Ireland day 0806. Wednesday 13 December 2023- SixtyFive *

Ireland day 0806. Wednesday 13 December 2023- SixtyFive

Today’s summary	Spent my sixty fifth birthday working in the office. Came home early to open presents (brilliant) and chat to family. “Secret” evening dinner with Val later
Today’s weather	Dry and bright, quite cold. Lots of sunshine all day. Light westerly wind. Appx 8c

Today’s overview location (The green 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): Sixty Fifth birthday stroll

Commentary

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

I would never in a million years have predicted that I would spend my sixty fifth birthday at work, in the offices of an Irish gas company. It’s funny how things turn out, but that’s exactly how today panned out.

I had a couple of meetings to go to, so I drove over to the office at about 9am, had the meetings (and the company Christmas lunch!) then came back just after 3pm. It was worthwhile going in, though I was sorry to have missed the bright sunny weather outside.

The only fly in the ointment of an otherwise excellent day was the fact that our fridge failed yesterday so everything in it is rapidly warming up. I first noticed when I made the tea this morning, and found that the milk had gone off. Anyway, the rental company have agreed to replace it though it’s anyone’s guess as to when that might actually happen. I really hope it can be done before Christmas though in the meantime the contents are sitting on the balcony and benefitting from the relatively cool weather outside at the moment.

Once I got back from work and had dealt with the fridge, I spent the afternoon with Val (who had her final day off of three) and opened all my lovely presents and cards. I felt very spoiled. By the time I’d finished, and had a chat with family in Canada, it was fully dark so Val and I went on a short walk round the block just to get some fresh air. When you drive to work and then spend all day in the office, you really miss it.

But as a final treat, Val has booked a “secret” venue for dinner somewhere in Malahide this evening. So I need to stop now and make myself look beautiful. Onwards into the sixty sixth year!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Malahide by night part 1 – the Casino model railway museum	Malahide by night part 2 – cottage in Hanlon’s Lane

The fridge has broken down so all its contents are in danger of going rotten. Aargh – just before Christmas too. Luckily it’s a cold night so stuff can hopefully stay reasonably fresh on the balcony until the property management company can fix it	Tea and travel case – from Val to me. A perfect birthday present, as I like drinking tea and travelling to exotic destinations!



Our secret destination. Dinner at Old Street Restaurant, Malahide. The first time we’ve been there and one of the best meals out we’ve had since we came to ireland, actually.