Melton and One Year On

Back from Newcastle, one day of work and it was onto another train, this time bound for Melton in Suffolk and a weekend away with Steve n Eileen. You may remember them from a few months back with the Woodbridge regatta and when the folks visited.
Upon arriving it was a night down “the Doom” as they affectionately call their local pub (actually called the Horse & Groom). It’s an interesting little pub with an interesting crowd and made for a fun relaxing night. Getting set up by your 68year old ‘uncle’ was certainly an interesting one. Christine was friendly and chatty enough as Steve n Eileen excused themselves for the evening... Her friend, Sue joined us and it became a very entertaining conversation and night.

Saturday was a slow enough start as Steve took us out on their boat down the Woodbridge river. A lovely sunny day and it was just great to cruise on down the river in the sun. Upon time to head back, the tiller was handed to me and it was time for me to ‘guide the ship’ so to speak... It’s been a few years since I’ve had the helm of a boat of any sort with the last one being the One & All, the tall ship I spent two weeks aboard as training crew. Still, guiding sizeable boats is cool no matter whether it’s with a large wheel or a long tiller. I even managed to steer it past a boat named the ‘Alice May’.
Back on land and it was a rather late breakfast at the local breakfast caravan in the boat yard. Again, sitting in the sun with the other folks from the boat yard and just enjoying the banter with the locals. A good breakfast too, I might add.
From here we headed back towards town and stopped off in the Coach & Horses which was built back in the 1400’s. Amazing the ages of some of the places over here. It also goes to show you just how much folks have grown over the last 600+ years as the ceiling wasn’t exactly high. A quaint spot with what would make for a better atmosphere than the ‘Doom’ if it had more people in it.
And speaking of the ‘Doom’, that’s where we ended up for the afternoon - in the beer garden with some of the folks I’d met last time as well as on the Friday night. Tales of two of them and their adventures with mashed potato and the blender created some good entertainment as we whiled away the afternoon in the sun.
Home cooked dinner to follow and it was all good.

Sunday saw us head down to Ipswich and the boating store for some bits. This was followed by a visit to the Ipswich Marina that you can see on the left, where we had to take advantage of the harbour-side cafes in yet another lovely sunny day. Having a look around the Fairline yard/dock was also impressive. Someone out there is buying these awesome cruisers as they had several lined up being fitted out.
A further jaunt through Ipswich and it was back to Melton via the cruisey riverside Maybush Pub (right). Excellent pub and beer garden right on the riverbank just outside of Ipswich. Great food too. And I was loving the sun - it’s something I haven’t seen much of lately. Shortly after and it was back to that same entertaining beer garden in Melton before hopping the evening train back to London. A great weekend of just switching the world off and relaxing with my cousins. Well needed with some of the stresses of late...

Monday marked the passing of 365 days since I touched down in London last year. Any excuse to have a few drinks, and several of us found ourselves at the picturesque Counting House for the evening. From here after several beverages and much conversation, those of us that were left headed further into central London for something that I’ve avoided for many years - Karaoke.
Yep, I finally succumbed and managed to do a decent job of Queen’s “Don’t Stop me now” and Def Leppard’s “Love Bites”. I won’t say too much about my version of Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory” except to say that I may have a good stand up act because I did it as Bob Dylan. Unfortunately, Belinda’s rendition of Brittany Speers has left me in the worst place to be with a hangover this morning - with Brittany’s song stuck in my head! As if the headache wasn’t bad enough... Anyway, a top way to finish off the night and round out the last twelve months.

As to how those last twelve months have gone... well... you tell me. It’s (nearly) all here...
At least the next twelve months looks far more promising!

Ever Met One of Your Heroes?

It seems that the unexpected highlights just keep on coming...

On wednesday I took the train up to Durham to meet up with Jools, Andy n Kelly for the Tottenham match against Newcastle later that night. With some time to kill I got a bit of time to actually check out some of Durham itself after Megan had told me how nice a place it is. You weren't wrong mate!

I may not have had as long as I'd have liked to look around, even if that is the point of doing the away games - to see a bit more of England itself because football is only a small part about being here. Durham is quite a picturesque little spot as you can see. That's the castle and cathedral on the other side of the river. I didn't get the chance to go through either, but after a nice walk along the river I still got to have a good look around them both.

