Ireland day 0183. Wednesday 30 March 2022- Museum

Today’s summary	Val started her new job at the model railway museum and I resumed bureaucratic chores, starting with an application for a credit card. Then a nice walk in the afternoon.
Today’s weather	Dry and bright but overcast. Moderate north easterly wind. Much cooler than recently. About 7C

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The green line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Castle and Coast

Commentary

Just a stone’s throw from our flat is the world famous Malahide Model Railway Museum. It is housed in a pretty thatched cottage (“The Casino”) and is all shiny and new as it was only opened in 2020. (You can see it in the banner image at the top of this blog – a lovely place to visit). But more to the point it welcomed its newest recruit today – in the shape of Val, who inexplicably just can’t resist the temptation to keep on working and getting new jobs. This is at least the fourth time she has retired and then immediately found something else to do, in the last five years. I am full of admiration as, once I finally stopped work in 2020, I haven’t really ever felt the urge to go back. Anyway Val has secured a job on the front desk, welcoming visitors three days a week. Be to sure to say hello next time you are passing by. Here’s to a successful latest pivot in your career, Val!

So while Val was out earning a crust, what was I up to? Well the day started pleasantly with a video call with a friend who had just returned from a long trip to the Far East. Although it’s not really my top destination, I have to admit that the photos of the tropical beaches and sun-kissed palm trees looked pretty appealing after a long Irish winter. In recent years we have tended to spend a few midwinter weeks somewhere warm and sunny and it reminded me just how much I had missed going this year.

But then it was back down to more practical matters. I had a long list of jobs to do today – I have already mentioned the driving licences and tax, but today I decided to add another fun element of bureaucracy to my life by trying to apply for a credit card. I had tried unsuccessfully a few months ago – perhaps it failed then because my PPS number was not registered. Anyway, now it is registered so maybe I will stand more chance of success this time. I’m not holding my breath though, as I probably haven’t lived in Ireland long enough to qualify for one anyway. In any case, it’s more of a “nice to have” than an essential – it would just make hiring cars, etc., a bit easier, so it isn’t a disaster if it doesn’t work out this time either.

By the time I’d filled out reams of paperwork I didn’t really have the appetite for tackling the driving licences and tax, so decided to give bureaucracy a miss for the rest of the day. Instead, I headed out into the castle grounds for a quick saunter round, then up and over the hill down to the coast. It was beautiful out – really green and fresh looking. But it was quite cold, especially compared to the last couple of weeks, and I was struck by how dry everything was. The mud at the side of the path was already cracking up, and I could sense that the grass would be starting to go yellow if we don’t get some rain soon.

It’s my job to make the meals while Val is out working so at the end of my walk I dropped into to Tesco and Supervalu to see what I could find for tea without breaking the bank. Anyway, it’s tuna and sweetcorn salad followed by rhubarb tonight (it was delicious, especially the rhubarb, in case you were wondering) then ham and tomato pitta breads for lunch tomorrow.

Anyway I think that’s enough for today. I’ll report back on the licences and tax position tomorrow – I can sense that trying to make that sound exciting is barely credible – but anyway it’s going to be a major achievement so I will doubtless have reams to say about it. Remarkably, it’s nearly 8:30 here and there is still a bit of light left in the sky outside. It looks like a decent evening so we might just take advantage of it and head down to the coast for a quick walk.

See you tomorrow!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The Malahide Cricket Club pitch looking in top notch condition for the coming season. A hopeful reminder that summer is just around the corner	Heading down from Robswall Hill. The sea by this stage had developed an ominous gunmetal hue

Down on the coast the low temperatures and strong wind hadn’t deterred the kite surfers. I still think it looks unpleasant but aficionados seem to thrive on adversity	The concrete path leading to the High Rock swimming area. Personally, I think it looks like one of the most unappealing places in the world to go swimming

Then when you actually get there it looks even worse.	Some novel bovine visitors seem to have made an arrival in Malahide in the last few days. They were particularly well suited to today’s chilly conditions

My intrepid wife Val looking chipper on her return from her first day at the Casino model railway museum. She really enjoyed it and assures me it’s very much well worth a visit