Rambling

Dublin Team brings Sam to Skerries

2011-09-19T22:48:00.000+01:00

Zahara de los Atunes, Cadiz, Spain - Last Few Days

2011-08-30T20:00:00.001+01:00

We spent Saturday relaxing by the pool and the beach. We tried to book the Morrocan restaurant in Veher but they were fully booked. It is a long week-end in Spain with Ascension Day on Monday 15th. This time we made sure to leave early enough to catch the sunset in Trafalgar. We even knew where to park now! It is a long walk out to the lighthouse. There were lots of people there. The sunset was beautiful. To crown it all a micro-light plane flew by - I think I just caught him!

Sunset at Cape Trafalgar
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Sunset at Cape Trafalgar, Uploaded by M+MD

We decided to head back to Zahara for dinner. When we got there it was hopping - Saturday night and every restaurant had people waiting. I guess we have settled in too well to the Spanish time-keeping. We decided to cut our losses and try for a restaurant nearer home or maybe just some pasta at home. We managed to find La Sal restaurant and we had very nice Sea Bream.

View over Atlanterra and Zahara, Uploaded by M+MD

Zahara de los Atunes
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Sunday we lazed and packed. We took a drive into Zahara to get a few last minute presents. We drove behind the hill at the end of our beach. There was another beach and some stunning Villas. There was also a stunning view back to Zahara. I went down to the pool and the beach for a final swim. As I was swimming the sun was setting into the sea - it was very pretty. I took lots of photos. We finished packing and ate and got to bed at a reasonable time.

Final Evening Zahara
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African Coast from Zahara
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Sunset Zahara, Uploaded by M+MD

Monday morning we set off at 8.30. We were in the airport with lots of time to spare. A great holiday - now back to work to-morrow.

Zahara de los Atunes, Cadiz, Spain - Week Two

2011-08-13T11:00:00.345+01:00

Dear Lisa
It's Saturday again. We've had an interesting week. Just 2 days left. It has been a very good holiday. On Sunday last we headed off to Portugal to visit Gerry and Cath. It was a four hour drive - but motorway all the way. They had a lovely spread laid on for us whe we arrived at 2.30 (Spanish Time - 1.30 Portugese time) Gerry grilled a whole Sea Bass on the grill. it was as big as a salmon and very tasty - even Senan liked it!
Gerry and Cath's Heaven, Quinta da Lago, Uploaded by M+MD.

We lazed around, I swam in the pool. They have done an amazing job on the basement. They have tiled it and finished the Walls. There are 6beds down there and it's cool, and air conditioned. But best of all (says Senan) there was a piano. Senan disappeared down there and was very happy.

Senan Heaven, Quinta
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Just a flying visit
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Later we went down to down to Quinta shopping where we had a drink and something to eat in the D Lounge. We finished up in De Barras of course. We didn't stay too late. The next morning we got up around ten and had breakfast. Our plan was to head back and stop off in Seville for lunch. Before we left we talked to Maeve on Skype -she is in San Francisco working. She was amazed to see the Dobeys in Portugal!

Tapas Bar - Enrique Becarras
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It was less than 2 hours to Seville. It's a big city. We found an underground car park near the Cathedral. It was not too hot for Seville - only 38 degrees! Katy had done the research and under her instructions we found a lovely Tapa bar. There was ordered 8 dishes and we were very well fed. The bar was called Enrique Becerras.

Seville Cathedral - Closed
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After lunch we walked back towards the Cathedral. Mark said it was spectacular - it is the second biggest Cathedral in the world. As we got around to the entrance at 4, it was just closing! It was very hot and the rest of Seville was closed too. We found the main shopping street and there were a few shops open. So Katy and Mags got to work doing what they do best!

After 5.30 most of the shops started to open and the place was not longer deserted. We found the main department store and we all got in on the shopping act. I discovered that visitors could get a card which entitled them to an additional 10% discount. As it was sales time there were some good bargains. I didn't go too mad but bought shorts sandals and a tee- shirt.

Seville
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Strange Cooling System
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By the time we were finished shopping it was after eight and we though we better eat again. The bars and Cafes in Seville had a very interesting cooling system for those sitting outside. Attached to the awnings were a system of narrow pipes with nozzles every 3 feet or so. Every 30 seconds these nozzles would hiss out cool water vapour. It looks like dry ice. A bit weird, but probably effective we were not very hungry and just wanted a snack. We sat out side under the awning with the nozzles keeping us cool and damp.

Just before the Incident!
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However we had broken one of Katy's rules "never eat in a restaurant where there are pictures of the food"! It wasn't great but would have been OK were it not for a "natury" intervention. Something landed on Senan's shoulder and ran across his back. Senan went "aargh - what's that!" Mags went "oh Jesus, what!" and jumped up. In the meantime Senan brushed it off and said "There it is". The waiter was already in hot pursuit - it hid under a chair, he stamped on it once - it still moved, he stamped again... Crunch, it was no more. If it wasn't a cockroach then it w a first cousin. It looked a bit too skinny - but I didn't get a good look. The crunch sounded about right. Mags was totally freaked out and had to leave to walk around. Senan was in shock and I had to finish his burger! We finished up our drinks and left quickly. We didn't leave a tip!

As evening fell, Seville continued to come alive. It was getting cooler as we strolled through the street back towards the Cathedral. As we walked passed the Cathedral the doors were open and these were people streaming out. We had a good look in - but it was closing again! Next time!

Dusk at Calle Vizcaínos, Seville
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Just outside the Cathedral there was a quartet playing classical music, we sat on the steps and listened. We were tired now, it had been a long day and we were ready for home. After some hassle driving, due to a lack of roundabouts in Seville we managed to get on the right road. We eventually got home after one pm. A successful road trip completed.

Quartet Seville Cathedral
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Ready for Home
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Tuesday we just relaxed. The wind picked up and the forecast was for 3 days of hot windy weather. Nobody went to the beach so the pool was pretty full. But we we're ready for relaxation. Tuesday evening we headed out to Cape Trafalgar to see the sun set. However we were just too late. However we parked up and walked part of the way out across the dunes. The wind was whipping the sand up - it was wild, but fun. We then walked into the local town (Canos de Meca) looking for food. We found a nice looking restauraunt. We struggled with the menu - but just when we thought we were sorted it seemed everything we wanted was not available. We walked out. After some searching we eventally found a place that was fine - but very slow. Again it was after midnight when we got home.

Cape Trafalgar
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Cape Trafalgar - It's windy!
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Cape Trafalgar
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Cape Trafalgar - Wnd Cover
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Wednesday, another windy day at the pool. By late afternoon we were feeling a little stir crazy so we headed to Jerez, the home of Sherry which is about an hour away. It is a lively town.
Jerez, Uploaded by M+MD.
We decided to go for a restaurant with pictures again - but a lot of them had pictures - it was pretty good. I got a Paella, which looked just like the picture and tasted ok but was a little shy on meat! The others were happy enough. We were debating Tangiers - will we, won't we. We had heard that we would be hassled. We read up about immigration control. There were mixed reports about the trip. We were told it was interesting, but some said that they ran out of it and couldn't cope with the hassle. After changing our minds about five times we finally decided to go the next day, Thursday. It would also put down the last one of the windy days.

Jerez
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So Thursday morning we were up at 7 to catch the 9 am ferry. It was just 45 minutes drive to Tarifa, but we had to park and get tickets. We were on the boat by 8.40. They had a Moroccan passport control station onthe boat. We queued up and had our passports stamped by 8.55 - we hadn't left yet - so far no hassle. the trip across was pleasant the boat didn't leave until about 9.15. It's just a 35 minute crossing. Most of them slept - I walked about and took a few photos.

35 minutes by fast ferry
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Early Morning Snooze
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When we landed it was pretty straight forward. When we walked out of the terminal building there were a number of "official"? And unofficial taxi and tour guides. We managed to shrug them off.though they all said "it's very difficult to make it on your own"; "there will be hundreds of kids hassling you"; "there are junkies everywhere"; "it's Ramadan, everything is closed and the people are very angry"; "the Medina (old city) has a thousand streets". For 50 euro they would take care of us. For 70 euro they will bring us on a tour of the city and country side and show us a good restaurant to eat. We stuck to our guns and continued on towards the city. Just when we thought we had escaped them all there was one guy still walking beside us. "that is the Medina over there" just where the map had said it was! "I am Ahmed Ben Ali, I am 50 years old. I am not a tour guide, I will be your security. There will be 1000 mosquitos you need one mosquito to help you." We unfortunately had started to talk to him, so he stuck to us like glue. We walked into the Medina, he was right, everywhere was closed. Then we realised that there was a 2 hour time difference and that it was just 8 am - of course everything was closed!

With great difficulty we managed to give him the slip. He had started at 50 euro for 3 hours. We said that we just wanted to wander on our own. He said, "no sir - it is too difficult - there are hundred of kids, there are junkies, you will get lost". As we walked he reduced his price. I the end he was down to 4 euros for 2 hours! We said no thank you. In the end he said "you are just cheap tourists F*** off". We were only too delighted to F*** off and finally so did he!

Day Trip to Tangiers, Uploaded by M+MD

We wandered through the medina, we found the high point with a great view out over the harbour. It is an old rundown typical Arab Medina. We walked through the residential area for a while soaking in the atmosphere and the smells (mainly not that pleasant). At around 9am we ventured into our first shop. "Welcome I am Hassain, have a look - no hassle." There was no hassle - everything was a special price, 3 euro. When he heard we were from Ireland he said "Stephen Carr, (footballer) he is my friend, many times in my shop." It was the usual market fare - leather bags, camel saddles, sandals, slippers, kaftans and so on. We said goodbye and said we might be back. He knew we wouldn't but was very courtious. We found a cafe in a little square called the Petite Socco or little souk. There we sat and had fresh orange juice and coca cola. By now it was 10 am and the shops were beginning to open.

Time for a break
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Finally, Shops!
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Day Trip to Tangiers
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View over harbour
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We had met none of the 100's of boys or junkies. In fact all day we were only hassled one more time. hat was because we walked back out of the Medina and as we went in a different gate we were approached by a "guide" who fed us the same rubbish. However when he asked us where we were from we spoke to him in Irish and he soon gave up! The old town is pretty small and after another hour we had pretty much seen it all. It was getting busier and there was no shortage of shops. The shop keepers bargained but never hassled. I think the secret is to get past the key entrance points where the hasslers hang out. After that it is easy to wander around without too much hassle. We sat down at our cafe again and watched the world go by until around 12.

We decided that we would head back for the 1 pm boat. We made just a couple of purchases and we happy to leave the noise and the dust and heat. On the ferry we got something to eat - it was a long time since breakfast! The ferry back was very rough, the wind was blowing and the fast ferry lurched from side to side. Katy had to return some of her luck in a sick bag! But the ferry crossing was only 40 minutes so it wasn't too bad. An interesting African adventure.

Leaving Tangiers
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Back in Europe!
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Back in Tarifa we found a good Italian restaurant and we we're back in the apartment before six. The wind was gone and that was a relief!

Pool, Uploaded by M+MD

Friday we lazed around the pool. In the afternoon Katy and I went to the beach for a swim. Again we travelled to Cape Trafalger to catch the sunset. However it was hazy and the traffic through Barbate was slow. So we could see the setting sun from the car, but we decided to drive around to a local hill town called Veher. There was some sort of festival going on. We found parking with difficulty but it was a lovely old town. It took us a litle while to find the maisquare. But when we did there was a stage and a band setting up. We got a seat at a restaurant at the edge of the square. The food was very good and we sat and watched the band for a while. We also saw a Moroccan restaurant recommended by our exchange. We will book it for tonight and go back to Trafalgar for the sunset - maybe third time lucky.

Evening in Vehers
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Zahara de los Atunes, Cadiz, Spain - Week One

2011-08-06T23:00:00.041+01:00

Dear Lisa,
It's Saturday and we've been here in Zahara de Los Atunes for almost a week. The apartment is lovely. We have plenty of space, two different balconies with views of the sea. We are slowly settling in to the pace of life in southern Spain. That means you get up late - nobody moves much 'til about 11 in the morning. This makes sense when you see that nobody goes to bed until after mid-night. You won't get food in a decent restaurant until after 9 in the evening and even then you will dine alone! Everything happens later. Lunchtime starts around 3pm - at least that's when people leave the pool or the beach. They return around 5 or 6 until sometime after 8 when they start to get ready to go out.

Zahara de los Atunes, Uploaded by M+MD.

So we have been trying to settle into the same rhythm. There are benefits - it is too hot to sit in the sun in the afternoon, so it makes sense to go to the beach at 5. Even then it is still very warm - but the burning sun is less intense, the water is still warm and by 7 it is still very pleasant - even with a breeze. By 8 the breeze makes it cooler and it's time to put onn a tee-shirt or go home.

Beach looking South
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Beach looking North
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We have managed to settle into this pattern - getting up about 11; wandering down to the pool around 12.30; heading back for lunch around 3; heading for the beach around 4.30, finally we have managed to wait until after 9 to head out to eat. Though by the time we hit the restaurants we are ready to eat and we are usually leaving the restaurant as the local holiday makers are beginning to fill the tables.

The Pool
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On the Roof
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This is a very Spanish resort. We have heard English, German and French voices just once or twice. Even in the supermarket we only hear Spanish voices. Of course, we have no Spanish worth talking about - though we manage through this handicap. The younger Spanish will speak some English - but others have had no need to learn or use it. What are we like! It's hard to believe that someone would come to Ireland on holidays without a word of English - they certainly couldn't rely on much help in their native tongue from the locals! But we have managed to do the equivalent. It is all part of the adventure!

Zahara Sunset, Uploaded by M+MD.

Yesterday we had our first real day trip. We headed 30 kilometres down the road to Tarifa - the bottom of Europe. Africa is just 35 minutes away across the very narrow Straits of Gibraltar. We might take the ferry to Tangiers next week. Tarifa is the kite-surfing capital of Europe. It was quite a sight to see the hundreds of kite-surfers on the beach. The old town of Tarifa is charming to walk around and we found a good restaurant in the middle of it.

Looking at Africa, Tarifa
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Ferry Port, Tarifa
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Tarifa
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Lunchtime Tarifa
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On the way home we called into Bolonia beach which is famous for it's sand dune - just a little too famous because after waiting in a queue for the car park for 15 minutes it was clear that we weren't going to get in! So we went home to our own beach instead - just as good even if there is no sand dune. Anyway it's much to warm to be climbing sand dunes.

Sunset behind Trafalgar from Zahara Beach, Uploaded by M+MD

To-morrow we will drive the four hours to Quinita de Lago in Portugal and stay the night with Gerry and Cath. More about that later.

Lake District 2011: Day Four - Going Home

2011-07-24T23:00:00.027+01:00

Sunday morning. It is another lovely day. Sheila Nicky and Katy decide to go swimming before breakfast. After a leisurely breakfast and get ready for departure. Our ferry leaves Holyhead at 5:15 pm so we have plenty of time.

Nice Morning for a Swim?
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Wastwater Swimmer
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"I'm not Swimming"
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Morning Day Four Uploaded by M+MD

The setting for the hostel is wonderful. The building itself is also very pretty dating back to the early 18th century. It's certainly worth thinking about again.

Just one last group photograph and we are on our way.
For the record and from the left, Martin, Mark, Barney, Eoghan, Sheila, Louie, Nikki, Katy and Senan.

Job Done - Ready for Home, Uploaded by M+MD.

Lake District 2011: Day Three - The Big One

2011-07-23T23:00:00.040+01:00

Day Three The Big One

It was a beautiful morning and the forecast was good. Today's plan was simple. We intended to climb Scafell Pike, 3,200 feet. It is just a 3.5 mile hike up from Wasdale. The contingency plan was that if it was too much for us or the weather was bad we would do Lingmell which is beside Scafell Pike and is on the same route.

Lake District 2011, Uploaded by M+MD.

We drove to the other side of the lake and started up Brown Gill. This route had a number of options. We had a choice of two routes up Scafell Pike. It also allowed us a fall-back objective Lingmell, which is 2,700 feet if Scafell Pike proved too much. Brown Gill is probably the most direct route up Scafell Pike, It is just a 3.5 mile hike with a climb of about 3'000 feet.

