November

November seems to have flown past. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

Teaching more adult classes. I now tutor a literature group on Thursday afternoons  as well as my established creative writing group on Wednesdays.  And the classes are now face to face rather than on Zoom. At least for now. This term I’ve offered a course on Modern Irish Literature. I’ve spent a long time preparing the sessions but don’t really mind as I’m no longer constrained by exam board requirements so can follow my own interests and those of the group.  I’ve discussed Colm Toibin’s Nora Webster and Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel and some Heaney poems.  

Learning to drive again.  My car has become Kate’s car since she needs it for a long journey to her teaching practice school.  When I need to drive anywhere, which isn’t that often, I now use Paul’s car, a large automatic.  I don’t much like it, especially parking. Getting used to it now.

Supporting Kate as some of the realities of teaching begin to hit home - ridiculous workload, the challenge of dealing with wide variations in ability in the same class, late nights for events like the Christmas Fair, the huge amount of time spent in preparing resources - printing, copying, trimming etc. She’s ok but it’s been tough. We drove through the snow on Saturday to visit and spent an evening with her and Calum in a cosy holiday cottage. We’d planned a walk but it was so icy we abandoned that idea and just spent time eating and watching TV. 

Planting tulips and then chasing the squirrels which threaten to dig them up again.  The garden looks very bare now after the storm finished off the dahlias. 

Getting up early with Alfie who insists on waking us around six every morning.  Admittedly Paul does this more often than I do, but then goes back to bed when I get up for a while. He’s been rather adolescent in his behaviour recently.  (Alfie not Paul, though it’s true of him too, with his recent monosyllabic grumpiness)  He seems to have forgotten his training especially when there is food around and will take any opportunity to pinch/lick things in the kitchen. 

Got my booster jab on Saturday morning and felt a bit shivery and headachy on Saturday night and Sunday. I’m ok now. Paul’s turn tomorrow.. 

October Ups and Downs

 It has been over a month since my last blog post so thought I’d catch up before the month ends. 

Ups

• Returning to teach my creative writing group on Wednesday mornings face to face. So much better than Zoom and my students are such good company.
• Doing some more family history research and a bit more of my own writing.
• Taking part in choir day with A Handbag of Harmonies.  Also a live event.  I was a bit worried I  would get COVID as singing is supposed to be particularly infection spreading but over a week later  I still seem to be ok.
• Enjoying walks on warmish October days. We’ve found some new places to take the dog not too far away in North Wales.  Now he is nearly 9 months,  he needs plenty of exercise and room to run. 
• Planting up some pots for winter colour in the garden and some bulbs fo spring.  The dahlias are still flowering too.
• Celebrating Kate’s birthday. I made her a Red Velvet Cake using a Nigella recipe.  It was very good though there was an alarming amount of butter and sugar in it.   Luckily it is half term so she has been able to come home. She’s done two weeks of teaching practice and has been working with a class of 5-7 year olds. Hard work and not much of a break as she had an essay to write.

