

Posted in around the UK | Tagged climate change, hot, UK heatwave | 5 Comments »
In my line of work I travel a lot and often get to stay in fabulous, centuries old houses in quirky villages, many of which are mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book.
I’m currently working and staying in this fabulous 16th century, listed house. The main part of the house is in this image; a quintessential English house. The rest of the house which leads off to the right is added onto and a converted barn.

It’s a twisty, winding type of house with long passages and rooms leading off; the exterior replicates the original house. It’s just gorgeous
The village nearby is indeed a Domesday Book village with a fantastic old church that retains vestiges of the original medieval wall paintings/decorations.




The village of Stanford Dingley is a good walk through fields of long grass awash with buttercups, and along shady woodland lanes. The village is ever so pretty under normal circumstances, but look so gay and colourful with the Platinum Jubilee bunting and flags.
I love the plaque that’s been installed near the pub

Posted in around the UK, Churches of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, historical houses of the uk, project 101, villages of the United Kingdom | Tagged domesday book village, Domesday Book villages visited for Project 101, history, medieval houses, Stanford Dingley, Travel | 2 Comments »
To say Happy New Year 😁😁😁

I’ve been awfully slack these last few months and after my computer kicked the bucket I simply did not have the will to write up a post using one finger 🙃 🤪🤪
So yeah. Thought I’d better at least get one post up before you’ll think I’ve done a runner 😁😁🚶🏼♀️🚶🏼♀️
I’m hoping to buy a new (refurbished) machine soon and then I can get back to writing.
I’m pleased to say I made my walking target of 3200kms for 2021, although it was very tough going the last few weeks of 2021 and my daily targets were exhausting, but I did it 👏👏👏

I’ve set a lower target of 2022kms for 2022…give my body a break 🙃

Wishing you all a happy, safe, healthy, wonderful New Year for 2022
Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, gratitude, It's my life, Travel | Tagged conqueror virtual challenges 2021, conqueror virtual challenges 2022, happy new year, walking | 11 Comments »
If you have all day, I could list hundreds of colourful characters and famous people who have links with Dublin; some born in the city, some borne there on the winds of change and fortune.

But of course you don’t have all day 😉 so I’ll stick with the few I encountered during my latest visit.
As mentioned in my previous post, we have the lovely Molly Malone, who by all accounts sold cockles and mussels during the day, and other wares by night!! Hence the nickname ‘The Tart with the Cart’, which I think is a bit unfair really…😂😂 Here are the lyrics of the song telling the story of Molly…
In Dublin’s fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone.
As she wheeled her wheelbarrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”
She was a fishmonger
And sure ’twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they both wheeled their barrows
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh
She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Alive, alive, oh
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh.

Then we have the louche Oscar Wilde – a very bad boy indeed, who was a tart at night and famous author by day; nicknamed: the ‘Queer with the Leer’. 🤔🤔 Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic of him this time, but he can be found lounging on a rock in St Stephen’s Green.
We also have the ‘Prick with the Stick’ which refers to none other than James Joyce, mentioned in the previous post as having frequented the King’s Inn.

The variety of people, from all walks of life, is a long story…
Religion….

Literary giants…. of course James Joyce and Oscar Wilde fall into this category too, but I’ll leave them where they are with their respectively notorious histories…


Josephine Edna O’Brien DBE (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Philip Roth described her as “the most gifted woman now writing in English”, while a former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, cited her as “one of the great creative writers of her generation”. Her first novel, The Country Girls (1960), is often credited with breaking silence on sexual matters and social issues during a repressive period in Ireland following World War II. The book was banned, burned and denounced from the pulpit.
Political….

Music…






A few famous people who visited Dublin



So there you have it. A few of the many many famous and infamous people who have ties to Dublin.
In my next post I’ll share some of the lengthy history of Dublin
Posted in Historical, My European travels, Travel | Tagged famous people of Ireland, musicians and artists of Ireland, people of Dublin, travel to Dublin, Visit Dublin, visit Ireland, writers and playwrites | 7 Comments »
Dublin is one of my favourite places to visit. Its quirky, and colourful albeit dirty and home to one of my least favourite aspects of street life; the Dublin oyster 🤮
But I love the street art and the humour – the Irish are adept at poking fun at themselves, and that is a very attractive trait.

Amongst others, you’ve got; Molly Malone – The Tart with the Cart. The Hats with the Bags. The Stilleto in the Ghetto, the Queer with the Leer, the Ace with the Base.




I captured these scenes while in Ireland for my sister’s 50th birthday 🎂 🥳 ; a fun and unexpected trip.
Whether you look up, sideways or down, you’ll be bound to find something somewhere…













You may think that Dublin is dull and grey, but you would be mistaken.





We actually stayed in Temple Bar, which as it turned out wasn’t too noisy, but then I’d never seen it so underpopulated…it’s usually heaving, day and night. I guess Covid-19 is still keeping patrons at bay.

I’ll share another post in a few days, featuring some of Dublin/Ireland’s people and history ..
Posted in European travels, Holidays, It's my life, photography, Travel | Tagged baby boomers travel, cities of the world, people and places of Dublin, Visit Dublin, visit Ireland | 6 Comments »
Last month a few of us converged on Dublin, Ireland for my sister’s 50th birthday. She and her hubby flew over from South Africa and my daughter, son-in-law, grandson and I flew over from the UK.

I love Ireland and enjoy visiting as often as possible…this was my 9th visit.
We had supper the first night at Eddie Rockets; the same place where I made the momentous decision to NOT return to South Africa, but to stay in Ireland for another 2 months till my visa expired, then fly across to the UK to obtain the necessary information to apply for my ancestral visa. (And here I am, 20 years later – my 20 year anniversary coincided with my sister’s birthday, so a meal at Eddie Rockets was a must!)