A little later in the afternoon we headed in to Newcastle and met up with some others for a few pre-game drinks. It was here in the pub that something happened to reduce me to a bit of kid again - one of my boyhood heroes was introduced to me. I was chatting with a guy who mentioned he knew Graham Roberts (A club legend from the multi-cup winning Tottenham team that my grandfather introduced to me back in the 80's). I didn't pay too much attention, although a slight tone of disbelief must have been in my voice, because Ben then disappeared into the crowd. Shortly after, I got a tap on the shoulder and was introduced to Graham. I was a little surprised to say the least, as well as a bit speachless, although I did manage to maintain some composure. We chatted a bit about 80's football and Australia as he's planning on heading there early next year. A really nice guy too.

On to the game we went to discover that the away supporters section is up in the heavens. It didn't stop us having the section filled and in fine voice too. The atmosphere in the away fans section is far more enjoyable than the home games. Admittedly it helps when the side is winning as well, which they did fairly convincingly.

From the game it was on to the nightclubs that Newcastle is famous for, and they didn't disappoint to provide a fun night out. Certainly an entertaining one as well thanks to some of the odd antics of some of the Geordies. They truly are a different breed around these parts!

At least there's only one more day to the weekend!

Football, Protests and Howard Jones

What a week!! And as much as I’d like to use the words of Warner Wolf and say “Let’s go to the video tape!” I’ll refrain, but here are some words n pictures...

Firstly a quick "Happy 70th Birthday Uncle Ian!" - was great to speak with yourself, Frase, Mum n Vanessa during your party. Cheers Cuz!

Well, I’ve now been protested against. Okay, so not me personally, but one of the joys of working on the ground floor is that you get to see the passersby out the window. This time it happened to be about 20 protesters chanting “Blood! Blood! Blood on your hands!”
It turns out that some time ago, another company that’s part of Axa was party to funding a research facility that conducted animal experiments. Made it interesting to leave the office to go get some lunch with placards of maimed puppies waved at you. I did resist the temptation to put a 'Free Puppys' ad in the foyer windows though! Unfortunately, we were advised not to speak to any of them, which is a pity because I was hoping to ask them about the details. As some of you know, I’m against any form of animal cruelty and narrowly missed a chance to spend time on the Sea Shepherd the other year. I’ve never made it a secret that I’d love to work for WSPA someday. In fact I defy anyone not to be affected by the documentary, Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. Or the short film about the Japanese dolphin hunts that he also narrates - Earthlings.com or Youtube.com would be a place to start if you’re interested, but I warn you that both are VERY graphic in parts and not for the faint hearted.

But I digress... that same evening saw me head back to White Hart Lane for both football and Kelly’s 30th at the Brickies. Spurs were playing a Polish side in the UEFA Cup competition. European football has always had a bit of a special association with Tottenham and this one was certainly no different.
With London’s currently large and increasing polish population, trouble was expected and the police were out in numbers that I’ve never seen at a football game before. The polish group in the away fans section of the stadium were both amazing and fanatical as they sang and chanted all night even if I had no idea what they were singing. Unfortunately, there were many that had bought tickets to be in the home fans sections and this proved to be very foolish. Some football fans are literally quite mad at times, and it didn’t take long for the stewards to have their hands full trying to break up fights and remove the polish supporters from the home stands. It was happening everywhere.
It did detract from the game itself, which was actually quite competitive and eventually a win for Spurs, but some of the chaos in the stands did make you wonder a bit. Despite all that, the evening did have one very pleasant part to it. The elderly gentleman in the seat in front of me and I struck up a conversation when things ‘kicked off’. (Basically there was a fight a few rows behind us and he turned around to ask what was going on.) He would easily have been in his late seventies/early eighties. Plucky old fella, who reminded me of another eighty year old that shared his love of Tottenham with me many years ago. He even had thick black rimmed glasses, so we ended up chatting quite a bit for the rest of the game. Honestly, it really was like being at the game with Dig... Special.
Game over, and it was back to the Brickies to continue Kel’s celebrations (above) and round out the night there to avoid the trouble that had kicked off further down the road. (The polish support weren’t taking their loss too well.)

Onto Friday night, and it was a bit of a pub crawl with the work crew. A fun night out and funnily enough we finished about three blocks from work after having gone to about six different pubs!! No, we hadn’t gone in circles, there really are that many pubs around London. Good to chat to a certain pair of callers on the night too. Glad you’re both well!!

