A tranquil place to visit.

Over on my other blog..which now has all the Kool Tatting stuff...I told you about Grandbaby's first birthday and his Birthday outing.

Lots of you wanted to know more about the garden.
While you can read all about the garden here I decided to share with you some more pictures of my visits there....last year in September for my 65th Birthday and this October for Grandbaby's first birthday.

The garden is a not-for-profit organisation and is a registered charity. Entry fees go purely to maintain the garden.

This is what the garden's founder says...
'Developing Brigit's Garden has been a wonderful process of seeing a dream come into reality. I hope many people will come here and enjoy the beauty of the place and the sense of closeness to nature. I feel that if we are going to sort out our relationship with the planet then we have to engage our hearts and spirits as well as our minds, and I hope Brigit's Garden will play its own small part in this process. We look forward to welcoming you to the garden.'
Jenny Beale

This is a map of the garden....



....let's take a closer look at the area at the bottom of the map...



These four gardens represent the Celtic festivals.
This is Samhain (pronounced Sow-en)The Winter Garden, probably my favourite.



If you click on the picture you should be able to read the sign.



The bronze figure is so tranquil.



Next comes Imbolc Spring Garden (pronounced Im-ulk).



The carved spiral represents the 3 faces of Brigit.



This leads on to a glade with basketwork swings.



Bealtaine Summer Garden (pronounced Belt-an-a) must look stunning inn the summer. The theme is of the mythical lovers Diarmuid and Grainne. We see their grassy bed surrounded by wildflowers in the summer.



A processional way leads between tall stones to a fire circle and a throne of bog oak and yew. It is a must to sit on the throne and claim your personal power and sit as King or Queen.




and the Bealtaine garden features Diarmuid and Grainne's bed, a grassy hollow facing the sun and surrounded by simple wildflowers. The lovers theme is carried through to the Flame Figures sculpture. A processional way between tall stones has copper flames set into the path and leads to a fire circle, backed by a throne in bog oak and yew. Here, the young adult can claim their personal power and sit as King or Queen in their own life.



Of course our little Prince was crowned King..



Finally there is Lughnasa Autumn Garden (pronounced Loo-na-sa).



This is laid out as a place for feasting and dancing.



That's just one area of the garden, the rest is very extensive with woodland walks etc.
The roundhouse in the center of the celtic gardens is where the Halloween storytelling will take place. It has windows looking out to each of the 4 gardens. It is used for art and music, meditation, meetings or just relaxing, and often for most interesting classes.



Here is the Crannog that you asked about...





No garden visit would be complete with out some plants!!









One little boy thought these were the best treat ever..



Lots more to see but you will have to go there yourself!!!

Another year another Queen!

I can't believe that it has been over a year since the old Queen left us to go to another life...and now a new Queen came to town today.

You can't believe my excitement at waiting to see this new boat...I think I must be addicted to liners!

I wanted to see how much she would differ from the previous flagship. She is described as being a liner rather than a cruise ship! She was to be an Ocean Liner for the 21st century, and she went into service on Oct 20th 2004.

Yesterday was her fifth birthday. You can read more about her here.

This time we went to see if we could spot her before she entered the harbour.



Finally she emerged from the mist. It is a wild and windy day.



Then we had to race round to our favourite vantage point to see her enter the harbour. I wanted to take the same views as last time to compare her.

Here she comes, no blue sky today!



Look at last years picture of the old Queen.



The new one was built to have speed and stabilty..a difficult thing to achieve in modern Cruise liners with so much super structure. She certainly has more of the look of a modern cruise liner with large cabin windows.



compare... she is bigger and broader and was the largest ocean going passenger liner in the world at the time of her launch.
The original two Queens were 65,000tons, the retiring Queen was 80,000tons and this current one is 148,000tons.



Does she still have the old fashioned elegance tho'!

She looks so small again within the large harbour.



We were back down in the village with the oldest yacht club in the world in time to see her sail deeper into the harbour.



We didn't go to see her in dock this time, believe that she is going to get a great Irish birthday party send off with band and all when she leaves at 6pm this evening.

The sun has finally come out and the sky is blue, I hope that the passengers have wonderful afternoon.

Hope that she comes again.

The day the Queen came to town to say 'Goodbye'.

Yesterday was the kind of day that I wished that I could bottle!

So that sometime in the future when I couldn't quite remember it, I could slip into the bottle and I would be there again. Maybe that is what cameras and blogs are all about.

It didn't actually start yesterday, but a long time ago...the excitement.

