i went, i whored, i’m knackered…
…and whilst it’s undoubtedly a good kind of knackered, thanks not just to two busy weeks over in the Emerald Isle but also three busy days spent catching up since I got back (which is the part I always forget to set aside energy for, despite the unpacking, laundry, repacking of work kit, food shop and fish-tidying being no small task after a fortnight of mostly not having to do it) it’s still tiring stuff.
Leaving all this aside, a couple of weeks roaming about Ireland on the bus finding new places and meeting lots of friendly folk is without a doubt amongst the most fun a person can have – even the daft timewaster calls have a charm all of their own, and I left Cork (my favourite of all) on Friday afternoon feeling almost fit to carry on for another week at least until I arrived back home to ecstatic fishes, my own bed and glorious Spring sunshine all the way to Marks and Spencer for some unashamedly low-effort-food shopping. Add to that a morning stroll along the foreshore for fresh air, leg-stretching and proper chips (and looking again at the pictures, I do sometimes wonder why I ever bother going anywhere else) and I am officially back …until Thursday that is, when my next port of call is Edinburgh for the mighty Dead By Dawn horror film festival’s 20th anniversary, my special treat for two weeks hard labour (even if it wasn’t really all that hard *cough*).
I have learned that Tallaght (despite being a Dublin suburb) is bigger than Scarborough, and also that I shouldn’t have arranged to leave it on a Friday lunchtime when the Irish football matches are played on a Friday evening (and Shamrock Rovers were playing at home just down the road, dammit), also how to ride on the luas (which I will be doing a lot more of next time even if it means making up excuses to do so) and that Limerick, despite it’s reputation preceding it somewhat, is a very nice place with the most helpful Post Office staff I have encountered anywhere and friendly elders who sit and chat at the bus stop (before unexpectedly going home rather than getting on the bus when it comes, which made my day and left me smiling all the way to Cork). Oh, and for English readers, you say it port-LEASH. Mystery solved.
In fact I had such a lovely time, the next Ireland visiting plan is already well underway – yay! I shall be heading Cork-wards on the twelfth of June and then, well, dossing about for a bit; keen eyed folk will also notice that Belfast is also featuring shortly. I know, I missed it out this last trip, and having had a couple of truly woe-filled texts about why I hadn’t come back (in addition to the constant enquiries about why-I-wasn’t-going-to-Wexford/Sligo/Galway/Kerry/Kildare/Waterford-this-time – sorry!) I’ve decided that since Malta is to be postponed for a few months, I can just about fit in a trip back over to see the Ulster folk in a couple of weeks once I’ve finished keeping company with That Beyoncé. In fact, try and stop me!
By way of other news, some more of the oft-planned (and mostly put off because of the dust) work on the apartment is going to be getting underway over the next couple of months and therefore the few days when I will be here during May and June are unlikely to be promising much in the way of Scarborough availability, but on the plus side I’ll have more floors and another bedroom – yay! The current plan is to be here for most of July to make up for it, so fingers crossed. And further yet, my next New York visit is well and truly organised – I will be making my way back at the end of August for a change, and whilst it might seem an odd choice, air conditioning makes every city hotel room agreeable in August, within reason anyway.
For now, it’s a laid back tomorrow followed by a few days of (hopefully) sunshine, screen carnage old and new, Nando’s (and more chips) and pod-hotel heaven in Edinburgh – can’t wait!
More soon.
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