Then came Saturday night, and one that I was a little unsure of as to how it would go. Back to the IndigO2 again, this time for Howard Jones 25th Anniversary Concert. I’ve never been a huge fan, but I've always liked his music. He’s been a bit of a constant throughout the eighties and early nineties. I’ll wager that you can name about two or three of his songs, but if you played his greatest hits cd, you’ll recognise many more of his songs than you thought you knew.
As I’ve mentioned before, the IndigO2 is only a small venue inside the massive O2 complex (pictured), and one that is quite ‘intimate’ with the artists on stage. So much so, that I was actually sitting in the upper level only three rows behind Howards parents!! You could say that I did have a good view of the stage from where I was.
He actually put on a fantastic show, and each of his special guests did not disappoint. The highlight of his guests had to be Nick Kershaw (if you recall his two biggest tracks: “Wouldn’t it be Good” and “The River”). One keyboard, one acoustic guitar, two great voices and an incredible version of “Wouldn’t it be Good” - hairs on the back of your neck stuff! Just brilliant!
The first half of the show was mostly acoustic with the majority of the special guests, before the second half of the show which went full eighties synthesiser, band and lights. I’d never noticed just how much this era of music is really the birth child of the dance and electronica music scene of the late nineties and today.
His playlist for the night wasn’t the usual one you’d think, however, most of the major tracks were played at some stage and a few lesser known ones thrown in for his own reasons. “The Prisoner” was a highlight for me - it’s one that I’ve always liked, but rarely do you hear it anywhere other than if you play it off your own cd. He didn’t do “City Song”, which is probably the personal favourite, but I wasn’t complaining. A couple of new ones that will be released on next year’s new album were played too. He certainly had the crowd going with both music as well as banter between songs, which did add to the show and really seemed to capture that ‘intimacy’ I’ve mentioned before. A fantastic night all up and one that was far better than I expected.
One last highlight would have to be the extra item that I went home with. The concert was being both filmed and recorded (hence why I couldn’t get away with even a sneaked pic for you). The triple cd of the recording was available there on the night as you left the venue, and that was the only place (so they said) that it will be available! Despite not all special guests making it onto the cd (something about contractual reasons), talk about a bonus!! And I know this may sound a bit odd, but to have and listen to a cd from a live show such as this knowing that you were there, is just plain cool. It truly adds to the listening experience as you can picture it all again... [of course it’s playing in the background as I type!]

Sunday and it was a lovely sunny day (which Saturday was as well), so I rode down to Greenwich to join Karyn n Marty for the morning. First stop being a coffee shop for a coffee and (in my case) a giant scone, which we enjoyed on the nearby lawns of the university/museum in the sun. Having soaked up a good bit of sun while someone in the nearby building was having a very successful music lesson (and pleasantly adding to our time in the sun), we headed back into Greenwich Market to peruse the stalls and fossick about. Such a pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning!
Unfortunately, my time ran out, and I needed to get back to White Hart Lane for the afternoon. I’d accepted an invite to use a mate’s spare season ticket for the game against Wigan, and literally flew up to the ground on the bike. I have to admit that going through the Wapping Tunnel to get off of Canary Wharf was pretty cool - reaching over 50kmh at one point too!
Anyway, back to the game, which was a little lacklustre. It seems that both teams were feeling as lazy as we were in the Sunday sunshine. Well, that maybe harsh, as they did put in effort, but both teams just seemed to keep each other in check with neither side breaking through. Either way we just had a top evening back in the pub as the singing continued with folks making up all sorts of lyrics for some of the better known songs. An absolute crack up at times with some of what people came up with.
Then along came Monday, but not as its usual self. An evening spent getting to know a new friend and the usual ordinary Monday finished on a bit of a high...

Villa at Home

Well, the sun didn't come back for long. Seems like Erik the Viking didn't really end Ragnarök nor chase Fenrae the Wolf from the Sky after all...

Monday night and it was Tottenham v Aston Villa. A bit of family rivalry to go with this one even if he’s on the other side of the planet. Usual round of catch ups with folks at the pub beforehand, as well as after the game, although the mood was somewhat subdued thanks to the lacklustre game and result. At least the ride to the game n back was interesting enough.

Anyway, I still have this to post yet, so with the next trip already booked, here’s the finale to Cork...

Cork, Ireland (Day Three)

Monday: Happy for a bit of a sleep-in before packing up, checking out and heading down to the Cork City Roasters for a morning coffee.
With the sun shining, I headed back to the Firkin Crane, only discover that when I went in, it was no longer open to the public as it was over Heritage weekend, but the elderly fellow who told me this showed me through anyway. Not a lot to it really, just the main performance studio, that is much like a playhouse in size with many rooms encircling this. So about fifteen minutes later I was heading across the road to the Cork Butter Museum.
Yep, butter isn’t all that interesting, but I was told that this is quite a major part of both Irish and Cork history so still checked it out. Discovering that stories of the butter roads and the fact that your milk could quite easily be taken by highwaymen on your way to the creamery was something that I certainly didn’t expect. Other than that it was pretty much the tale of Ireland’s dairy industry growing through Kerry Gold butter, it’s growth as a worldwide export and how that happened through Cork. At least it was only €3 to go through, but no samples, not that I really wanted one.