Downs

• This is a major one which really deserves a post to itself! A midnight visit to A&E last Saturday.  It had been a lovely day. I’d spent all day singing and then had spent an enjoyable evening with my sister Diane and her husband who were staying overnight.  But just after I brushed my teeth and got into bed something very strange happened.  I couldn’t close my mouth - my jaw was locked open.  It was a horrible feeling and it hurt.  My throat was dry and I couldn’t speak properly. We followed all the online advice to no avail and I was beginning to feel ill mainly because I was panicking. So we got a taxi (we’d all been drinking wine) to the local A&E department which was just as you might imagine it to be on a Saturday evening - full. Some people looked ill or injured, others not so much. At one point man wearing nothing on his top half appeared and asked the receptionist and then the other patients for a light. He objected loudly when no one could help him. Then a nurse came out to announce that there would be a 7 hour wait to be seen and encouraged those with minor problems to go home.  A few people disappeared.  Half an hour later I was called in and the doctor said I had dislocated my jaw. There follows a grim tale. A long wait, an X ray, and two painful attempts at jaw manipulation which failed.  I would have to be transferred to Aintree in Liverpool to see a  Maxillo Facial expert.  I sent Paul home and curled up in an uncomfortable chair to await the ambulance. At 5am it eventually arrived.  Aintree A&E was quieter with only a few patients though there were at least four men lying asleep across the benches.  The specialist doctor, a polite and sympathetic young man, was waiting for me.  I had another two fancy X rays and then he made me bite on some wooden sticks for ten minutes. Then he pushed my jaw about a bit and it went back in place. Just like that - it was all over. Painful while he was pushing it about but the pain reduced as soon as everything was back in place. I’d have to be careful not to open my mouth much for a while but could go home. Phoned Paul and was home drinking tea through a straw by 9am Sunday morning. I was sleepy and a bit sore but otherwise fine.  I don’t why this happened - perhaps it was the recent dental treatment I had where I had to open my mouth for a long time to have a crown fitted.  And my jaw had been a bit funny since then.  It still is a bit tender -  I hope it doesn’t happen again.  I’m being very careful not to yawn to widely.  The whole experience has made me appreciate the NHS even more.  How the staff I saw remained patient and kind in the circumstances we witnessed last Saturday amazes me.  
• No other downs really apart from the fact it has bucketed with rain all weekend and it’s already getting dark at 430pm now the time has changed. 

The End of the Summer

 

Looks like our extended summer is coming to an end now with wind and rain forecast this week.  It’s been a good September though - autumn at its best with lots of sun after such a grey August.  I love the light at this time of year.  

A couple of weekends ago we had a short break on the Northumbrian coast.  We stayed in Beadnell which has a huge beach where dogs are allowed.  As you can see from the sky in the photograph, rain clouds were threatening, but apart from a little shower on our first evening, it stayed dry.  We didn’t do much - walking and eating as usual.  On the Saturday evening we were joined by several up north family members and had a meal in the very busy local pub.  Good to catch up with our niece Clare and her partner Susan who we haven’t seen for nearly three years because of Covid, as well as Paul’s sister and her husband. We also tried the local seafood place, Salt Water Cafe, where Paul had oysters, his current favourite thing to eat. I am not keen on them at all and was happier with the fish cakes and scallops. 

Kate has now gone back to Sheffield and has started her teacher training course so it’s just the two of us at home again.  So far she’s enjoying it and has made some new friends, including several girls from Northern Ireland.  She’s taken my car with her as she’ll need it when she starts her teaching practice in a couple of weeks.  This means I’ve had to drive Paul’s car which is much bigger and an automatic. It is taking a bit of time to get used to.  He’s a bit anxious that I’ll scratch it or something but too bad. 

Next week I’m going back to doing some proper face to face teaching, returning to my local creative writing class. Really looking forward to it. I was also asked to deliver an online course for National Poetry Day and I have offered a one-off session on Contemporary Irish Poetry.  To prepare for it, I contacted the young Irish poet Stephen Sexton whose latest collection is reviewed in today’s Observer. I was delighted when he agreed to join the course on Zoom and speak to students about his work. But at present not many people have signed up so I’m going to advertise it on here.  It costs about £6 and is at 945am on Thursday 7th October for two hours.  It will be about reading and discussing the poems themselves - you don’t need to know or do anything in advance. If you are in the UK and free that morning,  I’d love to see you. Just click the link above for more information. 

September Garden

 Summer started late this year and it’s taken until now for some plants to flower. And the tomatoes are ripening too - I thought I’d be making green tomato chutney.  We’ve had three unexpected hot and sunny September days now.  A nice bonus though the ground is very dry and the water butts are empty.  Won’t mind if we get a thunderstorm tomorrow and some much needed rain. 

I’m still getting used to the idea of September without a return to school.  It’s still a time for new starts though.  Need to return to better exercise and diet habits after the summer’s overindulgence. A friend has persuaded me to go to a Hula Hoop fitness class later today.  I haven’t done any hula-hooping since primary school so I might not be able to do it, but I’ll have a go. 

