Ireland

Have you ever tried to purchase a mackintosh recently? I ask because it seems these days every one wears those waist length coats or anoraks and I like a full length old style mac!

You may be basking in the sun in the dear old UK but here in SW Ireland its the usual delightful light drizzle and I have no rain protection. Shocking admission to be sure...

So I popped into Skibbereen yesterday where I thought the rather old fashioned but charming clothes shops ( they still have a High St here unsullied by nasty supermarkets or mega stores ) would be bound to have a suitable mac. But no. Apparently no demand any more. Perhaps they got a bad reputation?

But my father came to the rescue. He found one in the excellent Skibbereen Animal Refuge charity shop. A bargain, and I contribute to an animal charity which treasury Minister Gaulke would disapprove so thats fine also .

As I've been out and about visiting my many cousins in and around Union Hall ( there are some 70 of varying degrees of cousinage , would you believe! ). The countryside here has a bucolic charm all of its own. Roads largely deserted, which is as well as they tend to small , with pleasant unkempt lawns down the middle ! We spent a happy few hours on an Irish jaunt in the car going down windy lanes to small deserted coves to see the seals.

It may be overcast but it's still beautiful. See here.