From here I headed onto the city centre ‘island’ to the southern channel near city hall. On the banks here is the harbour jet boat tour. Cork having the world’s second largest natural harbour (behind Sydney). The harbour itself also branches off to the large township of Cobh (pronounced cove), and as was recommended to me by the pair at St Fin Barrés, the harbour tour is a great way to see Cobh - I was up for the jet boat part more than the actual tour, but good hear someone confirm it as a worthwhile trip. Alas, the guy running the tour canned the morning’s two hour tour (I bet you were thinking ‘a three hour tour’ weren’t you...) as there were only three of us, and he needed (or wanted) four people as a minimum. I offered to pay an extra slot, but he wouldn’t go for it and wouldn't get the boat out.
Well, the nearby riverside café it was then to have a bit of a late breakfast and a look through the guidebook to work out where to go for the next two hours. While doing this and enjoying a waffle, large grey clouds appeared and proceeded to dump a load of rain. Glad I was inside.

Soon enough, the rain passed and the sun was back out so off I went to just follow the river towards the main shopping zone of the city centre. Some time hanging out in the sun in the centre of the main drag watching the Monday ‘crowds’ and enjoying the buskers tunes.
A bit more poking around and going through some different laneways to see what I could find, and after picking up some chocolate supplies from the English Market, I ended up in the Mutton Lane Inn (pictured right). A top little place, and I mean little. It was perfect to just while away the early afternoon with a final pint of Cork’s finest and a paper. Oh, and a fresh roast for a late lunch. Foine, foine, to be sure, to be sure... (okay, I couldn’t resist)
The clock rolled around soon enough and it was time to ‘walk the streets’ on my way to the bus station and the bus back to the airport.
See you later Ireland...

The Sun's Back!

So, after a fairly standard week of;
5-a-side again on Wednesday followed by an evening in the Westbury pub with a Norwegian mate to watch the England v Croatia World Cup Qualifier match.
A few after work drinks with the work crew, including winning the golf round on the last hole on Friday.
Saturday, with a trip to the TNT Travel Show. Attending some of the talks on travel tips and advice as well as scoring some freebies and the usual round of pamphlets with tours n trips that are worth checking out for puting my own adventures together. With the day being nice and sunny, I decided to take the long way home and ride around Buckingham and Westminster before ending up at the London Week of Peace concert in Trafalgar Square. I found that one purely by accident, and I can now say I’ve seen the artist, Seal. Only for a couple of songs, but worth hanging about for and waiting through David James as well as some woman touted as China’s Next Madonna. This did make me wonder as to who the current Chinese Madonna is, but not for long. I then made my way home after a nice cruisey ride through Kings Cross and Camden in the sun.
A chilled out day in the sun for today (Sunday) to go through all the guff from yesterday and put a travel plan together for 2009 so I can get in early for time off next summer (I’m not missing out because the others at work have taken up the leave dates! Nor missing something due to someone’s presence in one of those locations!). Rest of the day was filled with the usual domestic stuff, out for some time in the sun and then back home here to both finalise some stuff for the next trip away, then add this note to the following post...

And without any further ado, here’s...

Cork, Ireland (Day Two)

Sunday: After an ordinary hostel breakfast to chase down a rather sleepless night (you may recall my comment regarding a certain Frenchwoman’s penchant for snoring), I was off out and about again and on my way to the bus station in what was shaping up to be a nice sunny day. On the way I discovered a top little coffee shop, the Cork City Roasters, and good coffee they did do! The home-made scone helped make up for breakfast as well.
Onto the bus, but just a regular one and I was on my way through the suburbs of Cork to Blackrock. The suburbs of Cork are pretty impressive and only just added to the idea and desire to actually spend more time in the way of living here. Far nicer suburbs than pretty much anywhere I’ve been in the UK, which might make sense if I was actually in the UK - Ireland not being a part of it...
It didn’t take too long to get where I was going - Blackrock Castle and the Observatory. Not quite what I was thinking it would be after the pair in St Fin Barrés had talked it up, as I thought it’d be bigger. Still, a nice walk along the park on the harbour edge in the sun.
The castle itself isn’t particularly large, nor as tall as what I would have thought an observatory might be, but it was still very interesting to go through it. The main castle itself has been converted into the observatory, so there isn’t much to see in the way of a castle. The info and interactive stuff for the universe and what they’re studying there was quite fascinating, and the cafe in the main courtyard was pleasant enough.
The walk back to the bus stop took me further along the harbour’s edge along a very pleasant street (see the pic at the very bottom) and back to the main hub of the Blackrock community. I discovered a small bunch of market stalls by a cafe/bakery and the local boathouse. With about a half hour wait for the bus, this made for a top way to just enjoy the sunshine, bay and samples from the stalls just soaking up the local atmosphere. It was Sunday morning after all and there were dozens doing exactly what I was - although I was neither riding a bike, walking the dog nor looking after the kids...

