Stew and awaited the arrival of our acquaintance. We had a nice chat with him and then left The Crown. Our mobile rang and it was our next home exchange in Larne, rescuing us from the Belfast disaster as they generously agreed to have us come ahead early, after our reservations for dinner at Belfast Castle (which we moved up from 8:00 to 6:30 in order to not arrive too late in Larne). We then headed into town where we went our separate ways for an hour, agreeing to meet up for a tour of Belfast. When we got back together, we decided on a double-decker bus tour and were lucky enough to get seats up top in the open car area. The tour guide, a young woman, was very good and I was amazed that she was able to remember and relate the hour and one-half tour information while the bus lurched and rolled about the streets of Belfast. The tour lasted until 4:00 p.m. and then we retrieved our car from the parkade behind the Europa Hotel - totally astonished at the almost 22$ Cdn fee for the 5 hours of parking. We headed back to the Belfast place, packed our bags for transfer into the car so that after dinner we could go straight to Larne, and sent a note to the owner of the house advising that we only stayed the one night, were leaving the key where we found it, and that we would provide further detail later. We arrived at Belfast Castle (after making the mistake of putting in “Belfast Castle Parking” into the GPS and finding ourselves on the wrong side of the gate and having to drive out and around again), just in time for our now 6:30 p.m. reservation. George and I had the dinner for two (which included three courses, and a bottle of wine, which we shared with mom) for 39£ - each having steaks - but my dessert (a passion fruit cheesecake) being the best, and mom ordered off the early bird menu. After dinner we wandered about the small antique store for a very short time (as we had called Larne to say we were coming, and didn’t want to keep them waiting) and then reset the GPS to take us to our next home - which we found fairly easily. We settled in and chatted and no doubt kept our hosts up far too late with our prattle. We were so happy to be in comfortable, clean surroundings after our Belfast experience and it was a pleasure to slip into our beds without worrying if we’d be assaulted by bed bugs during the night.

2008-August-19
Our last morning at the Livingstone household - the flooding seemed to have subsided and we felt it was probably safe to head to Belfast to our next home exchange. As usual, there was a happy buzz of bodies getting ready and going off in different directions with the girls and their friends heading out early, Dawn off to work and Robert at home to see us off. We were the slow ones getting organized and on our way and I realized how much we’ve come to care for this family that has welcomed us into their lives on every visit. We first headed for Lisnaskea for mom to have a chance to walk through the streets and wander about the shops - which she did with her usual shopping vigour. Then, it was on to Magheralin and a stop in the Church of Ireland Cemetery to record the information from George’s great-grandfather’s (and family) headstone. I also made a couple of calls we had promised prior to our departure from Canada on this trip and we received an invitation in Hillsborough (near Lisburn)to stop by for a visit, once we had finished our travels and our last stop of shopping in Lisburn. At this point of the day, we were now hoping for lunch in the pub on the corner across from the cemetery; however, food was not in the offing there, so we moved on to Main Street, Moira, where we had a late lunch at Pretty Mary’s Pub (just a couple of doors down from “Robert Wilson, Property Agent” - Bob, this reference is for you). Both mom and George had the specials and I just went straight for the venison - which although delicious, was not as good as what I‘d had at MacNean‘s in Blacklion. After lunch it was off to Lisburn to take mom to the Linen Hall and give her a chance to see the town and (naturally) all the shops. We visited the Linen Hall Museum and shopping area, numerous shops in town, and stopped at a couple of bakeries to pick up some pasties, and treats. From there it was on to Hillsborough for a visit with some folks we know and have stayed with in the past as well as exchanged homes with. It was a nice treat to be asked to stay for evening tea (dinner to us) and a great deal of chat and (while I declined) fair and frequent offerings of wine. We had a lovely evening, and given the hour took our leave to head to our next home exchange in Belfast, arriving after ten and fairly tired. We located the key, and moved all our luggage and shopping into the house rather than leave them in the car on the street overnight. It was not until we were well and truly “in” that we did an inspection of the place, which if only one word could be used to describe it, it would be “dirty”. But for more detail, what could have been a lovely home for exchange in a great location, instead it was a tip, as - at the most - the tub was clean. Out of 13 home exchanges we have participated in, this is the only one that we have ever found in this state. The two bedrooms on the first floor, while they had made beds did not have clean linens on them, and in fact, it was readily apparent that one had been recently slept in, and when the duvet was turned back there was a cell phone back (or something like that) on the sheet. The bed upstairs (which appeared to be the cleanest of the three) had dirty socks and miscellaneous items under it, the room had not been vacuumed or dusted, and the carpet was stained. No space had been made available in any of the rooms for us to hang up or put away anything. No clean linens were provided. It was unclear if there even were clean towels available (thank God I was carrying the three I had purchased in the south). The entire house had a coating of dust, debris and dog hair - most particularly notable all along the edges of floors and on the carpets - it had not been vacuumed. There was grease and grime on pretty much every surface and appliance in the kitchen. The fridge presented with the odour of food that probably should have been in the garbage, and more of the same - debris, etc., from old foodstuffs and dairy products. The oven had not been cleaned, and again, had dirty cooking pans, containing the remains of some type of breaded and broiled selection, shoved into it. The washing machine - which I did start to clean and then decided we would end up spending our entire time there cleaning, and stopped - was dirty and stained with mildew. The garbage had not been emptied and the container was dirty. All light switches in the house were dirt and grime covered. The bathroom windows were coated in soap scum as was the shower glass, the toilet was dirty, the floor was dirty, the toilet paper dispenser was not property fixed to the wall and went to the floor with the first attempted use of the paper (we left it there), the towel rack had a broken bracket on the floor at the base (we left it there). The were half used tubes of toothpaste in the bathroom cup. The surfaces had not been cleaned of dust. There were stains along the door frame (both sides) which had not been wiped. There was a type of “press” in the bathroom that contained an assortment of towels - unclear as the were clean or dirty as they were thrown in with the remains of toilet paper rolls, and empty shampoo, etc., containers, and who knows what else - and I wasn’t about to pull anything out and see - I just shut the door and washed my hands. All these “deficiencies” were those immediately obvious - I’m sure closer inspection would have revealed more. It was far too late at this point in the day, to deal with accommodation - particularly in the height of tourist season - but, anyone who knows me would know that this situation would have my skin crawling and that it would be an uncomfortable night ahead. Even mom woke us up with some type of what we thought was a nightmare, but, apparently was a funny dream (although I can’t imagine this place giving anyone, anything to find funny!) even in sleep. George fired up the computer and I sent out an “SOS” to our next home exchange in the hopes that they would be able to accommodate us early - but, regardless, I was not prepared to spend more than just the one night in this pit. We used the shower with some trepidation, and used our own towels, and went to bed.

