“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain”

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A quiet word…

Another little hiccup. Yesterday I had to make a 300 km round trip to retrieve a bag of medications that I left in a fridge at our previous accommodation. This in spite of both Lizzie and I having reminders on our phones at 0900 daily to retrieve them from the fridge wherever we are staying. So today I’ll write “Meds fuckwit” on a strip of gaffer tape (which incidentally airport security in Melbourne tried to take…they must have seen too many highjack stories where gaffer tape plays a part!) on the dashboard of the mighty Skoda Superb.

I left the pub here in Doolan at 0630 and was back by 11. The owner of Bervie’s guest house kindly suggested one of her chefs, James by name, who lives an hour from the hotel closer to Doolan, take my little bag to his house and I could collect from there thus saving me a couple of hours on the road.

Two highlights of the trip. I actually found James house all on my own and enjoyed a run on the little stretch of freeway en route cruising at 120 kph.

The back roads of Ireland are a real treat for a driver requiring constant vigilance and very moderate speeds as they are usually very narrow and reliant on little pull off.

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Seeing the sights on the west coast of Ireland

A walk on the beach anyone?

Cosy in the car

It’ll be fine when the cloud lifts

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But the very next day….

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Car thief for hire.

Last night, out in the boonies in Ireland, as I was getting gear from the car I managed to trap the keys in the boot! Aargh I said and went in to tell my travel companions. Didn’t go down well. After a couple of phone calls via Aust it was arranged that an AA bloke would rescue us within the hour. In the meantime, my new best mate Cormick, a fellow hosteller, kindly drove me to a nearby village for supplies for dinner. Very ordinary toasted sandwiches and a marginal nights sleep, at 0800 this morning the AA guy arrived and did the job in a flash. Nifty little pressure packs pushed the top of a door wide enough to get a long cunningly engineered piece of stainless rod hooked around a door handle and bingo!

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Good advice!

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Earl Mountbatten’s castle

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Slieve League sea cliffs

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Right outside our accommodation Silverstrand Beach, Malin Beg

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May we find evermore of these little vans in spectacular countryside☕️

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If you enlarge the pic you can see the next lookout tower in the distance.

From each tower two others are in sight to facilitate early warning.

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Lookout from the Napoleonic era

One of a network of 60 throughout Ireland for early detection of French warships. Would make great accommodation with a bit of a tidy up.

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Peat fields sustain whole communities through winter

I had lots of questions on our B&B hosts. Dug by machines these days which produces logs of peat then dried to make a very effective heat source. Started using firefighters. The piles under the tarps each represent two years supply for one household. Can’t see it being as much fun as a ute and a chainsaw into the bush!

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Truly excellent coffee from The Pod on the Wild Atlantic Way en route to Donegal

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Lizzie shouts a bus down

We knew Kate was on the bus from Dublin airport and as we waited at the stop, people alighted, the doors closed and the bus moved off. Where’s Kate? Lizzie glanced upwards and spotted her upstairs and began calling for the big green monster to stop! And some bloke on the footpath caught the attention of the driver who obligingly pulled up and Kate emerged into Mummies embrace!

 

Stop the bus!

Kate emerges

Aaaaaaaah!

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London at 0700 today 20 hours down.

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Liz and I at Melbourne airport soon to launch, bound for Dublin to hook up with Kate

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Soon to say goodbye to Tassie life for new fields afar – stay tuned loyal followers 🕊

Alum cliffs

G650GS

Retro readings

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