Ireland 2000

IRISH TRIP 2000

Travelled direct from Sydney to Heathrow then caught a train to Cambridge arriving 5pm. Time to settle into our really nice hotel situated in the centre of town overlooking an oval. Decided then that after dinner I would go for a jog early in the morning. I did and felt good with no jet lag!! Cambridge :
Kings College
Cambridge Cathedral
WWII Memorial to US Airmen
Visited the above on the “on and off” Guide Friday bus. Cambridge is very much the university town for which it is known. Loved the old medieval streets and the prevalence of cyclists. In fact motor vehicles are discouraged with the town council providing a free car park on the outskirts of town and a regular free bus service into town.

J Dickinson Plant Sauston - a major envelope and stationery manufacturer in a small industrial area south of Cambridge. Learned about their Dudley envelope and the other special items eg Gussetted. Interesting place with a real mix of plant (102’s, 202’s, BOE - blank fed, some other blank machines, very small overprinting area). Had about 3 hours with Mark Beaumont-Thomas National Sales Manager. Sell mainly through the reseller market and have the same problems as envotec ie management of price and margin

Winchester

• Finally arrived at Winchester after a pretty straightforward train trip from Cambridge. The Underground doesn’t change - we had to get from St Pancras to Waterloo. A couple of changes on the way thru’. Hilary picked us up at the Station. Would you believe after 26 years I instantly recognised her. Spent the rest of the evening sort of catching up with them both. We saw an ancient video of their wedding day. It really dated us - me with my long wiry hair and sideburns and Leah pregnant with Adrian and with her even longer hair. What a time warp!! Leah didn’t recognise herself at first.
• Went for nice walk through the Water meadows (sort of a managed flood plain of the River Itchen) and down to an old Church cum pensioners hostel. The hostel is something to do with the Queen and the occupants (old soldiers) only pay a pittance. The water meadows are very old and were the vegie growing area in the middle ages. Back much the same way. Winchester is very busy and is now a dormitory suburb for London (about 45 minutes away). Houses are expensive but the town has a nice feel about it.
• Next day we drove down to the New Forest - sort of south west of Winchester. Stopped at an old Pub (The Trusty Servant) and had lunch. Nice sunny day so we ate outdoors. We then drove to the bottom of the River Test and walked from a small Town Beauley along the Beauley river to an historic shipbuilding village called Bucklers Hard. Went past a huge marquee which had been set up for wedding. Then through a forest - I saw some pheasants and a fox and out into farming areas. At Bucklers Hard there were two rows of houses in which the shipbuilders families lived. The houses were in two terraces and they were very small. The place was abandoned early this century and is now a National Trust responsibility. A more modern marina is just close by. Walked back the same way and then drove back to Winchester.
• On Sunday we all piled in to the car to go to Arundel Castle (about 70 miles away). Quite a drive down past Southampton and then along an A Road to Arundel. We first went to this small but really charming village Burpham Stopped at the inevitable pub ??? and had the inevitable lunch. The village had this amazing cricket ground. Small with a huge great tree sort of at one end. What happens if you hit a ball against the tree? Is it a four or a six? Or is the tree an extra fielder and you can be out caught Tree bowled Smith. Lovely church in the middle of the village. Arundel castle is the home of the Duke Of Norfolk. His family is interesting as he is the only Catholic nobility in the UK who is connected with the House Of Windsor. Loyal to both the Pope and the Queen. The castle is great. We did a tour of one wing. Lots of old armour, paintings, fantastic library etc. We were able to go up to the top of the battlements and get an idea of how castle defenders could repel attacks. They had lots of very neat little tricks (Judas slits, anti clockwise winding stairs, portcullis etc) The walls were also very thick. The Arundel cricket ground was close by. Beautiful field - it would be a real joy to play there. Touring teams always play the Duke Of Norfolk’s Eleven as the first game of their English tour.
• H and D then shouted us a meal at an Italian Restaurant in the docklands area of Southampton. Meal was nice but the bill quite expensive £140 so we owe them when they come to Oz. The night was wet and cold so we were glad to get back to Winchester.
• Next morning H took us to Southampton Airport for our trip to DD. British Midlands from Southampton - Paris Charles de Gaulle, then Sabena from Paris to DD. Long wait at Paris. Very busy airport with lots of people in all directions.

