The Adventures of Bear and Butterfly

Wow- that title sounds like a sale promotion for Farmers or Deka… I may amend it later on.

But it has been mad… really busy here. We keep looking ahead to the events coming up & suddenly it seems the month has gone by & we haven’t even sat down! But hey, we’re young, nimble & strong so surely we can handle it!

April 21^st was a great day- we gathered with our Kiwi & Aussie friends at the Twyford Avenue Sports Ground for the Anzac 2007 Sports Challenge. A wonderful day for drinking beer in the sun & watching sports & cultural displays. The highlight was watching the two Maori teams for Rugby do a ‘Haka-off’ which was so exciting, both teams were so brave & loud & strong. I managed to get a bit sun burnt that day too- yahoo for the sun!!!!

The following weekend the London Marathon got us thoroughly inspired. Bodra started running 3 times a week & I started too. Can you guess who is still running…??? Not me! But I’m sure I will pick it up again. I’m doing lots of yoga, pilates & Lateral Thigh Training with our new machine & we’re both walking everyday- making loads of effort towards healthier fitter selves!

During the first weekend of May the weather was so lovely that Bodra & I decided we wanted to go for a walk. We have found this website which has a lot of walks around the Berkshire area, so we thought seen as well we don’t have a car, what better way to see our area? http://www.roundreadingwalk.co.uk/index.htm We walked from Ascot to Windsor, 8 miles. We thought it would be a good way to continue our training for the Marathon (ba-hahah!), eventually we would run this walk & if we could do the walk three times it would be just about enough to cover the Marathon…

We walked alongside a racecourse & an aptly named track called ‘The Old Straight Mile’. During the war, wires were stretched across the course between concrete posts to prevent enemy planes landing.

The track went past Golden Gates which were formerly used by the Queen’s procession during the Royal Ascot race meeting. We found a grass-roofed cottage along the way. Soon we entered Windsor Great Park where we became quite confused trying to decipher where our walk continued. Walking in the UK is quite strange. There isn’t one path with signs at intersections, instead you need to be able to orient yourself with directions such as ‘pass to right of ox pond & emerge from trees’ & ‘at crossing track keep ahead but soon turn right at second crossing’. We got totally stumped at that one, as the second crossing was ages away.

But yeah, there were loads of cool markers like, Prince Consort’s Gate, Duke’s Lane, Chaplin’s Lodge, Royal Lodge. There was an Equestrian event on so we had the pleasure of watching horses jump over hedges & wooden walls. As we got nearer to the end of the walk we slowly ambled up Snow Hill (the first hill we have walked since being in this country) towards a gigantic statue of George the Third in Roman attire riding a Copper Horse. I was really confused by this statue as I don’t quite have my head around the whole Roman-England thing… emails to clarify this would be much appreciated!

We stopped for a snack of corn chippies, dates & apricots while watching the airplanes cross above Windsor Castle every minute or so. Man that must be annoying for whoever lives there- they’re pretty noisy as they go by, not to mention the constant carbon emissions around there!

Then the hardest part of the walk, aptly named ‘The Long Walk’ an absolute straight path from the Copper Horse to Windsor Castle. They had horse & carts touring people along the path which gave a lovely atmosphere to the area. Chestnut trees lined the long walk.

We were pretty worn out by that stage so we found a wee pub. Then we went to a Greek restaurant for lunner. I think we got food poisoning there. The best part of Windsor was finding Jim Garrahy’s ‘Fudge Kitchen’. I grabbed a slab of Belgian Chocolate Swirl & Bodra grabbed a slab of Strawberries & Cream. I finished mine in less than a week, Bodra didn’t finish his.

Our perfect day was topped off with a little snooze in the sun at Forbury Gardens in Reading, then we saw Spider Man 3… where the food poisoning took effect- we left the movie a bit earlier to make those noises & smells you don’t wish to share with others…

Kim, Chantal & I went to Fairy Love in the middle of May for a weekend of Fairy fun. Lots of dressing up, bouncing around & creating tasty food! Oh, & heaps of wine too, I don’t even remember falling asleep- I just hit the bed & was out. We had intended to visit Hampton Court while we were there, but our time was spent chilling & enjoying each others company. One of the homes near Fairy Love is owned by Bran so we spent some of the afternoon there enjoying his company & watching his gorgeous Polish Chickens.

