Volunteering in Duston

We are in full swing with the "Duston" project. When Jessica and Andrew bought this lovely 80 year semi-detached property in April they thought that a lick of paint here and there would all that would be needed. But as homeowners we often find that a small job can lead to something much bigger. Houses over here are mostly built with brick and then plastered and that includes the internal walls too. So there is not much sign of gib plaster board or stud walls. This house had had wallpaper over the plaster and then it had been painted, several times. On close inspection it was coming away from the wall in places and once the wallpaper was stripped away it was obvious that it was that paper that was holding the plaster in place. Now there was no choice but to remove all the plaster leaving the bricks bare! Two rooms were up for stage one, Jessica's office (as she couldn't bear to work in the shocking pink colour that it was) and their bedroom as they wanted to fit a wardrobe (houses don't seem to come with any fitted wardrobes) and there wasn't much point in putting it in before decorating. So two rooms on the go at once. Of course they knew we would be here to help, and we are only to pleased to be able to.

Removing the wallpaper on the ceiling.

 

Removing skirting boards and radiator.

Removing the plaster and exposing the bricks.

The new plaster board going up.

Of course it isn't usual over here to use plaster board, preferring to keep to the more traditional method of lime plastering and then skimming it. As Stephen is helping and this is what we are used to doing in NZ plaster board is what we are going with. It is now stopped up, and the first two coats of undercoat are on and at last it is beginning to take shape. The office should be finished by tomorrow, except for the floor (that is going to be sanded and stained) and the skirtings and picture rails( and they have been sent off to be stripped.)

 

Putting on the undercoat in the master bedroom.

However, Andrew has been very keen to use Stephen's expertise and the bathroom really was in desperate need of being done. So now the bathroom is also getting a full refit. The bath, with shower, toilet and vanity unit all arrived on Wednesday and the two boys have been busy, first with demolition and now pipe work. It is taking place but it is also a big job. Andrew will be going back to work next week for a rest! Something Stephen often used to say he was doing when he was building our house.

 

The bathroom in the beginning stages of demolition.

 

Working on the pipes

Working on the new copper pipes.

Next week Jessica and Andrew both have to go back to work. We will stay on Monday to finish painting (well that's the plan) before getting another rental car and going off for a few days again. Another push the following weekend should see the bedroom and office finished which would be great as they can then get some order into their lives and find homes for all their things.

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A Road Trip - Part 2

Tralee is a familiar name to us, with it being linked to the annual Rose of Tralee competition and this was our destination for the night. Limerick was on the way so we made that our first stop of the day. A very helpful attendant in the car park gave us a couple of suggestions for places to look out and off we went. We looked through the Hunt Museum, gazed at the river flowing through the town and had brief look at the local cathedral. As we were leaving, I felt a limerick come to mind. Of course during my years of teaching I had often had children both read and write limericks so it seemed appropriate.

There was a young lad called Steve

Who without his Maggie would grieve

So he took her away

On an Irish holiday

And had such fun, they didn't want to leave.

We arrived in Tralee mid afternoon, found our accommodation, and then headed out onto Dingles Penisula. This area is listed in our guide book as one of the ten must see/do in Ireland. It certainly was a beautiful drive and our only disappointment was that a heavy cloud/fog came down and blocked our views which would have been spectacular. The road was very narrow in places and it was easy to see why wide vehicles were prohibited.

 

 

We were somewhat disappointed with Tralee. Even though it was a much smaller town though Galway, we had expected to find a few more pubs and restaurants to choose from. It looked like it was suffering quite a lot from the downturn in the economy. Perhaps in ten days time when all the Rose of Tralee contestants arrive would be better time to be there.

 

 

 

Blarney was on route to our next destination and after singing about kissing the "Blarney Stone " in the school song "Irish Music" it was another must see on our tour of Irealnd. Blarney Castle is set in 60 acres of grounds and we were pleased we had plenty of time. We spent a good three hours walking through the grounds and gardens, as well as going into the castle itself. The "Blarney Stone" was right at the top, with of 100+ steps to climb. Stephen wasn't keen to kiss the stone but after making it that far I was keen to give it a go. If Winston Churchill could do so could I, and legend says you will improve your eloquence. Of course it isn't for the faint hearted as you have to lie on your back and lean well done over the edge of the castle to reach it. Fortunately someone is there to help you as well as some safety bars in place. Photo taken to record it for prosperity and we went to look at the Poison Garden. Here there was a large collection of poisonous plants and we took lots of photos as I can see it would make an interesting article for the Herb newsletter.

