Grannymar

Grannymar is older than the flood!

Nooooooooooo! I’m not older than that flood; the one I am talking about was on Saturday, in Dublin.

According to the bible in Genesis Chapter 6 we are told that ‘Man’s sin was the cause of the flood’. So what caused the flood on Saturday? I was a good girl!

I was down in Dublin for an innocent girly lunch. Look this is the evidence:

Now what could be any more innocent than that, I ask you? A group of bloggers, dishing the dirt gossiping stuffing our faces sharing some tasty food and a bottle of wine or three while chatting about the blog world. No sin there you would think.

Of course I did gatecrash a party on Friday night. A Toyboy Birthday Party and I brought my Manager. She was supposed to keep an eye on me… instead of chatting up all MY toyboys. Every time I was busy hugging one of them she was chatting up another. We had a ball, didn’t we missus?

So back from the tangent once more…..,

I was at a girly lunch. Now rumours abound that I left with a Toyboy….. I’m saying nuttin! Them ’uns down in Dubland are a jealous bunch You could do nothing!

However I did end up in a Taxi going nowhere for two and a half hours. It cost €60 to travel 12.5 klms! The Toyboy came to the rescue and brought me home to his house.

Darragh and Niamh, thank you both for providing a bed, food, and an evening of fun. There is no way I would have managed without you.

Elly who was in Cork for the day on Saturday, had a similar journey from the airport driving through two feet of water on the M50. She and George collected me on Sunday and rescued my car from where I abandoned it the day before.

Now for further developments you will have to wait…..

Coming home after a week chasing Toyboys visiting blogging friends, staying with Elly and seeing relations, leaves me with plenty of chores to do. I did a bit of this

Then I had to do a bit of that

Then I took a run down here…

And finally I have started to make a list…

You see the post arrived while I was out and I found a little package lying in the hall. Do you want to know what was in it?

Thanks to Will for the idea, for organising them and these last two images.

What do you think?

The car is packed and I am ready to go… The busy week in Dublin has come to an end. Yesterday I rested in preperation for my journey. With the fine weather I had all the windows open.

At one point I heard children’s voices outside as they played in the street. Most of what they said was not close enough for me to understand. Things went quiet for a few minutes and then I heard a voice say quite clearly: ”I’m not a gurl, I don’t know these tings!”

I wonder what he didn’t know? Any ideas?

With favourable weather and school holidays upon us, Travel Agents through the land are beginning to smile. We all need a holiday for rest and refreshment. Having my few days in Dublin, staying with Elly & George, visiting friends and family, can be tiring at times but I still return home refreshed with the promise to visit once more in the very near future.

Dublin has changed greatly in the years since I lived there. Sometimes I feel like a tourist visiting for the first time. This thought brought to mind a Prayer for Tourists:

Prayer for Tourists

Heavenly father, look down on us your humble servants who are doomed to travel this earth taking pictures, mailing cards, buying souvenirs and walking around in drip-dry underwear. We beseech you to see that our plane is not hijacked, our baggage not lost. Protect us from surly and mean taxi drivers, stingy porters and unlicensed English speaking guides.

Give us divine grace in selection of our hotels. Lead us dear Lord to good inexpensive restaurants where food is super and waiters friendly and wine included in the price of the meal.

Dear God, keep our wives from shopping sprees and protect them from bargains they didn’t need and can’t afford. Lead them not into temptation for they know not what they do. Keep our husbands from looking at foreign women and above all do not forgive them their trespasses for they know exactly what they do. When our trip is over grant us the favour of finding friends who will look at our photos and listen to our stories so that our lives as tourists will not have been in vain.

This we ask in the name of us all. Amen.

Yes I am leaving home…. for a few days only.*

Where did I leave my car?

The time has come to inspect the new Love Nest. Elly & George are on the move to their new home. The measuring tape is packed and ready with the pencil and pad to take exact details of the windows. Designs and materials will be discussed before purchasing the fabric, once bought and paid for, it will be passed along to keep me quiet for the next few weeks.

Travelling always makes me think of my safety and how I will react to the everyday situations and pressures on the road.

Am I getting old?

Reflexes slowing down?
As far as I remember, the ‘Rules of the Road’ driving manual states the average driver’s reaction time is:
.75 seconds -or- 1 car length for every 10 mph…

Test your reaction time with this special test.

I am a Bobbing bobcat!

Do You think I’ll make it.

*Access to Internet may be interrupted for the few days. Enjoy the peace but don’t give up hope, I will come back!

Sunday morning sitting sipping coffee with a large slice of cake at The Park Cafe in Wiesbaden, Germany was a favourite pastime in the early 70’s for me. People watching at the outdoor tables in summer time, or inside enjoying the warmth and reading the days English newspapers that we picked up at the HaupBarnhof (Central Train Station) on our way.