The following weekend Bodra went to Saudi Arabia for actual work. He left Friday afternoon & was absolutely miserable as that evening we were meant to be going to the Twisted Party. He had been really looking forward to it. In Saudi Arabia their weekend is Thursday & Friday. Weirdos!

David O’Leary accompanied me to the party. Beforehand we went to the College of Psychic Studies for ‘An Evening of Trance & Transfiguration’. It was a pretty weird night. We entered a room that was lit really lowly, the fans were turned off & the room was completely packed with people. Three different mediums presented themselves & various spirits came through them with all sorts of general spiritual pearls of wisdom.

The final medium was Jay Love whose gift is to create this ectoplasmic facial mask where the spirit will press their face into. I had the opportunity to go up & view this phenomenon, he tried to draw in a few of my relatives & a friend but I couldn’t recognise any changes which weren’t related to the low lighting & shadow play.

David & I then went to the Carling Academy in Brixton which is an absolutely amazing theatre. It reminded me of the Civic Theatre but with an upgrade. No stars in the ceiling but an amazing art-deco interior. The main auditorium contains Europe’s largest fixed stage, framed by an elaborate proscenium arch based on the design of the Rialto Bridge. There was heaps of space to dance around in & I didn’t have any issues with second hand smoke. Ez, Kim, Lisa & Ross soon arrived & we had a great night of dancing.

Carolyn arrived on the 11^th of June, & on the Thursday we took her into London to see the Blue Man Group at the New London Theatre. It’s really hard to describe what their performance was about, as it was so unusual & unexpected. I went there thinking that it was going to be all about these guys playing percussion on paint tins. We were warned not to take front seats due to possible paint splattering. http://www.blueman.com/

Three guys with blue paint all over their heads. They didn’t speak but communicated just as well with body language & facial expression. They started off with the percussion, then moved into different sequences involving all sorts of props. I particularly liked their Rock Music lesson & when they played the plastic tubes. Towards the end of the night all this toilet paper flooded the theatre which was really weird.

Friday night was dinner at Ping Pong for Kim’s 28^th. Carolyn bravely went off on her own to meet up with a friend which really impressed me.

The following weekend we had a great time exploring Wales. On Saturday we made our way to Wales. We were so pleased to get back to tree-lined roads where the branches reached over to meet each other.

Our first night was spent in ‘Over the Rainbow’ at Plas Tyllwyd, Tanygroes, Ceredigion- a luxurious 18^th Century Georgian mansion B&B. http://www.overtherainbowwales.co.uk/ Bodra & I had the fantastic Fuji room with a giant circular window looking out to the Welsh countryside. I watched a Squirrel gathering nuts under a tree & making his way up the driveway the following morning. Carolyn was in the Oya room which has a fantastic wall mural of devotees offering gifts to Oya, Yoruban Goddess of the wind and rivers.

In the evening we glimpsed the ocean at Aberporth, then had dinner at an Italian restaurant.

The following morning we had a lovely vegetarian breakfast then drove to the Felinwynt Rainforest Centre. http://www.butterflycentre.co.uk/ There were only a few butterflies there but it was still lovely seeing them- a Glasswing, Scarlet Swallowtail, Common Swallowtail & Owl Butterfly.

Bodra drove us through Pembrokeshire, through Fishguard to St. David’s where we stopped for a late lunch. http://www.stdavids.co.uk/ Carolyn discovered the amazing Cathedral which held us all in awe for over an hour. Inside there was a stone slab on the floor with David Howell inscribed in it. I found the ‘Chapel Chocolates’ shop which had me enamored for the briefest of moments- honestly! Bodra & I had trouble choosing our chocolates as there was a huge selection. Then we carried on to our next destination, Tenby, stopping at Newgale for a scramble across a wall of giant stone pebbles so we could dip our feet into the freezing cold ocean of St George’s Channel.

Our accommodation in Tenby was a YHA in Manorbier- a hostel made from a former Ministry of Defense building. As we wound our way along the streets we were really surprised to find a lively & cozy township there, as it seemed so isolated. We had a walk along the cliff tops overlooking Caldey Island. Bodra & I both felt so free perched on the cliff looking out to Carmarthen Bay. Dinner was a yummy vege soup which Carolyn made for us with a lovely bottle of red wine.

