Awesome weekend - part 2 (Sunday)

Got up on Sunday feeling a bit worse for wear but the sun was shining and it would have been wasted staying indoors.


LL asked if I wanted to go for a walk on the beach which sounded like a good idea but we got a better one when our friends asked if we were up for walking up Slieve Donard - the tallest of the Morne Mountains, and visible from our house (and a lot of Northern Ireland).

Slightly anxious about my fitness we agreed, got picked up by two of our friends and picked up a third and his car and off we went. We stopped at a shop to get supplies - water and chocolate for some, cigarettes and a chicken sandwich for others.


Firstly you go up through some woods along a river 

It then opens out but does not get any easier. Here are two of my group looking like true explorers (in their nylon old-school {literally} rugby shirt and non-waterproof hiking shoes) with the forest behind - 

- and here is what we had ahead - 

There was a difference in pace between us all and some of us were finding it harder going than others - perhaps the backpack and pre-hike cigar weren't such a good idea Charlie.

Fin, the one person I thought would be rubbish stormed on ahead and at one point while we were resting and getting our breath back could be seen actually running up the mountain. 

The final part of the climb was steep - 

Luckily for Charlie, Fin had taken over carrying his backpack and we all headed up  to the summit together.

At the top you are meant to put a stone that you have carried from the bottom onto the pile. Here is proof that I made it and that my rock is smaller than a lot of the ones other people have brought before me.

  
At the top it became apparent why Charlie had been struggling on the way up. His backpack was not only a high quality piece of hiking kit, it was also carrying up two bottles of red wine and glasses for all so we could toast our achievement in style.

Both bottles quoffed it was time to head down and we had parked a car elsewhere so had a different route to descend. It was gorgeous on the way down too and you could see how big a mountain range the Mornes are and I look forward to many more walks in the area in the future.

We woz there.

We time our descent perfectly and as we took our last steps off the mountain it was pretty much dark. The last thing I saw before getting to Bloody Bridge carpark was this contraption can only be meant to stop any fatties attempting to climb the mountain for health and safety purposes.

Slieve Donard - DONE!!


All there was left to do was to go for a celebratory Guinness or two (as you can see one of us has a drinking problem) and some food. 

 Great weekend! Bring on the next one.

Awesome weekend - part 1 (Saturday)

This weekend was action packed and awesome.


I got up early on Saturday to go on the first shoot of the season. I wasn't shooting - as the only thing I would be likely to hit was other people, and apparently that is frowned upon in these parts - so was going along as a beater to help get the birds in the air.


I have not yet been able to bring myself to buy a Barbour jacket so was kitted out in semi-inappropriate gear. Still it kept me dryish and nobody pointed and laughed which I took as a good thing. This was us getting ready to go. 

We spent a couple of hours going from drive to drive (technical jargon for shooting session) and wood to wood, whooping and shouting and banging on trees and generally scaring the bejesus out of the wildlife, and encouraging the occasional pheasant to take off and meet its maker.


My future father-in-law bagged a couple of birds early on and I managed to chase one bird like a mad man and get it off the ground so it felt like a successful start to the day.

At one point I heard what sounded like a bird in a tree so went over to it to hit it with my beating stick. Unfortunately I did not check the ground next to the tree and found myself falling into the brambles and a quite large hole up to my waist. Luckily another beater was at hand to drag me out and another valuable lesson was learned.


Lunch came not a moment too soon, and was delicious. Guinness, wine and pheasant curry. Woof!! Loads of chat and met lots more of the friends of the family. I found out later that I was meant to sit with the other beaters' so another cock-up notched up by me, but the wine that I got on the head table made me not worry about it for too long.


We went back out for another two drives after lunch and the elements became more and more Irish, and we all got more and more wet and windswept. 


Enough birds were shot for all to be happy and I was glad that it had not been too much of a bloodbath and slaughter. Here are some future meals.

Everything will end up in the pot eventually so there is nothing to worry about - my conscience is clean and pheasant tastes good.

We got back home at a reasonable hour, knackered but having had a very enjoyable experience. I am going to do more beating in the future and plan to have a few goes (is that how you spell that in this instance?) blasting the hell out of clay pigeons before trying it out on live things such as pheasants or sheep.


