Ireland day 1056. Monday 19 August 2024- Car Repairs

Today’s summary	First thing in the morning I took the car to the garage in Ashbourne to get its damaged bumper replaced. Collected a replacement car then once back did some shopping with Val and walked round the demesne. Val was at work in the evening while I hoovered the flat, repaired my rucksack, and watched TV.
Today’s weather	Windy and bright but with some showers as the remains of Hurricane Ernesto passed through. Strong southerly wind. Appx 20c

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): Demesne Fomhar autumn

Commentary

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

A few weeks ago, as we were stopped at some red traffic lights, the driver behind us, who obviously had his mind on other things, failed to see us and ran into the back of the car. The damage was superficially minimal – just a cracked bumper – but of course as soon as the garage inspected it, it turned out to be more extensive than it appeared (basically a bent reinforcing bar and a dent to the rear hatch as well as a cracked bumper). It will cost more than €2000 to repair.

Fortunately the other driver accepted full liability without dispute and his insurance company will cover the cost of repairs. But it’s been a load of hassle getting quotes and dealing with our insurance company and his. Anyway, eventually the car was booked in for repairs (at Tadg Riordan in Ashbourne where the Yaris came from originally) and the work was scheduled to start today.

So my first task was to get round to Ashbourne for 9am, which did necessitate a slightly earlier than ideal start. Anyway, the M50 was surprisingly empty (still school holidays) so I was there quickly. The Yaris was duly checked in and “should” (always a worrisome word) be ready to collect on Friday.

Fortunately, the third party’s insurance company have also given us a replacement hire car for while the Yaris is in hospital, so I collected that and drove back to Malahide. I was back by 10am. The hire car, by the way, is a horrible SEAT and it stinks of cigarette smoke. So I shan’t be sorry to see it go at the end of the week. But, at least, for now, we do have wheels.

The rest of the day was a bit less busy. First off there was some shopping to be done. Then Val roast a chicken and some vegetables for dinner this evening while I made a light lunch (the diet is still on!). Still hungry after our meagre fare, we decided to go on a short walk around the demesne before the grazing instinct got the better of us and the Jaffa cakes disappeared.

It was an enjoyable walk, actually, despite the occasional bit of rain and a brisk wind as the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto swept through. But I did notice that some of the trees were beginning to show signs of yellow plumage, and piles of fallen leaves were appearing around their trunks. The first signs that the seasons will be changing soon and perhaps an explanation of why the Gaelic autumn, Fómhar, starts on 1 August.

Once we were back at the flat and more tea had been drunk, Val headed off to do an evening shift at the museum. I, meanwhile, set out to buy a new iPhone cable for the car (it comes only with USB C sockets) and then once Is found one at the local convenience store, came back, did some repairs to my rucksack, and gave the flat a quick hoover round.

We’re well into the fifth and final season of “The Wire” now so once Val’s back and the chicken has been enjoyed, I imagine we will settle back into the seamier side of Baltimore for a couple of hours of escapism. We will need to review our viewing plans for the darker months soon – but before that, the weather is still quite warm so I’m hopeful that summer hasn’t quite expired yet.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Leaves beginning to line the avenue leading behind the visitor centre	And just beginning to flutter down on the playing fields

I like the way the underlying structure of the tree trunk has been revealed once the rotting bark fell away	Still plenty of Summer left. Hooray!



But you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s already Autumn!