under another sun

Ninja daisy Breakfast with Ash and Phil, and later Aimee. Having cleverly avoided drinking myself into oblivion the night before, I actually felt fairly fresh this morning as we ate breakfast overlooking the mountain to the south of Westport that kept losing its head in clouds. I want to go back there one day. Wanted to pop out for a breath of air. Aimee in lively capering fashion decided to turn into a bit of a scramble around the perimeter of the grounds. She did this clutching a flower, which she called the Ninja daisy, which she used to compel me to follow her. After this adventure, off to pack and meet up with everyone before we went off to the beach under the cloud shrouded mountain. Was stunningly beautiful, with the sun spotlighting bits every now and then. The sky changes so rapidly everything looks different all the time. Makes me think of W.B. Yeats. The west of Ireland is a magical place. Then the long trip home. A drive through the countryside to Knock airport, where we at...

Marcella's wedding Up early feeling rather fragile after the lively night last night. A big full breakfast overlooking the mountains and Westport. A beautiful scene. Decided that a walk was the best cure, so went for a wander around Westport with Aimee and Ash, who were on a mission to buy tights. We mooched about in the lovely little town, enjoying the little river that runs through it. About twenty people had brought rams into town in small trailers, and there was some ram trading going on, which was interesting to see. Chiefly took the form of folks leaning over trailers earnestly. Then back to the hotel to get suited and booted. Marcella had sent me a note to remind me to wear a suit at couple of months ago, which was nice of her. A reputation for "creativity" precedes me. The wedding itself was at St Mary's in town. It was a really nice wedding. Marcella crying with joy when she walked down the aisle with her dad. Everyone very pleased to see her married. As we l...

Friday night in Matt Molloy's Off to Ireland for Marcella and Adrian's wedding. A long journey from Brighton to Stanstead, but I met Aimee - who was over from Dubai for the wedding- on the Stanstead Express. After making it past oddly obnoxious security people met Phil, Ash and Paula. Once onboard I grabbed a window seat for, as everyone knows, my duty to is keep the plane aloft through sheer will power. Despite this, found time for a heart to heart with Paula. Landed in Knock airport after flying over beautiful Irish countryside, which seemed to have lots of lakes and is much emptier than England. We all shared the hire of a car and Phil drove us the lovely Knockranny House Hotel which was about an hour away. Lovely hotel, with a big welcoming fire in the lobby, and gorgeous views of mountains and down into Westport. After a cheeky 40 minutes sleep, we met more pals and got into a cab which took us down into town. This is the second time I've been here, the last time was ...