 

 

 

 

This tree was in the Rock Close garden, a magical and mythical garden with stone circles, fairy rings and a witch's kitchen. I am sure that Margaret Mahy must have been here to visit at some stage and that it was the inspiration for her story "Crinkum Crankum ". This tree is so much like the tree in that story. I was very sad to read of Mahy's passing recently and this tree brought back many of her writing memories for me.

 

 

 

Kilkenny was our destination for our last night and it wasn't far too far away. As we still had some time we stopped in at Cashel, the site of yet another castle. This one was set on a large rock outcrop which would have given views across the surrounding plains. We climbed the rock but chose to see the town from a different perspective by riding in a horse and carriage. PJ was our driver and guide, and Jessie was the Clydesdale. The town was very quiet at 5pm as all the locals were inside glued to the Olympics on TV. t,k,heir very own boxer was competing for gold, which she won.

 

 

 

 

 

Kilkenny was an excellent choice for our last evening. We found a great wee pub to enjoy our last meal and then we settled down in the bar for the rest of the evening to listen to the entertainment. The band was a local called The Raglan Rogues. John and Willie were both accomplished musicians playing a range of instruments to give a traditional Irish sound. We completed the evening with an Irish coffee (Lisa in Downpatrick had first introduced us to these) and purchasing the CD as a momento.

 

 

All that was left to do on Friday morning was a two hour drive to Dublin airport and as we didn't need to be there until early afternoon, bwe had time for a couple of hours wandering around yet another pretty town. In Ireland there is a lot if pride in how their town looks as well as a competitive aspect between them, and Kilkenny certainly was looking grand!

All it took to get back to England was an hour's flight. Jessica and Andrew were there to pick us up and so it was back to Duston for the next stage of our trip.

 

 

 

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A Road Trip - Part 1

We now had planned a road trip through some of Ireland's notable spots taking us back to Dublin by Friday.

First stop was The Giant 's Causeway along the northern most coast of Northern Ireland. This is a geological wonder and it is steeped in mythology and folklore. There is something here for everyone, and the Visitors Centre is full of information, both interactive and static about both the folklore and the science. A self guided audio tour takes you along a path put to these magnificent rock features explaining as you go. A must see especially for any budding, or qualified geologists. The legend behind the causeway links the Irish and Scottish coasts and the following link retells the story for you.

The Giant's Causeway YouTube

Next stop was another couple of hours away at Glenveagh National Park. We had to drive to Letterkenny and then drive another half hour. It was getting on in the day but decided that we really wanted to see the gardens and castle. It was well worth the effort, and our only regret was that we could have easily spent another hour or two wandering the magnificent grounds. Even our tour of the house was cut short as there is a bus from the visitors' centre to the castle and we needed to get the last one back or risk having to walk the 4 km. The castle was built in the 1880s by a rich businessman. It was designed along the lines of Queen Victoria's Balmoral Castle and was to be used as a hunting lodge in this remote and beautiful part of the country. It has had various owners over the years each adding their own touch to the place. The gardens are a truly a credit to all those who have contributed to them and even still they are being added to and developed by the National Park, who have been responsible for them since 1985 when it was gifted to the government. The walled gardens were a delight to see and they supply all the produce for the kitchen and restaurant. There were large numbers of espaliered apple trees both on the walls and growing on wires among the beds. Early photos show that when the castle was first built it was very desolate area with no shelter. Today it is an oasis on the edge of the lough(lake).

We still had a two hour trip to Sligo. We had hoped to stay in Donegal but all reasonably priced accommodation was booked out. Sligo Bay is mentioned in a song I have sung at school for many years so it was a place I was keen to see. It is another quaint wee town and we found a lovely pub to enjoy some more local fare before retiring for the evening.

