An Irish barbecue

Our stay at Corranure has been extended by a day so we can attend the BBQ Barbara and Rodney's church are holding on Friday evening. They're only a small congregation but with a huge enthusiasm. The advice was that we arrive early so off we set at 7:30 to save standing in the queue. I'm not sure what I was expecting but not what I experienced.

Firstly the food, mountains of it; salads galore and always potatoes, bread aplenty and always Irish Soda bread (I'm going to set myself to learn how to make it, I love it!) and meat - pork, pulled pork, sausages, burgers - and lots of everything. Desserts just kept appearing; pavlova, real apple tart, cheesecake to mention just a few. Now you might be thinking what's the big deal about that. The church group, I'm told, totals about 20; the crowd, at a rough estimate, about 500! That's a lot of people and a lot of food!

Rodney was one of the main organisers

A musician entertained us for about 2 1/2 hours, singing country music. He was very good. The kids were well occupied with the playground

and the oval. As I sat watching the event unfold I couldn't help but notice the immense pleasure everyone was having as they greeted one another, this was truly a community gathering, and they were loving being together.

Howard handed us several tickets and said to put our names on them. As the evening was winding up Simon, the minister of the church, began reading out the names of prize winners. That's when we heard 'Joan Wills'. I was told, when I went to collect my prize, that I had won a top prize.

Howard was smiling when I presented it to him and wished him a happy 70th birthday. I'll leave you to guess what was in the box...

As we were walking out of the marquees we met Simon. Allan and Simon stood talking for some time and to end their conversation they prayed together, right there with the crowd swirling all around them.

A few nights earlier, while we were driving home, Howard turned the radio on to listen to the Christian hour and the quicky quiz. The question was, name the two sons of thunder and their father. Howard wanted to send in the answer (once he asked us) so Catherine obliged. When we arrived home she decided to send it in again and put Allan Wills, Australia on the text. What laugher errupted when the announcer declared the winner to be Allan Wills from Australia and then she sent a cheerio to everyone in AUS. Winners are grinners!

A wee trip to Kilskeery

We got into our wee car and set off for the drive to Kilskeery via Belleek. This is a beautiful journey, along Lough Erne, which is really two lakes with 365 islands in it, through shady tunnels of shrubbery and past the mountains. We arrived in Belleek, a village which sits in two counties; County Fermanagh and County Donegal, famous for its pottery where fine porcelain has been made since 1886. Walking around the village we noticed a lovely house. It was painted pink, not a colour you would normally choose, but it looked great with a brighter pink door.

As we walked by, a man working around the house began talking to us. This phenomenon is usual in Ireland. We must be obvious to the locals because they quickly identify us as visitors and want to engage us in conversation. It's a bit like a naughty child being found out by their mother - they think they have gotten away with their misdemeanour, only to be confronted and questioned heavily. We heard all about the pink house, the owners, your man's family and his views on Brexit and so much more. This same exchange happened a few days ago in Cavan. It's quite challenging to extract oneself from these encounters!

We proceeded on to Kilskeery, arriving about 2pm. This is where my Mum is from and where her cousins still live. They call themselves "the walking wounded" for obvious reasons which I won't go into. Their average age is 80 years and they are all equal in their enthusiasm for all things to do with talking.

Before we left for our trip away we visited my aunt in Bendigo and recorded a message from her for the folks in Ireland. It was priceless to observe as each one in turn watched Aunty talking to them; they were answering her as if she was talking to them in person. When I suggested that they send a message back to Australia they all claimed that they couldn't talk but once they got going the stories flowed and the background banter accompanying them was hilarious. I can't wait to show our filmings to Aunty when we next visit her.

This is Robert and Evelyn's front garden, it's full of garden gnomes - Aunty will love seeing them.

Allan thought we would leave after about three hours but they were having none of that. Tea had been arranged in Irvingstown so we took Barbara and Robert with us. Barbara was very efficient with her directions from the back seat, as she was in ordering Robert's meal. It was ordered at least five times, I was amazed that the waitress didn't bring him five plates of steak and chips.

What a joy to see a brother and his sisters so devoted to each other. And what a joyous occasion to have been blessed to experience. A few tears were shed as we parted company but we are so glad to have had this opportunity to see our precious family once again.

The football final is coming up this weekend and Cavan is one of the finalists. The locals have been encouraged to get their flags up by way of cheering the team on. There are signs along the roadways from many of the local MPs and many houses have the Cavan colours flapping in the breeze.

A nice colourful expression of the local community spirit.

Family Gatherings

Sunday presented as an exciting day, the first of many family gatherings. Henry was turning one year old and we were all meeting at Debra and Chris's home for dinner at 3:30.