Monday we traveled away from the coast to Llandeilo for a wander around the captivating 12th Century Dinefwr Castle & grounds. http://www.castlewales.com/dinefwr.html We stopped near some castle ruins beforehand (not sure of the name), but didn’t venture for an explore of them as the rain was pretty heavy then From Dinefwr Castle there were fantastic views of the Welsh countryside from up there, & Bodra & I watched Swallows & Kites, showing off their flying skills & enjoying the wind.

Our next destination was Burry Farm B&B in Gower. http://www.the-gower.com/bandb/burryfarm/burryfarm.htm We were amazed by the garden there, the owners grow produce for the local market in a huge way. In the evening we journeyed out to Rhossili where we enjoyed a beer from the hotel & a pub meal, whilst looking out to the sun setting out on the Bristol Channel. I watched Swallows darting to & from their nests feeding their young.

On Tuesday morning we drove out to Mumbles and had a wander through that town. There wasn’t too much to see there, we stopped in an Antique Store but everything was overpriced & fairly non-antique looking. We carried on with the intention of stopping in Cardiff to visit the castle there, but instead we were pulled to Caerphilly. http://www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html This 13^th Century castle is surrounded by water, so there is a lot of bird poo surrounding it. That would be enough to keep me from approaching the castle! There was a great historical display inside which really amazed Carolyn as she learnt new things about Wales.

Then homeward bound after picking up a few foodie bits from Tescos. Something to note about Wales, in fact probably most of British countryside, is the layout of the roads, which are bordered with thick hedges, which block out the view of the countryside. Makes you feel quite claustrophobic & curious, & completely denied of the potential countryside views.

Bodra had a staff dinner do on Wednesday evening, so Carolyn & I had dinner together- I made sweet potato mash, stir-fried onions, mushrooms & vege sausies with a salad. My first real mash which Carolyn really enjoyed.

Last Friday afternoon I went by train to the Lyme Regis area on the Devon/Dorset border of the South-West Coast, to attend an Intro weekend at the British School of Thai Massage. http://britishthai.com/ I stayed at the facilitators home, Niclaire Mann, where she provided accommodation in her conservatory. I was pleased to find she had two dogs, a Jack Russel Puppy named Milly & an older cuddly dog named Polly. Her adopted 13 & ½ year old daughter, Ashley & I had big chats in the evening.

The following morning we started off with Thai Yoga which involves loads of lunge-type positions. By the afternoon my legs were quaking! One of the students, Nikki, gave me Thai massage while I lay on my back, then I gave her a foot massage. A second student, Jane, gave me Thai massage while I lay on my tummy & then I tried to give it to her.

Unfortunately the course was more about the students just practicing what they already had been taught & there wasn’t going to be any real teaching for me unless the facilitator made a special allowance. I didn’t want to impose on what she was trying to achieve with the weekend so I decided to return home on Saturday night. It was a pretty terrifying ride to the station as Niclaire sped her way there in an attempt to make a train that was leaving in less time than we had. I ended up waiting for nearly an hour for the next train but the time passed quickly as I chatted to a Station master there about society, & he shared his stories about fixing John Lennons TV one time, while John Lennon & Yoko Ono remained in their bed.

I met Bodra & Carolyn at Reading station as they had just returned from an afternoon in Leytonstone meeting their relatives- Tony, Liz, Roger, Hilary & Martin, Eileen & Ian, Blair & Laura. They had a wonderful time catching up with everyone.

We had a chilled out Sunday, catching up on some reading. Bodra worked out how to put Carolyn’s video footage onto the laptop which took him ages. So that wasn’t a very chilled out aspect of the day! I made pizzas for lunch & laksa for dinner which was much appreciated.

On Monday I stayed at home with Carolyn for her last day. We had a cuddly three-legged walk into Reading town, huddled under the umbrella. (It seems it has only rained while Carolyn has been here. Actually, it rained yesterday too…) I showed her the Ayurveda Retreat & we had Star bucks Chai Latte & Cinnamon Swirl for lunch. Then back home where I gave Carolyn a full body massage for over two hours- indulgence! We met Bodra for yoga in the evening- I was so exhausted I completely went somewhere else during the meditation.

Tuesday morning we bid Carolyn farewell. Michael will be with her now- he’ll be staying with her for the next few months while he endeavors to have surgery on his jaw in Thailand. He was able to find someone to take care of their home in Massey which was really lucky. Madri from the Hare Krsna centre in Kumeu found him someone.