Dusseldorf

• We covered a lot of ground in Europe and had a very good time. Germany, Dusseldorf and the Trade show DRUPA was an experience!! 20 halls each over 100,000 ft2 and each absolutely full of suppliers equipment. Some of the stands were amazing. More computing power than the largest office, printing machines in all directions and all running. Each stand had its own mezzanine with conference rooms, bars, food and lots of beauteous short skirted waitresses waltzing around giving out pamphlets, beer, wine etc etc. I tried to focus on stands that were of interest ie envelope making machines, overprint equipment, prepress gear and packaging lines. I was fully occupied just getting around those areas - about 15 - 20 suppliers.
• Had a good day out at WandD’s Neiuweid Plant. About 1 ½ hours bus trip upstream along the Rhine past Koblenz .
• Couple of nice dinners - one with Smithe out in the eastern part of DD. Old style restaurant with good German cuisine. The other with WandD in a flash hotel in the town centre. Nice place but I thought that the food was a little overrated. Everyone on their best behaviour!!
• The ladies were especially looked after during the day with tours organised visiting castles museums delightful villages and luncheons taken care off. I certainly enjoyed the company with women from all round the globe.
• On the Friday we took a train up the Rhine to Koblenz, changed and caught a train up the Moselle valley (really pretty) to Trier, close to the German/ Luxembourg border. We changed for Lux at Trier and Adrian met us at the Station. It was great catching up with him and his family again. Kids don’t seem greatly different but I guess that we last saw them in January which isn’t too long ago. We went on a few day trips with Adrian -explored part of the old Hindenberg Line (Hackenburg Salient) near Metz in France. Also went for a bush walk in northern Luxembourg and explored a 1st century Roman ruin cum Castle in a small village (Vianden) in the area. Leah and I wandered around Luxembourg city. The city is nearly 2000 years old and some of the original walls and castles still remain. Really very interesting - more Banks than you can poke a stick at!!

Ireland

Dublin
• Into Dublin Airport and straight to Hertz to hire a car. Ended up with a 5 door Black Ford Astra. Did us very well.
• Stayed overnight in the YHA in north Dublin (about 20min walk from the main centre). We split for the night and went to separate dorm rooms. The YHA was an old Catholic seminary. Very full and quite comfortable.
• Berkley Arms pub where we met the Irish in their natural surroundings. They really focus on their pubs don’t they.
• had a dinner in a small café and met this retired archaeologist who suggested some places to visit (confirmed the Skelligs, Newgrange). Had a really interesting conversation with him - he had been all over the world on really important “digs” (Egypt, Middle East, India) He said that there were more untouched prehistoric and historic sites in Ireland than anywhere else in the world.
• Temple Bar an area of restaurants and pubs where we caught up with Irish singing and the like. A little overrated but we had an enjoyable time at one pub where they were getting into traditional Irish singing in a big way. Mainly how they were going to beat up the English so it was all definitely pre the uprising..
• Next day did an “on again off again” bus tour (Guide Friday) of the city.
• Trinity College and The Book of Kells exhibit. Marvellous 8th century rendition of the Bible completed by monks on calfskin (vellum). Two books on display (Book of Kells, Book of Armagh) Book was open so that one could read a page. Really well preserved with beautiful script and wonderful drawings). Also an exhibition of how the book was put together (colours, binding, inks etc) and some of the history. People are not sure exactly where the book was scripted - either part or all at the island of Iona (west coast of Scotland) or part or all in the Monastery of Kells (north of Dublin). Library was also fantastic with thousands of old volumes, some (12th - 16th century) left out for perusal. I was very taken by a lot of casts of famous scholars from all ages eg Archimedes, Newton, Kepler etc Had lunch in students common room. Very good value meal. Grounds were enclosed by the University itself.
• Statue of Molly Malone is also famous. She was a fish seller by day and a woman of the night. Some interesting sayings about her:
• a dish with the fish
• a trollop with the scallop
• a dame on the game
She was certainly a well endowed lady
• Guinness Brewery - they make over 200 million gallons per week there. Nearly all Guinness. Now owned by Seagrems.
• St Michans church with some naturally preserved corpses in church vaults. One was a nun, very well preserved with her fingernails intact, Crusader (over 6 ft tall) and you could go in and stroke his fingers for luck. Last in the room was thought to be a thief or some sort of reformed criminal. Some families still “own” vaults and are quite entitled to entomb their dead family members there. Very old church probably about 11 - 12th century. They think that there were oak trees and the methane gas coming out helped with preservation.
• Threw a coin off the half penny bridge into the Liffey. Supposed to bring good luck and a kind wish. Guess what I wished for….. and what was Leahs fond hope?….
• National Gallery Of Ireland. Brief stop to look at some of the art on display.
• Phoenix Park is the largest city park in the world. Looked great from the bus.
• Walked back to the YHA, got into the car and drove south. Major traffic jams to get out of the city.