We met a group of "3 Peakers" coming down the path we knew we were on the best route. They had climbed Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, and were about to drive to Snowdon. It was only 10 in the morning so they had had an early start.

Steady Progress - Short Break
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There were lots of people on the path. We made good steady progress. The path had been paved with steps for much of the route. It was also one of those quick rising routes that a a little more difficult at the start - but very satisfying and also gave a good reward for effort.

After 2 steady hours walking with lots of short breaks it was clear that Scafell Pike was not going to be a problem for anyone in the group. As we reached the col between Lingmell and Scafell Pike it was only 12.15. It was time to make some choices. The first decision was that we would all go for Scafell Pike - the was still a good 700 feet of climb to go. But since we had already climbed about three times that we were fine.

So the contingency plan was unnecessary. However Lingmell was one of those Wainwright peaks I hadn’t bagged yet. So while Sheila, Louie and Senan waited on the col the rest of us took the 30 minute detour to climb Lingmell. It was worth it. The views were fantastic.

From Lingmell
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First Peak - Lingmell
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On Lingmell
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The Scafells from Lingmell
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Back with the main group at 12.45 we were ready for the last 600 feet to Scafell Pike. We were well ahead of schedule and I started to hatch another plan. We were on top by 1.30 along with about 300 other people!. We found a quite shelter and had lunch.

On Scafell Pike, Uploaded by M+MD.

After lunch I announce my crazy plan. It was to climb Scafell also. Although Scafell and Scafell Pike are beside each other with a col connecting them, there is a 30 foot high rock wall known as Broad End, at the col which make the direct route only possible for climbers with ropes.

There is a route which involves dropping down about 200 feet and then going up a gully filled with scree called the Lords Rake. It is a route I have often looked for on the Scafell side but never quite found. It is easier to see from the Scafell Pike side and I had checked it out on the way up. I was hoping that I would get one volunteer – though in the end I got four! So we split the party in two Sheila, Louie, Nicky and Senan headed down the main descent while Barney Eoghan, Katy and Mark headed down with me to the Lord's Rake. The path down to the entrance was narrow and very steep. But it was only about 100 feet, before we could see the challenge clearly.

Lords Rake - First Up
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Top of the First Up
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The Lords Rake is a traverse through a couple of gullies to the other side of the mountain. Wainwright says that the path is straight and as long as you go through three ups and two downs you are one track.

The first up is a very steep scramble up a gully full of scree. The gully is about six feet wide and the walls of the gully give some handholds. Like any scree you just have to go with the flow. Unfortunately the flow is down while we want to go up! But we made it with a bit of effort.

After that the path dropped down a little with another little climb, followed by a steeper drop and the last scree run to climb out of the traverse. The last run was easy enough and then we were on the other side of Scafell about 400 feet below the top. From there it was just an easy walk up over stones.

From the Lords Rake
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On Scafell - Our Third Peak
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On top it was windy and quite - there were none of the hoards that were on Scafell Pike. there was just one other couple who had been 10 minutes ahead of us in the gully. We got the photo to prove it and set off down the ridge to Wasdale Head. We were tired, but very proud of ourselves.

Co Down on the Horizon
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Last Descent
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We decided on a pretty steep descent back to Wasdale. A narrow scree path which got us down very quickly and then we had a very steep sheep pasture to get back to the bridge over Brown Gill where we started. We were pretty shattered but The stream was cool and refreshing.

Back to Brown Gill
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Refresher!
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Back at the hostel we swapped stories - the others had a pretty steep descent at first and then rejoined the paved path down Brown Gill. The Big One had been a very successful day. It reminded us of that day one Hellvellyn two years ago.

We had a swim in the lake. It was cold... icy cold, but invigorating. Showers and a clean up and back to the pub for dinner. We were tired and ready for home. Another successful Lake District week-end.

Soon it'll be time to start planning next year. There was a strong view that the Hostel was probably the best of the four we stayed at recently. So maybe Wastwater would be a good base for next year. Then again there are a lot of Far Eastern Fells that we have still to explore.

Lake District 2011: Day Two - The Screes

2011-07-22T23:00:00.001+01:00

Day Two it was lovely and bright in the morning. I was awake early and walked down to the lake for a quick sketch. The hostel was quite, we had a good fry-up for breakfast. Then the sandwich making team got into action. We were ready to leave at about 9.45. It was raining. Our route today starts and ends at the hostel.

Its Raining, Uploaded by M+MD.

We were walking from the hostel up to the ridge above the Wastwater screes and then walking back along the bottom of the screes. First we had to walk through the woods. It was raining pretty hard. It eased off a little as we started to climb, but as we got up to the ridge it stopped.

Through the Woods
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Rain is Clearing
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When we got to the top of Whin Rigg it was clear. We could see right down to the hostel. You could see Sellafield and the Irish Sea appearing from under the raincloud.

Sellafield from Whin Rigg
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Hostel from Whin Rigg
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We then had an easy ridge walk to the next top. We were at 2,000 feet. There was a centre path through the open moor. But over to the side there was a path along the edge with fantastic views down to the lake and the screes – you could call it vertigo ridge. The views down the scree cliffs were fantastic.

Open Moor
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Vertigo Ridge
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We had lunch on the next top (Illgill Crag). Then we took the long walk down to get to the start of the screes.

Lunch Time
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Down to Wasdale Head
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The screes path is about 3 and a half miles long. It starts off nice and easy through ferns and bracken above the lake.

Through the Ferns
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Yewbarrow from the Scree path
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After about a mile we came to the first scree. The scree was small and these was a nice easy level path along the screes. After than we had more bracken, then some more easy screes. Then we came to some small but slippery boulders. Then we came to what could only be called a boulder field. It was about 500 yards across and the scree was large rocks. Some were unstable and some moved under your feet. I suddenly remembered why I had only done this once before! It was a very challenging and slow scramble across.

Boulder Field from Above, Uploaded by M+MD.

We were running well behind schedule. Barney and I had planned to meet Katy and Mark at Windermere railway station at 6pm. It was clear we were never going to make that. Barney speeded up, as he wanted to have a shower before we went to collect them. I found the big boulder field very difficult. The path was hard to follow. I went too high above the path. and although I was a long way ahead of the others when we started across the boulder field, they were within talking distance by the time I was finished. I speeded up after that but I was nearly an hour behind Barney. We managed to contact Mark and Katy and told them we would be about an hour late. We still had an hour drive to Windermere.

The others were a long way behinds us. They made it safely off the screes. Sheila took a tumble on the easy path. When they got to the hostel Sheila and Nicky went swimming. We met them later at the pub for dinner. It had been a very pleasant morning and a very difficult afternoon.

Ill Gill Head
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Whin Rigg
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Note to Self. Twice is more than enough times to walk the bottom of the screes. It is very pretty - but the boulder field is very difficult. Once you are half way across it feels like you are trapped. The only way to escape is to continue.

The forecast for to-morrow is good. Scafell Pike is the plan - we will see!

Lake District 2011: Day One - Yewbarrow

2011-07-21T23:00:00.177+01:00

The ferry left Dublin on time at 8.45. We were in Holyhead at 10.45 and on the road just after 11.00. It is a four hour drive from Holyhead. We stopped at a service station just below Preston to have a cup of coffee. Just as we were leaving I heard a familiar voice behind us - Sheila, on her way from London had stopped at the same services. Its a small world!
The drive from Holyhead is dual carraigeway and motorway for 3 hours. It was a tough final hour as we drove up the Duddon valley and turning left at Ulpha. It was not as bad as the year we went over Wrynose and Hard Knott - but it was slow and winding for the last 45 minutes.

Our plan was to meet at the car park at the foot of Yewbarrow. It was raining as we drove into the valley and alongside the lake. Yewbarrow is often photographed because of its position halfway up the Wasdale valley. More than any mountain it looks like an upturn boat. It is one of the two Wainwrights I am planning to add on this trip. As we parked I thought that we may have to cancel due to the weather. Sheila had arrived five minutes before us. As we were consulting and considering, it stopped raining.
So we set off at 4pm. It is a serious first walk – 2,200 feet. It is a no nonsense climb as the path rises directly from the lake.

Wastwater Uploaded by M+MD

We puffed and panted as we started to get our "mountain legs" but we were encouraged by the sight of the lake getting smaller below us. We started up the spine of hill along a wall. Once we were over the wall the path moved across the hill and towards a gully. We scrambled up the gully, the lake still receeding. After about an hour we reached the first top of the gully. At first we were disappointed because we could see there was still quite a bit of a ridge walk to get to the top. But then as we got to the top of the ridge, suddenly, there was the view. It was breath-taking. The lake was now below us, down a vertical gully. The sky was clear and we could see Great Gable; Scafell Pike, Scafell and all the mountains around.

Up the Gully Uploaded by M+MD

Gaining Height Uploaded by M+MD

Yewbarrow Ridge Uploaded by M+MD

Louie Uploaded by M+MD

As we continued on the ridge the views were amazing. We had a clear view to the top of Scafell Pike, a rare sight. Finally we reached what looked like the top. Then we saw that the real peak was about 500 metres away - though not much higher. Finally, we made it. After a rest and some chocolate we continued down towards the col with Red Pike. We cut down an a path before the col - it was a little rough and a little steep but we made it down to the valley. After ten minutes on an ill-defined path beside a stream we joined the main path down the valley. The rest was easy.

Yewbarrow Summit, Uploaded by M+MD.

Wastwater Youth Hostel
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We did the walk in just over 3 hours. We headed back to the hostel and checked in. We were all in one big dormatory with the boys on one side and the girls on the other side of an internal partition. It was perfect. By the time we had got ourselves together it was just nine o'clock. We rang the local pub to see if we were too late for dinner – we were! But they took our order on the phone and ten minutes later we were tucking into steak/salmon and chips and pints. A successful first day behind us, a Wainwright bagged and mountain legs getting into shape.

Lake District 2011

2011-07-20T21:22:00.001+01:00

We are planning another Lake District trip. This year there are nine of us.
Some newcomers: Barney, Eoghan, Louie and Nicky,
a couple of sometimers: Mark and Katy
and some all-timers: Sheila, Senan and Martin.

It is the usual 3 day format.
Arrive on Thursday around 3.30, get a quick warm up walk.
Friday a full day walk getting ready for
The Big One - on Saturday.

This year we will base ourselves in Wastwater youth hostel. It is a lovly early 19th century house on the shores of the lake - the lake is just at the bottom of the garden.

Sunlight reflected on Great Slab Bow Fell

2010-07-21T09:00:00.001+01:00

Sunlight reflected on Great Slab Bow Fell, originally uploaded by M+MD.

Changing Weather

2010-07-21T00:42:00.001+01:00

Changing Weather, originally uploaded by M+MD.

View from top of Glaramara

Bagging Wainwrights

2010-07-14T07:00:00.003+01:00

There are 214 hills in the 7 Wainwrights pictorial guides to the Lake District. They are not exactly all the biggest hills - though they are pretty close. Lots of people (mainly from the North of England) make it there ambition to climb each of these hills. I have done about 67 of them - though I am not certain of some of the early adventures. A couple of days on the walk I did in 1981 are a bit vague - especially the first day when I climbed Grasmoor above Buttermere and the last day when I climbed High Street.

There are now lots of resources on the internet for walkers and climbers. This site allows you to mark each hill you've climbed - pretty cool. My Wainwrights

This weekend I hope to add another five to this list. Watch this space.

Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes Concert at Vicar Street, Dublin on July 1, 2010

2010-07-13T07:35:00.021+01:00

What a fantastic concert. Its been nearly twenty years since we saw Elvis Costello at the Feile in Thurles in 1991. He has taken many musical twists and turns - that what I like about him. Currently he is touring with a band called the Sugarcanes. In theory promoting their album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane. This is a bluegrass and country themed album. But in practice the concert was the full repetoire. It's a long time since Elvis played in Dublin - I'm not sure how long - but I missed the last concert and I won't be missing the next one.

Elvis Costello
uploaded by M+MD

Jim Lauderdale
uploaded by M+MD

The band is pretty good line-up, featuring singer songwriter, Jim Lauderdale on Guitar and Vocals; Dennis Crouch on Double Bass; Stuart Duncan on Fiddle; Jerry Douglas on Dobro; Mike Compton on Mandolin and Jeff Taylor on Accordian.

Dennis, Jim, Jeff
uploaded by M+MD

Elvis Costello
uploaded by M+MD

Vicar Steet is such a cool venue. We had a table in the third row so as you can see from the photos and videos, the view was pretty amazing. He was clearly enjoying himself and didn't play just one long encore - but as you can see from the setlist below he played 3 encores. His main set was a very acceptable 15 songs. However he played another 13 in the three encores!

The Setlist was as follows (thanks to setlist.fm)
1. Mystery Train
2. Blame It On Cain
3. Down Among the Wines and Spirits
4. New Amsterdam / You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
5. Good Year For The Roses
6. Condemned Man
7. Complicated Shadows
8. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
9. The Delivery Man
10. Jimmie Standing in the Rain
11. Slow Drag With Josephine
12. Little Palaces
13. Friend of The Devil
14. Everyday I Write The Book
15. Don't Lie To Me
Encore:
16. Girls Talk
17. The Spell That You Cast
18. That's Not the Part of Him You're Leaving
19. Sulphur to Sugarcane
Encore 2:
20. Mystery Dance
21. Poor Borrowed Dress
22. Alison / Wind Cries Mary
23. Shipbuilding
24. (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?
Encore 3:
25. The Crooked Line
26. Happy
27. The Race Is On
28. American Without Tears

Videos:

Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes, uploaded by M+MD.

More Photos

A Training Exercise up Lugnaquilla

2010-07-04T08:00:00.000+01:00

In preparation for the forthcoming Lake District trip we did a 6 hour walk up Lugnaquilla from the Glen of Imaal. We had great weather. It's probably the least interesting route up Lug, but we need the practice and also its the easiest side to approach the mountain. Greg brought Christopher and Peter, I brought Senan and Kevin brought Liam! We made it up in just over two and a half hours, whch is pretty good going. We took a longer time to go down, stopping for lunch. We decided to take in the next two hills which meant that we had a longer walk back to the Glen of Imaal pub, where we had parked the cars.

Lugnaquilla
uploaded by M+MD

On Camarahill
uploaded by M+MD

Going Down
uploaded by M+MD

A few words at Sheila's 80th Birthday Party

2010-05-31T23:55:00.025+01:00

Birthday Speech
uploaded by M+MD

When I first met my Auntie Sheila I was about seven. To me as a seven year old she was very exotic; she was all dressed in white and she had a very exotic name, Cabrini. We could only see her every eight years, at least that's was my mother's answer to my question "how often is she let out?" This of course made her more exotic than her brother Martin who lived in very exotic Fiji and was let out every seven years.

My Exotic Aunt. The most famous exotic Aunt in litreture was probably Henry Pulling's Aunt Augusta in Graham Greenes novel "Travels with my Aunt". When I think about Sheila I think about my travels with my aunt and my aunts travels with many others.

But it wasn't eight years before she was let out again. Sheila visited Ireland when I was 12. It was the summer after I had finished Primary school and was just going to start 2nd level. Sheila was teaching in London and she managed to persuade Brian and Joan that it would be a great idea if I spent a month in London with her the following summer. So I did and at the age of 13 I started my travels with my aunt.

What a marvellous adventure - a month in London. London that world famous city with so many world famous place that I had seen on TV and films, books and magazines: Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral, Regents Park, London Zoo. So many exotic sights and places. Of course I spent a little time in school, but it was summer term with outings evey second day. We went to the Zoo, the Science Museam, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Cantebury Cathedral and much more.

Cake
Uploaded by M+MD

I did get a little carried by all the tourist hype. I was much taken by the presence of the Union Jack everywhere, from postcards and button badges to large plastic shopping bags with the Union Jack on them. I collected these various souvenirs - oblivious to the cultural significance of all of this. My father Brian, a captain in the Irish Army was not to impressed when I showed all this paraphernalia on my return and soon all union jack symbols were banished to the attic.

When Sheila moved to the Lake District, the travels with my aunt continued. Through Sheila I became very familiar with the Lake District and have been back walking there many many times since.

Auntie Sheila Replies
Uploaded by M+MD

When she moved to Suffolk and SAY (Suffolk Association of Youth) that was a very big change in Sheila's life and very much in keeping with my exotic aunt's reputation. She was now Chief Executive of the voluntary Youth organisation in Suffolk. Suffolk was a stopping off point for me travelling to Europe via Harwich.

