Travels in Dublin – Day 3

Thursday 28^th June

This morning was to be our last in Dublin and started with a trip to Dvblinia and the Viking World situated near to Christ Church Cathedral.

Dublin began life as a Viking settlement and it is fitting that it is next door to the city’s oldest cathedral which was founded in 1038 by the Norse King Sitrik Silkenbeard.  The exhibition is well set out with traditional displays, computer graphics and descriptions of the archaeology used to uncover the artefacts housed there.

Then after a hearty lunch at O’Shea’s Merchant pub and restaurant by the River Liffey we headed to the airport for the flight home.

Dublin is a vibrant multicultural city combining the traditional with the modern exceptionally well.  It is a delightful city to visit.

Travels in Dublin – Day 2

Wednesday 27^th June

Day2 started with a visit to the Writers Museum and the James Joyce Centre.  Both are worth a visit.  There are so many great Irish writers it is arguable and very subjective who is the best.  James Joyce has his own centre which signifies the importance of his literary influence.  Whether this is justified is a matter of individual taste.

James Joyce Photograph on show at James Joyce Centre

This literary visit was followed by lunch at the Queen of Tarts then by another trip to Temple Bar to hear more Irish music and yet another welcoming pint of Guinness.

Afterwards we repaired to our hotel for a couple of hours rest, then after dinner returned to the Cobblestone for more Guinness and more music.

Travels in Dublin – Day 1

We did not arrive in Dublin until 9 pm on 25^th so our first full day here did not start until now.  However, from 10 pm until after 12 on the evening of the 25^th I listened to some great Irish musicians in the Cobblestone pub just a few yards from our hotel.

Our first port of call on the 26^th was the Guinness Storehouse where after touring the show brewery we sampled the product high up in the Company’s Gravity Bar which offers great views of the city.

Then we walked into the city passed St Patrick’s Cathedral where Jonathan Swift is buried.  From there we passed Dublin Castle and lunched at the nearby Queen of Tarts café.  In the afternoon we viewed the Book of Kells and the magnificent library in Trinity College.  We returned to our hotel for a few hours rest then headed back to the centre of the city to Temple bar where we dined and listened to more traditional Irish music.

Finally we retired to our hotel well after midnight after a tiring but well spent day.

Blaze of Glory

Vehicles can seem like living breathing beings so that when a family car comes to the end of its life it can seem like the loss of a close relative.

I acquired our Vauxhall Astra Merit in 1997 from my late father-in-law who bought it a few months before he died.  It had been my main means of transport ever since taking me to work every day and, in the company of my wife and children, on numerous holidays in Britain and on the continent.

Now we have retired from our day jobs there is no need for my wife and I to have separate cars.  It was time to purchase something new we could both share and time for the Astra to go.  The children did not want it so after seeing a sign outside our local fire station asking for old cars that were no longer needed we decided that this was a fitting end for a long time faithful servant who had never let us down.

So long P233 LUK you have served us well and deserve to go out in a blaze of glory.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Keith Jahans,
Editor, Peatmore Press

Fun and Games in 2012

2012 may go down in British national history as the year of fun and games.  It is now June and the year is half over but the English have entered it as having the world’s number one test cricket team, Chelsea have secured the European Champion’s League football trophy, England have begun playing in the European football championships and next month London will host the Olympic Games.  The British have invented a staggering number of games and it is good to see that at last they seem to be doing well in some of them.  Expectations are high for the Olympic Games in contrast to the national football team’s chances of winning the current championships but there again no one gave Chelsea much chance for gaining their title.

Earlier this month the United Kingdom celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  There were pageants and street parties aplenty.  In the eight years following the Second World War the British held an Olympic games, celebrated crowning the present Queen and then like now the country was fighting its way out of austerity.

In the words of W H Auden, “No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called Games”.  It is time for innocent fun.  Peatmore Press has entered into the spirit of the occasion by publishing its third title, “Gifford’s Games.”  It has nothing to do with the Olympics but everything to do with games.

http://peatmore.com/giffordsgames.htm