Ireland day 0626. Friday 16 June 2023- Admin Day *

Ireland day 0626. Friday 16 June 2023- Admin Day

Today’s summary	Spent the day on admin and met up with carbon capture colleague for lunch in Malahide. Walk up Paddy’s Hill in the evening and it rained for the first time in weeks
Today’s weather	Grey all morning, with light rain on-and-off from lunchtime until about 9pm. Light south easterly wind. Appx 17C

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): Rainy hill walk with Val

Commentary

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

Today it rained properly for the first time in weeks – months, almost. It came as quite a welcome change to be greeted by leaden skies and the sound of pattering raindrops when we woke up this morning – though I hope it doesn’t last too long. You can have too much of a good thing. And I was left reflecting on how amazingly lucky we had been with the weather on Wednesday and Thursday, for our outdoor events at the Depeche Mode concert and on Lambay Island respectively. Incredible.

Anyway today we had a much quieter day than recently. So we listened to a couple of podcasts, had a cup of tea and got some breakfast in bed before we finally arose. Once we were up, I had some admin (not tax-related, you will be pleased to know) to do, and Val went to pick up some shopping.

Around 12:30, I went into Malahide to meet up for lunch with a contact from Donabate who is working in the carbon abatement industry. Afterwards, in the afternoon, Val set-to cooking the pork cheeks which we bought some weeks ago (they have been in the freezer since), and I finished off the admin. We ended our relaxing day with a walk in the rain up Paddy’s Hill and down to the coast, and had the pork cheeks with a spicy salsa in tostadas (delicious!) for dinner.

Today it was nice to feel the fresh cool rain, and to see the plants bursting into life again almost in front of our eyes. And from the top of Paddy’s Hill, Lambay Island floated in the mist on the horizon. This time, though, instead of wondering idly what it must be like to be over there, I realised I actually knew. And even though our visit yesterday was only fleeting, I could almost feel myself yearning for the quiet solitude and calm which seems to blanket the place like a rather comforting warm duvet.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Rain on the balcony, for once!	Festoon lights to guide concertgoers to tonight’s gig in the castle demesne. (It’s Paulo Nuttini, by the way and he’s crooning away right now as I write this. A few moments ago, Val described what we can hear of his warblings through the double-glazing as “dirge-y” – and I would find it hard to disagree)

*A slightly different variety of Echium* in full bloom at the bottom of Seamount Road. Echiums seem to be particularly abundant – and impressive – in Ireland this year**	A good specimen of lavender up in the Jameson orchard estate



Down jackets back on! In the demesne at the start of our walk tonight.