We had a few days of exploring and reminiscing and visited a couple of lovely places; Glendalough being one


The lakes, formed by glaciers, in the Glendalough Valley are located in the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Besides the lakes and wonderful walks, including The Wicklow Way, there’s the world famous Monastic Site with Round Tower and chapel where St Kevin reputedly spent some time.
Glendalough is home to one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland. This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the “Monastic City”. Most of the buildings that survive today date from the 10th through 12th centuries. Despite attacks by Vikings over the years, Glendalough thrived as one of Ireland’s great ecclesiastical foundations and schools of learning until the Normans destroyed the monastery in 1214 A.D. and the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin were united. For more information here’s the link https://visitwicklow.ie/listing/glendalough-monastic-city/




Being back at Glendalogh has inspired me to walk around the lakes, and then head over to walk the Ring of Kerry. I’ve already walked the virtual route via the Conqueror challenges and now I’d love to walk it in real time.
On our way back to Dublin we drove over to the east Coast and stopped off at Bray for a stroll along the Promenade and beach, then dinner.


We visited St Stephen’s Green where my grandson did a fairly good imitation of a sculpture 😁😁 Just in the opposite direction!

We visited Christ Church Cathedral where my grandson wanted to try out all the chairs, and he and I stood on medieval tiles

Christ Church Cathedral, originally a Viking Church, is almost 1,000 years old. It was founded circa 1028, is Dublin’s oldest working structure, and is the spiritual heart of Dublin. It is also one of Ireland’s top visitor attractions and a place of pilgrimage through the centuries.
Then Marsh’s Library where they had a fantastic exhibition about elephants

Marsh’s Library was founded in the early 18th century by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713). Designed by Sir William Robinson (d. 1712) the Surveyor General of Ireland, it is one of the very few 18th century buildings left in Dublin that is still being used for its original purpose.
On my sister’s birthday we enjoyed a walk along the Grand Canal near Phoenix Park while visiting with their friends.

As with UK canals, you can see some beautiful canalboats either moored or in transit.

It’s a lovely way to travel and I invariably have canalboat lifestyle envy…
The Grand Canal stretches for 131km, with 43 locks, five of which are double locks, from Dublin to the River Shannon in County Offaly…would definitely be worth a walk. The Grand Canal (Irish: An Chanáil Mhór) is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west, via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly encircling Dublin’s inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the Royal Canal. The last working cargo barge passed through the Grand Canal in 1960. Ref Wikipedia


We also visited Howth, and a brief visit to the castle ruins, then a walk along the coast. A stunning day, the route took us through magical forests and up some precipitous paths, the sun added a welcome warmth.

Since 1180 the St Lawrence family were the feudal lords of Howth. The original family castle, a timber structure, was sited on the edge of Howth village, on Tower Hill, overlooking Balscadden Bay. In some form, Howth Castle has stood on its present site for over 750 years. The great English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1911 restyled a 14th-century castle built here, overlooking Ireland’s Eye and the north Dublin coastline.
The estate previously included much of coastal northern Dublin, including the lands of Kilbarrack, Raheny and parts of Clontarf, but these were gradually sold off from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Ref Wikipedia



In all a wonderful visit and much swapping of stories. Its quite hard being so far away from the people you love and life invariably gets in the way of communication.

And then it was the final day and a last walk around Dublin


Posted in Castles of UK and Ireland, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel | Tagged Eddie Rockets, family and relationships, Glendalough, Howth Castle, travel to ireland, walks in Ireland | 6 Comments »
I’m working near to Clapham Common for the next 12 days. I never knew it was so pretty.





This is going to be a relatively easy booking, but quite boring with nothing much to do. I may just get to start and finish (hopefully) my September blogs – it will all depend on whether or not my laptop is still operational.
From Wikipedia: At over 85 hectares in size, Clapham Common is one of London’s largest, and oldest, public open spaces, situated between Clapham, Battersea and Balham.
Clapham Common is mentioned as far back as 1086 in the famous ‘Domesday Book’, and it was originally ‘common land’ for the Manors of Battersea and Clapham. ‘Commoners’ – tenants of the Lords of the Manors, could graze their livestock, collect firewood or dig for clay and other minerals on the site“.
Whoop whoop, another Domesday Book place.
Lots of space for walking, and I’m planning on finishing the Ring Road Iceland by Wednesday next week 🤞🤞🤞 and starting the Romantic Road, Germany virtual challenge.
Tomorrow I shall go walkabout and look out for interesting architecture.
Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, conqueror challenges, Domesday Villages of England, It's my life, project 101, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021 | Tagged addicted to walking, adventures in london, baby boomers travel, Clapham Common, conqueror virtual challenges 2021, domesday book villages england | 8 Comments »
I’ve taken to getting up at 6am after my last booking where I was required to be on duty by 7am. I’m not an early morning person, but it’s been quite useful for getting my kms in.
I reset my 2021 goal to 3200kms from 2600kms at the end of September in a moment of sheer insanity.

I reached my original goal a few days ago, 7 weeks ahead of schedule.
So now I’m walking my feet off to reach my new goal by 31st December.
The benefit, besides keeping walking fit, is that occasionally I see a stunning sunrise


Not all mornings are as glorious, but when they are, it’s a real treat
Posted in conqueror challenges, england coast path, gratitude, Health, Inspiration, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021 | Tagged conqueror virtual challenges 2021, isle of thanet, sunrise, walking | 2 Comments »
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