2008-August-18
Due to flooding in Belfast because of the heavy rains, while this was to have been our last day in Lisnaskea, our hosts felt we should stay with them another day until some of the flooding on the motorways subsided. The new underpass in Belfast was under 20 feet of water at one point, and while not anywhere quite that high, the roadway was still closed and the water had receded to about 15 feet. We made a day of travel to the Sheelin Lace Museum, driving to Bellanaleck from Lisnaskea via Derrylin where we browsed and shopped, then, on to Enniskillen for more of the same and some sustenance, and then headed to Belleek so that mom could pick up something she’d seen on our previous visit on the 15th and so that George and I could visit with Mickey McGrath in his little tackle shop tucked away in the back of The Thatch - a small cottage restaurant on the main street. We stopped to visit with Mickey first and then were set to walk down to the Belleek store when mom changed her mind and instead, we headed back to Lisnaskea for dinner and our last night with the Livingstone’s.

2008-August-17
Awakening lazily on a Sunday morning by Lough Erne is a pleasure I will always look forward to and enjoy. It was great to once again be in County Fermanagh (a place that feels like “home” to me) with our friends and the day held a special treat. Robert was taking the Inishcruiser out onto Lough Erne and we were invited to come along as guests for the afternoon. We got ourselves organized and then learned through some holiday renters and then the news on television, that there had been a bit of trouble in Lisnaskea the evening before when some dissident Republicans had tried to blow up three policemen and their vehicle with a rocket – the warhead containing some old semtex – a product used by the IRA back in the days of “the troubles”. We’re not sure what time of evening it was and it’s interesting that, on a google search, very little comes up on it. On with the day …….. Robert and the three of us mom, George and I, drove down to the Inishcruiser and once on board, the three of us sat out in the bow area and, while George and I have experienced this before, for the first time, mom got to see some of Ireland’s beautiful small islands and the shores of the lake while cruising around the Lough. It was a lovely afternoon and the weather held for the cruise until the very end when we were heading in for the dock – when it started to rain a bit. Robert needed to stay behind as he was taking the cruiser out for another trip, but the three of us headed back to the house on foot as it was a fairly short walk there. One of the other passengers and her disabled husband also headed in that direction and they offered to show us their cottage in the Share Holiday Village (that Robert works at and that is home to the Inishcruiser). I took over the pushing of the wheelchair from the woman as she was having difficulty with it and we all went up to look at the cottage. The two-bedroom cottage is designed for handicapped persons and was very well laid out and functional. Share Holiday Village was established in 1981 and is now the largest activity centre in Ireland. It is located on 60 acres on Lough Erne, and was originally as a place where families with handicapped/disabled family members could have a place to holiday that would be able to accommodate disabilities. It is also in close proximity to Robert & Dawn’s home and a walk back would provide a bit of fresh air and exercise as well, as it turned out, some rain. As we were muddling our way back through the centre, George and I looking for the gate that used to be the short cut through to Robert & Dawn’s, Dawn drove up and saved us from what would only have proved to be a long, futile search as the short cut no longer existed. Back to the house to get ready for dinner. The seven of us were off to dinner at MacNean House and Bistro in Blacklion and as we’ve never managed to get a reservation in the past (MacNean is a gold medallion restaurant and in high demand) we were looking forward to the experience. We all piled into Robert’s Land Rover and moving at a fairly good pace, despite the twisty-turny roads of Northern Ireland, we arrived on time. We made our way into MacNean’s and were seated in a large, round table on beautifully upholstered chairs. Apparently, this had once been the front sitting room and for a period of time, it was still used as such in the early days of MacNean House. There was a lovely selection on the menu (which you can see at http://www.macneanrestaurant.com/pp/useruploads/pdf/Dinnermenufeb08.pdf) meaning