R and R

You may have noticed that I have been absent from the world of blogging for a considerable time and my excuse is that I accompanied Mrs H  who was exhibiting her artwork, for a little over 9 weeks, at The Loughcrew Megalithic Centre near Oldcastle in Co. Meath. It was very successful and we met a lot of interesting people from all over the world, as well as making lots of new friends and reconnecting with old ones.

Physically we both felt weary after the exhibition closed so we decided to treat ourselves to a bit of R and R to recharge our batteries.

We have a favourite place in which to do this, a world away from our habitat, a place that I can best describe as being an area of old wildness that is skirted by the sea, a place that has always revitalised us with it's gentleness.

Please enjoy the photos.

Tell me do you too have a favourite place where you recharge your inner battery ?

A refurbished Norman Towerhouse

A ladies bike with no sign of the owner and just to make sure that she had not

jumped into the sea I did take a look.

Seeing this oarsmen reminded me of a favourite piece of music, The Lonesome Boatman.

Have a listen HERE

This old timer always catches my eye.

I'm not sure whether the yacht on the quay side has recently been removed from the water or if she has been there all summer. 

As for this green hulled boat I assume that it is a workboat of some kind or other.  

One thing is for sure it is the first craft I have ever seen to have exhaust pipes on 

either side of the wheelhouse.

A bird on the loose ?

Long ago, in a former occupation of mine, seagulls were known as being

re-incarnated Fleet Chief Petty Officers, others knew them as shite hawks.

Now here is a really tidy, neat and clean looking sloop to be proud of.

What about this elderly lady, isn't she in good shape for her age ?

I bet her owner is very proud of her !

The Faerie Tailor of Co. Clare

If I have a fad for a particular piece of clothing it has to be that of a waistcoat. 

This all started at the age of fourteen when I became the owner of an ex-army sleeveless, leather drivers' jacket with a khaki lining; it became my pride and joy when going on long hikes across Dartmoor as it kept me warm and left my arms unrestricted to do those things that are necessary when camping alone.

Over the years I have had several waistcoats and still have quite a few in my possession.

As a consequence of this fad my eyes are always on the lookout for a new one.

We recently visited a treasure trove of books, cards, clothes and jewellery in Kinvara Co. Galway.

Ostensibly we dropped in to get Mrs H a copy of Jack Roberts' new book 'Island of the Sheela-Na-Gigs' (ISBN 978-908378-40-8) but you can imagine how delighted I was when my eyes fell on a rail of waistcoats! One in particular caught my eye and to be honest I did not know why at the time.

In our wild garden

The wonderfully comfortable waistcoat

The rear view showing its sensible length

The embroidered emblem.

After a day of wearing the waistcoat I suddenly recalled that the design

on the back reminded me of my first mantra when I first started in the practice

of transcendental meditation of over forty-five years ago!

Detail of buttons

Regina Tierney  the Faerie Tailor of County Clare who is the designer of my waistcoat.

She also creates clothes and beautiful jewellery. 

Please visit her website here - http://celticfusiondesign.com/

POINTS OF VIEW

Since buying my new camera I have found myself becoming rather attached to it. 

There are times when it is not with me that I scold myself especially when I see a particular scene that, to my mind, would make an interesting photo.

So here are just a few of those photographs, things that have recently caught my eye.

The Ship on a Stick.

This can be found on the outskirts of Portumna, Co. Galway quite close to the River Shannon

upon which I doubt very much it will ever cruise again.

A conglomeration of coastal properties that sit under the Burren uplands and on the banks of 

Galway Bay. The smallest of them always attracts my eye.

The Keep

A very well preserved circular building made of local stone. 

I often wonder whether it was once a lot higher, though I guess that we shall never know.

Kiosk Lady

She must have plenty to natter about for she is always there, 

chatting away at all times of the day and night.

Rainbows on the wall

I captured these lads early one morning floating about and looking rather attractive, 

my one complaint is that the pots of gold are nowhere to be found.

Fresh leaves in Sunlight

The scene caught my eye this morning while visiting Mrs H in her studio, 

so I dashed indoors for my camera.

The Dog in the Doorway

How could I not resist capturing the magnificent Toby

guarding the entrance and enjoying the scent of spring.

It is a rambling garden that we have, with worn down paths that flow easily amongst 

whispering wild flowers where bees and other small creatures live in harmony.

TRACHT - BEACH FLOWERS

TRACHT is the name of the strand or beach that I have taken you to before, perhaps this the third time and this might be our last visit, unless of course something spectacular occurs that needs telling.

The weather forecast wasn’t promising very much other than fine rain with a warm temperature - but then they do tend to exaggerate one way or another and are rarely accurate; for generalities is their game these meteorologists.

On our journey blue sky was appearing on our lefthand side enough to keep us living in hopes. Whilst directly ahead there were grey clouds  some looked ominous and yet they seemed to me not low enough to

weep on us.