Sit back with a cup of tea and travel with me.

She holds a special fondness for us as way back in 1949/50 hubby and his family went to America and back on her predecessor. Years later having made so many good friends in the States his parents traveled to America again on this current Queen E.

I first saw her in 1989, I think that was when she first came to town, maybe earlier. But she couldn't get into the port to dock. Like every other liner she had to wait outside the harbour and her passengers had to be ferried to and fro by tender because we didn't have a channel deep enough.

I remember the excitement of getting up at dawn with the children to drive to see her, she was surrounded by crafts of all sizes out to see her too.

We have a long long tradition of visiting liners but not for pleasure cruising. Way back in the nineteenth century in the hey day of steam they were regular visitors

They carried so many of our people to the other side of the world. The wealthy traveled first or second or even third class but the bulk of the passengers were crowded into steerage.
We were the last port of call for the Titanic on her fateful maiden voyage and I was later to see the preserved wharf where they all bordered the tender that carried them out of the harbour to the waiting ship.



Queen E the second came to visit quite a few more times and by this time a deep water channel had been dredged so that she could come right into the harbour to dock. We have one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world.

Then she stopped coming maybe 15 years ago and her place was finally taken by a multitude of modern cruise liners getting bigger and bigger as cruising becomes more popular, built like skyscrapers they are with a balcony to every cabin.

A few weeks ago we read that our her majesty now an old lady of over 40 years was to go into retirement. She had three more cruises to do and one was a round tour of the British Isles calling at..yes you guessed it. Her final voyage in November is to Dubai where she will become a floating Hotel.

We could hardly let this pass and so once again we drove to see her come in, on wednesday lunchtime ( amuch more civilised hour!)hoping for clement weather. As we parked at the headland at the mouth of the harbour...the open sea to our right obstructed by an old British Garrison Fort...the sky went a black as night and the rain came sheeting down.

When it stopped we waited in the cold wind until she appeared.




Funnily enough our first though was...isn't she small!!




She was accompanied by Pilot boats guiding her through the channel, and lots of small craft.




This is just a peek at the dimensions of the harbour, photos can never do it justice.




As she turned to go behind the Island the sun lit her up and oh she was beautiful.



She finally docked in the little town that used to be called Queenstown in honour of a visit by Queen Victoria but when we got out independence it reverted to it's original name of cove but now with an Irish spelling.



Can you see the cathedral dominating the town from high on a hill. Remember that!

Now that takes me to where I began... yesterday.

She was in town all day due to sail at 6pm and we decided to go and see her close up.





Did I say she was small!!!





She may be old fashioned by boy has she got class!!

I can't remember the last time I was in this town and the sun was shining, my what a difference it makes.



See the Cathedral, well you could hardly miss it!

The town was in party mood as it is for all the visiting liners but this time was special, we were told to give her a good send off in the traditional way..waving handkerchiefs, I wonder will any other port of call treat her in such a special way or is it just the Irish with their tradition of emmigration and hospitality.

We have such a great love of statuary nowadays, and here in the town park named after an illustrious President of the United States who came to visit we have 'The Navigator' holding a little paper boat, isn't he brilliant?





It's a huge pull up the hill and a lot of steps top the cathedral, but it's worth it for the magnificent views of the harbour.
But look at the gathering rain clouds!!



Can you see the Victorian Bandstand in the park below??



Can you see the arrow on the opposite side showing where we stood the day before to watch her come in??

Down below entertainment was provided in the bandstand, firstly by a Pipe band and then by the Army band. A cup of good coffee and a chocolate brownie from the market stalls and we settled into listen. It was the sort of atmosphere that I wished could last for ever.

At one time the leader of the brass band decide to play a remix of 'Singing in the rain' and hoped that it would not be a bad omen. the sky was already darkening yet again and no sooner had the struck the first chord when the heavens opened and we had to run for shelter again.



They played for an hour by which time it was after 4pm and getting cold.
Climbed another hill to get another view...sorry if you think this is a lot of photos, think yourselves lucky you are not getting the whole 93 that I took!!!..including 9 movies that I do wish I could show, but the best ones were way too big, am still a learner.



and I said she wasn't BIG. She is docked next to the old railway station not a Heritage Center showing emmigration, Titanic and Lusitania.

We managed to move our car up to just in front of the bows of the ship and waited for her to sail. Everyone was taking photos of others in the spirit of camaraderie. Some had sqaures of cotton mounted on sticks to wave.



It took two huge tugs a long long time to pull her out.



