Ireland day 1391. Sunday 20 July 2025- Ultrasounding

Today’s summary	Got up early and went to the Mater clinic for a follow up ultrasound scan on my hips (surprisingly for a Sunday). Should get results in a few days. Was back in the flat by 9:30am. After cups of coffee and some breakfast, Val and I walked over the hill and down to the shop at Portmarnock to get lunch to enjoy on the beach. Returned to the flat mid afternoon and had a relaxing evening with roast ham for dinner and some light TV later.
Today’s weather	Overcast humid and warm but mostly dry. Light easterly wind. Appx 18c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue 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): Lunch on the Beach

Commentary

A few weeks ago I was back in the UK for my annual checkup on my hips. As a result of that, I had to have a follow up ultrasound scan and fortunately managed to arrange to have it done here in Ireland. Saving a huge amount of time, money and hassle compared to having to go back over the Irish Sea to get it done.

Much to my surprise, the appointment came through for 9am this morning, at the Mater clinic in Dublin. I checked with some friends whether it was normal to have these things at the weekends. Apparently it is, as hospitals are keen to make best use of their investments in expensive tech, so try to cram in as many appointments as possible during the full week.

Public transport into town from here early on a Sunday isn’t great, so I decided to drive in rather than catch the 6:30am bus. I left Malahide at 7:30am – allowing plenty of time to find somewhere to park. It’s the all-Ireland hurling final (Tipperary beat Cork 3-27 to 1-18) today so I expected everywhere would be busy.

I made it to the clinic (in Eccles St) before 8am and managed to find a slot in the nearby Euro car parks without difficulty. So I was in the waiting room at about 8:15 and to my surprise again I was seen straight away and the whole thing was finished by 8:30 am (mind you I had to pay €299 for the privilege so I think it’s reasonable to get premium service). Now I just have that period in limbo, waiting for the clinic to send the results to my GP here in Malahide and then for him to tell me the details.

I was back at the flat by 9:30 so Val and I had a coffee and some breakfast then discussed options for the day. In the end, we decided that an easy stroll would be a good idea, so picked our usual “hill and coast” walk as a good option with plenty of variety along the way.

It was, as we hoped, an enjoyable tour and of course we had to stop at the Portmarnock shop to get some bits for an early lunch. We downed our snacks and tea on the beach – which was surprisingly deserted – especially compared to this time last week when it was packed. What a difference some photons, a few degrees and a low tide can make.

We made our way back the flat along the coast, calling in at SuperValu on the way. We’re having roast ham for dinner, and it must also nearly be time to uncork that rather nice bottle of Malbec I’ve had my eye on for the last day or two. But we have no other plans for the rest of the day. It feels like it’s been a pretty full on couple of days and I for one am looking forward to just putting my feet up and relaxing in front of the TV for a bit!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Lobby of the Mater clinic. A surprising number of people were about, even at this ungodly hour on a Sunday morning	Malahide cricket pitch looks like it is being prepared for the forthcoming test matches. Will be nice to see them back, after last year’s hiatus

Arums, which were spectacularly flowering in their spadixy way earlier this year, are now turning into deceptive lollipops of toxic red berries	Val examining the Ghost Birch on Bawn Grove

The polystyrene houses on Seamount Road are taking shape quickly	Delicate toadstool (possibly a Magic Mushroom?) growing in the verges of Bawn Grove

Embarking on our latest mission! (With me looking a bit bleary-eyed from the last couple of early mornings)