After retiring from SAY Sheila didn't really retire but continued to travel. She joined VMM and spend 3 months in Sierra Leone, she went half way round the world with my mother Joan to visit Fr Martin in Fiji.

From Roscommon to London , Preston, Keswick, Stowmarket, Fiji Sierra Leone and many other places in between, my exotic Aunt leaves Aunt Augusta looking very ordinary.

So like all of us here today there is so much to celebrate. Sheila has enriched all of our lives in so many ordinary and exotic ways.

Ski 2010

2010-03-01T08:00:00.003Z

Chalet Raphael
uploaded by M+MD

This year we went skiing again to Meribel with Deirdre, Chris, Katie and Roisin. We stayed in Chalet Raphael in Le Raffort. We had a fantastic time. The skiing gets better every year - even if the limbs get older and rustier! We were joined by Chris and Helen and family.

SnowBoard Novice
uploaded by M+MD

This year Senan and Katie S took up snow-boarding for the first time. That slowed them down for a day or two - but they were whizzing past us again by day three.

We managed to survive without any serious injuries - though we had a pretty scary run off the top on the Thursday. The problem is that the snow-board doesn't go very fast on the flat. We hit a slow spot on the top of the Cretes run and as a result we were the last on the piste. Mags made it down on her own, while the sweeper on the Skiddoo followed me and Senan. About ten minutes from the bottom (as the light faded) Senan was offered a lift on the back of the Skiddoo. I continued to ski with the Skiddoo just behind me. However with the fading light it was getting harder and harder and so when I took a bit of a tumble, the driver headed down with Senan and came back up for me. No damage done - just a bruised shoulder and a little injured pride! Anyway the free Skiddoo ride down was worth it!
Ski 2010, uploaded by M+MD.

Christy Moore & Declan Synott in ConcertVicar Street 5th January 2010

2010-01-06T08:00:00.006Z

New Years concert in Vicar Street with Christy Moore and Declan Synott.

Christy Moore & Declan Sinnott, uploaded by M+MD.

The Dobey Cup 1982 – 2009

2009-11-27T23:50:00.010Z

Newbridge win Dobey Cup
uploaded by M+MD

It was a plan hatched with Seany to see if we could revive the Dobey Cup. The germ of the idea was prompted by The Curragh RFC Reunion in May 2009. It was developed further as we walked around the Lake District with Seany. Brigadier General Sean McCann, now Officer Commanding the Curragh Camp, and a team mate of Seany's from his Curragh days, was very supportive of the idea.

It came to pass on a cold Friday evening in November. It was a good match which Newbridge played against an Army team. There were lots of conflicted people on the pitch and on the sideline. Rory McCann who is Captain of Newbridge, was also captain of the Army team and captained the Army against hos own team. Pearse McCorley walked up and down the sideline shouting "come on the Curragh!".

A Cold November Evening
uploaded by M+MD

Newbridge Team
uploaded by M+MD

Greg, Kevin and I flew the Dobey flag. Us members of the Dobey family weren't sure who to shout for. We were made feel very welcome by the Newbridge club and were well looked after on the night. Tom Treacey presentedthe three of us with a very rare item - an Old Kilcullen tie each. In the old days "Old Kilcullen were the local rivals to the Curragh - Newbridge RFC of courcse was the merger of these two rivals.

Newbridge win Dobey Cup,uploaded by M+MD.

The following is an extract from the match programme:

Commandant Barney Dobey. (1931-1981) was President of the Curragh RFC for 2 years from 1997 to 1979. It was an exciting time for the club. Barney had a drive and enthusiasm for the Curragh which was infectious.

Gerry McMahon was Chairman for the same 2 years and they were both involved in building a club house extension and laying a new pitch on the Green Road.

Barney was a strong advocate of a community based club and knew that Army was just one important element of the greater rugby community. Civilians were playing for the club for the first time during this era, Barry O Sullivan , Mick Walsh , Steve Kinneavy, Sean Hayes (nephew of Joan and Barney Dobey) to name a few. Some years later Barney's son Brian played No 8 for the first team, this would have given Barney great joy

In that first year as president, Barney helped recruit a Welsh coach Bob Cole who brought a whole new dimension to the Curragh team in that famous 1977/78 season. The team reached the final of the Towns Cup; won their section of the J1 league and qualified for the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup. They also played in the J1 league final – victory could have meant senior status, but it wasn’t to be.

Barney resigned as president in 1979 when he was posted to the Middle East for 18 months. After his untimely death in August 1981, aged only 49, Barney’s wife Joan donated a trophy in memory of Barney.

The Curragh RFC in conjunction with the North Midlands area ran an underage competition for a number of years up until the early nineties. For many young players in the North Midlands clubs in the eighties and nineties this was their first piece of silverware.

The Dobey family (Martin, Sheila, Paul, Brian, Greg and Kevin) wish for the trophy to be played for again. They believe that a fixture between an Army XV and a Newbridge XV is an appropriate remembrance of their father Barney and of his views and aspirations for rugby. The family hope that new bonds of friendship can be built between Civvy and Army and that Rugby in Newbridge benefits.

Barney was born in Roscommon but lived in Newbridge for almost half his life. If he were alive at the time of the merger, he would have been a strong supporter of the foundation of Newbridge RFC. It is appropriate that the inaugural fixture coincides with the turning on of the new floodlights at the Newbridge RFC grounds.

The Dobey family are thrilled to have Barney’s love of Rugby, Newbridge and the Army remembered and celebrated in an annual fixture. It is a fine trophy – and any team should be proud to have it in their cabinet.

How to get your new double bed home Pushkar India

2009-09-17T21:37:00.001+01:00

As seen by Mags and Katy on holidays in India.

Federer's Amazing Through the Legs shot

2009-09-14T08:19:00.004+01:00

What's even more amazing is that this shot was the one that gave him three match points in teh semi-final of the US Open.

New York, New York Saturday 15th August

2009-09-01T23:16:00.012+01:00

The Taxi arrived on time. We said goodbye to the house, put on the alarm and posted the key in the letterbox. We were at the airport by 8.30. It was a very easy check-in and we were at the gate 10 minutes later. We got some breakfast and played Bananagrams to put down the time.

We were flying with Jet Blue and I would have to recommend them. The seats were comfortable - they take out a row or two for additional comfort, quite the opposite approach to Ryanair! The Air Hostess was hilarious. As we boarded she was holding a toddler in her arms whom she introduced to everybody boarding as the captain. She managed to get us all singing - "I don't do Rap" - a reference to the following SouthWest Airlines Steward:

But she had all the passengers clapping and singing "If your Happy and you know it Clap your hands ". She was a regular comedienne. It's a three hour flight and Jet Blue have individual live TV and pay movies. For some reason the live TV wouldn't work and in the spirit of customer service they opened the pay movies to all for free. The movie we watched was "I Love You Man". It was hilarious. At the projectile vomit scene I laughed so loud the passengers in front (who were watching something else) looked around to see what was going on! Ooops! The time flew and as we landed the TV came back and we watched Tiger warming up for the 3rd round of the Bridgestone Invitational.

We got a taxi into New York ending up taking the Midtown Tunnel and arriving just below Grand Central. Its my favourite way into New York - the buildings seem to reach the sky once you come out of the tunnel! We checked into our double double at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison and 45th street. It was a tight squeeze with all our luggage. But we weren't planning on spending much time in the hotel!

5th Avenue, New York
Uploaded by M+MD

We needed to get started in New York and we needed something to eat, so Lisa introduced us to Chipotle on 42nd street at Bryant Park. Then we headed up 5th Avenue towards 59th Street.

We spilt up when we saw s Barnes and Noble. We needed to find a copy of top 10 New York so that we could find the diner Lisa and Katy enjoyed so much last year. After spending about 20 minutes in the bookshop we decided that it must be EJ's on 73rd and 3rd. Lisa confirmed it later. Senan and I headed back up 5th Avenue to see if we could locate the girls.

Time Square
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We wandered into H&M and sure enough - there they were - as if there aren't enough shops on 5th Avenue. We left them to it and continued up 5th avenue until we reached the Apple Store. There we spent an hour playing with the iPhones and Macbooks until Lisa and Mags joined us. We paid a visit to FAO Schwartz toy store, which is right beside the Apple Store, before heading back to the hotel for a brief rest and a change of clothes.

Saturday evening we got the subway down to Spring street and walked over to Mulberry Street where Little Italy was in full Saturday night swing. We got a nice spot on the footpath and we had an excellent Italian meal with a nice bottle of Gavi to wash it down while we watched the world go by.

We headed over to Time Square to show Senan the lights of Broadway. By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted. Half a day done - two and a half more hectic days to come.

Last Day and Packing Friday 14th August

2009-08-21T09:47:00.009+01:00

Well after that interesting day yesterday we have arrived at out last day in New Orleans. Packing is the name of the game today. We go through the house moving everything towards our bedroom. Then we take some time by the pool.

Street Singer
Uploaded by M+MD

Trombone
Uploaded by M+MD

Mags and I head into Riverwalk where we can get the Louisiana Sales taxes back. Riverwalk is a big shopping mall. We ask at the visitors desk convention centre. They are not sure and direct is to a shop downstairs. They are not the place but they direct is back upstairs. Just when we thought this might all be a bit of a fools errand we spotted it "Louisiana Sales Tax Refund Centre" can't be any clearer than that! We collected our refund of just over $40 in cash. If we had known the procedure earlier we might have recovered more - next time we will be wiser!

New Orleans Streetcar
Uploaded by M+MD

Then we took a stroll down to Cafe Du Monde for a last but of New Orleans flavour. We had coffee and beignets and listened to the street musicians. The we got the tram back to where we had parked the car. We finished packing and booked a taxi for 8 am in the morning - our flight to New York is at 10 am.

We went out to Crescent City Steak House for dinner. We had excellent steak in a real old style restaurant - only been around since the 1930's. It was a nice close to an excellent fortnight. We have had warmth and relaxation combined with good food and good music as well as a couple of good away days. We have been busy - but not too busy and we are ready for the hectic pace of New York. We will certainly try to get back to New Orleans again. There is still so much to see and do. It has been a very interesting time to be there four years after Katrina. The city has made a lot of progress in four years - but the scars are still visible in places. It would be interesting to see what another few years would bring.

Outside Cafe Du Monde, Uploaded by M+MD.

Beach by Day, Zydeco by Night Thursday 13th August

2009-08-20T19:55:00.006+01:00

Gulfport Mississippi, Uploaded by M+MD.

Well we thought it wouldn't be a holiday without going to a beach. According to the Internet there are no real beaches in Louisiana but if you want a beach you should travel East. Florida is only 3 hours away by Highway. Much nearer to New Orleans are the beaches of Mississippi at Long Beach, Gulfport and Biloxi. We settled on Long Beach. We left around 10 am and were at the beaches before 11.30. The beaches were beautiful with miles of white sand running beside the road.

Gulfport Mississippi
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Strange Pedelos
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The area was damaged by Katrina and we could see lots of evidence of recent repair though no evidence left of the damage. There were areas of the beach where the parking and the footpaths were being relaid and also there were some very small immature palm trees along the edge of the beach. We stopped and checked out the water - it was warm! There was also a funny looking fish swimming in the shallows. There was nobody on the beaches - it was a little eerie. There were lots of beautiful beachfront property. Of course schools in New Orleans opened last week. It seems like they must all be back in Mississippi too. We know that they are not back in New York yet - Senan checked his friend Kevin's school and it isn't back until the second week in September.

We decided Long Beach was too quite and drove along the beaches until we reached Gulfport. It was also quiet though we came to an area opposite a Marriott Hotel which had a number of sun beds for hire and a car park. There were even a few people around. That looked good enough for us. We hired 2 double lie outs for the day and got ourselves set up under a sun umbrella. We put on the sun cream and tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. We read our books. The temperature was in the mid 90's but there was a lovely fresh breeze off the sea.

Shelter from the Sun
Uploaded by M+MD

Life is a beach
Uploaded by M+MD

At about 3 we went looking for food. We found a strip mall leading back to the Highway, but nothing interesting in the line of restaurants despite driving all around. In the end we settled for a Subway. We all agreed that it hit the spot. In the afternoon we went in for a swim. The water never really went much above the waist, but we managed to swim after a very long walk out from the beach. What was most strange was these flying or jumping fish which started to appear p front of us. They were about the size of a large mackerel and they seemed to jump rather than flying. There were a line of posts which probably marked deeper water - we never reached out that far. On the top of each pole was a Pelican. They were not very interested in the flying fish - maybe they had just eaten! They were more interested in holding onto their perch on the post!

Water like Soup
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Tides Out
Uploaded by M+MD

We packed up at 6 and were home at 7.30. We decided to try our luck at the bowling in the Rock N Bowl again. It was also a zydeco night. Zydeco is Creole country rock music with lots of dancing; button accordion and washboards. We had read about it but had no real idea what to expect. Well the first thing that we found was that the place was hopping - even busier than Saturday night with Kermit Ruffins. Everyone was on the floor dancing. The dance was a strange combination of two step and jive and lots in between. The accordian and leader of the group is Geno Delafose. His album was noiminated for a Grammy in 2008. You can see the washboard (worn around the neck; and the accordian as well as the dancing in the video clip taken that evening.

It was a great backdrop to our improving bowling. We were just a little hungry and we got some fries while we bowled. After the bowling we watched the music had a couple of beers and even did a little dancing ourselves. It was another great night at the Rock N Bowl.

Dancin' to Zydeco, Uploaded by M+MD.

French Market & Preservation Hall Wednesday, 12 August

2009-08-19T00:36:00.000+01:00

After a couple of quiet days we needed some action. This morning planned to head down to the French Quarter Flea Market and the Farmers Market. Senan decided he needed a break from shopping and stayed at home.

French Market
Uploaded by M+MD

Guinness is Good
Uploaded by M+MD

We drove down and found the market. I drew, while the Mags and Lisa hunted for bargains. After about 50 minutes a downpour started. It lasted the usual 20 minutes. As it cleared we headed towards Bourbon Street. As we didn't have Senan with us we thought it would try Pat O'Briens. But we were too early for the pub although the restaurant was open. We ordered 3 Hurricanes - even if it was before noon - its tea-time in Ireland and we're on our holidays!

Rain in French Quarter
Uploaded by M+MD

Rick with our Hurricanes
Uploaded by M+MD

We had a very interesting conversation about Katrina with Rick, our waiter. He was New Orleans born and bred. He didn't leave before Katrina because they had no where to go, all their friends and relatives were from New Orleans. They lived in Algiers on the other side of the Mississippi so they had bad wind damage but not too much flood damage. However they had to evacuate about a week after Katrina because there was no water or power and it just wasn't feasible to live there. He went to Houston and stayed there for about 10 months. He got separated from his teenage kids at the time of the evacuation. Eventually he had to put out a missing persons alert to locate them. He was pretty philosophical about the whole thing. "It makes you think about what's important". We headed back for the car after buying the souvenir glasses and promising to send Rick a postcard from Ireland.

The Hurricanes had quite a kick. There is 4oz of white rum in each plus an unspecified Hurricane mix! I'm sure they were just tired but both Lisa and Mags had a little snooze when they got home. Me? I don't remember!

Mags made pasta for lunch when we got home. Maybe that's why she had a snooze. More resting by the pool was necessary because that night we were planning to go to Preservation Hall.

This is a music venue just off Bourbon Street which is dedicated to the preservation of Dixieland jazz. It is a most amazing location - it could do with a good lick of paint - though you would have to repair and plaster the walls first. Its all part of the look!

Preservation Hall
Uploaded by M+MD

Preservation Hall Jazz, Uploaded by M+MD.

William Smith
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Earnest 'Doc' Watson
Uploaded by M+MD

No drink or food - its just like we were in someones front room. The band was great. They started at 8 am played for about 50 minutes, took a 15 minute break and then started up again and played again for 2 more sessions. Requests cost $5 but a request for "The Saints" cost $10! We got "The Saints" in the middle of the second session. It was another great night. We left just as the third session was starting. There is lots of standing room, but only seats for about 30 people. Lisa and Mags did get sitting for the second session. They allowed photography but no flash and strictly no video. Well, we could resist the following few segments.