The birthday boy
and his cake

About 24 were gathered to eat a huge meal. Chris told us that when he went to get the meat from the butcher, the butcher said that he had never sold that much meat in one order before! I think that was a bit exaggerated but a good indicator of how much food was prepared for us to eat. The salads were equally plentiful and what can I say about dessert other than it was very Irish... and then came the cake, firstly the birthday cake, then another one for John and then others just kept coming - and all chocolate cakes. Sunday was Father's Day in Ireland so we sang happy birthday twice and then happy Father's Day several times. We were on a roll!

It was lovey to meet the latest members of the family; new husbands, new babies, new inlaws and to greet dear ones again.

Howard insisted that we go up the road to photograph Lucas' vintage cars. Amongst his collection he had an amazing old pickup truck. It was his grandfather's and Lucas had restored it to immaculate condition, but I wouldn't like to travel very far in it. There's no padding on the seats and no windows on the sides. Not ideal for Irish weather!

There was a advertisement in the cabin dated 1916 for grinding and scutching.

Lucas showed us a room that he had 'fixed up' so they could use it for celebrations. It was a fantastic place, right up in the attic of one of the sheds in the yard with a potbelly stove to keep it cozy in winter.

We decided it was time to go home when a couple of Afghans gatecrashed our night..

Went to the Kilmore Hotel for lunch with Charles McCollum after a great catch up in the morning. He has a wonderful collection of pot plants around his home and a great outlook across the hills.

John had the shearers in to give the sheep their hair cut.

Allan enjoyed chatting to the men and they suggested that he have a go but unfortunately we had somewhere else to be so there wasn't any time. He was disappointed.

John had to jump on the wool to pack it down in the bag.

Visited Catherine and Noel, Sarah, Rachel and Conor in their new home. I can't understand why we don't build homes like this in Australia.

Noel has reused the stone, bricks and slate tiles on the outside. Inside there is a circular staircase, beautiful wallpaper and a lovely English style kitchen - everything is beautiful. It's delightful to sit inside and look out at the cows and the lake. We'll have to come back again to see the garden take shape.

The children were very excited and I don't think it was just because we were there, they are lovely kids. But we thought we'd leave so they could settled down to bed. We visited the Drumlane Monastery ruins which sit on the banks of Lough Oughter. What a pretty spot with the late evening sun resting over it.

The next afternoon we visited Barbara, Rodney, George, Robbie, Victoria and Scott in their new house. Wow is all I can say. I didn't even take a photo of the house, silly me! Barbara has the biggest AGA cooker I have ever seen. Allan and the kids had fun building the biggest tower they could manage.

A drive with Howard

The best laid plans are often the ones that come unstuck. Robert found that in Devon and now we have experienced it also. Allan woke Thursday morning and sat up in bed only to have a wave of sickness come over him. He spent the day between the bed and (as Howard McCollum would say) the big porcelain telephone. There was no way we were driving to Cavan that day.

But we were confident that the Lord was with us, so settled in with Marion for another day. We got to see Charis and two of the boys again, bonus. I had a lovely day with Marion, talking and walking. And I got to do two loads of washing, double bonus.

Friday morning looking out of Marion's kitchen window at sunshine. Yeh! But it didn't last. Allan was feeling better but very weak. We had a quiet, slow beginning, enjoying one last devotional with Marion before we headed off. Called into John and Barbara's for a quick stop over before continuing onto Cavan, in the rain, arriving in time for 2pm dinner, which Allan didn't eat.

It is so good to be back in Cavan and sitting around the kitchen table again. Howard, Catherine and John were there to greet us warmly. Catherine collected some of the grandchildren from school and brought them back. What a lovely sound, the children speaking with their beautiful Irish accent. I think they are having difficulty understanding us because they look blankly at us when we speak to them.

Now I know you are already asking if we have had any of Howard's epic road trips yet. Yesterday we set off for a drive at 6pm! Yep, that's right, 6PM! Another entertaining drive in the car with Howard at the wheel and Catherine driving from the back seat. Howard is a human road map, he drives, claiming he doesn't know where he is going but always knows where we are. We drove past the house where my aunt and uncle used to live and the present owner was out the front so Howard stopped for a chat. It's like his car can't drive past anyone who can be spoken to, much to Catherine's dismay.

He drove us to See House, the former and very old residence of the bishop of Cavan, where there was a group of bearded men standing out front. Howard's conversation began with a comment about bearded men to which they were quick to say he could join them (Howard has a beard). Something was then said about placing bees around the area - not sure what that had to do with anything but that never stops Howard. One of the men stuck his head into the car and asked, "Who are you?" The quick response was that he was driving his visitors from Australia around and quickly asked what they were doing at the residence. Turns out they are a band, making a video in the building because it has great acoustics, very echoey and loud. The band is called Ten Ton Slug! If you want to scare yourself, google it. Howard asked what kind of music and was told heavy metal. He asked if it was heavy in weight or heavy in sound. "Heavy in sound" he was told. So in true howardism, he asked for a sample. The lead singer began to sing and Howard joined in immediately. Without the band backing him it just sounded like typical Irish music. I asked if I could take their photo and their agreeableness was a satisfactory end to the conversation. We all parted on good terms with much laughter all round.