that making a choice might prove difficult, but both George and I zeroed in on the venison. We ordered a bottle of Chateau de Hureau to accompany dinner. With a complimentary appetizer in addition to the menu, dinner ended up being quite a number of courses which everyone enjoyed and Dawn, George, Robert and Robyn increased theirs by sharing the “Dessert for Two” (which was a three-course dessert). As mom had treated George and me for the Ashford Castle dinner, this was our treat to her in return and our friends as a thank you for their hospitality. After dinner, the Chef and owner, Neven Maguire, came out to meet us and also gave George and I a copy of his cookbook “Neven’s Real Food for families”, which he inscribed.

2008-August-16
The house was alive fairly early in the morning as it was “change-over” day at the holiday cottages. I planned on going over with Dawn and giving her a hand as I suspected that she was short cleaners and then George and mom would follow later so that mom could see them. Mom decided she wanted to come with Dawn and me and off we went. The “cottages” are our equivalent (or better) or some three-bedroom houses. They are fully furnished and equipped, two-storey, multi bedroom (4) with at least three bathrooms, master with ensuite, two decks (one ground level, one off of the master), and are in a small, gated community by the lake. They are available for holiday rentals and are very popular. Dawn’s expectation (and rightly so) is that they should be presented in spotless, pristine state to each set of renters and puts 100% effort into ensuring that this happens. That it happens within a short time period and that all deficiencies are either repaired replaced or scheduled (despite the state that some holiday renters may leave the cottage in) is a feat in itself. We set to work and, after two weeks of time off, it felt good to be doing something productive again. We helped get Dawn’s own cottages ready and also helped Maeve get a cottage she had taken on for the owners ready. Once it appeared that everything was underway, Dawn and mom headed back to the house to put lunch out, and George and I drove into Lisnaskea to drop a couple of the cleaners off and also pick up a bottle of wine for dinner that evening. We put dinner off for later as we were hoping to hear Maeve play in her marching band (the Maguiresbridge Silver Band) that evening. Dawn, mom, George and I drove to Fivemiletown and made our way to the hall across from the church to find that the band was playing on the occasion of the unfurling and dedication of a new banner for the Royal Black Preceptory (242). Dawn introduced us as having come from Canada and the next thing we knew, we were being escorted up the rows of seats to a prime viewing (and no escape) position at the front of the seating, just behind the band, and in front of the members of the Preceptory. We were invited to also stay afterward for tea. The ceremonies started at 7:30 and concluded about an hour later with the next event being that the Preceptory and band would march around Fivemiletown (which is about a 10 minute march) and return to the hall for tea. As we filed from the hall and I took some pictures of the banner, we were again invited to stay for tea. The band fired up the music, the Preceptory formed their rows and columns and they were underway. Not too long later, they returned down the street, and on passing me, the member of the Preceptory (presumably an important one as he took up the rear of the parade and carried a large staff with a decoration of some sort on top) who had earlier issued the tea invitation, stepped out of formation and away from the rest and again said to stay for tea. So, with that, we did. The tea area (across the hall from the ceremony area, was (according to Dawn) laid out in the same way that a funeral setting would be. Long tables laden with food down the centre, a “head table” at the end with set seating, and two long rows of chairs facing towards the centre long tables on each side the length of the room. We had tea, sandwiches, and sweets (George had a couple J ). It was much later driving back to the house than we had intended so we decided that ordering in Chinese food seemed a reasonable option. Dawn called Robert on the Mobile and he attempted to order it. Apparently, it was “every other day” that the restaurant was open – or, every other day that they decided to open or not as they weren’t and hadn’t been the day before either. We settled on going through the ‘fridge and laying out a variety of foods and wine and all was well in our world.

