Dun Laoghaire 13 June 2015

Today we had yet another very pleasant full Irish breakfast then had an early start but much of the long drive was on motorway so we did not see as much of the beautiful scenery as we had hoped for.
Eventually we finally reached our next set of accommodation. What a contrast, the owner was out and the young female member of staff struggled to sort us out. Luckily there was off road car parking for our last stay.Somebody had described the b & b as quirky,  well thats one word for it, the whole place smelt very strongly of cheap air freshener, the room had no ventilation other than a sash window but the catches did not work, so I balanced the spare toilet roll at the bottom to let air in( it was only much later we realised the radiator was on full despite the warm weather)
We decided to have a drink and found the sockets near to the floor, the only problem was the lead was not long enough ooops, so Jane had to scrabble about and place on the floor. Next the bathroom, well it was big enough but what a tiny shower, I could just about get in, but then the power was poor and trying to obtain anything other than hot was a struggle.
Margaret our landlady who had now returned,  suggested we could have a sandwich at her local pub, which was another quirky place inhabited by locals, fortunately the sandwiches were okay.  Then off for a walk through the town, stopping at the station for train times,  it was shortly after this Jane noticed she now had a rash on both arms, but no idea what caused it and swiftly it went again. We returned to the accommodation for a rest and found the bed quite comfortable.
In the evening we went for a meal at a local Weatherspoons which was pleasant but the place was very noisy. I vaguely remembered this area from my youth and trips on the boat from Holyhead,  but little was left that I remembered other than the harbour wall. We returned to our accommodation and met the landlord who was quite chatty,  then off for our last nights sleep.

We set off for Dublin and home 14 June 2015

We had an early start today, first our last full Irish breakfast, in the dining room which was quite elegant and a contrast to the rest of the house we had seen, the food was enjoyable.
We then set off to explore Dublin, we found a carpark attached to a department store Arnotts which we had never heard of before and surprise surprise there was a Pandora charm section where we found a shamrock one, for Janes bracelet.  Then on to O Connel Street, which is one of the well known places in Dublin, but is no longer as I remembered. I said we should walk to the river Liffey further up as again its one of the sights of Dublin.

Instead we saw a sign for the Leprechaun museum and decided to visit there, well first problem was further down the street there was no further signs ( maybe a warning) but a helpful man assisted us and we paid and went in, it was wonderful to learn the truth about them, it was fantastic to be told so well about Irelands other inhabitants, Jane was happy to join in particularily climbing at great risk onto the giants chair, it wad a fitting end to our trip. We did see the Liffy but again sadly there was nothing magic about it, so back to the car and a trip to the docks to board the boat.

It was not very full of passengers and we ate before setting sail, guess what a huge portion on CARROT CAKE, then I must of looked underfed by the size of the portion of meat pie on my plate, even I could not win this time. Finally time for a rest, it was peaceful and quiet in the lounge. Soon it will be time for our last meal and trip home.

Jamesons experiance 12 june 2015

Jane was not well last night or this morning, so we decided to take it easy, we drove to the jameson experience for a tour round the distillery,  Jane kindly agreed to try the Irish coffee the barman made before the tour, it was all quite interesting as we went round, I had never realised it took so long before it was fit for consumption, at the end, we were given some to taste, seemed very pleasant but I shared with jane as I was driving, we then went to explore Cork but the traffic was horrendous,  so we came back here for somthing to eat and a rest before our next adventure

Next stop Blarney 11 june 2015

Today we set off again on the next leg of our trip round Ireland, weather warm, but roads busy, yet again I had miscalculated so was yet another long hard drive, but when we got to our destination Ashlee Lodge well worth it. It is in a quiet setting and from the outside looked nothing special but inside it was beautiful and spacious in our room, with a huge bed and plenty of seating for a change. Also a full size bath with jacuzzi to relax in. In the evening we went for a meal, but having now got used to the huge size of the portions here, decided instead to try a chinese meal instead, it was very pleasant. Unfortunately Jane has started with some sort of virus so we had a quiet evening and an early night. Hopefully tomorrow she will feel better and we will be out exploring Cork.

A Quiet Relaxing Day

Today we decided to take it easy starting with a full Irish, I was going into town then coming back to rest. Instead we went to a candle making place which eas quite interesting,  seems they use 3 tons of wax a year.
On the way back we noticed a sign to a lake, so followed the road, sorry senior moment so will have to put more detail in later, was beautiful setting and there was a cruise setting off in a little while.
We boarded and the commentary was good, seems is a popular area for the rich and famous to be on some of the more remote islands, also at the village where we stopped they had filmed the Quiet Man all those years ago and the cottages looked from the outside at least, as they must of all those years ago, it got quite warm as the day progressed,  we went for a walk through the gardens but they seemed much of a muchness after a while, on the way back we stopped for our evening meal then a rest at the b &b

A brief apology

I must apologise at present readers for lack of photos hopefull eventually will be able to upload some for you to better show where we have been and the beautiful scenery