Wicklow Mountains
• Glendalough a lakeland area in the middle of the mountains. Great drive to get there. YHA was a new building and we had a room to ourselves - bunks and ensuite. 5 Star rating. Very comfortable.
• next day looked at St Kevins monastery and watch tower. Very old, great location but they were often raided by the Vikings. St Kevin had a small hut beside the lake (see below) before he built his monastery.
• we went for a walk up to an old abandoned lead miners village and then back across a ridge to our start point. Really pretty.
• drive thru’ the mountains to Kilkenny via lots of small villages was lovely. We went by back roads all the way

Kilkenny
• had a guided tour of Kilkenny castle. Very impressive place. It was attacked by Oliver Cromwell who blasted down one side. It was never repaired.
Butler family were owners from 1391 until 1967. Told to clear out after Irish independence in the 1930’s as they were identified with the English. Great portrait gallery mostly of family members. They married for convenience and money. One married a very plain woman (commoner) but wealthy. They used her money to repair the castle.

Cork
• spent the night in Cork at a YHA. Cork was full of young students celebrating the end of exams
• Ate late at a local Pizza bar. Leah had a very spicy cauliflower soup.
• looked around an old Catholic cathedral (are there any others) the next day. Brilliant stained glass windows then travelled on to Blarney Castle
• YHA was fairly ordinary.




Blarney castle
• After waiting about 45 min we climbed up and both kissed the Blarney stone!! Castle was excellent as the staircase up to the top of the tower was in original condition
• bought a Tam o Shanter in the Town at Blarney Woollen Mills shop
• Town was hosting a major equestrian event so horses in all directions.
• Lovely town but chock full of tourists.
• Drove through the Lea Valley alongside a lake. Stopped at a small pub and had a bar lunch. Leah had a roaring fire to herself while I talked to a local (practising my new found powers of eloquence)

Killarney
• YHA there was an old manor - had lots of character. Manor had been donated to the YHA as the previous owners could not afford the upkeep. About 10 min outside Killarney.
• we used Killarney as a base to travel the Ring Of Kerry ie Kerry peninsular.
• started on the Gap of Dunloe which is a pass in the local mountains. Fairly spectacular but the afternoon was dreary and wet and we did not venture through. Had dinner there at the local pub (Kate Kearneys Cottage). Very good meal.
• Next day drove around the north side of the Kerry peninsular. Went right past a caravan park (FALVEY CAMPING and CARAVAN PARK) and Leah would not take a photo of yours truly in situ!! Stopped at Portamagee and got on Des Lavelles boat for the Skelligs. He mentioned that there were a number of Falveys on Valentia Island just across from Portamagee
• Highlight was our boat trip to the Skellig islands. (20 miles west of the Kerry coast) Little Skellig is a bird sanctuary (‘000’s of gannets, the rock is covered in them). Then Skellig Michael which has an 8th century monastery built on it. We had to walk up a quite steep path to get to the monastery; the path had been there since day 1 ie 1200 years old. Monastery was built as a series of oratories (beehive shaped cells) with a small church (now ruined) attached. How the monks lived there I will never know. They must have been absolute fanatics. There were three routes up to the monastery - one really steep and disused the other on the north side and not used and our one led off from the Lighthouse path. Skellig Michael was occupied by really friendly colourful puffins. Also rabbits on the island - brought over for the lighthouse keepers in the 19th century. Island was about 290 metres high and very rugged. I spent a lot of time talking to Des - he was an authority on the Skelligs and we have his personally signed book.



