Ireland day 1095. Friday 27 September 2024- Daily Life

Today’s summary	A quiet day just enjoying everyday life. Val went on a run in the morning while I did some paperwork and finished off my deberes. After lunch, we walked over the hill to Portmarnock and had tea on the beach. Indian ready meal and TV in the evening
Today’s weather	Showery but with plenty of sun in the afternoon. Moderate north westerly wind. Feeling cool at 12c

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Coast walk with tea wagtails and rain

Commentary

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

We tend to pack quite a lot into our lives here in Ireland, but every now and then, even we need a day off, just to wind down and enjoy some everyday life. I am pleased to report that today was, a little like yesterday, one of those days.

After our obligatory cup of tea in bed, Val, with rather more enthusiasm than I could possibly have mustered, pulled on her running gear and headed off to the demesne to do a few laps of the hurling pitch. While she was out, I tackled some more of the endless paperwork mountain and finished off my Spanish deberes. I also treated myself to a secondhand “Icebreaker” merino hoodie fleece from eBay. I have absolutely no idea what to expect but I thought it was worth a punt as my current ones are wearing out and they are frighteningly expensive, nowadays, to buy from new. I will report back in due course!

After a light lunch of oatbreads with baba ganoush, we went off to check out one of our favourite local walks – loosely we call it”over the hill and along the coast”. We’ve done it hundreds of times before but view is always changing with the weather and the season, so there’s plenty to see. Plus we allow ourselves a cup of tea from the shop at Portmarnock Beach, as an incentive to get round.

As usual, it was an enjoyable walk but when we arrived in Portmarnock, it started to rain. Luckily, by this stage we had just got our takeaway teas, so we took them down onto the beach and enjoyed them in the bathing shelter while the shower passed overhead. Once we had eaten and it had stopped raining, Val, ever the bold one, decided to go for a paddle while I hung back to admire the smart pied wagtail, who hopped along to pay a call and see if we had dropped any tasty morsels.

As soon as we got back to Malahide at the end, we went straight down to the garage in the basement of our flats, and picked up the Yaris. I needed to get more petrol and by happy coincidence, our local Applegreen petrol station also has an in-store Marks and Spencers. So we were able to pick up a ready-made Indian takeaway which just needed a few moments in the oven when we got back to turn into a tasty meal for two.

A good day, and I think I could get used to everyday life. But perhaps just not for ever.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


*Sunny everlasting flowers (Helichrysum bracteatum) outside the castle*	On the way out of Malahide in Bawn Grove

Bold beachcomber about to brave the waters. She confirmed that even a paddle was withering	Beach shelter as the rain passed overhead and gave way to sparkling blue sky



Looking towards the converted Martello Tower on the Coast Road, from the northern end of Portmarnock beach