Ireland day 1409. Thursday 07 August 2025- Onward

Today’s summary	Still suffering with Covid, though felt a bit better than yesterday. Had a relaxing day mostly spent in the flat reading, chatting to family in the UK and dozing. Val made cheese scones for lunch (lovely) then in the afternoon we went on a short stroll round the Demesne. Sausages in cider for dinner then watched another James Bond in the evening.
Today’s weather	Some overnight rain then overcast but bright and dry for the rest of the day. Strong westerly wind. Appx 20c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue 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 dawdle

Commentary

Covid – the sequel (August 2025) does seem to be significantly worse than Covid part 1 (March 2022 edition) I have to say. At least it seems to be hitting me harder at the moment than it did last time.

So yesterday I did feel a bit better than Tuesday, and the coughing subsided for most of the day. But by the end of our James Bond evening, I was absolutely exhausted and the coughing started again. Which wasn’t a good thing as my rib cage currently feels like it has been sat on by an elephant so coughing is painful. I have found that speaking makes it worse, so I stay silent as much as I can (which Val probably appreciates!).

I actually slept quite well last night though woke very early. But the rest of the morning went quickly with a good (but brief in my case) chat with family back in the UK and a couple of chapters from my book. Then we had lunch of delicious cheese scones that Val pulled together (for which sincere thanks!). After putting my feet up and dozing a bit more, I pulled myself together and Val and I went on a short socially-distanced walk around the Demesne.

Once back in the flat, I had yet another nap while Val pottered about in the kitchen. She’s made some roast sausages in cider which smell delicious and which I very much hope we will be having for tea! What a domestic goddess.

Then, just like the last few nights, we will probably stream another James Bond (we’re targeting “No time to die”) and head to bed early.

Gosh these blogs must be so tedious to read at the moment! But that’s a pretty accurate reflection of what having Covid is like. Somewhat uncomfortable and very tedious. Still, I know it will be a long haul to get back to full strength, but I am on the journey now and heading in the right direction.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Tree-fern Avenue. Lovely as ever. Makes me think I am in New Zealand!	Walnuts ripening up by the castle. I’m not sure if these are an edible variety. They seem a bit small to me

Eucalypts in flower near the Avoca courtyard. Strangely they have almost no aroma. I wonder if it’s because these trees need long spells of hot dry weather to bring out the essential oils? That doesn’t happen too often here in Ireland!	The yellow roses growing outside our flats bloom right from June to the end of summer. Unlike the Eucalyptus, they do smell and are a joy to behold!



Thistledown – a transient haze and then it’s carried away on the breeze