Afterwards we watched the madness develop on Bourbon Street from a little pizza place next door. We had french fries while we watched. Two policemen on horses came down the street and stopped at the bar across from us. The bar staff feed the horses and watered the cops! It looked like a regular nightly visit.

Mounted Police
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French Quarter Pizza
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Soon we were ready for home. We are running out of time and we have another big day planned for to-morrow.

Bowling Blues at Rock N Bowl Tuesday, 11 August

2009-08-14T17:37:00.004+01:00

We lazed around the pool most of the day. Mags ventured out to the supermarket on her own - didn't get lost and brought home an Indian Curry fron the Curry House on Carrollton for lunch. In the evening we went to the Lebanese Cafe on Carrollton and had excellent Kebobs and Hummus. After we were feed we went to the Rock N Bowl - this time to go bowling as well as listen to an excellent Blues Rock band.

Our bowling was a little rusty - but there were a smattering of strikes. The place was not as busy as last Saturday. The music finished at 11 and we left just a little after that.

A Lazy Day Monday, 10th August

2009-08-13T17:35:00.000+01:00

Mags had a need to go shopping this morning so she got up early and I dropped her to Lakeside before 10 am. On the way home I went to Best Buys at the next exit. There was some interesting looking stuff - might be of interest to Senan too.

Watch the Birdie
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Lazing by the Pool
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We lay by the pool and swam and read before heading back to collect Mags around 2 pm. I left Lisa to meet Mags and me and Senan checked out the GuitarHero and Rockband equipment for the Wii. In the end we were wiser but the only purchase was a second battery for my camera.

Camellias
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Our Spot
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Rick our Waiter
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Photo in Camellias
Uploaded by M+MD

We headed back to the. Mall where we met Mags and Lisa and decided to have lunch at Camellias again. The place was pretty quiet. We sat at the same spot on the counter and had the same waiter again! Food was fast and good and just what we needed. The rest of the day was lazy and quiet, sitting by the pool and reading our books.

Blue Bayou and Dixie Lanin' Sunday 9th August

2009-08-12T05:24:00.001+01:00

One week gone and one week to go in New Orleans. One of our plans for next week was to go to a water park near Baton Rouge a little over an hour away. We checked this morning for the opening times. It turns out that since public schools in Louisiana start back this week' the water park is only open at weekends. So our plan to go on Monday or Tuesday was not a runner. We made a quick decision and packed our togs and towels and set off around 12.30.

Bayou
Uploaded by M+MD

Raised Highway
Originally uploaded by M+MD

We arrived shortly after 1.30 - it was freeway door to door. The journey on the freeway was interesting. It took us along the shores or Lake Pontchartrain for a while and then we drove on a highway built on stilts over water for about half the way. Here were the real bayous with trees growing out of the water and a canal down the middle of the two carriageways of the freeway.

Blue Bayou
Uploaded by M+MD

We parked and paid and were soon changed and queueing for a slide. It was a combination amusement and water park. Despite it being that last day of the holidays, it wasn't too busy. Probably because the weather was a little overcast at times and there was a risk of thunderstorms. Indeed we had the cut short one of the queues because they shut down the rides for 10 minutes. Then the danger past without hitting us and we rushed to the front of the queue! However after another slide the thunder did arrive and we took the opportunity to eat. 30 minutes later the rain stopped and we were fed.

Voodoo Slide
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We then queued for the Voodoo Ride where four of us got into four connected runner rings and were sent sliding and twisting down in the dark finally spinning around a vortex in the half light only to be spat out into the open again. A few more queues and slides and we were ready to dry off and change and try our hand at the roller coasters.

We started with the basic and moved on to the Extreme. The extreme involved a spinning four person roller coaster ride. It was extreme and great fun. Mags have the roller-coasters a miss and was happy to sit in the shade and read her book. Lisa and I went on the big roller coaster with the two 360 degree turns. The ride went forward first through both loops and some lesser twists and then did the whole thing in reverse! We then managed to get ourselves wet again in a water roller coaster before collecting Mags and watching Lisa and Senan take a second ride on the spinning Extreme.

Blue Bayou
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Dixie Landin'
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We were back in New Orleans before seven. We showered and changed. We weren't that hungry but we did need to eat. We went to a diner on St Charles and Carrollton, where we saw them queuing on for lunch yesterday as we waited for the tram. Its called Camellias. It wasn't very busy when we called around 8.30 but they were very friendly. We had excellent diner fair - burgers with fries all around. It was very good value and had a nice relaxed feel to it. Well fed we went home and played Bananagrams 'til we dropped.

Streetcars and Rock N Bowl Saturday, 8th August

2009-08-11T01:14:00.019+01:00

After a couple of days with no rain, the rain arrived mid morning for a change. We had thunder and lighting too. That was all the incentive we needed to get out and do some tourist like things. The rain stopped quickly as it does and we drove to Maple Street and took the St Charles Streetcar towards town. As we waited for the tram we saw people queueing for lunch at Camellia's Diner. That's one to check out later.

St Charles Streetcar Outing
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Here Comes the Streetcar
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Streetcar Outing
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Streetcar Interior
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St Charles Streetcar
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We got out at the Garden District to see the Lafayette Cemetery, but it closes early on Saturday - so you could say it was dead quiet. We walked around the Garden District admiring the amazing houses there. As we headed back for the tram we found the Garden District Bookshop and had a browse there. It was in an old timber building with a couple of interesting shops and a lovely coffee shop together. I guess you could call it a turn of the century mall. We bought a few books and then sat and had coffee.

Outside Garden District Bookshop, Uploaded by M+MD.

Refreshed we headed back to St Charles Street and the Streetcar. Its such an old fashioned tram with high ceilings and timber seating. It looks like nothing has changed about these teams in nearly 100 years. Tennessee Williams had exactly these streetcars in mind in his play "A Streetcar Named Desire". As we approached downtown we saw a lot of men and women in red dresses. It turns that this is the annual New Orleans Hash House Harriers Red Dress Run . The club bills itself as "The Drinking Club with a Running Problem."

Guys in Red Dresses
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What the heck?
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Riverwalk, Uploaded by M+MD.

We got off the street car walked to the Riverwalk centre where we got food. I had a shrimp sandwich also known locally as a shrimp Po-Boy. It was another mall, Senan and I had been conned again. However Senan got a cool pair of Converse shoes so I guess he didn't do too bad. I consoled myself with Kermit Ruffins' new CD. As the name implies this Mall runs along the river and the views from the balcony are pretty interesting with every type of ship and boat travelling up and down the river. Shopped out, we headed back for the streetcar. The houses along St Charles are pretty spectacular too.

Riverwalk Balcony
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Natchez Riverboat
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We got home, showered and changed because to-night we were going to the Rock N Bowl just about a mile away to see Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers as recommended by Gene and Tay. It was a very interesting venue. It was family friendly, the only rule was no alcohol under 21. There were about 10 bowling alleys as well as a bar a stage and a dance floor. We just managed to get a seat. There were a couple of different parties going on - a wedding party and a birthday party. The band were setting up as we arrived.

Kermit Ruffins
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Bass Player
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Kermit Ruffins
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Dancing
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At about 9.45 Kermit and the band arrived and started playing. It was a Louis Armstrong type performance to start - the singing trumpeter playing jazz classics. As the night went on the style broadened out but it was really what you would expect Louis Armstrong to sing if he were around today. It was s pretty hard crowd at the start in that most people were continuing to do their own thing. However as the parties started to break up and more people arrived it livened up. Gr then got people up and dancing.

Then the hool-a-hoops arrived. There were some pretty impressive displays and some pretty hopeless cases too! All this was going on while the band played. At some point a group of students with Grease tee shirts arrived in. They certainly knew how to dance. Then we had a demonstration from a couple of professional looking Latin dancers. As midnight approached the whole dance floor was thronged as Kermit did his last number before the break and then he was going to come back and do some more. We thought we better quit a while we were ahead. It was a great night out and the place had a lovely local family feel while playing really good typical New Orleans jazz.

Retail Therapy Friday 7th August

2009-08-10T15:37:00.000+01:00

A House in New Orleans
Uploaded by M+MD

Sales tax is one of those annoying adjustments you have to make when shopping in the US. The best trick is to include it in the currency rate rule of thumb when comparing prices to back home. So, with the exchange rate at 1.40 or to use the inverse which is .715 and then add 9% sales tax, that gives you an effective price tag conversion rate of .78 ie everything marked $100 is really €78. Well it works for me!

You know its a recession when the state give a 2 day sales tax holiday, not that you would ever see such a VAT holiday in Ireland! This week-end there is a state sales tax holiday in Louisiana. That means that there is a 5% reduction on everything. Local taxes of about 4% still apply. Of course this is of no interest to us because as visitors to Louisiana we are entitled to get all the sales tax back. But there are a lot of hoops and procedures.

We don't need much incentive to go shopping in our family - so we were back at Lakeside Mall today. It was a lot busier than earlier in the week - I suppose no sales tax is an incentive. The retailers were doing their bit with some great sales - another sign that there is a recession.

Lisa discovered how to get the sales tax back today - its not so easy unless you are organised. First you must carry you passport or at least know your passport number. Then you must ask the retailer for a Louisiana sales tax voucher. Then you must keep your receipt and go somewhere - we havn't figured that put yet. Lisa?

New Orleans Sunset
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Senan and I were restrained. - we bought coffee, hot chocolate and beignets. Beignets are doughnuts without a hole and loads of icing sugar piled on top. Delicious.

Mags and Lisa did their bit for the US economy and shopped until they could carry no more. Its amazing what you can get for $200 when there is a sale on. It was getting dark by the time we got home and we caught the sunset just at the end of our street. We ate at the Mall so we had a quiet evening playing cards and nibbling whatever was to hand.

Fleur de Lis Thursday, 6th August

2009-08-09T01:00:00.000+01:00

Louisiana is called after King Louis XIV of France back in 1682. What we don't remember is that for just under 40 years Louisiana was a Spanish Colony. Louis XV gave it to his cousin the King of Spain in 1763, much to the displeasure if the locals. In the French Quarter there are tiles on many of the streets indicating the old Spanish street names. I suspect that most of these are recent replicas rather than the original street signs. Napolean took it back in 1800. But he only used to to finance his wars in europe and he sold it on to the US for $15m in 1803. It became a state in 1812.

Painting outside back door
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Stencil on the Floor
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Hanging on the Wall
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On the Office Wall
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Stencil Above Veranda
Originally uploaded by M+MD

Strange Metal Art Work
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The French symbol of the Fleur de Lis is everywhere in New Orleans. As you can see from the photos above it is also everywhere in 4320 Cadiz!

A Pool in New Orleans
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Today we lazed in the pool and headed out for some Mexican food in the evening. We were hoping for something light to eat - but that's not really possible in a Mexican Restaurant. The food was good but there was just so much!!

Bourbon Street by night Wednesday, 5th August

2009-08-08T00:05:00.009+01:00

Bourbon Street, Uploaded by M+MD.

It was another lazy day by the pool. The sky was clearer and the sun was hotter. But there are lots of shady spots in the garden. When it gets too hot we can either go for a swim or go inside where the air conditioning is a cool 70 degrees.

We consulted Zagat again and decided to see if we could locate a good value point. We also thought we might explore the French Quarter again. We settled on Adolfos on Frenchmans Street. Frenchmans is also a good place to check out the music venues - d.b.l. and Snug Harbor being just 2 I have read about. We headed out around six and we found a parking lot at the Farmers Market just on the eastern edge of the Quarter.

Bourbon Street
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We walked up Frenchmans and found Adolfos . We almost past it by. It is located above a bar in a run down looking timber building. Only for the name on the door; some reassurance that the address was correct and that we were using the current edition of Zagat we would have assumed it was closed down. We went up the dark stairs and found the restaurant on the second floor as Zagats had promised. It also promised southern Italian cuisine with a Louisiana touch. The room was dark but cool. We were a little early but there were some diners there before us. We were greeted by someone who looked like he might even be Adolfo and he showed us to a table by the window. Adolfo gave us the menus and asked us if it was our first time here. When we confirmed that it was, he then advised us that it was cash only if that was ok! No problem!

Lisa and Mags at Adolfos
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Martin and Senan at Adolfos
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Veal and Ocean Sauce
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Rack of Lamb
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The menu was very interesting, seafood of course but also a range of veal and chicken dishes. Adolfo told us that the house speciality (not on the menu) was rack of lamb. Another speciality was the blue ocean sauce which was a seafood sauce with shrimp and crawfish. It all sounded delicious. I ordered the veal with ocean sauce; Lisa decided on the Cannelloni and Mags ordered spicy chicken. Senan went for the rack of lamb. Each main course came with a salad or pasta served Italian style, as a first plate. The meat dishes were each wonderfully tasty. Senan's rack of lamb was amazing as you can see! We couldn't even think about dessert so we paid up and headed out into the evening. We certainly are planning a return trip there.

Bourbon Street
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We wandered over towards Bourbon Street. We were at the far end of the quarter but we could see the bright lights of the Bourbon Street bars in the distance. By now it was dark and it was also warm and humid. There were some interesting houses at this end of Bourbon Street. Most buildings had what looked like a 2 seater sofa out front - they were steps up to the door with a little low wall built up each side.

As we walked along we wondered if Senan would get into any of the bars or venues. One of the first bars we passed offered European Jazz and we noticed a family with some young kids sitting inside the door. We marked that down for later, in any event the music wasn't due to start for another 30 minutes. We wandered into a Voodoo Shop selling all sorts of things including dolls - very strange. There was an interesting poster and photo shop - Senan got some postcards of Jimmi Hendrix and Bob Marley. As we moved down Bourbon the bars got louder and although it was mid-week and not too busy it was still starting to rock and you could see how it might be at the week-end or during Mardi Gras, or even at 2 in the morning!. Most bars had live bands. There was probably more rock than jazz being played in the bars we passed. We didn't go the full length of the street it was just getting brighter and louder!

Royal Street
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Somewhere past Pat O'Briens we headed back to the first pub we had seen. The music had started and as we stood looking in we were ushered to seats just in front of the band - we ordered beers and sat in and enjoyed the music. It turns out that this was Fritzels, one of the better known spots. The band played old fashioned jazz. The trumpeter played and sang in the Louis Armstrong style. Senan was pretty impressed with the banjo player. The place was pretty small but they packed them in and sold them drink. We were on a narrow bench with a table behind our backs - not the most comfortable but we had a good view of the action. We stayed about 40 minutes. The music was very good - but we were getting past our bed-time! We headed home exhausted. Another good day.

Lazing about... Tuesday, 4th August

2009-08-07T03:00:00.009+01:00

Lazing in the Sun
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Relaxing by the pool
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Nothin' doing
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It was a lovely lazy day today. The sun shone brightly from early morning. We lay out in the sun, read our books, and swam in the pool. We had a lovely lunch at home and then did more of the same in the afternoon. A shower of rain scattered us around 4.30 but it didn't last long and by then we were ready for our showers and the cool of the air conditioning.

Dick and Jennys
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We found the excellent Zagat guide to restaurants and nightspots in New Orleans. Zagat served us well in New York in the past so we made our restaurant choice based on one of its "most popular" list. We choose an interesting restaurant called Dick and Jenny's at the river end of our street. When I say that its about 4 miles away and you probably can't drive all the way down our street because its one way sometimes and anyway as a little narrow street with houses its never going to be the fastest route. The restaurant was described as Creole/Eclectic style of food. It majored in seafood though Senan and Mags had duck and beef while Lisa had Salmon and I had scallops.

Dick and Jennys
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The food and the ambiance was very good. It is an old clapperboard building and the inside walls are painted over the original timber. Senan had a monster ice cream and chocolate chip sandwich with cream and chocolate sauce for desert. I had to steal a bit! It was a little expensive - but a good eating experience and worth it. After eating we found and explored a large supermarket called Rouses. Every night we are managing to stay awake 30 minutes longer - by the time we get fully into the local time zone it will be time to go home.

When it Rains... Monday, 3rd August

2009-08-06T18:00:00.004+01:00

The climate in New Orleans is a touch tropical and when it rains, it pours. Sunday afternoon we had our first example of this. It's hard to do it justice on camera.

When it Rains..., Uploaded by M+MD.

But Lisa captured the noise of it all on video.