Cell shape - one door no windows and made of stone. Probably could sleep 7 - 8 monks.









• drove onto Valentia Island for a short distance. Didn’t see any Falveys but I got the distinct feeling of their presence.
• rest of the trip around the Ring was all about spectacular scenery.
• Leah broke out into a horrible rash. She looked like the creature from the dark lagoon!! I took her to see the Doctor who was a doddering old fool (according to Louise Pastuer herself of course). I blame the Guinness, Leah blames the cauliflower soup, the chemist pointed at the midges and the YHA blamed the laundry detergent. Any other theories!! Back to the YHA for the evening.
• Then the Ring of Dingle the next morning. Stopped at a long spit of land and went for a walk on the sand. Quite windy but it was amazing watching a guy operating a land yacht. The spit had no right to be there. It jutted out into Dingle Bay like a long finger. Very low lying - I would have thought that the sea would have washed it away a long time ago. We went to Dingle village and checked up on the Falveys. Most seemed to be north of Dingle. Wandered around the village, bought some postcards at one of the local shops and had tea and cakes at a little upstairs tea rooms.. Dingle area was also great with lots of old prehistoric churches and burial sites. The Gallerius Oratoria in north Dingle was in fantastic condition. It was built in 2000 BC and is now as good as it was then. Stones were laid in a manner that kept the interior dry. Even to this day it is pristine inside. The Oratory was the focal point of a bigger religious (sun




worshipping) community. The door and rear window were perfectly east west aligned for the mid winter sun. Lots of prehistoric sites in the area.

• drove north over the Pass of Brandon??. Glorious views from the top back across Dingle and north over Bally ferriter and the loughs. Then along the north coast of Dingle to Ballybunnion. Didn’t see any Falveys but I could empathise that they were there. Ballybunion had Irelands best golf course and were preparing for the Irish Open.
• Nearly forgot the Blasket Islands - just off the Dingle coast. Small group of islands where people lived until 1953. Again they must have all been quite mad. The islands were small barren and windswept. Nothing to recommend them at all. The Islanders had their own language which is sort of amazing and their life style revolved around fishing, sheep and survival. There is a museum on the mainland which commemorates their way of life.
• Then got a Barge across the Shannon from Tarbet to near Kilrush and avoided going thru’ Limerick. Stopped at Ennis for the night. Barge trip was very good £7.00 for the car and that was it. About 30 min to get across. Quite a long drive to get to Ennis and we arrived pretty late.

Ennis
• market town and very pretty and looked quite prosperous. We just stayed the night there and had a pretty average chinese meal. The YHA we stayed at was fairly ordinary but a bed is a bed!!!. We shared with another French? couple.


Cliffs Of Maher
• fantastic cliff stretch on Atlantic coast. Great views but very windy day. Cliff edges are being eroded by the Atlantic waves so you can’t get too close to appreciate just how high and steep they are. They set up a whole series of watch towers along the coast during the second world war to look out for subs and the like. A lot of the towers still remain - they look like old mini castles.

Burren mountains
• unbelievable!! These mountains had been sort of scraped by the Ice Age back to bare rock. In areas there was nothing growing - just hillsides of stone. Rock is of all sizes and scattered all over. People used to live in the area in the ancient times. Plenty of grave sites and artefacts. I am not sure what they survived on as the area is really bleak and barren.
• stopped at a 5000year old site (Poulnabrone Dolmen). It was an ancient tomb but built with a couple of stone uprights with a stone cap.

