Ireland day 0056. Tuesday 23 November 2021- EFPTOZLPED

Today’s summary	Quick trip to the library this morning, then walk to Swords for eye test and bus back to Malahide (Val) or Portmarnock (me) for Spanish lesson
Today’s weather	Dry and overcast, very little wind.   Quite cool, about 6C
Today’s overview location (the red cross in a circle shows where Val and I are at the moment)			Close-up location

Commentary

I will admit it – I have been a bit disorganised today.   It’s hard to say exactly why, as there were no particularly pressing deadlines to be met today, but it was one of those occasions when the day just seemed to run away with itself without either of us actually achieving very much along the way.

Well, though, we did make one breakthrough, which if you think about it carefully will go some way to explaining the peculiar headline for this blog.   It’s all to do with more paperwork and bureaucracy – and this time it is the driving licences again.   But before we were able to deal with that, we first made a quick trip into town to visit the library – an excellent free resource – and to get some basics from the supermarket.   The real excitement, such as it was today, followed in the afternoon.

Now we have been in Ireland for well over a month (it’s 8 weeks tomorrow, in fact) and because we might be on the way to buying a car, we really do need to get our UK licences swapped for Irish ones.   The first step on the journey was the PPS numbers, but as well as the magical number, you also have to have a recent eye test in order to do the swap.  Needless to say, now that eye testing was on our critical path, nowhere had any appointments but finally, after a 2 week wait, we were finally able to get tested by an optician in Swords this afternoon.

So we followed the by-now familiar coast path and got to Swords in plenty of time for our appointments.   The testing itself went relatively quickly though I really do hate looking into that box thing where they flash dots of light at you and you have to press a button when you think you see one.   It’s a bit like a medical version of Space Invaders but as far as I am concerned it is a one-stop stress machine.

Anyway, we passed the tests OK and we were painlessly relieved of €40 each but did at least come away with yet another precious piece of paper to add to our ever expanding collection of official documentation.   By the time we had finished, it was getting late so we jumped on the passing 102 and headed back to the flat.   Well Val did – I stayed on the bus a bit further to Portmarnock, to get round to my Spanish lesson in time for a 7 o’clock start.  I’m pleased to say I managed to comprar un poco de leche without too much public humiliation but I was quite glad when the lesson finally finished 2 hours later.

Anyway, I’ve only just walked back from college and it’s almost 11pm now and I still haven’t had anything to eat.   Fortunately Val has cooked some delicious-looking sausages so I’m going to stop writing and head off to enjoy one (or two) with a nice cool beer.

That’s all for now – back tomorrow!

(PS in case you couldn’t see it, the headline for this blog is of course the first line of a typical eye test chart!)

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Dead calm in the Malahide marina this morning.   Here’s another of those underwater roads which seem so popular in these parts
My reading matter from the library this morning.   Some ideal fodder for winter planning!   (Though I have say that Paddy gets everywhere – I’ve followed his guides all over the world and always found him enthusiastic but sometimes a bit scant on detail.  I didn’t know – but am not surprised – that he’d made it to Ireland)

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