mobile challenge 4 May 2008
If The Kingdom, aka County Kerry, has a drawback at all it is that my mobile broadband thingummy got a signal so poor I couldn’t access the site to do a blog yesterday. In almost all other respects it was a total joy this weekend. I met up with my sis in law, the wonderful painter Rebecca McLynn whose exhibition opened last night at the Greenlane Gallery in Dingle (greenlanegallery.com will get you a look at the gorgeous work if you cannot visit any other way). We had flown in from our respective cities and were there very early so, after a lovely latte, much splendid shopping was done (new pink bag, ‘nuff said), and a great seafood lunch had at Out of the Blue on the quay. The rain lashed down, which seemed to reinforce that this was indeed an Irish Bank Holiday weekend, but we did not let that get to us. A plan was even hatched to go by boat to the Great Blasket island this morning and we actually followed it through. It was simply glorious and the sun, as if to applaud our efforts, shone happily down on us. We saw hundreds of seals on the beach there, the four island donkeys and many sheep and lambs. It was paradise, really. No one lives on the island anymore and it was interesting to learn that for all big events the islanders went to the mainland, including to be buried. The only burials that took place on the island were the stillborns. So sad to see the little patch allocated to them by the old schoolhouse. I had written a piece about such a place in The Woman On The Bus so I am always very affected to hear such stories. On the way back I saw my first ever puffin in real life, flying. Splendid.
As was the complimentary cup of tea on the plane. Sometimes my past as a tea lady has its rewards…
At the airport a helicopter landed and as it did made lots of fancy helicopter-ish manoeuvres – it was as if it was doing helicopter dressage.
Home to more sunshine and a sit-out in the garden admiring the dandelions with the returned Mammy who has been wrestled out of Tenerife after a 5 week break. I sat there thinking of my fab mini-break this weekend and longing for a proper holiday. In lieu of same I got out the latest Marian Keyes, which is brilliant, and gorged myself some more on it, and that felt enough like a holiday to keep me going.
Tomorrow I intend to lie down a lot and sleep a lot too. And there’s still the small (!) matter of a novel to finish…