The next morning we went into the centre of town for a look around and it was here that we encountered our first group of 'travellers', well at least that is what we decided. The car park we pulled into had caravans parked in it and we thought that strange. Overnight camping in a car park isn't the usual. Still not realizing, we parked up and I went to get a ticket at the pay and display. Immediately a young lad of about 11years came over to help. Very helpful was and once I had my ticket he wanted to know what I was going to give him. Quite an expensive park! Any way he told me they had been living there for many years. It certainly looked like it with all the junk lying around. We went off on our walk but I was not comfortable knowing that they knew we we tourists and had left our car unattended. Fortunately when we returned all was well but thought it was strange that the town council would allow people to live in their official Car Parks.

As Tuesday wasn't to be such a big day as far as driving went, we decided to drive through Westport and detour through the Connemara area, which know for its scenic route, to Galway. We travelled through mountainous regions, along the coastline and suddenly found ourselves on the wrong road. Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn, which believe me, is very easy as these minor roads are not well signposted. By this stage it was getting late in the day and as we were back in the National road, drove straight into Galway, missing the last coastal road. Some of the scenery we had seen was dramatic. There were bogs, tarns, peat and rocks. At some places it was hard to imagine how anyone could farm this area. Rocks were in piles, made into fences and then you couldn't see where they had come from.

Galway is a town of 70,000 and supports two universities. That evening found us down town amongst a bustling town centre that was full of restaurants, and a crowd to match. It is always difficult to choose in a situation like this but we eventually chose a pub that had a band playing later on in the evening. Our choice turned out to be just 'grand' as the band Alale played both traditional Irish as well as Spanish/Mediterranean music. The following link is to an example of their music.

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Downpatrick

Sunday was a rest day and also some time to spend with the family. Early afternoon we set off to see Castle Ward, just a few minutes down the road. This is another expansive National Trust site, and is certainly a place we would like to return to as there was lots more to see. There were lots of working models, farm animals, a guided tour through the castle and of course gardens. The sunken garden close to the castle had several cabbage trees though some hadn't fared so well with the winter frosts.

Next stop was a small restaurant called The Spinnaker, for some lunch. Photos on the wall showed Lisa's family sailing in the bay. This area is known for its sailing club. There was also a car ferry to Portaferry across the bay.

Bryan was our chauffeur for the remainder of the day taking us to Portadown, where Stephen's grandmother Alice had lived until she was 12 and emigrated to NZ. In the 1910 census it showed that there were McIntoshs lived in Carleton Street. The street was very central to High Street and now we mostly industrial. We took a photo of some the remaining houses, only guessing if we might have been right. We Spoke to a local gentleman in his 80s and he told us that there were still McIntoshs living out of town. Something to pursue next time.

Back to Downpatrick for a look at Saint Patrick's grave in the local church yard, a visit to an Abbey ruins and then back to relax for the evening.

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Belfast

Saturday was for seeing and experiencing Belfast. It was a half hour drive from Downpatrick and we arrived mid morning. First on our list was the Hop on, Hop off Bus. Once again this gave us an overview of the whole city. The only problem we had was that we weren't always able to pick up what our tour guide was saying. Although his accent wasn't too strong we did still seem to miss a quite a lot of what he said. We were impressed with the buildings, new and old. Many of the new ones had a nautical theme, using shapes from the huge ships that had once been built here. The dock yards had had a major rebuild and much is made of the Titanic and the fact she was built here. Our guide was quick to point out that it wasn't the Irish that sailed her, they just built her!

We got to see down all through the areas that were affected during "The Troubles" and in those areas are many murals depicting scenes of both incidents and those involved. An interesting way to preserve history. We would have liked a closer look at some of these but the big bus wasn't able to stop in these areas. Next time the more personalized tour in the Black Taxis might be a good idea.

At the end of the tour we walked around the city centre. There were thousands of people about, mostly for the Parade, that was taking place (Gay rights) and this certainly added to the colour and vibrancy of the city.

The main attraction we wanted to see was the new Titanic exhibition but once again we under estimated the number of people wanting to view this and do the tour. (We must be slow learners or just too rural!) We still managed to see some of the area where the ship was built and get a few photos. On a positive note I could say that we saved ourselves £13 each. We have noticed that a lot of the tours here are not self guided, obviously upping the price and restricting the numbers.

On the way to the Titanic exhibition we passed The Markets. This runs every day and we could have spent a lot longer just looking. There was a huge selection of farmers local produce as well as crafts and the likes. It would have been a good place to eat lunch.