Drag her to a wider part of the harbour

a lot of waving by us and the passengers all out to see us too.





and turn her round.



She soon gathered speed...



and steaming off into the gathering dusk



so it was God speed old girl, safe home.......slán abhaile

May your retirement be long and happy.

Academia

I thought that I would show you a glimpse of the place that I am working....University College Cork.
I work as an examinations invigilator...well someone has to do it!!

The photos were all taken with my camera phone so don't expect too much.
the University was founded in 1845 and was called Queens University part of Queens University Ireland until 1908. It is now a constituent College of The National University of Ireland.
The campus with its Tudor Gothic Quadrangle has to be on of the most beautiful places to learn that I have ever seen.


The lawn is cut into 4 sections by paths but rarely do you see anybody walking along the. To do so is said to be bad luck...as in failing ones exams!! The one time that they are used is on graduation day when the graduands walk along them in their gowns to the ceremony.



Lots more buildings joined the quad as the university expanded, some architecturally uninspiring but more recent ones compliment the quad and are architectually stunning I think.

This is the new students union building. I often supervise in the De Vere Hall at the top of the building used also nowadays for graduation ceremonies as the Aula Maxima can no longer cope with the numbers.





There are two cafes on the ground and first floors and looking out from the upper one you can see the new building the O'Rahilly Building housing the language departments.



This new area with it's circular amphitheatre incorporates another old building the Honan Chapel





Built in 1916 and named after the Honan family it has the most stunning mosaic floor







and stained glass windows by Harry Clarke.




There is frequently a wedding to be seen from the cafe on a well earned coffee break. Nowadays both bride and groom have to be graduates of UCC. I had thought my daughter might get married here but they opted for the College Chapel at University College Galway...see the very beginning of this blog!

This week I was suprised to see crocodile files of primary school children walking round the campus. Nothing suprising in that except that they were all wearing gowns, an academic experience very reminiscent of Hogwarts. I am sure the kids loved it.

Strange because this academic experience is not as true as it used to be as gradualtes don't see a gown until the day that they graduate and rarely own one.

In my day..in another life in another University we had to buy an undergraduate gown, very plain..hard wearing material and not at all fancy.
Those in halls of residence had to wear the gown for meals but for me the only time I wore it was for the lectures of a certain Professor who insisted on this...it was rather nice really except when you forgot to bring it and were turfed out of the lecture!!

My gown has come in handy on several occasions tho'. I used to have a flair for dressing my children up for the local fancy dress competition and this is what I dressed my daughter in when she was tiny. Shortened the gown to fit and made pipe cleaner spectacles and a papier mache mortar board. Complete with degree certificate and a copy of one of her dad's books .. she was following in father's footsteps!



Little did I know she would almost equal her dad (still one degree behind him!) and finally graduate with a PhD leaving her black gowns behind.



This is her dad at his D.Sc conferring in his glitzy gown,



'twas the only one of his conferrings that he ever attended and he did that only to please his mum and dad who were so proud of him ( we were too!!)
Now isn't he just something!!

Oh, and I did dress my son up once as a smurf..his favorite..good job that wasn't prophetic and he didn't turn blue and end up as one!

The Aran Islands

Not much tatting done this weekend!
We celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday last 24th June. Daughter and son in law (of the wedding at the start of this blog) took us away for the weekend to the Aran Islands. The islands are just a stones throw from their house, well a long stones throw as it takes about an hour by ferry. This is Inis Mor from Spiddal, Galway where they live.



The islands lie in the outermost part of Galway Bay and are of course the home of the famous Aran Sweater. If you want to see where they are located go to http://www.aranislands.ie/ for maps and more info.





Of the three islands we went to Inis Meain (Inishmaan) meaning middle island. Although bigger than Inis Oirr (Inisheer, east island) and way smaller than Inis Mor (Inishmore, big island) it is the least populated. There are now only 170 permanent residents on Inis Meain. Repopulation is being encouraged by the government.

There are a couple of small hotels with restaurants a pub, and a sprinkling of Bed and Breakfast establishments to stay at. The one we stayed at was excellent, lovely room with panoramic views of the island, the best full Irish breakfast you could wish for and a very good evening meal if desired, highly recommended.



This is the view from our bedroom window at the top of the house.



Each family on the islands had their own distinct pattern of cables and diamonds etc. on their sweaters. As most families were fishing folk should anything bad happen to them they could be identified by their sweaters.
The island has a modern Aran knitwear factory producing stunning pieces.