Last night we went to the Astoria Theatre in Tottenham Court to see Fat Freddy’s Drop. The theatre was completely packed out, I had to protect my viewing space with my protruding legs. Bodra & I were sat at a table so we danced with our heads. The support performers were these D J’s who mixed together all these different songs & had the videos all synced up too which was quite entertaining. FFD started with Wandering Eye & played lots of new songs. It was wonderful hearing home music.

Bodra has been to Dublin again in May for more training- & he’s there right now doing more training too. On Sunday we will have the company of Alanna & Russell as they will be dossing with us. Next weekend we will be going to Anti world Festival- fingers crossed Bodra doesn’t get pulled away from that for work!

Huge catch up- taken me all evening to write this. Now it is past midnight & I am still worried I left out something… hmmm… now to load up the pics… nearly 2am now!!! I hope someone out there appreciates this!

Golden light is spilling through our French doors, the trees along the canal are a mixture of lemon & lime as Autumn gently settles in. Our ceiling has the light reflecting off the water, dancing & shimmering & creating a warm glow. Sweet Wendebular sent me a CD on Friday & amidst the beautiful pictures from Skye she has gifted me the sounds of Peatbog Faeries, an amazing mix of traditional Scottish music & contemporary ambient sounds… techno fokies! Hmm, I am no music reviewer! But I just love music that uses so many different instruments: bagpipes, mandolin, guitars, violins, drums, fiddles, pipes, electronic bass lines, smoky saxophone reminiscent of Morphine… thank you for the gift Wendy! I’ll be sending it to you Dad! http://www.peatbogfaeries.com/

So it is a very relaxed Monday for Jasmin. I am wondering about my nephews progress with Dilworth & as soon as we get our new phone delivered I will be calling them to see how their interview went last Friday. Our current phone has increasingly become more crackly so thanks to e Bay we will have a very awesome cordless phone coming our way hopefully today!

It seems we are busy every weekend now & most weekdays. But I am determined to stay on top of the Blog. Our Scottish one took some time as I had written it all out, spending nearly three hours getting it just right (while Bodra was sleeping one Saturday morning), & then as I was loading it up I goofed somehow & lost the whole thing! So you can imagine how dejected I was & abhorred with the idea of re-writing it, so I passed that mission onto Bodra. I have to say, I like reading his words! (SO DO MORE BODRA!!!)

This is such a beautiful album! I can understand how inspired the musicians would be from their homeland in the Isle of Skye. The landscapes in this part of the world are so all-encompassing. Being surrounded by the solidity of Gaia & the soothing deep dark waters of the Lochs. Ashen skies with rolling clouds in all shades of grey, God-Lights trickling through whenever a gap emerges. & then you get the days where the sun beams down in every space of the sky & opens up to the blue, every field iridescent with the majickal green, the mountains blushing in their earthy, ruddy complexions… there is something about being surrounded by these bright nature colours or being all wrapped up in wool & poly pro & subjecting yourself to the chill… very enlivening for the being!  3387

I loved Scotland- Wendy has certainly got the best part of the country to live in, even if it’s just for a few more weeks- then she is back to gorgeously Summery Aotearoa! Make the most of it! Go & pounce around the Waitakeres, & make the mission to Paraha Valley… a sunset at Bethells, a whole day at O’Neils watching the ocean & feeling the sun… who me? Missing home?

We have one of the best views from our lounge, especially when there is sun. Bodra & I were very lucky to find our flat. We had Jono stay with us for a night one Sunday, he missioned over after a day of packing up his flat & joined us for a Vegetarian Sunday Roast. Hopefully he’ll be coming to doss again while Bodra goes for the rest of his training.

Dublin was amazing. We got there late Monday night & Bodra left for his training Tuesday morning while I returned to bed to catch up on sleep. I awoke & saw it was grey outside so snoozed some more until even I thought I was being lazy (perish the thought!). I wrapped up super warm (my nose stayed cold- I must get a balaclava!) & decided that I would head to O’Connell Street. I wandered past Trinity College & found myself on Grafton Street, so I explored down there looking for an ATM machine. Euros look so fake here & feel even more fake, I was really uncertain I had the real deal- after our experience in Turkiye with the fake money being given to us from the currency exchange at the airport I wouldn’t put it past a machine to deceive us!