Another pleasant cruise through the ‘burbs and I was back in the city centre of Cork and making my way to St Patrick’s Hill for the weekend’s main event - The Tour of Ireland’s final day. As you can see, the Hill itself is rather steep, and the final part of this tour included four laps of a city circuit with each lap meaning having to go up this hill. I think I’ve only gone up a hill this steep on a few rare occasions myself, and that was with the far easier gearing of a mountain bike. It didn’t look easy for the professional riders either! Hell, just walking up it was enough! A good bit of fun with all the other nutters lining the road. Everyone getting into the event with sponsors throwing out free t-shirts before the riders made it to Cork. Oh, I forgot to mention that they’d ridden the 80-odd kilometres from Killarney before having to do this hill, and on the last day of the Tour, which had them travelling from Dublin some 5 days before...
Personally, I’d love to see Ireland by bike, just stopping at whatever village you end up at each evening after a cruisey day in the countryside, but that’s not quite at the same pace these guys were doing, nor the distances per day!
Back to the event. A nice sunny afternoon for it and we were all peeling off our jackets, even if there weren't too many Irish wearing them. I started on one side of the road behind the barriers, but after the peloton had gone past on their first lap, I hopped the barrier and went to the other side as the shade started to cover the spot I was in. The free t-shirts did the rounds again, this time getting further up the hill, and many of us on our side of the road gained them. An unlucky break for the two kids and their dad who I was next to when behind the barriers as they got bypassed. A quick ‘Oi Callum’ and my freebie went flying across the road into his grateful arms, followed shortly by the shirt from the bloke next to me going to young Liam. Could you have had a pair of more stereotypical names for these two Irish kids?
[to be honest the t-shirts, while free, were plain green with the Irish Postal Service logo on the front - nice that they sponsored the event, but not really a t-shirt that you’d wear or keep, but Callum n Liam were stoked.]
After the rider's third time past us, I made my way down St Patrick’s Hill towards the finish line. I got to see them fly past on the flat as they began their fourth lap, and was surprised at just how quick they flew by! As such, I abandoned the camera for the final sprint finish because I knew it wouldn’t keep up. I just enjoyed the atmosphere and the carry-on by the two mad commentators that were being broadcast around the circuit. The frenzy at the end was pretty amazing too, and this was just the Tour of Ireland. To say I’m now very keen to do the Tour de France or Giro d’Italia next year would be an understatement.
You certainly meet an assortment of people at such an event, and that just added to the enjoyment of the afternoon at the event. What topped it off even more came when the event was over and I decided to wander down towards where the teams and their vehicles were. Very interesting to poke around what was essentially like a ‘pit area’ for the teams and riders. The differences between the bigger and smaller teams were quite evident. Poor old South Australia.com (AIS) team were effectively camped on the footpath sitting on their kit bags!! I got talking with them and after hanging out with them for a while left with both a brand new cap and bidden. Adam said I could have a jersey too if they could find a clean one, but alas could not. After nine months in Italy doing tours around Europe, they couldn’t wait to get back home. I can relate to that...

