Posts from the ‘Travel’ category

Here are some useful tips I picked up at Ireland’s National Museum of Country Life:

  1. Next Halloween I’m going to be putting on my Fiddle Face and bothering the neighbours with my Ghost Turnip.
  2. When I leave the baby to go to the well, I will put my tongs across the cradle to keep the fairies away.
  3. Next time someone doesn’t invite me to their wedding, I will disguise myself in straw, including a pointy ‘Strawboys’ hat and drink all the booze.
  4. If a Brideog knocks on my door on the 1st February, I’ll let her in and be nice.
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Some might say you must be particularly desperate to drive an hour and a half for a bath.

Usually I would agree, but what about if it also involved sitting in a massive steamy Edwardian box? …and the bath water was brown and slimy?Wash that down with an ice cold shower and your Kilcullen’s seaweed bath experience is complete.

I highly recommend it! Although sketching in the bath is definitely no walk in the park. Particularly when weighted down with seaweed.Again! Again!

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The top of Croagh Patrick has been covered in a tiny toupee of mist for most of the week, giving me a fantastic excuse not to walk up it.Today, although it was a grey day, the summit was surprisingly clear. So I had to find a new reason.

At the foot of the mountain, I consulted with Holy Mary through the medium of sketch. When she turned into Fanny Craddock on my page, I took it as a clear sign that heading to the summit spelled doom.I abandoned the disastrous sketch and opted to do the Murrisk loop. A lovely walk with plenty of sketching and no slippery scree.

After my run in with Mary, I went subtle on St Patrick’s face.The views of Clew Bay are excellent. Even the sheep agree. Here’s Clare Island and the beautiful spit of Betra Beach.Down in the village I finally got to see the Fisherman’s Memorial. Those cyclists took off pretty quickly. Must have been the way I looked at them! My personal pilgrimage could only end at the Sheebeen with a bottle of Westport, Mescan.

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