It lasted about 20 minutes and while it was dull and overcast for about another hour or so, the sun made it out again. Of course the humidity was sky high afterwards.

From the seven day weather forecast in the newspapers it looks like this is the pattern, nice sunshine in the morning; interrupted, sometimes very briefly, by rain in the early afternoon and followed by sunshine again. So far that has been our experience

We found the serious Lakeside shopping mall this afternoon. While we are trying to save our shopping until we hit New York, I'm afraid we couldn't resist some of the bargains today. They had a Hollister store here, which they don't have in Manhattan! that's our excuse anyway. Macy's have recently opened a store in the mall. You can certainly see from the sales and the prices that there is a recession on. Some of the bargains were just too hard to resist!

French Quarter - First Look Sunday, 2nd August

2009-08-05T15:00:00.001+01:00

Street Car
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French Quarter
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Sunday just after noon we ventured out downtown. Its only 20 minutes drive. We parked at Canal Place an up market shopping mall. We were just at the edge of the French Quarter. We started to wander down Chartres Street and gradually zig-zagged our way to Bourbon Street arriving just at the famous Pat O'Briens bar - home of the Hurricane - a drink not a tropical storm!

Beer anybody?
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Anyone for another?
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That part of Bourbon Street has lots of bars - some with music some with food. All seemed to require you to be over 21 to get in the door. Food was now becoming an urgent requirement as it was a long time since breakfast at 7.30 this morning.

We found a nice looking Bistro near the river. Mags and Lisa ordered burgers while Senan ordered the southern fried chicken and I decided to go local and ordered Jambalaya. We got some drinks and waited for food - we were now ravenous and dangerous! We finished our first beer and still no food.

Mississippi River
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Then our waiter arrived with three appetizer-sized bowls and an apology - the chefs had decided to hold a meeting and our order was delayed - the appetizers, of course, were on the house. The appetizers included a bowl of Gumbo which is a spicy soup this one has shrimp and fish stock. I loved it the others were less enthusiastic! There was also a red bean stew which was ok, but not as good as Tays! Our food arrived the Jambalaya was delicious as were the burgers and chicken.

Well fed we wandered out to inspect the river close at hand - it is about 2500 feet or half a mile wide as it runs through New Orleans. We found an interesting group of craft and tourist shops with lots of New Orleans themed stuff. We also ran into some pretty good street musicians.

Street Musicians
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Street Musicians, Uploaded by M+MD.

Street Musicians
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It was a typical first look around - we sort of knew where we were, and generally got a good feel for the place. All in all a very good taster for New Orleans - though, through it all, it was very very hot - the shops provided welcomed air conditioned respite.

French Quarter, Uploaded by M+MD.

On the way home, we paid another visit to Roberts, the local high quality supermarket, on the way home. Back in the house we just lazed around and soon enough it was approaching 9 pm and we were all knackered and we headed for bed. We are still on an inbetween time zone - rising early at 7.00 am and ready for bed by 9 - just about 2 hours off a sensible holiday schedule.

Travel and Arrival Saturday 1st August

2009-08-04T20:49:00.008+01:00

Finally we were on our way to New Orleans whee we were doing a house swop with Gene and Tay D'Amour. As we were flying out they had just landed. It was a long journey, 8 hours to Chicago and just over 2 hours to New Orleans with an hour and thirty minutes to transfer and clear immigration in Chicago. It was a pretty tight transfer - fortunately our flight was delayed by 20 minutes or they would have had to pages is at the airport:

"would the last remaining Paddys flying to Nu'Or-lans get their asses in gear or we'll be flying without y'all!"

Anyway we made it ok. In New Orleans we had a little trouble locating the house - I had transposed two of the house numbers and so we were looking for 3420 Cadiz (which doesn't exist! Ooops!) instead of 4320 Cadiz! So we had just a few anxious minutes and a very bemused taxi driver!

First Look
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Kitchen
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The house is wonderful and exceeded our expectations. It has been renovated in the last 2 years. It has a lovely kitchen, lovely wooden floors. There are two lovely bedrooms and a pull out bed in the TV room. Senan has installed hmself down there for the first week - there is talk of a swop in the second week!

Senan's Den
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Looking out to the pool
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A Pool in New Orleans
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Our backyard for 2 weeks
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Tay had left us good instructions and a most welcome traditional Red Bean stew with the following note:

"In old New Orleans Monday was spent by the ladies washing clothes. As this was an all day chore, scrubbing, hanging and folding, the evening meal had to be something that could practically cook itself. The traditional Red Beans and Rice, cooked slowly for most of the day, is still eaten in homes and in restaurants all over the city on Monday. In the refrig you will find a pot of this yummy New Orleans dish. The rice is also ready, the beans are served over the rice. When you warm the beans you may have to add a little water. Hope you will enjoy it on the day you arrive or on another busy day.... it doesn't have to be a Monday!!!!"

The Red Bean stew was indeed tummy and just what we needed after a long tiring day. We managed to unpack most thing and stayed up as long as we could - but by 8.30 we had to hit the sack- it was now 2.30 Irish time!

Back Garden Office, Uploaded by M+MD.

Katy and friends at the Taj Mahal

2009-07-31T19:39:00.000+01:00

DSCN2006, originally uploaded by Katy Dobey.

DSCN2030
Originally uploaded by Katy Dobey

DSCN2011
Originally uploaded by Katy Dobey

New Orleans Warm-up - some links to get in the mood

2009-07-27T19:03:00.005+01:00

Ironworks in the French Quarter of New Orleans

Jesuit Church of New Orleans

Audubon Zoo in New Orleans

Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans

New Orleans - Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler

A Visit to Franco Alessandrini’s Studio

More Works of Franco Alessandrini

U2 Concert - Croke Park this week-end

2009-07-23T08:43:00.009+01:00

U2 played 3 gigs in Croke Park this week-end - Friday, Saturday and Monday. This photo is from the concert in Milan.

let's dance!, originally uploaded by loregiobbi.

the end of the gig, originally uploaded by loregiobbi.

Looking at the eclipse of Sun on July 21st in Delhi

2009-07-23T08:17:00.004+01:00

Orange optique, originally uploaded by french irish.

Katy - did you see the eclipse?

Les Paul at the Iridium 2006

2009-07-18T07:30:00.000+01:00

Just a taster - we'll be seeing it all live in 4 weeks!

Les Paul Trio Iridium 2003

2009-07-18T07:24:00.000+01:00

Les Paul Trio Iridium 2003, Uploaded by M+MD.

House Swap: New Orleans

2009-07-17T08:00:00.001+01:00

This year we are going to try a house swap again. The exchange with Vancouver was so successful we decided to try again this year.

We had hoped to get an exchange in the New York area. But while there appeared to be some interest in Ireland, when it came down to it seems that Dublin just doesn't do it for New York exchangers this year. So around April we widened out the search. We had some interesting offers from Italy, France and Spain. We made requests into Santa Barbara and Berkley in California. Then we saw New Orleans and after a couple of false starts to get our dates aligned BINGO we were agreed. We booked our flights. Travelling out through New York meant a long wait in Newark and arrival in New Orleans at 11.30 at night, a journey of more than 18 hours. However the flight via Chicago saves more than 6 hours off the journey and we arrive around 5pm.

It is hot and tropical in New Orleans in August - it's probably not the best time of year to visit. But our exchange has a pool in the back garden and along with air conditioning we should be fine. There is much to see and do in New Orleans. By all accounts the damage done by Hurricane Katrina is repaired in the main centre city areas. I am looking forward to the jazz clubs and the music. We are also doing a car swap so we will venture out around Cajun country and visit some of the old plantation houses.

Les Paul 2003
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On the way home we are going to spend 3 days in New York. We are staying at the Roosevelt Hotel on 44th street in Manhattan. We will be there from Saturday until Tuesday. I have just booked to see the famous Les Paul on Monday night at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway. In case you don't know Les Paul is the inventor of the solid electric guitar and now at 94 years of age still plays every Monday night at the Iridium. We went to see him a couple of years ago and are looking forward to seeing him again. We will also take in a Broadway show - Katy saw Mary Poppins last year and recommends it strongly.

Of course with the dollar exchange rate still good we will have to do some shopping! Just a little over 2 weeks to go - excitement is building!

Bee and Chives

2009-07-16T08:12:00.002+01:00

Bee and Chives, Uploaded by M+MD.

Seany's Top Six from the Lakes

2009-07-14T08:35:00.005+01:00

Top six moments that made us all laugh over the few days:

Seany, Helm Crag
Uploaded by M+MD

1. Christopher in his role of Director of Sweets alias "DOS"
2. Lisa managing to flip all four beer mats immediatly after the Da had romped home, Seany pig headedly sticking with it until the end.
3. Sheila controlling her urge to direct the 30 twelve year olds through the breakfast area.
4. Martin taking map reading instruction from Seany without pointing to the map.
5. Senan being first up on last morning to everyone's surprise.
6. The Carol singers singing Welcome Welcome as we applauded half way up the mountain.

Day Three - Monday 22 June 2009 Striding and Swiral: Up and Down Helvellyn

2009-07-03T19:30:00.003+01:00

Day Three Walk
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We awoke at 7 as before and it didn't take us too long to get down for breakfast. Senan was a little slower than the rest of us and there wasn't much breakfast left for him. It was Monday morning and the hostel was noticeably quite. We prepared our lunch as before. The good news about today's walk was that we were starting at about 900 ft instead of the usual 300-400 feet because the hostel is right on the path to Helvellyn. My plan was to go up to Red Tarn and then up Swirral Edge and back down Striding Edge. Talking to two walkers in the hostel I decided we should reverse the order - up Striding Edge and down Swirral Edge - safer and better was the advice. The weather forecast was for clouds at the top - otherwise pretty good. As we climbed out of the valley we could feel the heat and although Helvellyn was hidden from view in the early stages of the walk - Catstycam was clear. It was a steep climb out of the valley - but we made good ground. We had a number of stops - but they were beginning to find their mountain legs!

Red Tarn in the Mist
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As the ground flattened out and we approached Red Tarn the mist came down. It looked that it might be down for the day. The Tarn looked dark and menacing and we couldn't see to the far side. We contoured back in the mist to "the hole in the wall" which is the top of the ridge a little below the start of Striding Edge. There we met lots of walkers. Helvellyn is the most often climbed mountain in England. The light down into the valley below was magical. Peering through the mist to the sunlight aging on the green valley below was like something out of Lord of the Rings.

Sunlight and Mist, Uploaded by M+MD.

We were resigning ourselves to just the odd glimpse down from Striding Edge as we move on the the start of the famous ridge walk. Then suddenly the mist cleared and the sun shone brightly. The sky was very very blue. We had a clear view across the start of Striding Edge; over to Helvellyn; across to Swirral Edge and down to Red Tarn now bright and clear below us. The perfect conditions for the splendid walk ahead.

The mist is lifting, Uploaded by M+MD.

Striding Edge has two paths. The first is a real path which winds either side of the rocky ridge. This path is generally just 3 or 4 metres below the ridge. It offers great views down both sides of the ridge. The second path is not really a path but a well worn set of boot marks all along the very top of the ridge. It's the nutters route across Striding Edge and is truly a great walk.

The Path Above
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The Path Below
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Striding Edge
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Vertigo
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Striding Edge
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The first point is that vertigo sufferers must turn back now! It takes just a little courage to step out on the first broad crag that is the start of Striding Edge. Its wide and pretty flat and the path is just two metres below. But you are on Top of the World; the King of the Castle with the magic of the Lake District stretching out below you. From there all across the too of the ridge it is just like scrambling over the rocks at the end of Tara Cove taking the cliff path to Ballymoney. Sometimes you have to return to the path to get to the next crag. The others joined me for some of this and then towards the end I advised them to go around for the last section. It was longer but much more difficult to get down from at the end. But slowly and carefully I lowered myself down and back to the path.

Up To Helvellyn
Uploaded by M+MD

Senan had raced on ahead on the path and was now waiting for us at the other side of Striding Edge. Now the last 500 feet of Helvellyn had to be tackled. It's a sharp pull up - some of it at the start of the climb over loose scree. But each step was a couple of feet up and that's always encouraging. I found a path to the side. The mist was settling back over the mountain, but there was no doubting our direction - the only way was up! After about 20 minutes I was at the shelter. Its just off the top. The mist was now down, but the place was busy with walkers eating there lunch. After about 10 minutes the others arrived - I had definitely found the shortest route. Lunch was eaten in the mist and was very welcome. Senan managed to attract a pair of sheep - they seemed to be quite interested in our lunch.

Lunchtime
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Stretching
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Helvellyn Summit
Uploaded by M+MD

Eating
Uploaded by M+MD

Coming down Swirral Edge
Uploaded by M+MD

Well fed and rested we headed along the top of Helvellyn in the mist. We needed to be careful to find the correct exit. We came to a cairn and a turn in the ridge - that looked like the way down - though it looked difficult and challenging in the mist. There was a group in front of us - they were very slow and tentative. Senan started down first - but wasn't that happy and came back. "Is there no other way?"; Well there was another way - but it was a much longer walk. I nearly gave in, but Seany said we should give it a try and I went on to see what could be seen. The first part of the path was a scramble over rocks. Keeping your bum close to the ground was the key to success. Once we got past that initial buttress it was a simple path all the way down.

Catstycam
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Ullswater From Catstycam
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Hellvellyn from Catstycam, Uploaded by M+MD.

Catstycam from Glenridding
Uploaded by M+MD

The path down to Red Tarn was easy to follow. But for some of us the small drag up to Catstycam (2950 ft) was too tempting to ignore. It one of the higher hills to escape my attention over the last 35 years probably because I never took the Swirral Edge route before. Catstycam was certainly an easy addition. We had a brief rest at the top before setting off down to rejoin Seany and Sheila. Soon we were back on the route down from Red Tarn again retracing our steps from this morning. The sun had returned as we descented down Swirral Edge and now there was real heat in the day.

Aching Feet
Uploaded by M+MD

Foot Massage
Uploaded by M+MD

When we were most of the way down we stopped by a rushing stream and took a long leisurely break. Our work was done; all objectives met; it was a beautiful summer's day; the scenery was stunning. Sheila took off her boots and had a foot-massage in the mini waterfall in the stream. We all followed suit. It was soothing and refreshing.

We finished the walk back to the hostel and collected our togs and headed down to Ullswater for another swim. This time we agreed that we would all go in together. Senan had the camera ready and we all line up, ready, set, go. We all dived into the water. Christopher was ready and set but didn't go until later! But he did get in and swim.

Ready, Uploaded by M+MD.
Set, Uploaded by M+MD.
Go, Uploaded by M+MD.
Its not that cold - really, Uploaded by M+MD.

It was not as cold as yesterday - though it was still bracing!

Brotherswater Inn
Uploaded by M+MD

We dried off and headed to Brotherswater Inn again. This time we got a table by the huge picture windows. It was a beautiful evening and the sunsetting on the hills was very pretty. I could see Fairfield in the distance - but there were very dramatic views of Dove Crag and on to Red Pike both of which are still not on my list yet. There are a total of 214 "Wainwrights" ie summits covered in the seven Wainwright guides. I have completed over 70 of these hills - just one third of the way. I'm not sure that I would ever get them all done. There is a tendency to do the same peaks over and over.

Ideas for the Future
Uploaded by M+MD

There are favourites like Striding Edge and Helvellyn which are hard to ignore when you only get a couple of days a year to visit. But there are many ridges which just seem to escape all the time. Sergeant Man; Glaramara; Allen Crag for example always seem to be on the other side of the valley! There are also quite a few smaller hills that never seem to be quite worth the effort!
I always plan a few routes for next time each time I return from the lakes. I will try to get 4 or 5 new hills in next year. I will aim to get to 107 wainwrights anyway - at least more than half way!! Maybe I should also plan a longer walk which would attempt to fill in the gaps. If I could climb highest half of every book that would be a significant target.

White Lion Patterdale
Uploaded by M+MD

Travellers Rest, Glenridding
Uploaded by M+MD

We called into the Travellers Rest on the way home for just one more before getting home just before eleven.
To-morrow we will pack and leave pretty promptly. No sandwich making required!