Galway
• Drive in to Galway was through modern developed areas. Lots of housing estates - looked a little artificial. Galway is the largest of the west Ireland towns and is the centre of industry and commerce. Some fairly major IT Companies have set up there.
• Stayed at a YHA in the middle of town, close to a playhouse. “Dressed up” and went to the opening night of a stage show . I can’t remember its name but it was a series of connected monologues. Quite enjoyed it.
• Toured Galway cathedral (trying to find a toilet!!) and watched salmon fishermen in the middle of the river.
• I wandered around Galway shopping precincts early next morning. Nice mix of old and new in that part of town.
• Then went out to Rosseveale and caught the ferry to the Arran Islands. We went to the main island (Inishmaan) and got a bus tour around the main areas. Highlight was an ancient stone fort (3000 - 4000BC) on the islands north east side. Unfortunately it rained pretty hard and it was difficult to see everything.
• Saw the Arran knitted jerseys (but didn’t buy) and then saw another stage show (Magus - Irish music and dancing). It was quite good.
• Had dinner at the local pub cum restaurant. Quite a good meal washed down with some of the local ale. We took the last boat back to Rosseveale - didn’t get back in to quite late.
• the Island was interesting but now very touristy. It would have been a hard life in the old days. There is a fair amount of folklore regarding the Arran jerseys. They were made by women for their men and each family had its own knitting pattern. All hand knitted from Arran sheep. Jerseys in the shop were beautiful but a lot were machine made. The hand mades were very expensive.

Cong
• drove around Irelands main lake district to Cong and stayed the night there Lake district was spectacular. We drove off the main roads and were rewarded with spectacular views. We sidetracked and walked about 3 - 4 kms to a waterfall which was very pretty. On the way back we saw the latest in tree felling equipment. This machine cut down the tree (medium sized pines) grabbed it, stripped off all the branches and then cut the tree into post sized lengths. Took about 5 minutes per tree. A bit different from my days in NZ Forest Products!!
• Cong was a really pretty town - they filmed John Waynes “Quiet Man” there.
• Stayed at a Back packers on the east side of town. Comfortable and modern. I was glad to get to bed that night.
• Next day we went for wander around the town and followed an old canal linking two Loughs. It was built during the famines to provide work for the population but was never used. Apparently the ground is full of limestone and the water just drained away as fast as it came down the canal. The town had a salmon hatchery and an old mansion which was closed to the public. You could also take boat rides on the lough.
• Drove around Lough Mask and to Castlebar. Had lunch in an old pub, The Noble Servant (or something). Castlebar was a sort of touristy farming town.
• Then drove east through Longford and a number of smaller towns. Very prosperous part of the country. Did not see any evidence of Peat marshes - they were a little further south.
• Stopped at Strokestown (central Ireland) and wandered through a museum dealing with the Irish Famine. Very well put together exhibit. It was a really tragic period - I can understand why the English are so hated in Ireland. They did not do a huge amount to help the starving underclass, and peasants and labourers were basically wiped out as a result. Did you know that the average Irish person ate 14 lbs of potatoes per day in 1840? Incredible. We also toured a large old manor house which is gradually being restored.
• then stopped at a little village called Fore. It boasted 7 miracles - we caught up with four (tree that wouldn’t burn, water that couldn’t be boiled, stream that ran uphill and a church that was built on swampy ground) Some old monk called St Feitchen apparently was the author of all these blessings?

Kells
• Bed and Breakfast at Kells and then looked a some old crosses in a churchyard. These dated back to the Book Of Kells days apparently.
• then to Newgrange and Knowth, another highlight. Very large old burial chambers which have been recently excavated. Newgrange was brilliant as it was built with a special quartz stones (white). So the effect was quite spectacular. We could go into the burial chamber down a narrow east west passage. This passage is so well built that the sun at solstice shines straight down it. I imagine that would be quite something. Apparently the solstice dates (Dec 12 to 21) are booked out years in advance by people who want to be in the chamber when the sun comes through. The Visitors Centre had a very good exhibition which showed how people lived in those days (5000BC). Knowth was only partly excavated but is bigger than Newgrange. There are over 400 mounds in the area.
• Saw where the Battle of Boyne was fought. Sad day for Irish Catholics.