On arrival at the island it was 'shank's pony' for the walk of over a mile to the B&B reinforcing the old adage 'never take more than you can carry!! I'm sure that we could have been met at the ferry terminal if we had wished, but as it wasn't actually raining (well not all the time!! )we were OK.

The island is three and a half miles long and two miles wide and we were centrally located with shortish!! walks going in all directions. Our first walk was to the west to the most inhospitable part of the island taking the brunt of the Atlantic weather.

The Aran Islands are a continuation of the limestone pavement found in the Burren Region of County Clare cut off from the mainland at the end of the last ice age by rising water levels.



The fields in this exposed area are just a thin covering of soil on the limestone.
We had taken our own picnic fodder including the bubbly for the occasion as shopping is limited to a couple of small shops selling basics and snacks for tourists. We ate our picnic in the shelter from the wind given by a dry stone wall, just before the rain came down again.





Another walk led to a pre Christian ring fort. Within the tiered stone walls would have been a group of dwellings, with lookouts posted on the walls prepared for invasion.



Contrasting sharply with this was a modern church with beautiful stained glass windows by Harry Clarke great shelter from another rain shower.







A mix of old and new, in general it was like going back in time a hundred years. This house was almost next door to our B&B. It's garden wall covered in sweet smelling honeysuckle.




An after dinner game of Mahjong while watching the many bonfires on the island and mainland,(it was midsummer bonfire night when traditionally one is allowed to burn freely). Next day we were greeted by morning sunshine so headed down to the beach.

This relatively unspoilt island is like Ireland used to be and how many tourists still think of Ireland.Heading east this part of the island is much more sheltered and hospitable. We heard many birds including a cuckoo, the wild flower meadows were a delight with wild orchids in abundance. Cinnabar moths were everywhere and a field of Pearl Bordered Frittillary butterflies found only in the Burren and parts of Britain was a rare treat. We had never seen this butterfly before.





The long black sandy beach was a magnificent foreground to the ever changing sea and sky. The weather changed every few minutes, we got soaked and sunburnt in the same day!





Overhead the Terns were divebombing us indicating that there were nests nearby.



There in a small depression in the middle of the beach totally exposed was a nest with two eggs.



Alan was sitting on the edge of the dunes also being mobbed and when he got up not more than a foot away was a small chick! I suppose that exposure of the nests like this allows the parents to see when predators approach and they certainly did their best to see us off zooming within inches of our heads.



All too soon out time in this haven of peace was over and it was time to roll the suitcases back downhill this time to the ferry.






Was the rain approaching faster than the ferry? We just made is before another downpour.
Sad to say goodbye to this beautiful island, a harsh life in the winter months,we were not tempted to move there. An experience to be remembered for a long long time.

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse, so many photos had to be reduced to just a few.

Honour amongst geckos!

OK the last of the silly gecko photos. Glad to see that the little one finally got a lift!!



Jane Eborall has designed a gecko tatting pattern for me. Go look at my 25 motif challenge blog to see my first tatted geckos and read a bit more about geckos.

Geckos coming home!

Well it's dusk and the geckos are wending their weary way home after going to see Jane's gecko (no they didn't call at the pub on their way Jane!). They seem very tired and don't seem to have much consideration for the poor little chap at the back.
They seem to have encouraged Jane to keep tatting the gecko.



One more piece of gecko memorabilia was staring me in the face all the time, our wall mirror, made in Indonesia was a gift from a friend who came to stay.

Geckos on the move!

I was sitting having my lunch today when I suddenly noticed that the geckos that I had casually put down on the sideboard after I had photographed them had suddenly become organised and were on the move!

This really gives a feeling of their size and variety. I wonder where they are heading so purposefully. Perhaps they heard that Jane has nearly finished the tatted gecko and are off for a peak!

A Celebration of 'Gecko-ness'

I am sure you know by now that hubby and I are nuts about geckos.
My friend Jane Eborall is designing a gecko in tatting for me and was asking me should her design have skinnier legs, longer legs or what.
Well geckos come in the most extraordinary shapes and sizes so hers is going to be a sort of generic gecko that can be tweaked in to a number of different specific geckos.

When you are gecko mad you begin to see geckos everywhere you go and I don't mean living ones. It seems that the whole world has a love affair with the cuteness of the gecko and so it is easy to find a gecko momento wherever you go.

Not that we actively go out looking for them they seem to find us!! as well as family and friends finding them the perfect gift.

So this article is a celebration of some of our Gecko collection.