Home

‘How long are you home for?’ said my cousin last week when I was over in N. Ireland.   In fact several of my cousins asked exactly the same question.  It might seem like a strange thing to say someone who has not lived permanently in Northern Ireland since 1980.  Not to me. Home is still the village of Ballyronan where I spent the first 18 years of my life.  I’ve been in Chester now more more years than that and still don’t feel I fully belong here though the house where we now live feels more like home than any previous dwelling - I don’t think we’ll be moving again.

Because of the pandemic I’ve not been to Northern Ireland for nearly two years. Last week I travelled back there with Kate and her boyfriend to stay with my sister in Dromore. We were joined by my youngest  sister and her family, also over from England, so there were 10 of us in total. As this was Calum’s first trip to NI we did a few touristy things. We stayed a couple of nights in Portrush on the North Coast. On the first evening we walked into town along the West Strand.  Lots of people were in the water in defiance of grey skies and drizzle though many were wearing wetsuits.  Paddle-boarding is very popular over there at present and someone was kite-surfing, performing a series of impressive aerial twists and turns.  We didn’t join the brave beach crowd but went to the Harbour Bar instead.  I tried  not to worry about the crowded restaurant and high coronavirus infection rate in NI. Got totally drenched on the way back to my cousin’s apartment where we were staying as the rain had really set in by then. Typical Portrush weather. 

Giant portion of fish pie in The Harbour Bar 

The next day the sun shone and we went to the Giant’s Causeway, ignoring signs en route saying it was ‘fully booked’. This simply means that the visitor centre experience is fully booked and you do not have to go there or pay anything apart from the car park charge to visit as the footpath is a public right of way.  It was beautiful there and the youngest members of the party, my twin nephews, enjoyed climbing the rocks by the most precarious route. We all climbed the steep Shepherd’s Steps and walked back along the cliff path. Wildflowers - little blue harebells - and butterflies and the glorious view. Nowhere like it. 

We then returned to Portrush where NI sister Sylvia got out her paddle-board and went into the chilly Atlantic along with 12 year olds who didn’t have the benefit of a wetsuit. The rest of us watched for a while and then Kate, Calum and I went for a walk up the town.  It hasn’t changed that much with slightly grotty amusement arcades and cafes. The White House, a department store selling stuff you’d see in John Lewis, is still open, and there are now a few art galleries and upmarket coffee shops. . Sadly, Barry’s, the funfair which was the highlight of our childhood visits, has now closed. 

We also went to the Titantic experience in Belfast later in the week, completing the cruise-ship-tourist-type experience of NI for Calum’s benefit.  Very interesting though really it’s just an exhibition with the addition of a kind of ghost train ride which tries to create the sights and sounds of the shipyard. 

One of the best parts of the visit was going to Ballyronan and catching up with cousins there.  We also had a job to do.  We have rented out our family home in Ballyronan to someone who is going to open a cafe - much better than leaving it empty.  All the furniture and contents of the house had been moved to the old farm buildings in the yard.  We needed to sort it all out, a sad task but one which could longer be put off. Nothing has ever been thrown out - there was the old kitchen furniture repurposed for storage in what my dad called the ‘bench house’.  We found the dolls’ cot he’d made my sister and a doll which had once belonged to my aunt, now in her eighties.  My wedding dress, a ghastly 80’s creation with frills and flounces,  was there too and my mother’s much classier dress, as you can see below modelled by Kate and her cousin Hannah. Then there was a full set of school reports for all five sisters which entertained the kids for some time.  In the end I quite enjoyed the day as it brought back good memories.  

So I no longer have a home to go to in Ballyronan.  I will be returning though. Down the road at the nearby marina the council have installed these smart floating cabins which will soon be available to rent. I quite fancy a holiday in one of these. 

Far from the Madding Crowd

 It’s almost two weeks since our holiday in Dorset so thought I’d look back to sunny days there on this rather damp Friday by sharing some pictures.  This was a last minute choice. Usually we book holidays well in advance, choosing the location carefully. This time the filters on the booking website chose for us: pet friendly, near beach, near shop/pub, couple of bedrooms. Not much available, but we hit lucky and found this cottage in the village of Burton Bradstock which was just perfect for us. It wasn’t much fun getting there with busy motorways followed by windy, single-track roads which made the dog sick. Paul’s blind faith in sat nav directions can have unwanted consequences. 

