Rural Statues In Ennis.

 We got to Limerick far too early on Saturday afternoon (I was ready to go at ten)  so we decided to have a drive past Bunratty Castle in County Clare and ended up stopping in Ennis

Any road or any way please click on to yonder photograph and peruse at the rural statues.  There's some old farmers, a moo cow and a faithful sheep dog.

The statues are reflecting Rural Society where buyer and seller seal the sale of a cow with an handshake.

I must do some research and Google who made these statues that champion rural folk and their livestock.  It's good to see ordinary people being championed.

We Chanced Upon A Field Of Turf.

 On our way to see Clannad in Limerick on Saturday.  We decided to take the scenic route via Abbeyfeale and on to Glin and Foynes and the Shannon estuary.  

Near the village of Athea we spotted a few fields full of hand dug turf drying.  They looked like they had been there since at least last year if not longer.

What a sight! It seemed like there was a new branch of natural art called "Turf Art". It looked like some natural sculpture or a work of art.

This is the way our organic ancestors have gathered fuel for thousands of years.  Sweating and toiling and hoping for a dry Summer.  Like the farmers saving hay for the pasture grazing shortage in Winter.

I had seen a part of Ireland's rural past.  It looked so natural and a way of life that is quickly disappearing.

I Finally Went To A Concert Again!

 We all lost at least two years of our  social lives to the lockdown.

On Saturday we drove to Limerick to see the mighty Clannad.  It was my fourth time of seeing them and probably the best.  

The UCH in Limerick is set in a modern campus  down leafy avenues and it's capacity is 1000.  Much more intimate than those big arenas where your lucky if you can see the silhouettes moving on stage.  

I even bought a t shirt and will wear it when I see them again ar a festival in Blighty in August.

It was great to see a live band again.  Clannad rocked!

Please click on photographs to enlarge them.

Moya Brennan walks on stage.

Clannad in concert.

Clannad tour minibus and truck for the musical equipment.

Posters advertising forthcoming gigs.

The cover of their new album and my  Clannad T shirt picture.

Have you any gigs planned?

Prawn Crackers Or Me🤔.

 Only a bit of fun.

Every time we go in a a Chinese takeaway we always end up with a complimentary free plastic bag full of prawn crackers:

I have a theory that the owners of these establishment are constantly refurbishing their takeaway kitchens.  

They decide that the cheapest way of getting rid of the polystyrene/styrofoam ceiling tiles is to break them into small pieces and give them away free to the customers instead of paying and sending them  to landfill.

That's my theory anyway.  Don't tell me you like them. Do you?😊

What's your favourite Oriental meal?  Mine's Amber Fire Beef.  It's a Korean dish and very hot!

More Photographs From Killarney.

Here's some more photographs of our visit to Muckross gardens in Killarney county Kerry yesterday:

Rhododendrons in flower.

Dinosaurs food, Giant Rhubarb or even Gunnera.  They love damp and create shade. They originate in South America and their umbrella like leaves catch the Irish rain.

American Skunk Cabbage.  Originally from North America it was introduced to large gardens to be an ornamental but is now considered invasive and a garden escapee.  It's yellow flowers are said to give off a foul Skunk like odour.

Rhododendrons And Other Flowers Spotting In Killarney.

 We went to Muckross House and Gardens again to look at the magnificent Victorian planted Rhododendrons, Azaleas and other plants that are in flower at the moment. 

They are excellent mature specimens and originate in Asia.  They love the peaty acidic Irish soil at Muckross.

Queen Victoria visited the house and gardens put Killarney well and truly on the tourist map.  Killarney is still the most visited town in Ireland.

Parking and entrance to the gardens is free and the estate was left to the people of Ireland to enjoy.  If I lived in Killarney I would walk around the estate every week.  

More pictures tomorrow.

Bed Of Roses.

We woke up at 5.30 and it was throwing it down so we decided not to go to sell at the carboot sale.  There was no way that the car was getting stuck in the middle of a field and we would have to pay someone to tow us with a tractor.  Been there, got the T shirt! This was after we had spent half an hour yesterday filling the estate with trays full of my own propagated perennials.  Rain stopped play.  Never mind there will be other carboot sales another time.

 The sun and rain is great for flowers.  Two of the Rose's and some Osteospermums are in flower.  You can also see the yellowy lime green leaves of the Montbretia which is a pernicious weed in the West Of Ireland.  It originates in Africa and the other non native Fuschia originates in Chile.  I suppose they came on the Gulf Stream?

My late dad gave us the purple rose before he died and it always makes me a little sad when I see it in flower.   Do you have any sentimental plants in your garden?

It would be a good time to visit some gardens open to the public this weekend.  It's going to be showery but the verdant flowers will make up for any rain.

I saw them at "Monsters Of Rock" at Castle Donington.  Before the concert they flew over the biblical multitudes in two helicopters with Bonjovi emblazoned on the sides and waved to us all.  I don't think the support band "Wasp" liked their set being interrupted.  Happy days!