Next up, I dropped into the first pub I could find that was showing the premier league in time to see the end of the Spurs game. I had just started a full pint of Beamish, so stayed on for the next game at the long table to talk both football and cycling with a few of the locals.
With the afternoon’s final game over, and the talk turning to the Gaelic football final, which Cork had lost in the dying stages of the game, I moved on to the Sin É (pronounced Shin Ay as in ‘way’). This was touted to me as a place where you could “easily while away an entire day...that’s long on atmosphere and short on pretention”. It didn’t disappoint. A bit dark, but certainly cozy with a great mood to it. A fantastic spot and for the remainder of the afternoon and early evening, it was here I stayed. The local musical accompaniment appeared in the corner as the sun was setting and without realising it was gathering. Basically the small group in the corner just produced instruments and began to play before being joined by a couple of other musicians - top stuff!!
Originally, I just chatted with the barfolk while I was perched on one of the stools. It didn’t take long before two of the other locals nearby joined the conversation and we became a group of three. Neil and I forget the other fellow’s name. As the evening continued and Neil was affected more and more by the Murphy’s he started on the local politics... exit the other two when he went for a toilet break. They certainly get passionate on their politics here, but Neil was just getting too intense for the kind of night we were after. My new mate asked if I’d like to go somewhere a little more traditional with a bit more history or whether any bar would do. I opted for option one and a short trek across the river and into the city centre past a pizza shop saw us at the Hi-B. I’m not sure what the go is with the short word and one letter pub names is, but who am I to argue when they’re this good.
The Hi-B was both smaller and naturally a little less busy, but certainly made up for itself on its appearance, atmosphere and the eccentricities of its elderly owner/barman. Brian is a local institution as it turns out and you do need to watch your step around him. Apparently, you’re not really anyone unless you’ve been kicked out of the Hi-B by Brian. I was happy to be a nobody that night as I did watch him have a couple of odd debates/arguments with some of the patrons. The Bach vs Beethoven debate was quite entertaining, and he did kick one patron out for talking at the bar on a mobile. “You’re here to be here and talk with us. If you want to talk to someone who’s not here then go talk to them where they are.” was roughly the jist of it... Certainly a bit of a ‘fuddy duddy’ and he did make it an entertaining night! I kept my camera in my pocket as I did like the venue, but did sneak the ‘taste of things to come’ that is now in a previous post. I also learnt quite a bit about Cork from the fellow who brought me here as we did manage to have quite a good chat through our time there with the others in the bar.
Closing late into the night and I was thankful for the company, information and entertainment of the evening. Also that the previous night’s French snorers had moved on...

Cork, Ireland (Day One)

Due to only getting in this afternoon after spending most of Saturday afternoon (and night) out with some folks to watch the England football game, and continuing to kick on after that, I’m going to post at least Day One of last weekend’s trip... (no more excuses)

Right, with the joys of cheap airfares over here and an email about a cheap deal from Ryannair, as well as a certain event being on the same weekend, it was time to head back to Ireland and visit one of the places that we drove through, but did not stop at: The City of Cork.

Cork is Ireland’s second largest city and has quite a rivalry with Dublin in their historical wrangle to be the country’s capital. It is also known as the cultural capital of Ireland. Thankfully it’s not a major tourist spot either, so it still has plenty of what makes up ‘proper traditional Ireland’ if you know what I mean.
And what better example of this than the weather when I arrived on the Saturday morning. As you can see, there’s no way you could confuse the place with somewhere like Barcelona (or Mt Bulla). Cold and drizzly it was... you know, typical Ireland. Perfect for holing up in a cozy pub somewhere with a pint of Murphy’s or Beamish, the fire going and the locals in the corner playing their instruments!
Unfortunately, it was only 8am (having only just made it onto a 6.30am flight out of London) and therefore the above was nowhere to be found.
A takeaway latté from the airport it would have to be for the ride into the City itself, and once there it was time to get out n about and explore this town.

My first stop was a few blocks from the bus station for breakfast. It really was just a matter of wandering through the alleys and streets til I found somewhere that was open. Even in that small space of time it was quite apparent that Cork is a good mix of old and new.
One full Irish breakfast later, and I was off again. The original plan was to then head up to where I was staying to check in and leave my small backpack before heading for some of the places I had earmarked in my copy of the Lonely Planet Ireland. Over breakfast, this plan was reviewed and I decided that I would swing past a few spots before heading to the hostel - it was on the other side of the river, and it’s not like my small backpack was heavy as you don’t need to pack much for the remaining two days...

I headed out along Grand Parade towards the Beamish & Crawford Brewery. They don’t drink Guinness in Cork, that’s for the Dubliners and tourists. Here it’s Murphy’s or Beamish, which are the local brews, and it has to be said that while they all look the same, these two are far nicer.
A bit early for a brew you might say? Well, they only run two tours a day - 10.30am and 12noon - and I was about to find out what the lonely planet didn’t say... only on a Tuesday and Thursday!
At least the walk along Grand Parade past the Nationalist Monument and along the south channel of the River Lee had been pleasant enough. It had also led me to see some other interesting things, like the cathedral that you may be able to make out in the distance of the pic here on the left. So, being even further from the hostel and with my intended plan scuppered I wandered down to check it out.
As I did, I passed the Red Abbey Tower, which is the only remaining part of the original abbey that still stands. Not bad for something built in the 1200’s and a good spot for the pigeons to call home by the look of it. Heading through the narrow streets of the area, I eventually made it to the building I was aiming for - St Fin Barre’s Cathedral.
Quite an impressive building, not to mention a good spot to shelter from the sudden arrival of rain. It was originally a monastery created by St Fin Barre himself in the early 600’s before evolving over the centuries into the architectural anomaly that it has now become with several additions and repairs being done under different architectural periods and styles. The two volunteers that I met on the way out past the little gift ‘corner’ (hardly a shop) were quite talkative and I’ll admit that I wasn’t too interested in trekking on in the rain. I learnt quite a bit about the area from them as well as the fact that it was Heritage Weekend in Cork, so that many of the city’s historical places would be open when they normally wouldn’t be. A free pamphlet with the guff on all thirty four places complete with map and 5 different walks that linked them was soon in my possession. The discovery that it was also possible to see much of the surrounding countryside by horseback was one to put into the information bank as well.