Howard began telling us about a man named Sean Quinn, a local bloke from Ballyconnell, who started off working in a quarry on the family farm and then developed a cement factory, so he needed a road between the two. He managed to get the approval of every farmer along the planned road and had the road made and sealed. We drove along the road for quite some time, meeting a small group of ponies who wouldn't stop running in front of us. They only had short legs so we were expecting them to run out of puff but they didn't. Eventually we managed to pass them, so we hope they have stopped running.

Mr Quinn continued to build his empire, employing over 5500 people and turning what was a very poor area into a thriving community. Eventually he got too big for his boots, ended up in prison and lost his whole empire. Most of what he built still employs the locals but he has lost his reputation in his old age and his money. He was once the richest man in Ireland.

We travelled through or heard about many towns with charming names; there was Doapey which is near Aghabog. We passed Knockninny's Well and someone commented that they didn't know he was unwell! Finally drove past a signpost to Auchankillymaude before stopping for tea at Maggie May's, just before 9:00pm. Just caught the kitchen before they closed. An Irish man named Sean set up his gear in preparation for a night of singing. We stayed for a few songs but they were all very mournful, so typical of so many Country songs.

Arrived back at the farm round about 10:30 and watched a show on telly about Michael Flatley, the American guy who developed Riverdance. The prancing pony is still kicking up his heels. I wonder if the other ponies have stopped kicking up theirs!

Armagh

Robert picked us up to drive us to the airport at Exeter where we flew out to the next leg of our journey, Ireland. We arrived in Belfast and collected our hire car, set our google maps and were ready to drive off. But what is it about airports that always frustrates us? Getting out of them! Our lady on my phone said to take the second exit at the roundabout. Trouble was, which way do we turn to find the roundabout! After a few re-routings we were on our way. It was a seemless trip to Armagh.

Marion Staratt had arranged for us to meet her at Charis's home, just out of Armagh. What a delight to see Charis again with her four children. Barbara and John were there too. Lunch had been prepared and we all loved catching up. It was a busy few hours. Marion led us back to her home where we stayed for a couple of nights.

Barbara and John took us to Hillsborough, to the Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, the house where the royals stay whenever visiting Northern Ireland.

We had a guided tour of the house. We just missed Charles and Camilla but they left their signatures for us to admire.

Many ancient artefacts were viewed, royal chairs weren't sat in, interesting tales about regal banners were heard, opulence examined, crowns observed...

My favourite room was one decorated by the Queen Mother. It had a lovely warm feel to it. I could imagine sitting there reading a book, watching foreign dignitaries signing important documents, like the Good Friday Agreement, an historic peace agreement, or chatting with Charles and Camille just after the unveiling of a recent painting of Charlie, painted by a local artist. Sorry no close up picture, not allowed to take photos of individual artwork, it contravenes copyright!

The group of photos on the table were family shots. One was four generations: Philip, Charles, William and George.

An interesting point to note, most photos of foreign dignitaries are taken in front of a fireplace, like this one.

I think I like the Queen Mother's taste in soft furnishings and art. Most of the paintings in this room were chosen by her; apparently she was fond of particular artists and accumulated quite a tasteful collection.

Once the tour was finished we stopped for lunch in one of the tea rooms which were very tastefully fitted out. Actually, everything around here was tastefully done. This included the gardens. Much of the garden has been recently restored and replanted and only this year opened to the public. A most extensive veggie garden has been planted

As you may have observed, the weather is very cold, at least it's not raining so we managed to get around the gardens rugged up but unhindered.

I am trying really hard not to bore you to death with garden photos but this blog is also my diary, and I/we love gardens. Maybe a weathervane or two will be ok.

Hanging around with the Lord of the Manor.

A most pleasant day was had by all. It ended with dinner at Marion's before John and Barbara rushed off to a meeting. Ruth, Marion's sister came round to meet us and we ended with a late night supper, as you do in Ireland.

Unfortunately Allan awoke in the morning feeling very unwell. He has spent the day in bed so we have delayed our arrival in Cavan by a day. Charis told me there has been a bug around so perhaps he caught it from the children. All is not lost - Marion suggested we go for a walk. Man, she can walk fast. We managed to clock up 10,000 steps and visited the Planetarium while walking around Armagh. It was great to get out again for a good walk.