2008-August-15
Today was a travel day and we woke up, tidied up Coral Reef, and prepared to move on to our friends in Lisnaskea via Belleek. George and I were fairly tired after being up so late the evening before and being disturbed by mechanical sounds in the wee hours of the morning – which we had discovered were coming from the laundry that mom had put into to the machine at about 2:00 a.m. on our return from Staunton’s Pub. The laundry room wall was the adjoining wall to our bedroom and when we discovered it, it was about 3:00 a.m. and the machine had gone into spin. Rather than shut it down, we had decided to let it run on as the machine SAID it would be finished in 20 minutes (by the way, Irish equipment lies) and in order to get to the laundry, you first needed to go outside and then to the laundry (and it was raining) and we didn’t want to leave her clothes soggy, or, have to go back out into the rain at 3:30 a.m. which is when we discovered that Irish machines lie. We left Coral Reef and first stopped in Westport in order that mom could get a book that she had spied in an antique store. Mom was surprised at the army and police that were stationed at least a block in each direction from the bank (a money transfer was occurring, and there had been a couple of high profile robberies with the funds never recovered and chances were no longer being taken). We then went on to Castlebar, where we stopped so that mom could by a bathroom fixture she’d admired at Coral Reef, and have lunch at a small sandwich shop, “O’Brien’s”, and then went on to Newport, where we stopped to see Grace O’Malley’s strong hold – a small castle built on the rocks by an inlet. We walked up to the door and back down, and then I took a step that would result in more laundry when I slipped on the rocks and fell sideways and down on my right side, with my camera doing an aerial display and sailing off to the left. George said it looked like I was doing aerobatics, and also, that I had been lucky, as while my shoulder and arm struck rock, my head had somehow managed to miss them and while a bit shocked with slightly traumatized musculature, I had managed to fall without inflicting any brain damage. As the day was wearing on, we passed the cemetery where William Butler Yeats lies and carried on to Belleek so that mom could have a chance to see the Belleek museum and store (we knew there was little chance of making it in time for a tour), and then carry on to Caldragh Cemetery (where she could see an example of the pre-Christian period in the form of a Janus figure carved in stone estimated to be about 2,000 years old). From there, we carried on through Enniskillen, with the GPS lady getting confused with the new roads and round-abouts and finally made it to Lisnaskea and to the home of our friends that we would be stopping to visit with for the next few days. It was fantastic to see the family again and happy hugs were given and received all round. Dawn made a lovely dinner and we enjoyed each others company until late in the evening and we couldn’t stay up any more.