I came to the end of Grafton Street & across the road was a carriage with Shetland ponies waiting patiently to draw a tempted a tourist. Not me, I think that would be a bit too luxurious for me on my lonesome. Beyond them was the entrance archway to St Stephen’s Green. Always a lover for nature over city I plunged into the park & had a wee wander before I decided to get my bearings. Apparently people used to pay a guinea a year for the privilege of using St Stephen’s Green & they would be a given a key to enter the park. I sat down on a picnic bench & started chatting to an Irish gentlemen who was enjoying his lunch of hot chips. I was so thrilled to hear his accent & his good-nature restored my faith in being an open tourist!

I returned back up Grafton Street, & found myself in Lush- surrounded by the overwhelming fragrances of flowers & berries. http://www.lush.co.uk/ As our hotel room had a bath I thought it would be a great idea to get some bath fizzes! I think I spent far too much time there & too many Euros, but I do love my baths! Unfortunately our bath ended up to be more of a puddle with not enough depth to cover an adult! Doh!

Eventually I made my way up to O’Connell Street. I crossed over the River Liffey using the O’Connell Bridge & before me was the O’Connell Monument with O’CONNELL carved into the stone. How proud was I?! There was a street guy sitting beneath it, playing his guitar. He dropped his pick so I retrieved for him & we had a little chat. He told me there was a better statue of Daniel O’Connell in a bank nearby, unfortunately I never found it. The monument is in three parts, surmounted by the figure of O’Connell. The base is heavy limestone with four winged figures representing Patriotism, Fidelity, Courage and Eloquence. Above this is a drum surrounded by figures representing O’Connell’s labours and triumphs. I took some pictures but my battery ran out & the statue was mostly in shadow, & there was far too much pigeon poo splashing down his head- cursed winged rats! 

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I scurried back to meet Bodra & we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Pacino’s- pizza & garlic mushrooms, yum!

Wednesday was our day to explore together. We journeyed North to County Meath with the intention of exploring Newgrange, a prehistoric passage tomb. Unfortunately as we arrived at the Oldbridge Estate we found a sign saying there won’t be any more tours until next year! But who needs a tour guide? We carried on driving towards where we thought Newgrange was & found Dowth- another passage tomb. Essentially it is a mound on a field surrounded by a kerb of 115 stones & within are chambers containing tombs. We walked over the mound but we couldn’t enter the chambers. Off in the distance we spotted Newgrange so we jumped in the car & headed towards it.

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A tour group had just arrived so we cautiously went up to the admission entrance but a guide stopped us & informed us that we needed to be a part of a group & could only do so by going to the Bru Na Boinne Visitor Centre & waiting for a group there. Well, we’ve seen rocks before! Bodra took some pics from the outside then we hopped back on the road to find some lunch in Navan. Then onto Trim to view their castle. Funnily enough, we had just missed the last day for touring the inside of the castle! We peered in from outside & wandered around the perimeter. The castle was now home to those winged rats.

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From Trim we hooned down through Summerhill & Kilcock, to Naas then through some of the places where Braveheart had been filmed in Blessington & the Wicklow Mountains. Finally we were at the most perfect place ever- Glendalough!

“The English name Glendalough comes from the Irish Gleann Dá Locha which translates to “The valley of the two lakes”. It was here that St. Kevin founded a monastery in the sixth century. From this beginning the site grew to become famous as a centre of learning throughout Europe. Indeed, Ireland was known as the “Island of Saints and Scholars”. Standing amid the remains of this monastic settlement, one can feel a powerful sense of peace and tranquility.

The settlement continued to expand for 600 years and was destroyed in 1398. The buildings which survive date from the 8th and 12th centuries. The most famous is, of course, the round tower which is 34m high and 16m in circumference at the base. A cathedral, stone churches and decorated crosses also survived.” http://www.wicklow.com/glendalough/

It reminded me of a village in Queenstown- we had travelled all over the mountains & around lakes to get to this little valley settlement with a river running through it. There we went for a lovely walk through the forest towards a waterfall, accompanied by super friendly Robins along the way (I was waiting for their faery-selves to burst out of their Robin-shell!). I can see ourselves returning to Glendalough & staying there for a long weekend to rest in the forest.

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An incredibly long drive back to the airport to return the car, major traffic jam on the highway, then back to the hotel for dinner & to rest our weary selves.

Thursday & Friday I explored Dublin on my own. On Thursday morning I went to the Trinity College Library to view the Book of Kells. I spent over three hours going through the exhibition & doing drawings. The exhibition began with some stone carvings showing Ogham, then progressing into the gospels.