Day Two - Sunday 21 June 2006 Steamers and Singers: Loadpot Hill from Howtown

2009-06-30T19:45:00.005+01:00

Helvellyn Youth Hostel
Uploaded by M+MD

We all slept well and most of us were dressed and down for breakfast at 8 pm. It's the week-end so the place was pretty busy. The breakfast was a buffet with fruit juice; cereals; yogurt; a fry-up; tea/coffee; toast and mini croissants. No chance that we would head out to the hills hungry! Senan was just a little later - but still in time to get fed!

After breakfast, the sandwich making team went into production and soon enough we had loaded up our rucksacks with food and drink for the day ahead.

Ullswater Steamer
Uploaded by M+MD

We were planning to take the Ullswater steamer to Howtown, a trip taking about 40 minutes. There was a boat leaving at 9:45 and another at 10:30. We just managed to make it for the 9:45. The day was warm but overcast. The weather forecast said the best of the weather would be in the East with the Western tops more likely to be covered in mist. Good for us! The Ullswater steamers are beautiful boats. We bought a walkers ticket which allowed us to come back from Pooley Bridge at the very other end of the lake. The views seemed to change every minute as we wound our way up Ullswater, which is shaped a bit like a back-to-front S. The light on the water and the ripples of the boat made it all even prettier.

Ullswater Ripples, Uploaded by M+MD.

The boat let us out at the tiny hamlet of Howtown in the Martindale valley. There are just a few houses and the Howtown Hotel (a well known Lake District Hotel). Our route took us up past the hotel and we diverged to the left through a gate and started to climb. Todays task is Loadpot Hill from Howtown.

Sheila Twitching
Uploaded by M+MD

Break above Martindale
Uploaded by M+MD

This is going to take us up to 2,201 ft. The route is a steep climb up to about 1,600 ft. Followed by a gradual pull up along High Steet the old Roman Road which goes all the way to the top of the mountain of the same name (High Street 2,900 ft). As we climbed, the sun came out. We had a lot of stops for breath; water and sweets. Seany appointed Christopher as "Director of Sweets" (DOS for short)! Christopher certainly know how to do his job and he kept us energised as we walked.

Choir on the Steamer, Uploaded by M+MD.

On the second of these breaks just after 11:00 the next Ullswater steamer was just coming in to dock at Howtown which was by now about 700 feet below us. We could hear singing in harmony and sure enough Sheila confirmed by looking through her binoculars that there was a choir singing on the boat. Very strange but the sound on this lovely midsummer's day was very uplifting. When they finished, as the boat docked we shouted and applauded, shouting for more - although it was obvious that they could't hear us!

On we went taking it steady and managing to keep pace with 2 walkers on front of us. Every time we paused for breath they seemed to race ahead. However we managed to catch up with them on their breaks. It was a sort of walkers leap frog - without the leapin'; or the frogs! They did have overnight packs on their back and we discovered that they were gong down to Haweswater. That's a pretty secluded reservoir that I've only been around once a long time ago - I recall my Aunt Sheila drove me out there sometime in the seventies. Sheila is of course the reason we are here. If she had not been posted to Castlerigg Manor Catholic Youth Centre over 35 years ago I would never have discovered the Lake District and wouldn't have walked so many miles around it.

2 bits of Ullswater
Uploaded by M+MD

Loadpot Hill
Uploaded by M+MD

When we hit the Roman Road it was much easier and soon we were on top and it was lunchtime. We had a great spread - the chili cheese sandwiches were especially good - they tasted like ordinary cheddar cheese until - bam! the chili bits hit with a delayed reaction - seriously good. As we sat at the top we couldn't see Ullswater anymore. Wainwright told us to move 50 yards to the west to see the lake. So we did and there was the lake below us as promised. Wainwright also had a drawing in the guide book of a stone chimney just off the summit. We found this too, though it was falling into disrepair. Apparently there used to be a timber hunting lodge and this chimney stricture is all that remains.

Fallen Chimney Stack
Uploaded by M+MD

After we had eaten and explored Loadpot Hill we headed which about 2 Miles north along the Roman Road to Arthurs Pike. It was a nice easy walk. Arthurs Pike rises up steeply from the lake the views up and down the lake were fantastic. We could see Pooley Bridge our destination in the distance. The last steamer of the day leaves at 5.05. It was a long walk - about 4 miles - but on a gradual slope.

Paraglide over Pooley Bridge
Uploaded by M+MD

In the meantime a paraglider was putting on quite a show for us as he sat in his harness and travelled along and across the lake and up and down the warm wind currents rising off the mountain. We had seen him taking off as we walked off of Loadpot - he just ran along the side of the hill and took off! Off we set to Pooley Bridge. It was a lovely easy descent along the ridge with views of the lake all the way. The last mile was on the road. We arrived at the pier with about 15 minutes in hand.

Arthurs Pike, Uploaded by M+MD.

Ready for Home
Uploaded by M+MD

It was a lovely evening for an hour long cruise along the lake. At 5.30 we pulled into Howtown. Waiting at the pier were the remnants of the choir we had heard up the mountains. We got talking to them and asked if they had heard our applause! (they hadn't!). They were a group from Lancashire and had performed a concert in Martindale parish that day. They also planned to sing some more on the boat home. This is an annual event and we just happened upon it. They sing church music in at least, four part harmony and it dates from the 17th century. There is some connection between Martindale and the finding of the music that they sing. They sang a couple of songs on the way home, just a lovely finish to a midsummer's day.

Choir Waits, Uploaded by M+MD.

Choir
Uploaded by M+MD

Singing
Uploaded by M+MD

Twitching Captain
Uploaded by M+MD

Falcon's Nest
Uploaded by M+MD

Sheila had spent the day twitching (bird-spotting) as well as walking. She had spotted 15 different birds during the day - "a 15 twitch walk". She was keeping an eye out on the way home on the boat. As we steamed from Howtown back to Glenridding, the boat suddenly slowed down to a crawl. We looked at the cabin - no captain. Next thing the captain was sitting beside Sheila with his binoculars in his hand, explaining that there was a Peregrine Falcon nestting pair in the rocky hillside beside the lake. He had just spotted one on the rocks and was pointing this out to Sheila - twitcher to twitcher. He left us his binoculars while he went back to drive the boat. We didn't manage to see it but Sheila did!

Ullswater Swim
Uploaded by M+MD

As we docked in Glenridding we agreed that we should go for a swim. The water was cold and we all went in (except Senan who didn't bring his togs). It was bracing but refreshing. We went back to the hostel to dump our gear and make a quick change. We went back out the road past Brothers Water to a lovely pub with good food and great views. The beer wasn't bad either. We made it back to the hostel just before curfew! Not long after it was lights out - to-morrow was the big one and we needed our rest.

Day One - Saturday 20 June 2009 Lions on the Double: Test Match and Helm Crag

2009-06-24T19:30:00.024+01:00

On Helm Crag, Cumbria
Uploaded by M+MD

We were a crew of six this year - four survivors from last year, Christopher, Senan, Sheila and me, plus two new recruits, our cousin Seany Hayes and Lisa. On Saturday morning, four of us set off from the North Wall on the Swift ferry to Holyhead at 8:45. It was a smooth sailing and by the time we had our big breakfast fry-up eaten, we didn't feel the time pass. We were on the road outside Holyhead at 11.00. We made a non-stop run via the A55; M56; M6 to Windemere and we pulled into Booths supermarket car park at 13:45, just in time to find a pub to watch the Lions first test against South Africa. Lisa and Sheila were driving up from London and they joined us in the Pub at half-time. It was mainly a disappointing match though, on reflection, it was very close in the end with the Lions dominating the second half.

Sheila on Helm Crag
Uploaded by M+MD

Seany on Helm Crag
Uploaded by M+MD

With that important interruption out of the way we were back on track. We had a quick shop in Booths for sandwich making ingredients for the next 2 days and headed up the road to Grasmere. It was a pleasant day, a little dull but warm enough. The objective for our first day was the beautiful Helm Crag (1,299 ft) also known as The Lion and the Lamb. It's a short steep walk to the top.

Easedale Tarn Uploaded by M+MD

The valleys of Grasmere and Easedale spread out below us as we walk. By the time we can see Easedale tarn we know the summit is near. There were great views down the Lakes and across to the Langdales. The crags on the summit which give it's name make the top quite interesting. Like most people we didn't do the scramble to the actual summit which is on top of a rock that looks like the organ player! The only problem with this lovely introductory walk is that the only real way down is to re-trace your steps - unless your feeling adventurous!

Helm Crag, Cumbria
Uploaded by M+MD

After a total of just over 2 hours and 30 minutes we were back in the Grasmere car park. We headed back towards Ambleside and over the Kirkstone Pass (1,500 ft) - though it's a main road and nothing like the Wrynose and Hard Knott passes from last year! At Brotherswater I realised that I was low on petrol and decided to go back to Ambleside to fill up and avoid future hassle. The others went on to the hostel in Glenridding. We joined them 30 minutes later. They had made up the beds in the fine spacious family room.

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Grasmere from Helm Crag, Uploaded by M+MD.

We then headed down the lane to the Travellers Rest in Glenridding in search of food. It was Saturday night and the local campsite was full and so was the pub! There was plenty of room at the tables outside - but it was getting cool. However as we were ordering a table inside came free. We ordered four shoulders of lamb (of course) as well as Lasagne and Cod. The lamb was just as good as we remembered! A pint of beer to wash it down and it was after 10.30 and time to get back to the hostel for curfew at 11.00.

Sheila; Senan; Lisa; Christopher; Seany, Uploaded by M+MD.

A very promising start.

Wainwrights description of Helm Crag Better known as The Lion and The Lamb

2009-06-18T20:35:00.004+01:00

Wainwrights Loadpot Hill Day Two Walk

2009-06-18T20:34:00.000+01:00

Wainwrights Hellvelyn Day Three - The Big One

2009-06-18T20:33:00.000+01:00

Regina Spektor - Laughing With

2009-06-17T23:35:00.000+01:00

Laughing With

Midsummers Nights Dream

2009-06-12T19:30:00.003+01:00

Midsummer Night's Dream, originally uploaded by M+MD.

Midsummers Nights Dream
Uploaded by M+MD

The Trinity College drama society, "Players" ran a Shakespeare festival last week. The British Shakespeare Company were invited to perform Midsummer Night's Dream in the open air. There is a lovely little square referred to as the rose garden which was an ideal venue. We went to the performance last night and it was wonderful. The setting was great and it was a lovely summers evening. They had set up tiered seating for about 300 people on one side of the little square and it was sold out! The play itself is such fun - it's set in ancient Athens with Elizabethan clothing. There are fairies kings queens and dukes. There is magic and farce. There are a bunch of amateur actors rehearsing and performing a play and of course a happy ending. Even though the language is all old Shakespearean English the wit and the humour shines through very clearly. The timelessness of Shakespeare is amazing, it just made you want to go out and see another Shakespeare play immediately!

Midsummer Night's Dream
Uploaded by M+MD

No Group of Death for Munster or LeinsterUlster not so lucky

2009-06-10T19:00:00.002+01:00

The Trophy
Uploaded by M+MD

The Heineken Cup Pool draw has been kind to Munster and Leinster this year. Munster have that great prize - and Italian club - it give a great chance of a home draw, with lots of scores and bonus points home and away a racing certainty. Ulster are in Pool 4 have probably one of the the toughest pools. They are in with Bath, Stade Francais and Edinburgh.

Leinster, in Pool 6, have Brive, who barely made it into the Heineken this year; Scalets, who they regularly beat in the Magners League - last game Leinster won 45-8 just six days after beating Munster in the semi-final and London Irish had a good season last year losing out to Leicester in the premiership final, but they are not a team that Leinster should fear.

Munster have to face Perpignan recently crowned winners of the Top 14 in France, in Pool 1. Dan Carter was brought into the side last season with that in mind. It worked! However it was a one season deal and he is back to super 14 next year and that will take a lot away from Perpignan. It would have been great to see him in Thomond Park - but we'll take the points instead! Northampton Saints are not the team they were when they beat Munster in their first final all those years ago. They are just back in the Premiership and are in the Heineken Cup because they won the Challenge Cup this year. The real bonus is Treviso - maybe even a trip to Venice thrown in for good measure!

The other Pools are:
Pool 2: Biarritz, Glouster, Dragons, Glasgow
Pool 3: Leicester, Ospreys, Clermont, Viadana
Pool 5: Toulouse, Cardiff, Sale, Harlequins

Heineken Cup Pools 2009/10

2009-06-07T18:00:00.002+01:00

The draw for next year’s pools will take place next Tuesday. The teams are seeded as follows:

Tier 1: Munster, Leicester, Leinster, Toulouse, Bath, Biarritz.
Tier 2: Cardiff, Stade Français, Gloucester, Perpignan, Ospreys, London Irish.
Tier 3: Northampton, Sale, Clermont, Scarlets, Ulster, Newport.
Tier 4: Harlequins, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Treviso, Brive, Viadana.

In addition there can only be one team from each country in each pool except where a country has more than 6 teams (obviously as there are only 6 pools!)

There are a small number of changes from last year. This year there are 7 English clubs compared to 6 last year – France had 7 clubs last year and has only 6 clubs this year. Montaban and Castres are gone and are replaced by Brive and Northampton Saints. In Italy, Rugby Calvisano has been replaced by Viadana.

The final is in Stade de France in Paris next May. I am so confident about the Irish performances next year that I have already purchased tickets. Of course the attractions of a weekend in Paris in May were also a factor. As well as the fact that past experience has shown that the tickets are pretty easy to get rid of through the official fan websites. The normal danger is the fear there would be 2 French teams in the final and that French fans mightn’t travel. But when the final is in Paris even that danger is eliminated! Lastly I’ve never been to Stade de France. It’s supposed to be at least as good as the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which in my experience is the best stadium for watching rugby.

Lake District 2009

2009-06-06T19:30:00.015+01:00

View Helvellyn in a larger map

The plan is to make a return trip to the Lake District again this year. While we had lots of interest, there was also a lot changing circumstances. So I think we will be a small group of six or seven. We are booked into Helvellyn Youth Hostel for three nights from the 20th to the 22nd June. We will have the advantage of long evenings and with some luck, good weather.

Arthur's Pike beacon
Originally uploaded by terrygargrave

Helm Crag from Easedale Beck
Originally uploaded by Trouble The Cat

We travel over from Dublin on the Saturday morning and should arrive in the lakes around 3pm. The initial plan is to take a diversion into Grasmere and walk up Helm Crag - also know as the Lion and the Lamb. This is a 90 minute round trip walk and a nice little introduction. The Sunday we are thinking about a trip on the lake to Pooley Bridge or Howtown and taking in Arthurs Pike and Loadpot Hill we will see some of the Eastern Hills and walk a little on the old roman road which leads up to High Street.

The third day we will attempt Helvellyn. We will do the spectacular horseshoe that is Striding Edge and Swirral Edge.

Swirral Edge
Originally uploaded by Pat Neary

Striding Edge
Originally uploaded by Pat Neary

At 3,000 ft Helvellyn is a real trophy!

Helvellyn, originally uploaded by rosiewills.

Farewell to Felipe

2009-06-04T19:30:00.002+01:00

Felipe collects his Heineken Cup medal, Uploaded by M+MD.

Contepomi's Drop Goal
Uploaded by M+MD

Felipe on the Burst
Uploaded by M+MD

Contepomi turns and twists his knee
Uploaded by M+MD

Felipe's Last Action for Leinster
Uploaded by M+MD

Preparation
Uploaded by M+MD

Felipe Contepomi played his final game for Leinster against Munster in Croke Park. He was injured after 20 minutes and although he was there to get his Heineken Cup medal he didn't get the play in the final. He spent over 5 years with the club with his first game against the Ospreys back in November 2003. It's true to say that he has made a huge contribution to Leinster and indeed to Irish rugby.

Kicking on form
Uploaded by M+MD

The fact that he also plays for that other old enemy Argentina is ignored by the fans most of the time. The enemity beteen Ireland and Argentina in rugby terms goes back to Lens in 1999 when they dumped is out of the World cup. Of course they managed to play a role in our second failure 2 years ago. Though on that occasion its fair to say that we did it to ourselves! In 6 rugby World Cups we have failed to reach the quarter finals twice. We have been drawn in the same group as Argentina in the last 3 World Cups. The run was broken last December when we were placed in a pool with Australia and Italy and Argentina ended up with England and Scotland. The remaining two memebers of each pool is the subject of the qualifiers going on over the next 12 months.