2008-August-14

Mom and I got organized and went for a walk – always keeping in mind the fact that drivers on these narrow country roads don’t see pedestrians so much as an impediment to their travel, but more as a nuisance that may or may not require negotiation over or through. The drivers most definitely have the right of way (whether that’s correct or not) and in an instant you could easily be road kill. On more than one occasion I grabbed mom by the jacket and either pushed or pulled her up onto the bank at the side of the road. Expecting the vehicles to stop – especially the large lorries hurtling down the road – is a fallacy. We’ve even hear Irish natives on the radio complaining as to how unsafe it is to walk on the roadways. Broad daylight doesn’t improve your chances of survival and walking the roads at night is akin to a suicide wish. As we wandered along, mom struck up a conversation with a fellow driving a tractor and we heard a few stories of his failed romance and the situation of the bachelor that owns all the oceanfront land we were walking along. He advised us that he’d been looking for a woman for him (the bachelor is 45), and how he kept to himself. After a while, we took our leave, continuing on our walk, passing the bachelors tidy house with two, friendly-looking, border collies in a kennel. We imagined that they were kept for the large flock of sheep that dotted the bachelors pastures along Clew Bay. There was a sign for an artist studio just up a small road, so we began walking up and mom picked posies along the way. We came across the artists van which had just stopped on the way down the hill and enquired as to whether the studio was open. Yes, he’d be back in a few minutes and sure enough, he was shortly driving back up the hill, stopped and offered mom a ride the rest of the way and slowed or me, but I waved him on, preferring the fresh air and exercise to a ride up the hill. Mom and the artist, Chris Harper, were busy walking about the studio looking at his work. I admired some place mats that his work had been heat transferred onto. They were different than any I’d seen in the shops; however, I didn’t have my wallet with me and decided that I’d come back later with George. Mom and I left the studio and enjoyed the walk down, picking flowers and pulling up the bulbs for an orange flower that grows wild along the roadways in both the southern and northern parts of Ireland. We returned to the house and went for a bit of a drive out and around the areas of Clew Bay and slightly beyond, stopping at a couple of the beaches, including at Old Head, and also, driving down to Roonagh Quay and chatting briefly with a young woman whose mother runs a hotel on nearby Clare Island. We were too late in the day to go over and explore the Island, and, as well, the next ferry over wouldn’t be until 9:00 a.m. But we considered whether we should change our plans, fit it in and bypass Westport and Belleek the next morning driving straight to Lisnaskea instead (just over 3 hours straight run) later in the day. The consensus was no, as other than a couple of small sights of interest, there wasn’t enough on Clare Island to change our plans for a trip along the coast, and a stop at Belleek, not to mention the possibility of bad weather coming in and grounding the ferry on either side – which would have necessitated staying on the small Island.
We headed back to Coral Reef and then George and I went up to the studio and picked up the placemats I wanted. Back at the house, we had a nice dinner and then mom got ready to head down to Staunton’s Pub. It was far too early for George and I to go and sit in a pub and as well, I wanted to get some shots of what seemed to promise would be a lovely sunset. Mom went ahead with us joining her later. Staunton’s Pub is small but cozy and run as a family business – with the children and family dog wandering in and out from the residence side into the pub side. When we arrived mom was engaged in conversation with a young, female artist and a couple of other locals. There was a good atmosphere in Staunton’s without the questionable types that we’d seen in Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty. We had an enjoyable evening, and stayed later than we otherwise might have - initially, because mom seemed to think that she could negotiate the walk home in the dark along the roadway back to Coral Reef, and then, because as it turned out, it was a good crowd, and as it is referred to in Ireland, it was good craic. First, there was the anniversary of someone’s funeral (including the serving of sandwiches all round) and then the celebration of the 83rd birthday of a local man, complete with traditional as well as contemporary singing and music, and a small bit of traditional dancing. At 12:30 a.m., the lights were shut down to just a couple and the curtains were closed (when the pub was to officially close) and the party continued with someone at the door keeping an eye out for the Garda. At 1:30 a.m. the final songs were sung (including the Irish National Anthem, in Irish, with all parties present standing) and everyone made their way home.

2008-August-13

We went exploring today and along the way stopped at the famine memorial – a metal sculpture of a sailing ship including numerous skeletons as part of the ships structure and sails – and also at the remains of a Friary, with a cemetery at the beach just down from the famine memorial. We bypassed the hike of Croagh Patrick – but we could see some intrepid souls making their way up the mountain (unknown from a distance if they were barefoot – how the truly devout are supposed to make the trek). We stopped at The Tavern in Murrisk and had lunch, learning that there would be traditional music in the evening and made plans to return for that and dinner there later. Onward to Westport, where we were lucky to find a spot in a reasonably-priced parking lot, and then we split off for shopping – agreeing to meet back at a set time later. George and I wandered about a bit looking in shops but not going crazy with buying anything and picked up some items for dinner the following evening. We met up as planned at the Tourist Information Centre, and while I had wanted to go and see a local estate home that had been completely restored, I wasn’t feeling well and preferred instead to just return to Coral Reef and lie down for an hour or so. After a bit of a rest, I felt better and we headed down to The Tavern for dinner and music. We started with some appetizers just before 7:00 p.m. and then had the special menu (which seemed to be somewhat of a secret) at 8:00 p.m. The music started and we enjoyed the food and the evening, heading back to Coral Reef and arriving about 11:00 p.m.