The Book of Kells was written over 1000 years ago by monks. It contains lavish decorations & four gospels written in Latin. 185 Calf Skins were used to produce it & they sourced their ink colours from crushed oak apples, sulphate of iron, Lapis Lazuli, Woad, Oriental Plants & the pregnant body of the Mediterranean insect Kermococcus Vermilio. The things we do for art! It was really enriching taking in the exhibition & learning about the symbolic significance of the animals they depicted. It seemed funny that I had spent so much time devouring the displays & then when I got to the final room which actually had the book of Kells on display, I could only view a couple pages through the glass cabinet. Some gospels are so sacred you can only touch them through a silk veil.

Above the Book of Kells exhibition was the Long Room chamber of the Old Library. 65 metres in length it houses around 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books, some opened up in glass cabinets. Marble busts of important historical men (I didn’t see any womyn) lined along either side of the room. Jonathan Swift was among them. There was also a really old harp, maybe from the 15^th Century, but I couldn’t get a good look at it as the sunlight was beaming through the window behind it.

I was really shocked to find after I had spent some time in the souvenir shop that it was 2:30pm. I really have no sense of time when I get wrapped up in things! I wandered through the campus & ate some chocolate for lunch (I had bought a necklace instead of real lunch!) while writing a postcard for home.

Then I went to the National Museum on Kildare Street- I almost mistook Leinster House for the museum, but it was the police outside & the big pointy gates that gave it away as the parliament building. At the museum I wanted to see the Ardagh Chalice which has been speculated as being the Holy Grail… I think I found it, but it wasn’t so interesting. More interesting was the bog bodies- human remains that had been preserved in bogs. It made me imagine one day people wearing leather jackets made from human flesh- gross! Stone carvings of Shee-La-Na-Gig were on display too, I really wanted to cuddle them but they were pretty old.

I dashed through the rest of the museum & found the Viking section which had the Cross of Cong displayed. This was from County Mayo from the second quarter of the 12^th Century. It had a polished central rock crystal & apparently this held a relic of the True Cross. Turlough O’Connor, the King of Connacht received a relic of the True Cross in 1123. I wonder where Jono’s relic is?

Time was ticking & I really wanted to see this Crystal Creatures display at the Natural History Museum (or the ‘dead zoo’ as Dublin kids call it!). I had difficulty finding it- I’m much too literal when people give me directions as a guy at the museum had said go left, then left & left again. I needed another left & I would’ve found it! Handy thing maps & road signs! The Crystal Creatures exhibition was this glass model collection of invertebrate animals- jellyfish, anemones, snails, slugs. This was a bit anti-climactic but they had heaps of taxidermised Irish animals & a skeleton of the extinct Giant Irish deer who has antlers more like a Moose, but even larger. I have no idea how they would get through the forests! I had seen skulls & antlers like these when I was at the Blenheim Palace with Aunty Kim & Chris & I had questioned who had such large antlers! More about that trip later!

Back to meet Bodra for a Hare Krsna meal at Govinda’s. We were going to try to get on the Dublin Ghost Bus Tour but it was fully booked- Bodra will have to do that one next time he goes! On our way back to our hotel we stopped in at the Ginger Man Pub for some Guinness.

On Friday I began my day with a walk through a different part of Trinity College passing under the archway of Front Gate, entering the wide cobbled quadrangle that is Parliament Square. I was greeted by the sight of the imposing Campanile- Bell Tower- & just had to stop to take a few million pics. Then I scurried again up O’Connell Street, the guy with the guitar was hanging with Daniel O’Connell so I stopped to talk to him again. He was going to take me to the other statue of Daniel but I had to catch my bus. I didn’t manage to catch up with him again sadly.

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I hopped on a tour bus with 40 or so others & we were entertained by the Irish driver, Damian Walsh. He introduced himself as the driver followed by “God help us!” Along the way he told us all sorts of crazy stories as we drove out of Dublin & towards Malahide Castle on the North Coast. For example, the Black Church “If you run around it at three times at the stroke of midnight, you’ll meet the DEVIL!! Muhahahaha!” He was a real character & made the tour super fun! He sang songs too & at the end of the tour he got us all singing Molly Malone.