Walking back to our car we spotted the clock tower in Victoria Square. This Belfast's own leaning Pisa. This tower had a distinct lean - 4 foot at the top, even though it has had remedial work recently. This photo was taken from the top of the Victoria dome that we had climbed.

On our return to Downpatrick we called into see some gardens - another National Trust, and it was a lovely way to finish the day wandering around the expansive gardens and woodland areas.

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The Road to Downpatrick

Friday was the first really wet morning we have encountered so far. We left Dublin with the intention of visiting Malahide Castle just north of Dublin as it was in our book of should sees. The rain got quite heavy as we approached this pretty seaside town. We found the castle, parked up the car, donned our raincoats and headed off only to find it was closed for renovations until September.

Next stop up the road was Drogheda (the rain had stopped by then) which was a stepping stone to two places we wanted to see. It was a pretty little town and we walked around it to give the legs a stretch. We then headed out to The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. This is a World Heritage Site and is one of the largest and most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe. Unfortunately we under estimated the popularilty of such sites at this time of the year and the waiting time to get on the next tour was far too late in the afternoon for us. We had to make do with the exhibition centre which was excellent and gave a great insight into the history of this area. Brú na Bóinne Visitors Centre - Newgrange & Knowth

In the same area is the battle field of The Battle of the Boyne so we decided to check that out. The battle was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants to the English, Scottish, and Irish thrones – the Catholic King James and the Protestant King William. The battle was won by William and was a turning point of Ireland remaining under Protestant rule.

YouTube. Battle of the Boyne


It was then and a good hour trip up the motor way, through Newry and onto Downpatrick where we were going to stay with friends. Bryan is originally from Heddon Bush, and is brother of our friend Josephine. Bryan has married Lisa, from the area, and they have three young children. They made us most welcome and we used their home as our base over weekend.

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Dublin

We flew into Dublin airport on Wednesday afternoon, collected our hire car and followed Garmin's instructions to our accommodation. She took us through a huge toll tunnel, over a toll bridge, through some inner city streets right to our B&B in Donnybrook.

It was at breakfast that were able to read the history about the origin of the word doonybrook. At the Donnybrook fairs, back in the mid 19 th century a lot of the crowd would get very unruly causing a scene of uproar and disorder and so the word began to be applied to anyone causing this sort of behavour. Entually the fairs were stopped as the "donnybrooks" got out of control.

There was aa local supermarket and restaurant called Donnybrook Fair. We had hoped to eat in the restaurant the night we arrived but unfortunately it was closed for week for a summer break. A five minute walk down the road found us several more places to choose from. A small Irish pub provided us with an excellent meal and hospitality.

Thursday dawned fine and sunny, something the locals haven't had much of this summer so we were very pleased as rain would have made our sightseeing around the city centre unpleasant. We took the bus into town and bought tickets on the Hop On Hop Off bus. This is an excellent way to get a good overview of a city when time is short. After completing the full circuit we chose some sites to visits and areas to wander through. 

A visit to the Dublinia exhibition gave us an excellent overview of Dublin's history dating back to Viking times. A walk around Trinity College was a must as was the Temple Bar. Grafton Street was fair bustling and we were very aware of keeping our belongings secure. A passenger on the plane had warned us that there had been trouble with 'pick pockets' lately so it was good to see a high police presence. The art gallery has a large collection of artwork, including both Irish and overseas that was definitely worth visiting. We saw a Picasso, van Gogh and many other famous artists' work. One thing that we didn't realize was that from 1912- 1952 art depicting sport was part of the Olympic games. A silver medal won by Irish artist was displayed for his painting of a swimming race in the River Liffey.

O'Connell's Street is another vibrant area of the city. Stephen was really taken with the huge stainless tower, The Monument of Light, which stretches 120m high into the sky. There are dozens small holes in it that then create light at night.

 Standing beside the momument doesn't do justice to its height but you can see the patterns on the stainless steel. The following link gives you a better photo.

Monument of Light, Spire of Dublin - Photo of the Monument of Light

A traditional Irish meal in another Irish pub completed our day out before we headed back to Donnybrook.

Trinity College.

A view down The Temple Bar.

The Ha'penny bridge, across the River Liffey and a link to further information.

The Ha'penny Bridge, Dublin, Ireland

Christchurch Cathedral, with link across to the building where there the Dublinia exhibition is housed.