Beijing (Peter)
• Bussed to Heathrow and then off to Beijing for three days. Met at the airport by a young chinese lass who showed me around the Great Wall, Ming Tombs and a couple of other places. Also toured Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, National Museum and all the back streets. It was very hot (31, 34, 37) and dusty. The Great Wall was GREAT. I can’t imagine the effort that must have gone into its construction. A real national commitment and the old emperors must also have been really scared of the Mongols.
• Beijing was a real mixture. My hotel was as good as anything in the west. The Square was well organised (but not if you were a member of the Falun Gong religious sect). The minute they showed up on the square the police would swoop, pick them up and throw them into their van. Literally throw … the treatment was very rough. One such incident occurred quite close to me. The coppers (or PLA) did not mind that a European was there watching.
• Back streets were a bit like HK but without the feeling of “go go go”. Lots of shops and restaurants and beer halls. Side streets were generally dirty and I never saw any Europeans wandering up and down.
• Disappointed to miss a tour around the Great Hall Of The People. I was there 5 minutes after the Ticket Office closed. Next time maybe. Soldiers everywhere around the square and surrounds.
• then to Hong Kong (new Airport) and home to Sydney.

Leah

I was fortunate to have the time to stay on in Europe so I made my way back to Luxembourg to visit Adrian and family and to spend some quality time with the little darlings Luke and Leon my grandies. I did that very weekend Adrian and Novia escaped to Switzerland and the kids and I had a fun time at home. Luke knew where all the treats were kept and politely always asked me first if I would like one knowing I would then offer him one. We had a lot of fun. Leon as cute and adorable as ever was no problem and not once did they fret for their parents. Stayed two weeks in Luxembourg and In that time spent three nights in Strasburg in France also visiting Cobar and did a bike trip amongst the vineyards in the Cobar region. Trier the old Roman town was most interesting and Luxembourg also has a fascinating history. With the family we went exploring into Belgian and countryside Luxembourg.

Onto Beijing and met at the airport by Liang and Lisa friends of Adrian’s. They helped me find suitable accommodation and settled on the Jin Huia Hotel which I had sourced from the Lonely Planet. They virtually gave me a Cooks tour of Beijing that weekend leaving their Mum to take care of their three year old son. We visited The Heavenly temple, the Great wall , The Summer palace, arranged for my ticket to Hong Kong, joined me for meals and whizzed me around the city showing me all the sights. Liang I most say was a most skilled driver. On my own after the weekend and engineered my way around on the local buses which is no mean feat. Spent a wonderful day at the Forbidden City. Another highlight was visiting Peking Man site. The heat the smells the people and their generosity will always remain with me. Examples- a young girl refusing to let me pay for my share of a taxi, an old lady giving up her seat for me in a crowded bus. Liang and Lisa dropping in on me to see that I was ok even thou’ they were both busy professional people with a child and also in the throes of buying a house.

Travelled by soft sleeper to Hong Kong a journey of thirty hours. Express steam train and that in it self is worth the trip with the decline of steam trains. Stayed at the YHA in HK arriving for the weekend and the YHA is situated on top of the next peak to Victoria Peak with fantastic harbour views and a sunset to die for. Great company with a couple from Glasgow and a young English girl on her way to Sydney. We all went out for dinner that night and the young girl latched onto me for the rest of the weekend, she even said she enjoyed shoe shopping with me!! We did have a good time. My time was up and all too soon I was winging my way back to Sydney and looking forward to seeing Peter again. If it hadn’t been so hot in Beijing I would have continued on to Zian and Shanghai and completed the classical triangle.. Oh well there is always another time and that will be another story..