Ireland day 0482. Monday 23 January 2023- Gym and Airport *

Ireland day 0482. Monday 23 January 2023- Gym and Airport

Today’s summary	Spent the morning trying to sort out an NCT test for the car, with only limited success. Went to the gym in the afternoon and managed to break my watch by going swimming with it. In the evening I made some bread from a packet and collected Val from the airport after her skiing trip to Austria
Today’s weather	Overcast with a little drizzle from time to time. No sun. Light southerly wind. Appx 10C

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows my location)		Close-up location (The blue dot shows where I am) (No GPX today)

Commentary

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

A much quieter day today than recently.

Had a leisurely morning then did some Spanish and tried to sort out an NCT (equivalent of MOT) test for the car. The system is different to the UK in that there are only a few approved centres where you can get it done and the first appointment I could get in the Dublin area was next September. Which is a bit inconvenient as the current certificate expires in may and you aren’t supposed to drive the car without an up to date test. I did manage to find a centre that would offer a test before May – but it was in Co. Donegal, which is three hours drive away. In the end I phoned the NCT head office and they agreed to put me on a waiting list to see if something sooner could turn up. I hope it does!

After all this frustration, I went to the gym to work off some of the excess energy and stayed there until until early afternoon. Annoyingly, I thought I’d try out my watch in the swimming pool and it has stopped working again. So I can definitively say that Apple Watches are not waterproof (it isn’t just the sauna than damages them) despite Apple’s claims to the contrary. Shame I had to learn the hard way – I hope the box of rice does the trick again and restores it to full functionality.

When I got back I made lunch for today and tomorrow, and dinner for tonight, then baked a loaf of bread (the ready-mixed-out-of-a-packet variety). Later on, I went down to the shops to pick up a few bits, then out to the airport to pick up Val. She’s back from her ski-ing trip to Austria tonight and I’m very much looking forward to seeing her again!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)