With the rain subsiding and one of the pair I was speaking to bringing up local and national politics it was time to move on. Across the road was the Carrigbarre House, which is somewhat hidden, but connected with the original monastery that I’d just left. Further down the road along the other side of the cathedral, I checked out the Deanery & Gardens which were a pleasant enough spot, before coming across Elizabeth Fort. Nothing spectacular as it was only built in the early 1600’s, it has seen some action over the last few centuries and does provide an excellent view across Cork itself from the ramparts (left). These days it’s now used as a police station for the Garda as they’re called. Funnily enough, I did learn the origin of the term “brass monkeys” while here. It’s always amazing just what sorts of things you can discover in new places...

With the time now on the other side of midday, I headed back towards the River Lee’s south channel and the city centre. The objective being the inappropriately named ‘English Market’ considering the amount of love felt by the Irish towards the English. On the way to the market I passed the tourist centre, where I did pick up a large brochure on Walking and Cycling Holidays of Ireland. I also found out from two of the staff there that the brewery tour really isn’t worth it.
The market was really just a very large produce and general market that was mainly indoors and I’d say comparable in size with the Adelaide Central market. On the right you'll see one of the many entrances. My main reason for checking it out, other than just poking about, was lunch.
Another top discovery here was the chocolate stall which contained many varieties that I’d never seen before. I can now highly recommend several new manufacturers including Valrhona’s Manjari, which is from Madagascar - fantastic dark chocolate (of which my last block is currently beside me as I type)!

Across the road from the market is the Bishop Lucey Gardens and that made a top spot to sit and have the somewhat larger-than-needed lunch. Good luck for the couple of crows hanging about there as they got the last scraps of it. Almost hand feeding them by the end too - cool.
The drizzle began to return as I tossed the last scrap to them, so it was time to head to the hostel to check in and dump the bag. Unfortunately, it turned into heavy rain within a few minutes, and the nearby sports shop made for a good refuge. I ended up learning a bit about both Gaelic Football and Hurling, and discovered that I wasn’t going to be able to catch a hurling match unless it was a junior game somewhere. This was because it was the All Ireland Final in the Gaelic football and was going to be between Cork and Kerry. This also explained the mass of red and white chequered flags adorning most pubs around town.
With the rain easing back to a light drizzle, I headed on and up Main St past the Vision Centre, across the River Lee and into Shandon. Only one brief stop along the way into a bric-a-brac store. Why? Simple - something in the window caught my attention; a cat. Not your ordinary ceramic or wooden one either, but an actual cat as you can see. I like these stores anyway as you never know what you might find in them and headed inside. Within a few seconds, said cat came over to say ‘hello’ and have his ears scratched. Friendly little fella who then followed me about the store for the brief time I was there. I'll file him as "A Modern Irish Cat" right alongside the British Museum's "Modern Egyptian Cat" that you may recall from my waffles a while back.

Back on the road to the hostel and I passed by the Cork Butter Museum and the Firkin Crane Studio, which I had noted for visiting later over the weekend, and checked in at Kinlay House just down the road.
I had also passed by the Church of St Anne Shandon of who the area/suburb is named. One thing I noticed when going past was that the bells were constantly going and with no particular pattern of play or timing with the clock tower that is part of the church tower. I came back here after check-in for a look as it was on the way to where I was headed for the afternoon.
Thanks to Heritage Weekend it was free entry as well as access to the bell tower and the look out at the top. A brief wait as only a certain number could go up at a time, and I was on my way up yet another spiral staircase. A wooden one this time for something different, although that changed shortly after reaching the first level inside. It was here that I discovered the reason for the discordant bell ringing. The bell ringing was open to the public today, so with numbered charts and numbers by each rope, you could try to sound out one of the tunes on the charts. You look a bit goofy moving from one rope to the next, but stuff it, it was a bit of fun and not something you get to do every day. Upwards again after grabbing a pair of earmuffs, and it was back onto narrow stone stairwells. Past the workings of the four clock faces, which actually move at different speeds only to realign at the top of each hour (something to do with the differing woods used on each clock face and hands), and it was then into the bell chamber itself (remember the earmuffs?). Resisting the urge to swing on the bells Quasimodo style, I crept under the first bell and up the wood ladder to the next set of stairs to reach the observation level. With the clouds breaking up a bit, it did make for a great view over Cork itself - as you can see to the left.
Back down and it was on my way again along the River Lee and through the nearby roads to the Cork City Gaol.