The smallest is a tiny beaded gecko I made, just under 4cm he would make a lovely earring. the pattern is in 'Beadlings How to Make Beaded Creatures and Creations' a Klutz book.



Another beaded gecko is a key ring that I came across in Germany, here he is together with the little one to show the size (about 10cm). A very clever design of beads and wire.



The largest ones I have are a pair of cast iron geckos at 30cm which looked great in the garden until they showed signs of rust and had to take up residence on a windowsill.



They came from the gecko meeting in Germany that we go to every year along with is my latest aquisition, another large metal one with an eyelet underneath so he can be hung on a wall.



Almost every market stall wherever we go has paperweight geckos, brightly coloured materials filled with sand. We have these too but they seem to have gone walkabout.
A variation on this theme was given to me by a friend and is a stuffed gecko sewn onto a zipped purse.



Of course I know you all will want to know what is so special about geckos apart from their cuteness. The answer lies in their feet.
A gecko can run up a vertical sheet of glass holding on by means of it's 'sticky' foot pads. But they aren't really sticky at all, the underside is covered in millions of tiny hairs, down to molecular level and they interact with the walking surface, kind of like 'velcro' except that they can release a lot easier.
There is a lot of research ongoing to try to find out exactly how this works and if it can be of use to mankind.

Geckos are the only vertebrates that can bend their toes upwards as well as downwards.
This is a great advantage if they are walking over a dusty surface and don't want to get dust between the tiny hairs they can curl their toes upwards as they walk to keep the pads of the ground.

The ability to walk up a shiny surface enables them to walk along shiny leaves or up a tree with very smooth bark. A great help in running away from predators.

For realism it's hard to beat the rubberised gecko here, you can almost see those toes curling up.



Now for something unique, this is a handpainted gecko mug commissioned in England by my son for his dad, geckos solve a lot of birthday problems.



Here is my gecko plate that I painted at my daughters hen party last year, it looked wonderful until it had an accident in the firing, still you can't win them all!




Cute! yes we do cute too. Here is my favorite fridge magnet, a little gecko with magnets in his feet, he is a real poser and lives on the cooker hood at the moment, tho we never know where he will turn up next.


This tiny little resin gecko is sitting on a real nut and I think was made in South America.




Finally some more unusual hand made geckos, staring with a hand carved painted gecko from Mauritius This is characteristic of the brightly coloured 'day geckos' found on the island.


A beautifully carved specimen, 21 cm long, look at his lovely eyes.




Saving the best 'til last, here is a recent gift from an Australian friend.




12 cm long and made from 'Fimo'clay isn't he exquisite. he is the work of Jon Anderson of Fimocreations, go and have a look at his work.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these, you should see the T-shirt collection!!!!!!!!!!

Festival of Lace

This Easter weekend my lace guild 'The Traditional Lacemakers of Ireland' are having an exhibition of lace made by the guild members and also some antique lace.
Guild members were asked to put two pieces each into the exhibition.
Although I am learning Carrickmacross, Bandon and Bobbin lace I wanted to exhibit some tatting.
My first piece was a framed bonsai tree from a pattern by Lindsay Rodgers in 'Tatting Collage'.



The second piece I have been working on this year is a collage of tatted animals.




I think I will have to explain the reason for this one.
The exhibition is being held in Fota House a beautiful Regency style 18th century house, restored and reopened to the public in 2002. A perfect setting for a lace exhibition.



Fota is a small island in Cork harbour connected to the mainland by a causeway. The estate, former home of the Smith-Barry family is also the home not only of a beautiful arboretum but also Fota Wildlife Park, and this is the reason for my tatted animal display. All of the animals with the exception of the Meerkat are to be found in the park. They do have Meerkats in the Dublin Zoo though.
We have two black swans in the park that swim in their own pond together with a rescued seal so they had to have their own little pond in my display.

The lace exhibition was superb. What a talented lot!









Unfortunately Easter Saturday the day that I went to work at the exhibition, was so sunny that few visitors to the estate came indoors to look around the house. They don't know what they missed. We did also have to compete with the Easter Bunny who was having an egg hunt outside the window of the room we were working in!



During the afternoon we had a lecture on The History of The Limerick Lace School given by Veronica Rowe a lace historian. Her Grandmother started the Limerick Lace School in the 1890's. At the time there were many lace schools throughout the country as lace was very much in demand. The Limerick School continued until 1923 when hand made lace was no longer in great demand.
Her slides and display of antique Limerick lace was superb.