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We had a wander through Malahide Castle which had an automated guide in each room. This castle had been home to the Talbot family since 1204, nearly 800 years. The last Lord Milo Talbot had died in 1974, so it was left to his sister Rose, who discovered major debts. So she began to do tours for the public. But then she became sick so she visited her cousin in Tasmania, fell in love with the lifestyle there so sold up & so the castle became heritage property. As we only had 40 minutes to spend there we didn’t have much time to explore after the tour inside the castle, but the grounds looked immaculate & with the sunshine & blue sky I felt like running wild across the grounds.

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After the castle we travailed along the coastline & stopped so we could get a bit of Irish Sea Air. I ran down to the water & put my rose quartz in it. Then we carried on through a bird life reserve area where the driver stopped to call to a bunch of ducks in the park who waddled frantically over to him, then he threw out some bread crusts- obviously he is a frequent feeder!

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A really funny part of the tour was when he took the bus through a very narrow gateway & into the driveway of an estate which has a black door. Damian made out that he wasn’t meant to be taking us there as he quickly turned around & left. But he told us a story of the Pirate Lady Grania Whale & how she had knocked on the door for hospitality but Lord & Lady Howth had ignored it. So she abducted their son & kept him for two years. But then she returned him & they made an agreement that the black door would be open everyday at meal times in remembrance of the bond they now had with Lady Grania Whale.

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Once back in Dublin I squeezed in a bit of shopping before hopping on the Dublin City Tour bus. My intent was to get off at Guinness Storehouse & catch the view from the Gravity bar. So we quickly toured through Dublin City & viewed the Georgian Architecture from 1730-1830, the Roin an Taoisgh Parliament (Teeshock), the smallest pub in Dublin on Dawson Street, St Anne’s Church where Bram Stoker & Oscar Wilde got married (not to each other!), St Andrews Parish Church- now a Tourist centre, Christ Church Cathedral, St Patricks Cathedral (Ard Eaglais Naomh Pa’draig) & the Church of St Augustine & St John which I would really love to go back & spend time with- so exquisite from the outside! Incredibly ornate!

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I scurried up the ramps, stairs, escalators & elevators to the 7^th floor of the Guinness Storehouse. I didn’t really feel like taking in the making of Guinness, I was thirsty & hadn’t had lunch again due to other purchases. Besides, a pint of Guinness is more than a meal for me! The place was packed, the bar at the centre & hundreds of tourists patiently waiting for their brew to be poured. Tony tells me you can tell a good Guinness by taking a fountain pen & writing in the froth. The writing should remain until you get to the bottom of your drink. The view was spectacular- a perfect blue skied day to take in all of Dublin. I was surprised to see a few hills in the outer edge of the city.

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Drink gone & photos taken I missioned back to the bus stop for my tiddly ride to somewhere familiar. Back to Pacino’s for a meal & then to the airport. We got home after midnight Friday night.

Saturday we went into town to make pizzas with Kim, Ez, Neil, Cameron, Lisa & Nik. Then we set off some fireworks which exceeded everyone’s expectations. Nik got dressed up in Robot costume leftovers & had some fireworks fired at him, ah the things we do to entertain our simple selves!

On Sunday morning we went to Spitalfields Market to have a look at Kinetica Museum dedicated to time based art such as kinetic, interactive and robotic art . We saw two human shells connected at the tummy & one would blow up while the other had all the air sucked out of it. & there was this tiny little box with a strobing light & in the centre was a wheel of running womyn. Very strange.

Then Bodra & I journeyed to Woodford to meet up with Tony, Liz & Roger for lunch. As always Liz put on a sumptuous feast for us. We enjoyed more conversation & caught the first 20 minutes of the NZ v England Rugby game- woohoo! We took them DOWN! Then we hopped in the car together & went out to Longfield, Kent to enjoy more Guy Fawkes madness. We had bought a giant box called Ballistic which was meant to have 170 shots in it. Tony topped us with a 500 shot box. It was all good fun being around family & sharing this celebration. Shyness got the better of us however so we didn’t really socialise as much as we could have.

My manager at Ayurveda Retreat has offered me more work, so I now work Mon-Tues 9-5pm & Wed-Fri 9-12noon. Two of our therapist/receptionists have left last week due to incorrect pay & the job turning out to be not such an agreeable situation. I am a little nervous taking on more work after watching people leave, but I’ll just try to keep positive & have hope that things will turn out better.

So stay tuned for more from me, Oxford City & Blenheim Palace with Aunty Kim & Chris, & the Twisted party with Kim, Ez, Dave & Bodra…