a very cold snap

we find ourselves back in dublin and in the midst of a 'very cold snap'....

So you can appreciate your summer even more, here is our own very different weather forecast for today: (just to compare, you know, for fun)

Today
Hail and snow showers in the east and southeast - some heavy, and giving further falls of snow in places there. Scattered wintry showers near the northwest and west coasts, with the risk of localised snowfall there also. Dry otherwise, with widespread sunshine, but with frost lingering in places. Highest temperatures between 0 and + 5 C.

Tonight
Widespread severe frost this evening and tonight, icy conditions in many areas. A few freezing fog patches also. Snow showers in the east and southeast dying out this evening and early tonight. Scattered wintry showers continuing near the northwest and west coasts, and extending to the southwest coast overnight also - even where these are of rain or sleet, they could increase the risk of ice. Temperatures below 0 C virtually everywhere, and reaching - 6 to - 8 C in places.

It is freezing indeed, we have had downfalls of light snow, hail, sleet, rain all just this morning... plus this 'freezing fog'..
Yes... 'freezing fog'... What the hell is it anyway?
My guess is as good as yours and yet, we have apparantly experienced it first hand...

So... as i find myself somewhat trapped inside the house, protecting myself from the elements, yet avoiding neccessary study.... with a curiosity for freezing fog and what it all means.... i decided to hit wikipedia and find out...
and... among all the other types of fog i hadn't heard of before, i found the one most relevant to us:

Freezing Fog:

Freezing fog occurs when liquid fog droplets freeze to surfaces, forming white soft or hard rime. This is very common on mountain tops which are exposed to low clouds. It is equivalent to freezing rain, and essentially the same as the ice that forms inside a freezer which is not of the "frostless" or "frost-free" type. The term "freezing fog" may also refer to fog where water vapor is super-cooled filling the air with small ice crystals similar to very light snow. It seems to make the fog "tangible", as if one could "grab a handful".

I shall resist the temptation to 'grab a handful'

and, for those who would like to know more,

Fog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground. A cloud may be considered partly fog; for example, the part of a cloud that is suspended in the air above the ground is not considered fog, whereas the part of the cloud that comes in contact with higher ground is considered fog.

so, there you go... i didn't know that either! cute!

Aussie Visitors -The Merriels!!

Hi peeps! long time, no blog. Those quickblogs sort of worked but i never finished the job properly and am now way out of date again...

So, here we are way back in september, after our sunny spanish holiday.... and doesn't that seem a world away now with the freezing temperatures in Dublin now! Today a cool 9 degrees, tomorrow a top of 7 ! and it's still only autumn, but that's just a technicality..

But back in September now ... well that was warm and sunny and suprisingly un-rainy... or at least it was the week that the Merriels were in the country....they kindly brought the sunny stable weather with them and departed with it again.. sadly true.

Our Friendly family of 4 (the most numerous troupe we have yet accommodated (very successfully we hope) stayed in Dublin with us for a few days as part of their Grand Tour of Europe's finest cities: London, Paris & ......Dublin.

L-R: Rob, Karen and us in St Stephen's Green ...

and Annie and Eleanor being top class tourists in Grafton street.

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L-R: Outside Stag's Head... Notice Ivan's new air-mattress pump, to ensure our guests were well catered for that night... mmm.... so organised.

Rob and Ivan enjoy a baby guinness at The Stag's Head

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L-R: Rob at Stag's Head

Annie and Eleanor checking out the Liffey River, with Ha'penny bridge in background... very very iconic... and...Just look at that Blue Sky!! (not that iconic, but nice just the same)

After Dublin-day, the gang then left to go exploring the south-west of Ireland...
Here is a small selection of photos from their combined cameras.... (all 4 of em)...

Not sure what all these places are excatly... but think Cork, Kerry and Clare.

L-R Possibly a view from the dingle peninsula in Kerry??, or somewhere on the Cork coast?

Magnificent Bantry House in Cork (still to see for us) and it's amazing vews

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L-R Some gorgeous Corkish view?

and... could be anywhere really, but pretty cute

This one I do know:

L-R: Unmistakably the Cliffs of Moher in co. Clare. (Annie & Eleanor and Rob)

This is definitely Eleanor at the dingle Peninsula... beautiful spot.

and that weather!

Ivan and I met up with the travelling family in Galway for the last weekend of their holiday...

and together, we all embarked on a boat (much bigger than what i first imagined) and headed for InisMor (InishMore) one of the Aran Islands (off the coast of Galway)... which proved much further than i had imagined and altogether much windier than anyone could ever have thought possible..

Now, these islands are something else...

Inis Mor is Irish for 'Big Island', to distinguish it from Inis Maan (middle island) and Inis Oirr (East Island)....

They are the rockiest, windiest spots in Ireland, and the competition is firce!

And one of the great sites on InishMore is the fort of Dun Aengus, which sits overlooking a 100 metre sheer cliff..... (and is thought to have been built in the 2nd century BC!)

Here she is:
L-R: Dun Aengus Fort

L-R Cliff edge snaps for everyone

Elsewhere on Inish More...taking a nap
L-R: Group photo with Island tour bus.

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On the boat back home...

We slowly made our way to Dublin the next day via Galway City, had a super night of cards and our friends were off the next morning... to continue their tour... next stop: London!

quick blogs 2: Summer Holiday in Sunny Spain

And...what Glorious weather it was.!
Such a nice change to the unpredictable dublin summer...
A strong dose of sun, beach and surf... food and lots of family..

