The campus of York St John University is relatively small but it is an oasis of quiet with its weathered old buildings (but some new ones, too) and beautifully-manicured gardens. Of course, the students are on holiday and probably so…
Flamborough
On Thursday, with the conference finished, we went on a day trip to the coast to see our friend Moira, who lives in the village of Flamborough. It’s a drive of just under 2 hours through the rolling Yorkshire countryside,…
York
Pip has attended her annual conference at York St John University and I went with her, leaving Dublin on Monday morning and returning on Friday evening. York is a wonderful city. I have been lucky enough to visit three times and…
Another busy weekend
We have just had a hectic long weekend babysitting our two grandsons who live in Hove, near Brighton. Their parents were attending a wedding and at the last moment their local babysitting arrangements fell through so it was SuperGrandma and…
Learning the Language
Dia duit all (a formal Irish greeting; means ‘God with you’. The answer is ‘Dia es muire duit’ (God and Mary with you’!) With the support of my lovely boss Mark, I have been studying the Irish language at classes on a…
Summer flowers
No story, really. Trekked through the Botanic Gardens last week and they are a mass of colour – nothing terribly exotic but loads of colourful flowers so I took a few photos for your delectation.
Guinness in church? Why not?
St Mary’s church in Anne St was built at the start of the 18th century and was one of the first examples of a galleried church in Dublin. It closed in 1964 and was re-opened in the 1990’s as a…
The Harp’s Progress
Before we left for Ireland, Pip said that she would really really like to take her harp. The problem was that she already had two full suitcases, a third suitcase sent separately by courier freight, plus 9.9kg of carry on…
The Art of the Brick
Nathan Sawaya has made his name as an artist working in the medium of Lego bricks. His exhibition, The Art of the Brick, is currently showing in Dublin so we went along to have a look today with Vivienne and…
Glendalough
Glendalough is a monastic settlement dating from 498 AD in a particularly beautiful and tranquil setting about 50 km from Dublin. Our friend Marco kindly offered to drive us there last Sunday. The Lonely Planet puts it well: “The substantial…