belgianwaffle

Ireland

Domestic Challenge


Posted in: Family, Ireland

Mr. Waffle and I like to watch University Challenge. He likes it a lot more than me as he knows more of the answers. I have forbidden him from shouting them out if he thinks I might know them and I seize control of the remote so that the bright young things on the telly can be paused and not get there before me. That way, I get to enjoy it too.

Sometimes I like to make this a family viewing opportunity. This is always a mistake. There is usually at least one round where the children know the answers and this is pleasing for them [there was one on the Horrid Henry books the other day, they are also very solid on Greek legends which is always a help]. So that is a plus. As against this, the following things usually happen:

The children can answer no other questions and get bored;
One of them starts to make noise by tossing something around the room [balloons have been a recent favourite];
Mr. Waffle gets annoyed with a child for making noise during the questions;
The child he is annoyed with stomps out of the room;
The offended child has to be lured back into the room;
The show has to be paused again so that one of the children can tell a random story from school;
Mr. Waffle gets annoyed;
The whole thing has to briefly be suspended to allow for the “everyone be quiet now and be good or it’s straight to bed” speech;
The remainder of the show is watched in surly silence by all of us.

Somewhat related: one evening Queen’s were on and I said, “We have to support the Irish university”. One of the children said, “Well, maybe they wouldn’t want us to support them, are they the English Irish or the Irish Irish?” This is why they say that Irish identity is complex.

#Gaeilge24


Posted in: Ireland, Middle Child, Princess, Twins, Youngest Child

Tá an Banphrionsa ag labhairt Gaeilge ar feadh 24 uaire. Chuala mé í ag caint ag ceathrú tar éis a 7 ar maidin agus tá sí ag caint trí Ghaeilge fós.

Níl fhios agam cén fáth go bhfuil na dathanna don t-léine cosúil le Ryanair. Ní cheapaim go bhfuil seirbhís trí Ghaeilge le fáil ar Ryanair.

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Bhí sé deachair go leor dúinn.  Níl fhios agam conas a d’eirigh le na 500 duine sa Mheiricá a rinne an rud ceana (sin a deirtear, ar aon nós).

Níl sé easca scríobh as Gaeilge agus tá Daniel ag seinm an feadóg stáin ag an am cheanna agus cúpla noiméad ó shin dúirt Michael dom go bhfuil foiche suas staighre agus tá orm rud éigean a dhéanamh.   Sin é i gcomhar an blog Gaeilge.

Beidh an seirbhís trí Bhearla ar ais amárach.

Long Day


Posted in: Cork, Ireland, Travel

I woke up in Athlone this morning.  I got the train to Dublin this afternoon.  I drove to Cork this evening.  I haven’t even the energy for a haiku.  More tomorrow.

I’ve been to Paradise but I’ve never been to Meath*


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland, Mr. Waffle

Yesterday, Mr. Waffle’s brother and his wife took our children and theirs to Tayto park. The park named after a potato crisp which proves that stereotypes are there for a reason.

It’s in Meath just on the outskirts of greater Dublin. The original plan was that we would rendez-vous at Tayto Park. Mr. Waffle and I spent quite a while trying to work out what to do near Tayto park in November and rapidly came to the conclusion that our best option after dropping the children would be to turn tail and go home. Happily, the cousins came in two cars and collected our children from home and dropped them back.

With a whole afternoon on our hands, we decided to go out to Howth for lunch and a walk. We went to the pier for lunch. Recession? It is over. We went to Aqua; next available table for two? 3.45.

[Conversation about Aqua at my bookclub this evening:

Friend A: It’s amazing.
Me: Maybe, but we didn’t get in.
Friend B: Yeah the food is fantastic.
Me: Yes, but we didn’t get in.
Friend A: And the view out is wonderful.]

We eventually found a table at another spot after queuing for a bit. Yes, really. We had to fight off some queue jumpers but, egged on by the woman behind us in the queue, we secured our table eventually. The minute we finished, about 2.15, two other enthusiastic diners hopped into our chairs.

The place was awash with tourists. Really, who says, “Long weekend in November, let’s go to Dublin!” Lots of people it transpires, almost all of them French, and fortune definitely favoured them, the weather has been delightful and yesterday it was so mild and sunny that lots of people were wearing shorts.

We then went off for our walk around the Hill of Howth which was pleasant but definitely busy. It was misty but pretty.

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As we went around, a solitary Dutchman approached us from the opposite direction.  He began declaiming.  Initially, we thought he was speaking to someone else, but no he was addressing us.  He said, irritably “If you go on, maybe six headlands, all the same, misty and then a lighthouse.  About an hour’s walk and all the same.” Then he stalked off.  “Was he comparing it unfavourably to all the cliffs in Holland?” we thought nastily.  In any event, he clearly had no idea what the weather is normally like in Ireland in November or he would have been just delighted with his lot.

The children were returned to us at tea time happy to have done all manner of terrifying things including eating their own weight in crisps.

A satisfactory Sunday all round.

*If you are unfamiliar with the Dustin the Turkey number which inspired this title, may I direct your attention here.

Blarney


Posted in: Cork, Ireland, Middle Child, Princess, Twins, Youngest Child

We were in Cork at the weekend.

Herself cycled into town with her aunt using a Cork bike. She was very taken by the segregated cycle lanes. She is still alive.

Following my encounter with the people from Colorado, I was determined to take in Blarney Castle next time we went to Cork. While it wasn’t worth driving up from Killarney twice to see, I think, on balance, it was worth the 15 minute drive from my parents’ house.

It was lashing but we wore our rain gear like proper tourists. The castle is like loads of other square fortified castles in Ireland without a roof.

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I have to say that they do a fantastic job with the rather limited material available to them. I have visited the castle before but not in years. I retained a vivid memory of the actual stone kissing being rather hair raising. My memory was not at fault. Daniel and Herself refused point blank to kiss it. Michael was the bravest but so speedy that I failed to immortalise the moment on camera. However, Daniel was to hand to record my latest kissing of the stone.

See that gap at the top of the castle in the battlements? That’s where the stone is. Hair raising indeed, I can tell you.

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There was some old graffiti. The standard of graffiti seems to have gone downhill over the years, frankly.

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After our castle adventure, we went for a nice cup of tea. The cafe was in the stable yard. In the main room there was a delightful roaring fire but no space. We found ourselves shunted to another room where the stables had been turned into rather drafty booths for tables and chairs with, for added authenticity, manger and trough still in situ. Not entirely successful in my view.

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There was lots more to see including a cleverly designed poison garden (the gardens in general, however, were not at their best what with it being October) and a small playground. All in all, it wasn’t too bad. We might even go back for another visit.

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Updated to add: look at these delightful pictures of Blarney castle that I saw in the Crawford Gallery.

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Henrietta Street


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland

Last weekend the Princess and I went to see 12 Henrietta Street as part of Dublin Open House.

I love Henrietta Street, it is full of Georgian faded grandeur; big houses that became tenements and were then left to rot. It’s being slowly reclaimed but it is a long way from gentrification. One of the houses is for sale by auction with a reserve of €650,000. It’s essentially derelict in an exciting (ahem) urban part of town but massive and completely beautiful. I wonder who might buy it.