Day 5, October 6, 2010

Up early to get Tim and Chip off for their golf outing. Scudding dark clouds, intermittent sun, so possibilities for periods of rain on the course. Leila, Gay, and I decided to go into Lahinch to shop so after tidying up, left Piet to read and snooze, and took off, Leila driving.

As we drove into town, saw Chip and Tim on the course. Would have tooted the horn but couldn’t find it. Parked in our spot behind the stores and walked down to the shore of Liscannor Bay where strong wind had created quite a chop for the one kite surfer and one with a board. But it was beautiful -- sunny, skies a deep blue. Made the round of a few stores. I bought 2 pairs of wool socks (wool from Connemara) – very warm and cozy. Lunch in the corner pub of mussels (Gay and Leila) and fish chowder (more like bouillabaisse).

Off to Ennistymon for grocery shopping and I headed down street on foot to find the barber shop/internet café at the very end of the main street (café.gel). Very nice and welcoming barber in the middle of giving a hair cut who pointed me in the direction of the café downstairs where there were two computers in a lovely sunny room overlooking the falls. You could get snacks – coffee and tea. 10 minutes for 1 euro. Checked e-mail, sent brief messages to the kids, paid my 1 euro and walked back just as Gay and Leila came out of Supervalu supermarket. Home to find the guys had come home and were both napping, having golfed in a range of weather from torrential rain and wind to warm sun. Tim and Leila went out to Brigid’s well so Leila could get some of the water and leave some messages of healing and then went to the café.gel to put up yesterday’s blog.

(Tim uploaded text and photos while Leila emailed kids back home. Afterwards, on way back to car, they walked up the hill above the town and explored a huge graveyard commanding vistas in all directions. As in most of these Irish graveyards, there was what appears to be the ruins of a church with graves covering the floor, some graves pretty recent. On way back to house were delayed by farmer and his dog taking the cows back to the barn, which was just the kind of rural Irish experience that tourists would consider very cool and locals find annoying. We loved it.(THG))

Home for spaghetti dinner and salad and then off to McGann’s in Doolin for another evening of music. Huge busload of German tourists at McKenzie’s where we had wanted to go, so we headed back to our favorite haunt, McGann’s, where we snagged a full table right by the musicians, pure dumb luck that quickly turned when “Josie" (Actually her name is Geraldine McGowan, a well know Irish singer. Check her out on Youtube), who turned out to be the lead singer for the trio of musicians that night, came over and said the table had been reserved all day and we’d have to move. She went to all tables asking people to move so we could be fitted in and eventually we squeezed ourselves into 3 different places, Piet next to a couple who were married at the Hamilton College chapel, Gay next to a Norwegian guy whose friends had gone to Berklee School of Music, Chip and I at a table with a newly-wed German couple stuffing themselves on fish and chips and cooing at each other. Ordered tea and dessert – chocolate cake and apple cake – which we shared across tables. Great evening of banjo – one riff went on for about 15 minutes – one and often two drums (bodhrán ), guitar, and voice. Both singers had lovely voices and the guy, Kevin O’Shea (“O’Shy” because he is so shy), who is supposed to be one of the best voices in Ireland. Guest artists, man and “his beloved wife Susannah,” sang together – he on guitar.

We left at about 11 after Josie, who had promised, on request of Tim, to sing “The Song for Ireland,” said she forgot the words. (HvL)

PS. This blog thing requires uploading pictures in the reverse order so they'll appear in the right chronology in the blog. Problem is it requires an agile mind, which I don't have at the end of the day, so my apologies for the mixed up images. I'll try to do better in future. THG