Elena went up in August to see her parents and other family..and Ivan then joined them for a while.
Cousin Louise from Australia also joined us for a very few days, taking s short detour from her holiday in England.... But for some reason, I am missing some of my photos, and will have to ask Louise for copies. Sadly, I think i left them in Spain. :(

Anyways, here are some snaps from Tapia in the north of Spain, with my parents and cousins, and some of their little ones.

Elena and her mum at the Eligio del Horizonte sculpture (Praise of the Horizon), by Eduardo Chillida in Gijon (great city)
and... with parents on a day out in nearby Luarca

Marine museum at Luarca with Ivan and Louise- with 4 giant squids (mostly baby ones, like this one) and other strange and wonderful creatures.
For memory this baby giant squid was abou 13 metres long from tentacle-tip to 'tail'.
The spooky looking thing is actually a sting-ray skeleton..

Nearby Castropol- very small fishing village near Tapia (as seen from a little boat)

A trip along the coast with Ivan... Spectacular Cabo Vidio (Cape Vidio)
and then... back home to Dublin to await the eminent arrival of our very dear friends The Merriels and some unseasonally lovely stable weather!!!

Road Trip England - The final! QUICK BLOG

Ok...
The only thing i want to say about this bit of our England trip is that Northumberland in the far north east of England is hugely recommended - beautiful, beachy, 'castley', and with lots of lovely wildlife..
The wildlife we got to see on a trip out to the Farne Islands (National trust) bird and seal sanctuary.
IT was awesome!! all that was missing was David Attenborough himself.
From now on we will sign myself up to any and all such wildlife trips we come across.

So, without any delay, here are the pics.

The bird Islands...from afar... and with flying puffin

I know some people don't like birds, but surely they haven't ever seen a puffin!
Like a cross b/w a penguin and somewthing smaller.

These here are Guillemot (i think) and Kittiwakes with their bubs

Blobby seals, Dolphins on the way back to the mainland

Magnificent and very memorable....and a perfect end to our England Holiday!!!

Road Trip England: Part IV.

For the last part of our English camping holiday we decided to do something a little different and headed up to Beautiful Northumberland... on the north east coast of England, past the 'Angel of the north' (at right).
This may very well be our favourite part of the trip: camping on the coast, just off the beach & halfway between Dunstanburgh castle and Bamburgh castle.... it was gorgeous.. Maybe the beach and the sea are more 'holidayish' than any other type of holiday... for us, the best holidays are by the sea... and camping by the sea just added it's own magic.
Here: Seaside camping at Beadnall Bay

'Walking boats' Beadnall bay, 11pm! in June, Beadnall Bay

We unfortunately missed out on seeing Bamburgh Castle cos we got there 5 mins late!
We had been walking a gorgeous stretch of the Castle to Castle coastal walk (Dunstanburgh to Bamburgh castle) and didn't realise you couldn't get in after 4pm... 4pm!!
And, the Castle was still open till 5pm! but they won't let people in after 4pm!! what!! even if we only take 55 minutes to look at the damn thing? "No, we can't let you in, they're the rules".
Stupid castle gatekeepers.
So, one fine evening after camp dinner we stole into Dunstanburgh Castle ruins and had a look around (as part of our revenge against the National Trust (Bamburgh being too well fortified)).
Dunstanburgh is so beautiful, it made up for everything and we forgot all about that silly Bamburgh ..

Dunstanburgh Castle Ruins at Dusk.
While we were up north, we also checked out Lindisfarne (Holy Island), where the Vikings first attacked England all those years ago in 793 and raided the Lindisfarne Priory.
"AD. 793. This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land of the Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: and not long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter." Entry for the year 793 in the Anglo Saxon chronicle! (amazing isn't it.)

Perhaps the poor old Lindisfarnians had done something to provoke the Gods...
A Scholar at the time writes in a letter to the Bishop of the Lindisfarne priory "Consider carefully, brothers, and examine diligently, lest perchance this unaccustomed and un-heard of evil was merited by some unheard-of evil practice... Consider the dress, the way of wearing the hair, the luxurious habits of the princes and people."
Alcuin to bishop Higbald of Lindisfarne (780-803)

Should we take heed in these 80's fashion revival times...? One has to wonder.

http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/

Crossing over to Lindisfarne, exploring the island

Upturned boats (sheds), Ivan's dream boat

Cute owl at Bird of prey sanctuary.

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Lindisfarne Priory

We also checked out Hadrian's Wall while we were up there.
Built by Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD.. it runs 118km across the width of England (albeit at a narrow point)... It is a massively impressive and beautiful sight... A moss, lichen and grass covered stone wall climbing over the rolling green hills.. Beautiful.
We only saw a small part of it, Housesteads Fort and some stretches of the wall on either side, but it is very memorable.

One of the best bit of the fort, which housed 800 soldiers (quite squashy), is probably the Latrines, because they are so intact, and there's a large sign portaying a vivid picture of 'Latrine life' in a Roman Fort.. I will never forget the imagery of the Roman 'sponge on a stick', (ie: Roman toilet paper), which soldiers would keep, clean and look after...
Here's some more info on the wall if you like... There's a popular walking track along the whole wall which would be spectacular, if you ever had the time and the chance.

http://www.hadrians-wall.org/page.aspx//Things-To-See-And-Do/Hadrian

Hadrian's Wall winding it way thru England

One of the Mile-Forts, HouseStead Fort: The Wall and Ivan,

Housesteads fort: The Latrines

The Small village of "Wall", near Hadrian's wall... For fans of 'Stardust' (the excellent movie or the book by Neil Gaiman)... if you've no idea, it's a must.

God almighty!, and to think we haven't even finished blogging England yet! But i just have to include a little Ironbridge and the Farne Islands...... time for more 'super quick blogs'...
My massive goal for the weekend: to drag the blog into October, where it belongs.