All along the route we saw lots of county Galway flags flying high in the wind, on almost every house, though not all. I said to Mrs H 

“You know there must be a match on with all of those flags showing and those without are probably blow ins or those who don’t support the GAA”

[I should tell you that ‘blow ins’ is the phrase that is used to describe

people who come from another county or even a different country and that GAA stands for the Gaelic Athletic Association]

Kinavara, another favourite place was busy and the harbour car park was full, so we carried on to Tracht without stopping. I did though notice that the pubs seemed to be busy rather early, it not yet being much more than midday.

Tracht though was virtually empty with only half a dozen cars parked facing the sea and nobody was in swimming because the red flag was flying - a warning to swimmers and yet it was virtually calm - I heard later that there was a particularly virulent type of jelly fish about, although I can say that I saw no sign of any at all.

Mrs H inspecting some gem or other

One of the many piles of seaweed that came in with the tide,

one excellent thing that was fortunately missing from the

beach was plastic debris !

This gentle bouquet  caught my eye.

A miniature harbour amongst the rocks.

A line of flowers nicely litters fore shore.

Two other flowers stand chatting amongst their many sisters!

Are they Daisies ?

Yachts also catch my eye too and it has been many a year since I head the slap of water against the hull and the very buoyant sensation of being onboard in a wind driven yacht.

I was correct it was a Championship Hurling match

against Cork

https://sportstvlive.co/2017/09/03/cork-vs-galway-live/

PEACE IN THE FOREST

There are places which call to me and attract me by an indefinable quality. Sometimes it is a certain type of light that flows over the landscape or a peaceful secludedness, a stillness in the air. It might occur in a forest, on a river bank, on a mound in a field or in my chair at home.

 Copper Beech, this one is roughly 150 years of age in Coole Park, Gort, Co Galway

it is known as The Autograph Tree.

Perhaps a junior Stag

I was lucky that he turned to face me

A King Stag, isn't he wonderful ?

A particular ambience arrives when I sit sometimes, it is as though a large unseen pair of wings carries me away into a different state of being and I wander amongst the clouds, seeing a myriad other creatures and beings who inhabit a place where harmony reigns. Thus I return refreshed and knowing…

This me

Coole Park is one of those places, The Beara Peninsula and The Burren are two others although they do not complete my list of special areas.

Perhaps you also have special places that call out to you ?

http://wordsofaramblingmind.blogspot.ie/search?q=COOLE+PARK+2010

http://www.coolepark.ie

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/west/coolepark/

GALWAY continued.

After we had had our lunch in Galway my desire was to visit Spanish Arch which I had heard much about over the years and never visited. Or so I thought.

Before making our way to Spanish Arch I spied the hull of a large vessel in the distance. Well, as  most of you probably know I am attracted by almost anything that floats and so I just had to take a detour and see what was what.

The Galway City Dock

A small tanker but large enough.

An Irish Customs patrol boat.

The photographer receives a salute - it must have been my

bushy beard !

Spanish Arch

 On arriving there it dawned on me that I was standing besides the Galway Museum, which we had visited a couple of years ago and I had never noticed the arch !

The Spanish Arch was built in 1584, originally as an extension of the city walls and designed to protect the quays. The name is in fact a misnomer, as there is no proven association between the Spanish in Galway and the building of the Arch. In the past it was known as The Blind Arch and is located on the site more appropriately known as Ceann na Bhalla (The Head of the Wall).

I took a liking to this cheery fellow.

Across the fast flowing River Corrib is the ancient settlement of Cladach

Across the river from the Spanish Arch sits the ancient settlement of Cladach, meaning ‘stony shore’, or as it is now known Claddagh. The area above the shore where the Corrib River meets Galway Bay, was once home to Galway fishermen and their families. 

Located just outside of the Town of the Tribes (as Galway is known), the settlement dates back to AD 500, one of the oldest fishing towns in Ireland. 

Old Cladach

Due to severe out break of TB among the inhabitants in 1927 the old unhealthy thatched cottages of the Claddagh were demolished in the 1930s.  Council houses and other more modern homes replaced them yet the memory of the small Irish-speaking town's traditions and customs still live on. 

Despite its close proximity to Galway city, Claddagh remained a completely separate entity for centuries because of the wall surrounding Galway which kept a divide between this village and the Anglo-Norman city across the river. The community also had it’s own King who was elected annually, today it is an honorary title.

With the sole rights to fish in Galway Bay, the Claddagh fishermen thrived and their fresh catches were sold by the Claddagh women at Spanish Arch and at other places thought the city. It is believed that by the early 19th century, there were as many as 820 fishermen in the village who ran around 80 boats. 

The wives of the Claddagh fisher men

A Claddagh (Galway) Hooker

In boats such as these the Claddagh men would have earned their living.

The sound wobbles a bit during one part of the recording 

and then comes good, so don’t switch off.