Impressive old building this one and its history is quite involved. The tour itself is a self-tour and one where you basically have a walkman and a recorded voice telling you about each area/cell/room and also directing you where to go. Despite the (what is now old) method of the audio tour, and having to tighten the cassette tape myself so that my guide's voices stopped sounding like the chipmunks, it was quite a good tour. Topped off with decent mannequins, sound effects and even with its own ‘ghost’. I did have to look twice when I saw it, but a little camera work to look properly down the blocked off hallway and I did discover exactly what it was - funnily enough right at the same time the ‘guide’ mentions seeing something from the corner of your eye... Well, they’ve stopped doing the haunted tours of the gaol at night, so I did wonder for a moment when I first saw what was in the dark passage. Mirrors! [wink]... The place did have its very own ‘feel’ as well, so it was a bit disappointing that the haunted tours have ceased.

I left the gaol to wander the streets of this region as they’re not on the guidebook map and head towards the river, eventually making my way back to the city centre. The streets and houses truly are unique and ‘typically’ Irish. Very small village-ish and not pretentious or over the top in any way yet still impressive in places. These streets gave me that rare feeling that this would be a place that I would like to live in. But I digress...

It wasn’t long before I found a small alleyway that headed down in large flat steps and decided to head down them to see where they led. Back to the River Lee as it turned out and onto a suspension bridge known as the Shaky Bridge - it didn’t disappoint! With almost no sign of a city, except a few houses lining the river along one side between the trees, it made for a peaceful walk back towards the city itself. The riverside paths led through Fitzgerald Park (below right), past the Cork City Cricket Club and along the riverside until you made it all the way back to the city. With the sun now coming through, it made for a really nice casual walk through the riverside forestry.
Making my way down to Lancaster Quay, (and no, I’m not sure why they call it a quay considering it only goes along the southern channel of the river and has no docks), it was then a short walk past the Courthouse and other various pubs and shops to reach Washington St. This is where I was told were most of the places to go for an entertaining night out. First stop was the Raven. Simply just a bar with outdoor seating and a good place to just settle with a pint of the local Murphy’s (and later a Beamish coz you do need to try both the main local brews). Nice to put the feet up considering that by the time I make it back to the hostel for the night I will have covered just over 8miles (13+kms) not including walking through the buildings/places I visited.

Anyway, while just watching the world go by and enjoying the Murphy’s I was joined at my table by ‘Ted’ - just a local who wanted to sit outside and I had the only free chairs at my table.
After chatting or a while he went on his way, leaving me to my Beamish and deciding where to go next.
I headed along Washington St before continuing along St Patrick’s Street to the Mutton Lane Inn (on the barman’s advice). The place was packed, which isn’t hard considering its size, or lack of it. After a quick chat with the doorman, it was over the road to the laneways beyond and amongst the restaurants and cafés on offer for dinner. The restaurant I chose was a little over the price range I intended, but stuff it, I was here to enjoy myself so why not live it up a bit.
From here and after finishing the conversation with a couple from Sydney on the next table, it was back to the hostel via a night time walk along the northern channel of the River Lee. [Note: You may have noticed references to both the northern and southern channels of the River Lee - the river itself actually divides making the actual city centre an island before reuniting on the other side.] Having been up since 4am, I wasn’t really up for heading out into the night and the pubs n bars like I’d planned. Tomorrow night will do for that.
Oops!! Forgot the earplugs for snoring French women - well, one anyway...

On Its Way

Good things come to those that wait?

Hopefully that will be the case, as I'm still in the process of writing up last weekend's trip. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, the last few week nights have been taken up with work functions, which means not getting home soon enough to really do much. Having to chase up someone to repay their loans isn't helping either.

And I'm out this arvo too.

At least on one of those nights I managed to pick up an award for my performance last month. All part of a work 'olympics' where they tied in work with incentives for certain targets or function completions and the like. Bit of a wank, but a good excuse to pick up some extra ££'s and enjoy some free drinks. Who am I to complain?

In the meantime, here's another taste of things to come...