h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here in Ireland We got the first Monday in May off. Officially is to celebrate workers.

We plan to enjoy the sunshine, go to Wexford for a night, so some tidying of our little garden there, a stroll along the beach and perhaps a meal in our favourite restaurant. We also need to find an oyster shell for Izzy's at exam on Tuesday.

On Monday itself, our only plan is gardening at home.

I hope you get some sunshine - it's just started raining here

We had glorious sunshine at 7.30am.

Put the washing out and it's now clouded over!

We have just had the first minute of sunshine after at least five days of non-stop rain.

Turned out lovely this afternoon

It was lovely here. It's 9 now so it's starting to get dark

Well, this coming week is going to be a short one, here!
Wednesday 8th is a bank holiday (end of World War Two).
Thursday 9th as well (Ascension Day).
So the Powers that Be in Paris have decided that we all have to take Friday off too, and all our offices will be closed.
tah dah.

And we have French customers bawling down the line at us as to why they're not getting any deliveries next week. No way can we get trucks into France and to places like Poiters and back before the holidays (= truck ban on roads) set in.

Because of the Thursday holiday here, schools will be shut on the Friday, so my husband is going on a bike trip from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday evening. I don't want to clog up Gnomon's journal with the details - I'll go over to my own to do that.

Happy holidays everyone!

PS: Blue sky and sunshine - at last!! - this morning. 16 degrees outside.

French people just love to complain.

Hope you have a great day!

What's the oyster shell for?

For her Leaving Cert Art, she had to a do a still life, using five objects suggested by a descriptive passage about a Spanish market. Since it mentioned oysters, she chose an oyster shell as one of her objects.

We've another long weekend coming up. Once again, we propose to spend some of it in Wexford, but Iz is starting her exams next Wednesday, so we won't spend Monday away.

Last weekend I spent a lot of Saturday up a tree, cutting off dead branches. I found that the winter frosts had killed many of the branches of the flowering cherry tree outside our house. The tree belongs to the Council, but if I report a problem, they won' get around to dealing with it for a few years. So I took saw and lopper in hand and climbed up to relieve the tree of its dead branches. Unfortunately it is a thorn tree, so I had to work carefully, and still got reefed. My hands are a mass of little cuts. I then spent Sunday morning chopping up all the wood I had cut down and putting it in the car to bring to the dump.

This weekend I don't intend to do any major gardening - just to get the pump in our little fountain working.

Amazing! We have the same problem getting things done here but if we ever took matters in to our own hands the forces of authority would be down on us like a ton of bricks, hi-viz jackets and all - in no time at all.

Websailor

I'm hoping to take a boat trip around Ballycotton Island this weekend. It's not open to the public, but it will be nice to see it from a different angle. I normally see it every morning when I wake up.

We're also hoping to go to the Bloom Festival in Dublin on Saturday. I'm not so much of a flower lover, but I do like natural plants. I'm in the market for a car too, so I might take a look at some cars in the Dublin dealerships.

Over the past few years, we have visited the Saltee Islands during the long weekends. I like going there, but I sometimes wonder if it's such a good thing getting close to nesting birds just to take a few photos. You often see some very distressing scenes on the margins of the nesting colonies, where the larger gulls are constantly on the lookout for eggs and chicks.

I went to the Saltees many years ago and enjoyed it. We didn't get so close to the birds as to disturb them but got a great view of them diving for food.

I plan to do a lot of nothing this long weekend.