The landscape reminded me of parts Northern Ireland, gentle hills, very green, patchwork of small fields.

 

We were close to Hive Beach which was busy during the day but quiet in the evening.  That week was dry and sunny and the heat didn’t start building until after we left.  There was a beach cafe which did very good if rather pricey breakfasts. 

Alfie enjoyed his holiday.  We stopped taking him on this route to the beach because of the warning signs about adders.  

Kate and Calum came with us on our holiday. I persuaded them to go on a visit to Abbotsbury Gardens with me. Lovely garden but many biting insects which feasted on my bare legs. I spent the next day in a Piriton-induced haze. 

Paul and I visited Chesil Beach one day, both having read Ian McEwan’s novel. We were a bit underwhelmed.  It’s not really a beach at all,  but a steep-sided gravel bank which is separated from the mainland by a shallow lagoon. There was a good view of it from Abbotsbury Gardens. 

We made one other literary pilgrimage - to Thomas Harry’s cottage- which, as it turned out, isn’t that far from the ‘madding crowd’ these days: we got stuck in horrendous traffic on the way there and nearly missed our slot.  I persuaded the National Trust lady to let me join the group late and it turned out ok as I missed what seemed to have been a very long talk before the actual visit. Very pretty and interesting place.     I’d spent the week reading ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’  and this cottage, where he wrote the book, is described as the home of the main character. I wouldn’t recommend the book - not much happens - a minor courtship and a subplot about some church musicians.  Paul, not a fan of guided tours of any variety, waited for me in the garden. 

Most days we did very little though. Cliff top walks, reading, meals out in the local pub. It was exactly the kind of holiday I like. I’m looking forward to the next one now - going to Northern Ireland next week for the first time in nearly two years. 

 

July Birthdays

 

It’s a whole month since my last post and it’s been a busy one.  Life has been more like it was before corona with visitors staying, meals out, a holiday and birthday celebrations. And all this with a puppy who is still waking us up at 5am - I’m ready for a quieter week or two now.

Paul turned 60 on the 1st July and we had a small gathering in the garden to celebrate the  Saturday after.  It was a lovely day catching up with friends and family, his and mine. The sun shone - for a while. And then it rained.  Very pleased we’d anticipated this and borrowed a gazebo.  The football brought a rather abrupt end to the party.  I got a bit grumpy then as I was left with the clearing up while everyone else disappeared to watch the match.  That was the one they won.  Didn’t care much when they lost the final but felt a bit sorry for Gareth Southgate and his young players. 

Three of my sisters came to the party so it was a kind of post-pandemic family reunion. Though the fourth sister is still in COVID-free New Zealand, missing her biennial visit to Europe for the first time since she emigrated in the early 90s. NI sister and her husband stayed for a few days - first time I’ve seen her since October 2019.  Kate and I are planning to visit her in Northern Ireland in early August if the pandemic allows. Current numbers and the fact that double vaccinated people still can get ill worries me a little. 

Last week we had a proper holiday too, finding a place to rent near the beach in Dorset.  I’ll write a separate post on that later this week and share some pics. While we were there Kate got her results.  The hard work paid off and she got the first she was hoping for.  Very pleased for her and very proud.  Unfortunately she won’t have a proper graduation ceremony. Sheffield are doing an online version instead and she’s not going to bother.  Can’t imagine many will. What’s the point of sitting through speeches etc if you don’t get to walk on stage in a robe? We’re going to do our own celebration.

Then yesterday was my birthday. I’d booked a couple of tickets for an afternoon production of Pride and Prejudice in the park for me and Kate.  It was very enjoyable even though we had to sit in full sun for the first 15 minutes or so til the sun moved round to roast other spectators.  Did feel for the cast in full costume, especially when they had to dance.  As we’d just got back from holiday we didn’t want another meal out so we sat in the garden as it cooled down drinking the rhubarb and ginger gin which Kate bought me topped up with ginger beer. She also gave me a jug/vase which she’d painted herself, a throwback to her primary school days. Paul bought me a birdsong clock which has a different birdsong each hour. I love it’s but the rest of the family aren’t so keen.