Our trip up north 8 June 2015

Today after a hearty breakfast and brief meeting to retrieve bum bag we set off for Carlingford,  all went well on our journey there through beautiful countryside,  it was a lovely peaceful place. We then continued up north to Coleraine and checked into accommodation,  I was feeling tired so had a rest whilst Jane explored.
Later we set off for the giants causeway it was getting late but still light, we had a walk there but decided the full walk was to high for us so had pleant walk back to the car. When we arrived back we went for a meal then to rest before our next adventure the following day

Our trip to Ireland 5 June 2015

Packed had tickets money and two sat navs so off we set around midnight for the ferry, all went well and apart from one little mistake we arrived at the port, whilst waiting to board Biggles arrived, well we called him that as he was wearing a flying helmet in his little old sports car, well what a poser he was, but soon we boardef, wr decided to see if we could cope with the seats as I was worried in case Jane fell out of a bed in the cabin, we had something to eat then I slept quite well according to Jane then woke just in time for breakfast before disembarking from the ship.
We did well on our trip to where we were staying, unpacked and had a rest. Only problem when decided to go to sons and meet family battery was flat I had left the headlights on and the switch for the warning buzzer was broken, so we had to bring family to us to get going, so a different meeting for Jane with them, all got on well, then later back to rest.
The following day we went bowling, due to problems I am having with right arm, I did not join in, but all enjoyed themselves, think one or two may of suffered later, then KFC for something to eat then back to sons for a chat. On last day I was struggling a little but also wanted to catch up woth sons mum as she has health issues, did this whilst Jane spent some time with family, I forgot to mention on first night I had left my famous bum bag at sons, well guess what did it again that night after we finally parted so arranged they would drop off the following morning before we moved on.

At long last an adventure to Ireland 2015

I have been threatening a holiday touring Ireland for years so this year I finally made the decision to do it with Jane. We did not know where we wanted to stay or even how we would get around. After lengthy discussion we finally decided to go by boat with the car from Liverpool to Dublin.
Over a period of months we started to plan our route, firstly to stay near the family for a few days then to go to giants causeway,  this created a problem as I was convinced it was in the south whereas it is actually in the far north oops, we would then gently wend our way down the left side/ West of the country along the bottom/south to end up back at Dublin ready for our boat home
Over a series of weeks I found suitable places for us to stay hopefully with plenty of time to explore along the way. So all we had to do was look forward to the trip, what could go wrong.
Well Jane started with a series of nose bleeds just before we set off but luckily after 24 hours in hospital we hope she is sorted

Thoughts on 2014

I know this is a little late but still good to look back at the last year of 2014, which has been a very eventful year mainly full of happy times with a number of ticks against my bucket list.

My last blog tells of the fantastic news that I had sisters and family I never knew existed,  meeting the various people has bern such a bonus to my life, but I think it is still wonderful that I have regular contact with my son and his family even if only through Facebook and Skype.

If you have followed my blog you will be aware that in terms of holidays this has been a good year for me,  my trip on safari in Africa was unforgettable,  although I still have not sorted out my video and photos yet.
But then the great round the world trip in November,  initially with my son to fulfill some of his wish list, but also for me as a bonus to share quality time in exciting and restful time with him for our first holiday for just the 2 of us in his life, but then so much more that I saw, so far there are no more grand plans for so much, I realised that sometimes having less flying time and less responsibility will be good for me but also to be on holiday with others is something I prefer yo being a lone traveller. I nearly forgot to say how great it was to spend a few days with my friend Paul in Penang, its a reminder to do these things whilst you can rather than talk about them, thanks Paul.

Through the ex Saga group Buzz I have had a number of adventures in this country and met more people, I have continued to meet up with Brian and Andy on a regular basis and look forward to a holiday maybe in the coming year.

I also started a relationship with Jane in 2014 although we had met the previous year, she has been a huge influence on me in all sorts of ways often quite quietly, listening and discussing with me the issues that come up in life, she makes me smile and feel happy this Christmas was made one of the best I can ever remember by her, her company had helped me feel less lonely and isolated I slso hope I have helped her in her life, at present we have a series of trips to look forward and I feel we grow closer and closer, if you read this Jane thanks for a special year.

I finally stopped fighting with the NHS locally about funding for a former client, I realised I may one day win but nobody else cared and it was good friend who pointed out there were bettet ways gor me to expend my time and energy.  I have also bern helping someone else cope with the appalling way they have been treated by the system, I could not believe that someone who had done nothing wrong other than want the best for their children should have their familes life put through such hell with no evidence, lets hope as we have bern led to believe at long last common sense has worked but how long before they recover from the emotional toll it had taken of their lives,  lets hope that now work is done to help them to move on and leave it behind.

Well I have most probably left important things out but not to worry, at present I am looking forward to 2015 being an enjoyable but more relaxing year and to being able to post even more of my life for you the readers, thanks for taking the time to read and comment.