The Character of the Park Cafe changed when the sun went down. Coffee and cake were still available but they usually followed Starters and Main Courses. The centre of the floor became a square for dancing, and the rhythm from the combo in the corner soon had you joining in the dancing. I have many memories of evenings spent there with friends, eating, drinking and dancing.

I was young then and every social occasion seemed to include alcohol. Now what brought that to mind I hear you ask?

One morning during the week while enjoying my coffee and the last slice of cake from my cake tins, my mind drifted back over the years… Shaking myself from my daydreams I sorted through the bundle of papers on a side table. My eye was drawn to something I had missed earlier, it was an article on the dangers of heavy drinking….

It went into great detail and to be truthful it scared the life out of me.

So that’s it! I have decided!

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There is no easy solution so after today; there will be no more

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READING!

Lunch was of the sit-in variety yesterday, well I was in the kitchen and although the sun was shining on the front garden, there was a gale blowing at the back of the house. Having survived the winter without coughs, colds or splutters (says I knocking on wood) I didn’t want to tempt fate and end up with something I’d never be rid of.

I let my mind wander and it travelled around Europe. Travelling like this is less hassle as there is no packing, queuing, flying, driving or getting on trains. Since I was there before I knew my way around and had no fear of being lost. I remember having my Passport stamped at several borders that now no longer exist. Some place names have changed and of course the money is easier nowadays. Was it Belgium that we had to be careful changing money because you were unable to exchange any leftovers when leaving the country?

I was supposed to pop into Turkey one year, but they had yellow fever so our plans were quickly changed. I still have some ground to cover, the Northern Lights are calling much louder than the hot spots further south.

I wondered how a map would look if I coloured it in, that was before I read this so red is the colour of my true love’s hair are the places I’ve visited.

create your personalized map of europe or check out our Barcelona travel guide

What does your map look like?

On Tuesday last I told you about my visit to Howth. I never mentioned how I got there. You remember I was staying with my aunt, who was collected for a long prearranged Lunch appointment. In the fuss of the moment she forgot to leave the keys to her car. My car was in the driveway and hers sat behind it. Locked!

The sunshine beckoned so I headed out on foot. Reaching the main road I spied a Bus Stop and that was when I decided on my destination. It is years since my last confession bus journey and the procedure is all new to me. “€1.70!” said the driver, as I struggled to find the coins. I held out a €2 coin. “In there! He said gruffly, pointing to a metal slot near the steering wheel. Doing as I was told, I waited for my change well that was what we were taught to do when I was young. On seeing my outstretched hand he pointed to a small sign on the side of the metal contraption - No change given or some similar words. He did give me a ticket, a receipt for my payment.

Once I sat down I studied the small piece of paper. It told me I could claim a refund of my 30 cents, Great idea I hear you say. Then I read on… The refund was available only at the Dublin Bus office in O’Connell St in Dublin. How many visitors get caught like I did? What happens to all the unclaimed money? Does it go to Charity? Does anyone know? I gave the ticket to my aunt and there is nobody better to sort it out! It is not the 30 cents I am worried about, it is the principal!

So I enjoyed my day you saw the pictures

When I was ready for home I located a bus stop and there was someone waiting which gave me hope that my stand would not be for long. My bus waiting companion was young and male, he reminded me of Twenty and then he turned around and eyed me up and down…

I managed to get a picture

I did as I was asked

I was listening talking to Elly the other day making arrangements for my next visit. We do this on a regular basis, talk that is. ‘Visit’ arrangements are something else altogether. You see, in my head I want to go here and do this that and the other, while my body says NO WAY!

All my social arrangements both at home and away are prefixed with ‘IF’. I continually have to remind my head that the body is not thirty years of age anymore. Alas, the body rules. There are mornings when the thoughts of how I will feel after a shower, are what gets me out of the bed! There are some days when that is not enough either. Some days I start off well and suddenly I am drained of energy. The best way to describe it is a feeling that someone has pulled the stopper and the energy drains away like water in a sink. My colour goes with it and I need to SIT DOWN right there and then. Elly & George are used to this happening and quietly deal with me. I knew there would be a bonus of having a strong, solid and good looking Son-in-Law to lean on!

I have to keep going, so I make plans with an ‘if’. “I would love to come…if.” “Certainly I will go…if.” You get the picture.

Now I want to travel down for the Irish Blog Awards to rub flesh with my virtual friends and meet more new ones. It is an easy one for me to attend because it is held in a nice room with comfortable seating and space to move around. The seats are not pre-booked so if I need to cancel it is not a problem. If I don’t turn up somebody else will use the seat.

I have not put my name on any list to attend the meet-ups before or after the big night, because I hate to say I will go somewhere that requires having space booked for me, and cause expense only to discover at the last moment that my health won’t let me attend.

So Sabrina, Red Mum and Deborah please excuse me and I hope all the events are a wonderful success.

This Podcast tells the story of the power of love between a child and his or her favourite toy.

The Velveteen Rabbit

Sleeping Elly and Sammy

Sammy in his bag today