Running at Full Tilt
Uploaded by M+MD

All of this background makes the status achieved by Felipe with the Irish public even more impressive. I suppose it all comes down to the strengh of his performances, the ferocity of his competitiveness and of course the accuracy of his boot.

As a Munster supporter his animosity towards the team in Red is the only time that the old Argentinien rivals come to the fore. But he is a wonderful rugby player and he deserves the acolades he received from the Leinster fans.

3 more points against Wasps
Uploaded by M+MD

His move to Toulon will be interesting. They are another French team where money is no object. They havn't yet played in the Heineken and their performance in the French Top 14 this year where they finished ninth, means that they will not be there next year.

Felipe will have some competition from Johnny Wilkinson who has also signed for Toulon. If money buys league positions in the Top 14 then perhaps he will make to the Heineken Cup with Toulon in 2010-11.

Felipe Contepomi, Uploaded by M+MD.

Farewell Felipe and thank you and while we wish you well in France.

But we also hope that whenever we see you again, playing against Leinster, Munster or Ireland, that we send you home defeated!

rctoulon
Originally uploaded by N@th

The fields, taken

2009-06-02T08:00:00.001+01:00

By a lonely Thomond wall,
I heard a young girl calling,
Leinster, they have taken it away.
For they stole O'Connell's crown,
And ground O'Gara down
Now a Magner's cup is all we'll have to show.

Chorus: Low, lie the hearts in Castletroy
Where once we stood unbeaten, Lord of all
Faithful, brave, always
Devout, each day we pray.
but God played on the other side that day

By a lonely Cork, South Mall,
I heard a young man calling,
It's not as if those Scottish flights were free.
Between hotels, booked in Pounds,
Our tickets for the ground,
There's serious money wasted by the Lee.

Chorus

On lonely bar stools, all,
They watched the Final scoring.
As the Ladyboys came rout on field, on Sky.
They must fight, next year, to stay
Through the op'ning rounds, and pray
To not, please God, face Leinster on the way.

Chorus

Brian's day in the SunLeinster 19 Leicester 16

2009-05-29T08:22:00.020+01:00

Brian's day in the Sun, Uploaded by M+MD.

We had a wonderful 30 hours in Edinburgh last week-end. When I purchased the tickets for the Heineken Cup Final last November, I had expected to go see Munster do the double. I had considered that I had 2 horses running especially after Leinster demolished Wasps in their first home game. But I really didn't expect to to wearing Blue on the 23rd of May in Edinburgh.

But Blue was the colour and rugby was their game! Leinster were almost as good against Leicester as they were against Munster 3 weeks ago. There defence was massive and even more surprising the loss of Contepomi to injury wasn't even noticed. His replacement Johnny Sexton played with supreme confidence. He dropped kicked a goal from the half way line about 20 minutes into the first half. Rocky Elapm was immense and fully deserved his man of the match award. Its hard to see how we will be able to hold on to him in the northern hemisphere after the season he has just had with Leinster. He's still young enough to contend for a place on The Wallabies and it is much easier to do this on home soil than on the other side of the world.

We had great seats 3 rows back on the Lower East Stand. We met up with Paul and Colette in a very good Italian restaurant just past Princes Street on the Murrayfield side. Colette had made the long overnight trip via Larne and Conor Simon and Matthew made the trip with them. She had stayed overnight in Glasgow and travelled over by train to Edinburgh.

Lunch
Uploaded by M+MD

Chris and Paul
Uploaded by M+MD

After lunch we walked to Murrayfield. There were a lot of Blue jerseys quite a bit of green and White for Leicester and the odd smattering of Red Munster fans. I think they will shout for Leinster - though for some it will be hard. However you can be pretty sure they will not be supporting the English team - even if it is captained by an Irishman. They will remember Leicester as the team that took away Munster's unbeaten Heineken Cup record in the old Thomand Park in the very last game before they redeveloped the ground. Anyway Geordan Murphy is a Leinsterman!

Drico Dancin'
Uploaded by M+MD

Rocky Stormin'
Uploaded by M+MD

The match was played at a very high tempo from the kick-off. Leicester were defending our side of the pitch. We had a storming run from Rampaging Rocky Elsom in the first 10 minutes and very soon afterwards Drico dropped a goal and we were 3-0 up. No unsettling early advantage to Leicester! Then the sides exchanged penalties Johnny Sexton showed no nerves and stepped up to make it 6-3. Then came the proof that Leinster were up for this. After a Leicester clearance failed to make touch, Johnny had the ball on the half way line, he had a little time, he attempted the drop goal. It seemed to hang in the air forever... It looked over to me... But its hard to tell... Referee Nigel Owens holds his arm aloft. IT'S OVER.

Johnny Sexton's first Penalty
Uploaded by M+MD

I read later that Sexton spoke with supreme confidence in the dressing room before the match. "It's already written", he said, "we're going to win this match and there's nothing we can do about it". I'm sure the seasoned warriors were wondering about this - but he was playing like he believed it and that kind of confidence was clear throughout the team. Drico had it; Elsom always has it; Healy had it; Fitzgerald had it; they were playing with confidence fulfilling their destiny.

Leinster dominated the first half an hour. But you can keep a team like Leicester boxxed in for ever. They got into the Leinster 22 and started to threaten the line. The Leinster defence held solid. Then Stan Wright made an early tackle on a man without the ball. Nigel said "cynical" yellow card. Leicester know how to use an opening like that and 5 minutes later just before half time they were in under the posts. 9-13 and halftime.

Lads Scrummin'
Uploaded by M+MD

Mal Collectin'
Uploaded by M+MD

Second half we were still a man down and Duprey kicked a penalty 9-16. Now it was time for Leinster to stand up. This was the position we all feared. Leicester getting an advantage and then relying on their experience to hold out and win. But there were still 35 minutes to go and Leinster didn't panic. They continued what they had started in the first half. Back to 15 men again they started to dominate the game again. The forwards worked a patient set of moves close to the Leicester line culminating in a try by Jamie Heaslip which Sexton converted. 16 all and 30 minutes to go - game on. Leicester had to replace Geordan and then Duprey and the Kayser for Chuter, then White for Castro. Their scrum improved. It was close for a while with the Leicester changes. But Leinster defence was solid.

Then it came, with 10 minutes to go Leinster got a penalty in range. Sexton kicked a horrible curling ball which somehow managed to curl back between the posts and over! 19 - 16 and we started the countdown. Leinster never really doubted that they could hold on. The Leicester team was now tired and on the back foot. They had nothing left to give and when Owens blew the final whistle the stadium turned BLUE.

Victory, Uploaded by M+MD.

Some of the fans couldn't contain themselves and launched a series of one man pitch invasions. Conor had a think about it but he was well spotted and didn't make it. The early pitch invaders got off lightly and were returned to the stands. Then they began to show off sprinting between aging marshalls to the cheers of the crowd. They were rewarded by being frogmarched off the pitch and into the oblivion of the Edinburgh evening!

We Won
Uploaded by M+MD

Catch me if you can
Uploaded by M+MD

The presentation over the team went on a slow lap of honour. They were savouring every minute - and why not.

Stan Wright
Uploaded by M+MD

Shaggy
Uploaded by M+MD

When they finally disappeared down the tunnel we too exited to the balmy Edinburgh evening.

Going Home Contented, Uploaded by M+MD./div>

Rocky Elsom - Man of the Match

2009-05-25T08:10:00.002+01:00

Rocky Elsom - Man of the Match, originally uploaded by M+MD.

Regina Specktor new Album "Far"

2009-05-21T21:51:00.005+01:00

Regina giving an amazing performance of Blue Lips on Later...With Jools Holland, the other night, from her upcoming album "Far", out June 23!

The Curragh RFC Reunion

2009-05-17T10:59:00.014+01:00

Faithful Fans 1978
Uploaded by M+MD

A reunion for a rugby club is quite an unusual event. The Curragh rugby club has had a number of different incarnations. The has been a rugby club in The Curragh since 1927. However its main function seems to have been to participate in the various All Army competitions. However in the early 60s it took on a new form. The genesis of that was in the cadet class of 1963 and 1962. The club entered into the Leinster Branch competitions and famously won the Town Cup in 1967. Shortly afterwards it opened a club house. However the club house was burned down in . In the 70s the club could field 3 teams each week-end and had a lot of success at seconds and thirds level.

Barney Dobey
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In 1977 Gerry McMahon (later Chief of Staff) was appointed Chairman of the club and my father, Barney Dobey was appointed president. A new clubhouse was built at this time and funded by week-end discos. A large extension and new dressing rooms were added to this. It was an exciting time for the Club and The Curragh RFC suddenly became a large part of our lives. Barney was very excited about the new Welsh coach Bob Coles who introduced a new outlook and approach. That year the First Team had a great season. They won their section of the J1 league and qualified for the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup.

James Mary McNamara
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They got the dream cup tie against Wanderers who were based in Lanadowne Road and included a number of full Irish Internationals on the side. Best of all the match was played on the famous Lanadowne Road pitch. In the end Wanderers ran out winners but the margin of 12 points flattered then. As I recall it they pulled away just at the end.

The team also got to play in the final of the J1 League against St Marys seconds. Victory in that match would allow the club to go senior - a very big deal which had only been done once before at that time. The game was postponed a couple of times because of the weather. In the end it was played in April when the ground was harder. Winning against the seconds team of a senior club was very difficult in Leinster. There were no restrictions against "dropping down" a senior player who may have played senior the previous week to play seconds the following week. The meant that in serious matches the senior club could always field a very strong side. So it was against St Marys and to the great disappointment of the club they lost the final and missed the chance to go senior.

Perhaps is just as well. There was much debate as to whether or not it would be right to take up that opportunity. There was a danger that The Curragh would not have the depth and would spend their time propping up the league. There was no concept of being relegated from the senior league at the time. It was a one way only deal! Maybe that's why Marys made sure that they kept these Curragh upstarts out of the League. It was a double disappointment that year. The Curragh also lost to old local rivals Athy in the Towns Cup Final in Tullamore.

Dobey Cup 1988 (Katy Dobey)
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Barney was President for 2 years before he was posted to the Middle East with the UN. Our family connection with The Curragh continued down 3 tracks after Barneys untimely death in August 1981. Firstly the club asked if we would donate a trophy in memory of Barney. This became the Dobey Cup which was played for by underage teams (under 14s and under 16s) in a one day blitz each January.

Seany at Scrum Half
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The second connection was through my cousin Seany Hayes who moved from his native Limerick to work in Portarlington. He was living in Newbridge and being new to the area (and always with the eye out for a new recruit) Barney introduced him to The Curragh. Very soon thereafter a rusty Seany was playing with the Seconds team. He broke his way onto the Firsts and Seany went on to be the only non Army captain of the club. <p>The Curragh had another shot of going senior in the eighties - beaten by Blackrock. The club also lost another Towns Cup final - this time to Kilkenny.

Sean McCann 2009
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V Drogheda 1986
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The third connection was my younger brother, Brian. He played for the Curragh for three years from 1986 - 1989. He played on the 1st XV as No. 8 for a duration of that period. Brian is the only family member ever to have worn the oak leaf yellow, something that he's proud to have been associated with – he had the pleasure of playing with Seany on many occasions in a No. 8/No. 9 partnership. He also went on the second Ross on Wye tour with the Curragh RFC in 1988. The first was in 1977. There is a photo somewhere (but not located) of Barney in a black felt hat on that first trip. It was known as "The President's Hat".

But why a reunion? Well in the nineties the number of playing members in the club began to dwindle. The nearest local club Old Kilcullen was suffering the same challenges. A merger was proposed and after much angst on both sides - after all they were local rivals - a trial merger was agreed. In that way Newbridge RFC was formed and the 2 clubs of Old Kilcullen and The Curragh passed into history. The initial deal was for a 3 year trial period and funds were segregated in the new club to allow either side to escape. Twelve years later, the merger has been a success and with no prospect of any revivival of The Curragh RFC it was decided to give it a good send off with a proper Irish Wake.

We had a marvellous day. There were lots of old familiar faces from 30 years ago. There were also some missing - no longer with us. Most of the Cup winning team from 1967 were there and in a very nice surprise gesture the current holders of the Towns Cup - Boyne brought down the cup for the day and it was presented again to Barry Studdert the captain of the 1967 team.

Barry Studdert and the Towns Cup, Uploaded by M+MD.

A DVD was made consisting of memories from the last 40 years. There was also a CD of old photos and newspaper clippings. More than 240 people showed up to the NCO's Mess in The. Curragh Army Camp. We had a reception before a wonderful meal. The Taoisagh, Brian Cowen made a brief appearance and gave a very amusing account of his rugby playing days. He would be better known for playing Gaelic Football with Clara. But he played full-back at rugby when in school in Roscrea. He even got a Leinster Schools Trial. Playing opposite him was Hugo McNeill who later won many international caps for Ireland and was on the Lions tour to New Zealand in 1983. Cowen had the audience falling about the place as he explained how at the time he could see how much rugby mean to McNeill and so he took himself off the pitch at half time!

Connie McMcNamara
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Connie McNamara
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General Dermot Earley
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The MC for the day was the always funny Connie McNamara. We had speeches from Sean McCann (now General Sean McCann officer commanding The Curragh Camp) but I knew him as a fiery number eight. We had the great Roscommon footballer Dermot Earley, a fellow county man and good friend of Barney, (now General Dermot Earley Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces). His son and namesake Dermot plays centre field for Kildare. Maybe this year he might do what his father narrowly failed to do - win an All-Ireland medal. (But that's another one of my hopeless causes - up there with Leeds United for the Premiership!) Dermot senior played rugby for the Army and The Curragh at a time when the GAA banned players from playing "foreign games". He used the pseudonym Des Late and was always missing from team photos. Dermot had kind words to say about Barney and his time as president.

It was a great day and a fitting way to finally lay the club to rest.

Padraig Harrington tries Happy Gilmore swing

2009-05-16T14:46:00.000+01:00

Another Play-Off defeat for Leeds United

2009-05-15T23:21:00.005+01:00

The playoffs are just an exciting lottery. Three years ago Leeds were in the play-off finals to go back to the premiership. They lost 3-0 to Watford. The following season they were demoted to League One; placed in receivership and deducted 15 points. In spite of this handicap they made it to the League One play-offs last year. But again no luck and no promotion. This year we are back to that old consolation "there's always next year".

Croke Park Drama Munster 6 Leinster 25

2009-05-04T08:04:00.009+01:00

The build up was fantastic. It was going to be the largest attendance in the world for a club match. Tickets were hard to get - though thanks to bring a Leinster season ticket holder I had 12. There was no real problem getting rid of them Katy Mark Lisa and Dave were all on the Hill while Mags myself and Senan were in the Davin Stand or Canal End.

Munster V Leinster
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Red and Blue in Croke Park
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World Club record attendence
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Half Time - Murt and Leo
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We went for a drink in a packed pub just at the top of Jones Road. We accidentally ran into Seany and Mairead. Seany had a veterans Munster supporters shirt - the one with Bank of Ireland on it. Seany was at the Munster All Blacks match back in 1978. We talked about our plans for going to the final. I called the match a 5 point victory for Munster - Seany thought it would be 10. We both agreed it was a cup match and anything could happen, but not with any great conviction! Contepomi's lack of form against Munster was hard to credit. Someone said something about how hard it was to get 3 victories in a row.

Munster Leinster Match History Professional Era, Uploaded by M+MD.

We got to Croke Park about an hour before kick off. The Red outnumbered the Blue though as kick-off approached it evened up. I would say it was 50000 Munster to 30000 Leinster. We had great seats in the eleventh row from the from in the lower stand. Munster were warming up down our end.

The roars for both teams were huge when they took the field at 5.25. Munster kicked off playing towards the Hill. Contepomi took that ball and laid down a marker from the kick-off. He went straight through RoG and certainly made a statement. The early play went over and back with a lot of intensity. Leinster got a long range penalty shot which Felipe missed. Then we had a period of strong Leinster attack. Elstrom was very strong taking the ball into contact and Nacewa seemed to be everywhere. 20 minutes in Contepomi took a drop at goal and the lead 0-3. Almost immediately Munster had a penalty and Ronan pulled it back to 3-3.

