Ireland day 1044. Wednesday 07 August 2024- Hard Work

Today’s summary	A day based from the flat catching up on admin and getting a bit of exercise. Val went on a run in the afternoon and I repeated my walk-run-walk circuit up Paddy’s Hill. I found it surprisingly hard work today. More Olympics and a Kerrigan’s for dinner in the evening
Today’s weather	Dry, bright and breezy with sunny intervals. Moderate westerly wind. Appx 18c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked/ran) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Hard Work WRW Paddy's Hill

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

Today we spent the day based in and around the flat. It felt quite good, actually, to have a whole day in the same place and, much as I love exploring, not to have to drive anywhere. So we allowed ourselves a bit of a lie-in, and a couple of cups of tea in bed before we got up.

The rest of the day was filled with chores and exercise. I did some shopping in the morning, then after lunch had to do a bit more work on getting the car’s various minor ailments sorted out. I steadfastly managed to avoid doing any paperwork today but I know it’s still there to be done so will probably start tackling it tomorrow.

Later on, we both felt in need of some fresh air and exercise. So while Val went on a run round the demesne, and completed a few laps of the cricket pitch, I set out to repeat my walk-run-walk circuit over Paddy’s Hill. When we were both back and compared notes, Val declared her run an enjoyable success whereas my experience was a bit different.

I think all sportspeople have days when everything just falls into place and exercise seems so easy that you wonder what all the fuss has been about. Well I didn’t have one of those days today, because I found it very tough going running up the hill, and it almost felt as if my feet had been velcro-ed to the ground. Still, it was good when it finished and I have been basking in a glow of virtue ever since I returned.

Now it’s time to switch off and start thinking about dinner. We over-catered for our Fermanagh trip so have a left over Kerrigan’s ready-meal which just needs half an hour in the oven before it’s ready to eat. So we will enjoy that, and then catch up on the day’s developments in Paris. If we are feeling brave we might also slot in an episode of “The Wire”. Let’s see how things develop.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Robswall castle on the coast road midway on the way to Portmarnock beach. It’s a private house now, but I’m sure it has an interesting story to tell	At the entry to Robswall park – aka the Hill of Pain

*Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis) growing in abundance on Paddy’s Hill*	Unusual Japanese Raisin Tree (Hovenia dulcis) growing in the Demesne. Never noticed it before and according to its Wikipedia entry it is a bit of a super-plant, having herbal, medical, industrial and culinary uses



Unnaturally shiny-looking DART waiting to depart Malahide station. It would be nice if Irish Rail could refurbish all of the DARTs like this presumably has been, and while they are at it, do something to stop them whining while waiting in Malahide station