Cockles and Mussels

We met a couple at the communal Passover Seder that I mentioned a few weeks ago. We've hung out with them a couple of times, and it turns out that they really enjoy singing. He, in particular, has a great voice and actually led the Seder ceremony. They told us about a weekly singing session they go to at a pub called An Spailpín Fánach. Every Sunday night the Cork Singers' Club meets on the 2nd floor of the pub and people take turns singing. The only rule is that people must not use instruments - Voices only.

Jon and I just watched, but we had a great time! One man led the evening, letting people know when it was their turn to sing. Most people seem to be regulars but newcomers were welcome as well. The majority of people were middle-aged or older, but nobody seemed to care about us being there. It was all very casual.

The people who sang were amateurs, but some of their voices were unbelievable. So beautiful! The songs they chose varied widely (love songs, war songs, humourous songs, etc), but they seem to like songs with a repetitive chorus so that everyone can join in and sing along. Some songs were performed in Irish.

We'll definitely go back. It was really fun and very Irish!

And now, I leave you with a great traditional Irish song (everyone here knows this song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXKLkLcdtjI

House of Light

I've chosen to stay home on this Saturday night, and by some lucky fluke the radio is having a full hour of Roy Orbison. Mmm, just the right atmosphere.

Next weekend is a long weekend here because May 1st is what they call a Bank Holiday. It means we get a 3-day weekend, which is great timing since Jon's parents arrive on that day. After some research, we decided to spend those days here.

For those of you who don't feel like checking out the website, the short story is that The Irish Landmark Trust restores old properties:

The Irish Landmark Trust Ltd. was founded in 1992 with a remit to save interesting and unusual 'landmark' properties throughout the whole of Ireland and to re-use them, once restored, as good quality self catering holiday accommodation. At its heart is the principle that the structure iself is of prime importance and any interventions must respect this.

The landmarks include castles, schoolhouses, mews, lighthouses, and others. For geographic and financial reasons, we chose a property called Loop Head Lighthouse. The landscape there looks gorgeous. However, it is quite remote. We actually have to bring our own drinking water. That part is a bit of a pain, but overall I'm excited! Check out the description on the website:

Perched proudly on an enclosure at the tip of Loop Head stands the lighthouse station. Surrounded by birds and wild flowers, cliffs and Atlantic surf, Loop Head offers holiday accommodation with all of the spectacular appeal of the rugged west coast. The surrounding coastline is of a dramatic character with cliffs sculpted by Atlantic storms where rock ledges and caves are home to seabirds, seals and other maritime animals.
Loop Head Lighthouse station is a major landmark on the northern shore of the Shannon River. The Lighthouse station is built on a clifftop with 300 degree views of the sea down to Kerry Head and Dingle and across to the Cliffs of Moher.

Here are some photos:

Bodies

Today I am thinking about health.
Health and lack thereof.
Someone I love is having some problems of that type.
I feel so helpless.
All I can do is send my love:

LOVE

The Cat

We watched Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Last Night. I'd seen it before, but got the chills all over again. What a movie, what a cat.

Driving on the Left

Map of Ireland:



Hello dear readers in all parts of the world,

My parents returned home yesterday. We had a nice time together and did a bit more Irish traveling over Easter weekend, since Jon had a couple of days off work.

I've been on 3 separate car trips in SW Ireland over the last month, so I thought I'd do an overview. This is a total injustice, of course, since each trip deserves its own massive poetic essay with adjoining photos. However, I know this is the only way I have any hope of catching up, so my apologies. Please believe me that these places are fantastically beautiful, and touched my heart in a way I did not expect.

As you can see on the map above, the southwest coast of Ireland consists of a group of pensinsulas, some tiny and some biggish (in orange). They are all quite windswept, craggy, oceanic, and rural. The largest and most famous one is The Ring of Kerry:



My first trip was around the Ring of Kerry with Jon & Jen (from Canada) & Christina (from Australia). We had perfect weather that weekend, and were completely blown away by the landscapes. Whether it was the sheep milling about, the waves crashing against the cliffs, or the colorful little villages, we were delighted.








Next, I joined Christina on a trip to discover the other, smaller and lesser-traveled, peninsulas. Starting in the south, they are called Mizen Head, Sheep's Head, Beara, Ring of Kerry (which we had already seen), and Dingle Peninsula. With the exception of Sheep's Head, we covered most of that area on our 5-day trip.









Trip #3 was this last weekend. It was a long weekend because of Easter and my parents were here, so we decided to rent a car and take off on some adventures! They were interested in the Ring of Kerry, so we doubled back a bit, but we also went to some new places around Killarney. The around there is a National Park, so it is very lush and pretty. It actually reminds me of Canada. Also, there are a bunch of historical sites - castles in particular - that we went to see. Very *very* impressive.











(No idea what's up with the size of these pics?! Any help or suggestions from blogger geniuses out there would be greatly appreciated.)

Jon's parents arrive in early May, so knows where life will take us next??

In the meantime, I hope all of you are doing well. I think of you often. Funny how the world can seem so small and so big at the same time.

Awaiting Ima & Aba's arrival!

Some random thoughts:

1. I listen to RTE radio a lot, and I noticed that at 6pm they always say "... and here are the angelus", followed by what sounds like church bells and then the news. I actually thought they were saying "...and here are the angels" at first.
I used google to educate myself:

The Irish national broadcaster RTE broadcasts the angelus bells at 12pm and 6pm every day on the national radio station RTE Radio 1 and at 6pm on the national television station RTE One. The television version of the Angelus at 6pm consists of a bell ringing for the duration of one minute and is accompanied by images of people pausing in contemplation.
Source

2. Sheep are one of my new favourite animals, especially when there are lambs involved.



3. Orange juice here comes with JUICY BITS or NO JUICY BITS. Doesn't that sound like some part of a dirty joke?



4. Jon & I were interviewed over lunch today by a newspaper journalist doing an article on the Jewish community in Cork. Crazy, no?

5. Tomorrow night Ima (my mom) & Aba (my dad) & Jon & I are going to a community seder. A seder is a Passover meal. I'm eager to meet the Jewish community of Cork and to celebrate Passover with them. The whole thing sounds very quirky.



6. Everything that mentions a mother here in Ireland says "Mum". Not Mom, Mother, etc - but Mum, spelled with a U.



7. The head of government for the Republic of Ireland is the Taoiseach. This position is the equivalent of a prime minister, and the word itself is an old Irish word that means Chieftan or Leader. Taoiseach is pronounced "Tee-shock". (source) .

Minnie

I've been on the move a lot these days. In the last few weeks I've been on two car trips that have covered a large part of southwest County Cork. What a beautiful place. But more on that later! For now, a quick note to say that last night Jon & I watched the movie The Blues Brothers. He could not believe I hadn't seen it, and right he was. What a cast. I had no idea Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, and James Brown all made singing appearances in this film. Wowee zowee.

After the movie we just had to re-watch this a few times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NTozy51AY0

And that eventually brought me to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08wOPt-2PeE

I'll be back as soon as I can to blog about my adventures these last couple of weeks. However, the excitement never stops around here... My parents are in Dublin right now and on their way to Cork to visit us for a few weeks. This is great news. More Irish trips will ensue over Easter weekend, and general family bonding and chaos will be felt by one and all.