Necewa makes a break, Uploaded by M+MD.

Contepomi turns and twists his knee
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Sexton's first kick of the ball
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Then Leinster went on the attack again. Contepomi was in the thick of it. But hour twisted his knee and Johnny Sexton was brought on as a replacement. His very first touch was to take a penalty. Which he slotted over making it 3-6. The Leinster crowd were wild but it didn't seem like a huge problem to Munster fans. But Leinster kept on the pressure continuing to play down into our stand. Finally they got the breakthrough with s great run by Necewa who offloaded to D'Arcy and although Earls catch him about 3 metres short of the line, D'Arcy's momentum carried him over in the corner for a try. Sexton missed the conversion, 3-11. I still wasn't worried - Munster know how to grind out a win - but this was a very powerful Leinster performance so far. RoG kicked a penalty before half time to calm our nerves - 6-11.

Leinster Attack, Uploaded by M+MD.

However it didn't last long! Just after the second half started a great back line movement with 2 long passes and a wonderful fingertip offload by Horgan to Fitzgerald, followed by a sublime sidestep and Luke scored a great try down at the other corner - oh my god, Sexton converted - 6-18.

Howlett escapes Horgan
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Nacewa V Howlett
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Fiji V New Zealand!
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Now I gotcha!
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Drico's intercept try
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Munster started a long period of sustained pressure on the Leinster line. Wave after wave of red headed in our direction. But the Leinster defence held out everytime. That hard game against Quins was now looking better and better. The defence was awesome to watch. The commitment from Leinster was translating into frustration from Munster. They continued to attack but there was no way through. Then 20 minutes into the second half came the hammer blow.

O'Gara took a long time to flip a long pass - O'Driscoll saw it coming and intercepted cleanly and the ran 75 metres with O'Gara and Howlett in pursuit - but he was never going to be caught and he scored under the posts. An easy conversion to make it 6-25. The game finished out down our end - the best we could hope for was a consolation try but even that was not permitted by the Leinster defence.

O'Connell and Quinlan Charge, Uploaded by M+MD.

It was a great occasion and a famous Leinster victory. I will be at the Final again this year but wearing something borrowed something blue unfortunately not red!

D'Arcy, Kearney, Horgan, Jennings
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Fogarty, O'Brien, Kearney, O'Kelly, Dempsey
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THOMOND PARK

2009-04-15T19:52:00.002+01:00

THOMOND PARK, originally uploaded by L09C.

Fortress Thomond repels Leinster - Munster 22 Leinster 5

2009-04-07T15:24:00.019+01:00

Thomond Park
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There was a great atmosphere in Thomond Park on for the derby game between Munster and Leinster on Saturday evening. For Leinster, this was their best chance to defend their Magners League title. For Munster, it was a chance to pull away from their nearest rivals. For both teams, the most important thing was to get through the match free from injury, in advance of the Heineken Quarter finals next week-end.

Celtic Tenors & Pete St John
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I drove down to Limerick on Saturday afternoon. John and his fellow Leinster supporter, Paul travelled down with me - for them it was their first trip to Thomond. We arrived down in plenty of time. We left Dublin at 4 and were parked and inside the ground by 6.45 - very comfortable for a 7.30 kick off. The game was a complete sell-out and there was a great atmosphere in the ground as the teams warmed up on the pitch. The Celtic Tenors were there to provide the pre-match entertainment. They sang that Limerick anthem "There is an Isle" and were joined by songwriter Pete St John for a great rendition of "The Fields of Athenry". There was a strong Leinster contingent just beside where I was sitting and they were pretty vocal throughout. But the Munster fans easily made the most noise.

Munster V Leinster, Thomond Park, Uploaded by M+MD.

Leinster were the better team for much of first half. They were far superior to Munster in the breakdown. But Munster went in at half time 6-0 up with O'Gara scoring 2 penalties and Contepomi was seriously off form missing all of his kicks on goal.

That's a Second Row Forward!, Uploaded by M+MD.

D'Arcy's Try
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In the second half Munster began to get the upper hand. First with 2 more penalties and then with a great try from Keith Earls, bringing the score to 17-0. Then D'Arcy scored a well worked try. Then Shane Horgan made a second defensive error to let Barry Murphy pass him on the wing and set up an easy pass to put substitute Fogarty over for a final try. That was it, game over, with the final score 22-5.

O'Connells Line Out
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The biggest surprise of the night was Contepomi's failure to get even one kick over the bar. As an Argentinien and Leinster player each miss was gleefully applauded by the Thomond crowd! Rocky Elstrom was easily the best Leinster player but RoG was man of the match. Elstrom almost got in for a second consolation try at the end, but Stringer who had just come on as a sub appeared out of nowhere and toppled him.

That pretty much secures the Magners League for Munster. They have Scarlets Connaught and Ospreys at home and Cardif Blues away from home. Ospreys are the only real danger left in the Magners League, but they have to play both Munster and Scarlets away from home.

Bull Hayes replaced, Uploaded by M+MD.

Ronan on Form
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The competition for places on both teams for next week-end will be intense. The Munster supporters behind me were roaring at the ref to blow up full-time for nearly ten minutes at the end of the game. They were worried about an injury to Bull Hayes. Buckley replaced the Bull in the 67th minute but Buckley had to go off again, injured, after just 4 minutes. Munster had no choice but to Hayes bring back on. This problem the only weak point in the Munster set up. If Buckley is back fit for next week-end it will relieve many worried Munster fans.

It was a late drive back to Dublin but the roads are getting better and we were all home before 1pm.

Next week-end we have a very busy Easter Sunday. First up at 1.00 is the Heineken Quarter-final between Munster and Ospreys. That is followed by the Quarter-final between Harlequins and Leinster in London. After the rugby is all settled we get the final day of the Masters in Augusta. Even if there is no Irishman in contention the return of Tiger will almost certainly be under discussion. We also have the final round matches of the National Football League to be settled that afternoon.

Sports Seasons

2009-04-04T08:00:00.001+01:00

This Blog has become quite rugby centric over the past few weeks. That shouldn't be a surprise in the year that Ireland won the Grand Slam. Especially when me and my Nikon were at four of the five matches. The focus on rugby will continue I hope until the end of May as Munster try to retain the Heineken Cup. My Nikon (and me!) has tickets for that final in Murrayfield on the 24th of May.

Padraig Harrington, Uploaded by M+MD.

Tiger Woods
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Next week I won't be at the next big Sporting event - the Masters Golf at Augusta. The Irish flags will be flown by Padraig Harrington and the not wonder Rory McElroy. Tiger is of course back on the scene after a 9 month lay-off and will want to retain the Masters to show that he is really back. Phil Mickleson has come very close to stealing his No 1 spot in the World Rankings which willl give Tiger the added incentive - not that he needs one. We can look forward to more golf during the summer when Harrington will be trying to win three British Opens in a row. That is something that hasn't been done since Peter Thomson (1954-56). Unfortunately my Nikon won't get to to many of those golf events.

Then we have the All Ireland Football and Hurling championships starting in May. We will certainly get to a few of those games this summer. Kildare have had a good run in the National League and so they are setting me up to have my heart broken again this summer.

Speaking of heartbreak I have stayed very quite about Leeds. Its not that I've given up - but as they have dragged themselves back into play-off zone again I just don't want to speculate about those possibilities after our play-off heartbreak in 2 of the last 3 years. Automatic promotion looks impossible now Peterboro beat Leicester City last week-end which was probably our best chance that the gap might close.

Of course those other heartbeak kids the Irish soccer team raised our hopes with a first minute goal against Bulgaria last week-end only to play rubbish for the rest of the game and conceed a own goal in the second half for a very unsatisfactory home draw. Then last Wednesday we had almost the direct opposite outcome in Bari when Italy scored in the first 10 minutes only to be caught by a last minute goal by Robbie Keane. Another 1-1 draw - but this time away to Italy - the World Champions!

The joys and heartbreak of sport. Its just what we need to distract is in these dreadful economic times in which we find ourselves.

Teams named for Munster V Leinster match

2009-04-03T19:00:00.000+01:00

Munster have fielded all 8 of their Irish Internationals who started against Wales in Cardiff. Leinster have named 3 out of 5 with Brian O'Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald not even on the squad. Its a little odd - maybe Leinster have resigned themselves to a loss and are placing all their hopes on the re-match that will result if tehy can beat Harlequins in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. Of course I am assuming that Munster will beat the Ospreys! The trip to Murrayfield in May is looking even more hopeful!

Munster V Leinster this week-end

2009-04-02T19:00:00.003+01:00

With the Heineken Cup quarter finals the following week-end, the final teams selected, for this top of the table clash, will be interesting. Munster probably have the greater depth - it was the second string Munster team who almost beat the All-Blacks last November, although they were helped at that time by the number of players not eligible to play for Ireland. This factor doesn't help the coach's dilemma this time. Leinster have reasonably depth - the Magners League performance last week was not on the basis of the strongest possible selection.

Leinster 0 Munster 18, RDS, Sept 2008, Uploaded by M+MD.

The squads have been announced. The Leinster squad of 29 now includes Brian O'Driscoll; Jamie Heaslip; Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney. The question is will they start and how long will they play. Cheika is keen to reverse the 18-0 drubbing which Munster gave Leinster at the RDS back in the Autumn. A loss for Leinster will probably close out their chances of retaining the Magners League Trophy, though there are four more games after next Saturday. However a seven point deficit is very hard to make up.

The Munster squad of 26 includes the Grand Slam. Again the question is who will start and who will finish. Ian Dowling is also back fit, he is a very welcome return.

The final 22 will probably not be named until Saturday morning.

April Fools Day in the Media

2009-04-01T23:00:00.000+01:00

Many media outlets in particular celebrated April Fool's Day today with spoof reports and advertisements.

The Irish Times reported that the Revenue Commissioners were planning an electronic tagging system for 'high net worth' tax exiles. The system would be provided by a US firm called 'Failproof'.

Herald AM featured no fewer than three spoof stories, two on the front page and one on the back.

For sports fans, the prospect of a high-profile addition to the resolution of the Cork hurling management saga was raised by a report saying Denis Walsh was poised to add Roy Keane to his backroom team.

On the news pages, US President Barack Obama was reported to have paid a surprise overnight visit to Co Offaly on his way to the G20 summit - to the annoyance of Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

And, in a report readers might be slow to dismiss as a phoney, the paper said graduates were to face a ban on moving overseas until they completed paying back their student loans.

A report on the Australian Herald Sun's website said the symbolic 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would be bought by 'Mekong Industries, one of the largest companies in China', and renamed the Mekong Stadium. Victoria state Tourism Minister Tim Holding said Melbourne was bidding to hold the running of the bulls when the contract the Spanish city of Pamplona has held since the 13th century expires. Mr Holding said the bulls would run down the cafe-lined streets in the centre of the city, adding a new event to sit alongside the Australian Open tennis and the Formula One Grand Prix on Melbourne's sporting calendar.

Also in Australia, more than two dozen people in Melbourne woke to find their cars wrapped in cling wrap. he cling-film bandits striking at popular shopping precincts, outside railway stations and in sought-after residential areas, tightly wrapping cars in the plastic wrap. At least 28 cars were reportedly wrapped including one vehicle in Clarendon St in South Melbourne, another on Domain Rd, South Yarra, Church St, Richmond and again at Clifton Hill railway station.

Meanwhile Microsoft has revealed its latest blockbuster title for the Xbox 360, Alpine Legend. A variation on the popular Guitar Hero games, it would let players test their yodelling skills and, for a limited time, come with a free goat.

German FFH radio announced to listeners that Chancellor Angela Merkel was pregnant at the age of 54. Ms Merkel has always said she was 'too busy' to start a family.

Leinster Bonus - Leinster 32 Ulster 629th March 2009

2009-03-31T20:00:00.000+01:00

Leinster beat Ulster at the RDS on Sunday. Leinster managed to do it in some style at the end - scoring a fourth try in the final minute. The Leinster tries came from Fergus McFadden; Rocky Elstrom; Leo Cullen and finally Simon Keogh.

Leinster V Ulster, Uploaded by M+MD.

The final try was on the back of five minutes camped on the Ulster line. The Ulster defence held solid as the Leinster forwards tried repeatedly to get over the line. Finally the ball was passed back deep to Simon Keogh who took the perfect diagonal line and made it over. Where we were sitting we could see his path to the line as soon as he received the pass. 4th try - bonus point!

Nacewa offloads
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McFadden's Try
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Ulster are a much improved team and I saw them trounce Munster over Christmas. Matt Williams has done a lot with them since the start of the season. The second half was the best RDS performance by Leinster since their victory over Wasps at the start of the Heineken Cup campaign back in October.

Leo and Sparky
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The bonus point brings Leinster within 3 points of Munster who still too the table. Munster had a comfortable 26-13 win away to their bogey team Glasgow on Friday night. This is a great set up for the derby match in Thomond Park next week-end. Neither side can afford to field their very best team because of the Heineken Cup quarter-finals the following week-end. However with the Magners League at stake it should be a great match. Munster were never really interested in the Magners until Leinster won it last year. Its clear that it is a very important - even if secondary - objective this season. The league (and the Irish performances) have been better for than ambition.

An Irish Magners League and Heineken Cup double would be a great conclusion to a Grand Slam year!

Curragh Rugby Club

2009-03-29T12:00:00.000+01:00

Town Cup Final Curragh V Kilkenny, Uploaded by M+MD.

My first memory of Curragh Rugby club is travelling to some far off place like Navan on a cold Sunday to a Towns Cup match. I was about 11 and had a developing interest in the game. I had even been to Lansdowne Road to “see” Ireland play England. I had travelled up with Barney and Joan and while they managed to buy a ticket I was hopped over the turnstile. I remember the crush in the terraces – occasionally I could see snatches of the game – but it was exciting to be there.

Barney 1980
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Navan in early spring was a different story for an eleven year old. It may have been the final and it may not have been Navan, but what I remember most is the full back playing for The Curragh. He was the star of the game kicking penalties and defending against all-comers. “Who’s he?” I asked. “Ssh” said Barney and then soto voce he said “That’s Dermot Earley, he’s going under the same Sean McDermott because of the ban”. Others will remember the outcome of that match, I don’t recall who won. I hope this revelation doesn’t embarrass General Earley or cause a tribunal of enquiry and a decision to reverse the result for the fielding an illegal player.

Donagh O'Keeffe, Captain 1978
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During the early seventies Curragh was around for us from time to time, but I don’t remember Barney being very involved. But then in 1977 I arrived home from college one week-end to be told that he had been elected President of the rugby club. Maybe others can remember why, but it was a strange appointment to me. I remember Gerry McMahon was Chairman and I think Donagh O’Keeffe was Captain. I think Donagh and Barney worked together in the A&Q school – maybe that’s the key to the mystery. But like all things Barney threw himself into the job wholeheartedly. I remember him explaining that the President was really an honorary position and that past presidents didn’t even attend committee meetings. But he was at committee meetings every week. There was a lot of activity and army politics associated with the development of the club house and facilities on the Green Road.

Then there was the trip to Ross on Wye. I only saw the photos and heard (some of) the stories. My strongest memory is that Barney arrived home with a hat. It was like something that Micheál MacLíammóir would wear. He called it the president’s hat. There is a photograph somewhere I hope I can find it. I know he made a big impression in Ross-on-Wye because in March 1981 just 5 months before he died I joined him on his one and only pilgrimage to Cheltenham (horse racing was his other sporting love). Joan and I travelled over with him and we stayed in Ross-on-Wye with friends from that rugby trip.

Bob Cole
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Faithful Fans 1978
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The other memories are following the team – especially through that Towns Cup campaign with Bob Cole in 1978. Joan knitted black and yellow scarves; monkey hats and made a great big Curragh banner as well as lots of flags. I believed for many years that we lost that match because of the case of champagne that Barney brought in the boot of his car for the post match celebrations. It was returned to the mess the following day for a full refund.

Towns Cup Curragh V Athy 1978, Uploaded by M+MD.

Dobey Cup Third Year - Athy
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Dobey Cup 1988 (Katy Dobey)
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As a family we continued our association with The Curragh as supporters. Brian played with the team for a couple of years. But mainly the connection continued through the Dobey Cup. This was run as an underage blitz every January. The cup was ridiculously big for such a competition – larger than life you could say – just like Barney.