We got invited and went to dinner at a friend's house and then had a banging sesh in the pub and earned myself a well deserved hangover. 


A good day all round.

Home Grown

One of the things I was most looking forward to when moving over here was growing fresh fruit and vegetables, and in the long term plan on having animals that produce food as well.


LL bought me this awesome book as a welcome present - 

It has everything you need to know about growing things and keeping animals and running a fuel efficient house. I am looking forward to the day it will become my bible when we have a house and some space of our own.


For the time being we have been stealing home grown food from LL's parents who have a amazing vegetable patch and greenhouse which produce a fantastic array of fresh fruit and vegetables. 


Fresh, home grown food just tastes better. Fact. 


They do not always look better though. Fact. As this picture will prove.

This is a tomato that looks like Leslie Ash's lips after the swelling had gone down.

This one provided the inspiration for Leatherface's mask in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  

Ugly but tasty. A good way to be.

What the feck is this?????

I saw this thing today....

WTF???


It looks like the offspring of the improbable (although not impossible) sexual relationship between a slug and a hedgehog.


Or it could be a black slug that has just come back with corn-roles from the barber shop.

Golf

It was a beautiful day in NI today so I played golf with LL's brother Ed and his friend Gavin who is a member at Royal County Down.

It is known as one of the very top golf courses in the world and for good reason. Situated in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains with the Irish Sea lapping the shores to one side - only a heavy slice away - it is an absolutely beautiful place to play golf.

I know what it can be like playing on links courses so I made sure I had a bumper supply of balls and must have had at least 20 when we started. Needless to say I came back with a substantially lighter bag but at least I had enough to get me round.

I got off to a good start winning the first hole. Unfortunately I was going to have to wait another 17 holes before I could say that again. Ed won the match easily (the bastard) and you can see from his swing below that he has played before.

Gavin tried to keep me in the game with advice about the lay of the land that only local knowledge could provide. First bit of advice that I failed to adhere to was avoid the gorse bushes. I tried but found it impossible and once the balls were in there there was no finding them or even if you did, no getting them out.


Second bit of advice was to avoid the bunkers. Apparently Tiger Woods himself played here a few years ago and had an awful round going into and not getting out of the bunkers. They are beasts - less forgiving than John Wayne Bobbitt's wife was.

At one point I found myself with the above tough third shot to the green.


All I had to do was keep the head down and pretend that the bunker was not there. Ignore the bunker, ignore the bunker. Head down. The bunker does not exist.

SHIT!!!! Unfortunately the bunker did exist and the head did not stay down. Less said about the rest of that hole the better.


I soon found out that it is not always better avoiding the sand, no matter how finely judged the shot may be (although technically I guess I WAS in the bunker). Guess where this shot ended up.

Lucky for me I have a good temperament for golf, and a good supplier of American lake balls so thoroughly enjoyed our game. 

I did not win but I did take part and as long as the conditions are as good next time (which they never will be again) I think I will play better. there is certainly much room for improvement.


Just to emphasize how lovely the people over here tend to be - we were looking for a drink afterwards and went to a nearby pub, which was closed. The one two doors down was also closed but there were some women coming and going out of it who told us they were closed on Mondays. We discussed where to go and were struggling to come up with an option when she said 'Oh come in boys I'll give youse a pint'. So she poured us three Guinesses, chatted to us while we drank them and then sent us on our way.


Perfect way to spend a Monday.


  

Neenaaneenaaneenaaneenaa

Today I heard my first siren in NI. 18 days after arriving. It was an ambulance. 


I remember when I couldnt go to sleep until a siren had gone past.


Quiet life.

Currency

I am pleased to announce that being part of the Uk the currency in Northern Ireland is Sterling, so I have not had to adjust. 


I have seen first hand that Northern Irish bank notes can be very difficult to spend in England as most of the English shopkeepers have never seen them before and are naturally suspicious of the unknown, however, I think they are preferable and here is why:-

Look at the rinsemaster on the ten pound note. Such a badass he turns up for his monetary portrait rocking a turtleneck sweater. It doesnt get any better than that.


I have heard that the girl on the fifty pound note is wearing hotpants and a teeny bikini top but unfortunately I havent had one yet to see it for myself.


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