Two Weeks

So we had two whole weeks off work thanks to a combination of public holidays, Xmas closures and a little use of annual leave.

The plan was to fly to Ireland on the Monday before Xmas to stay with the in-laws for a week, having spent the previous couple of Xmases at home. Unfortunately, the Youngling contracted chickenpox with the impeccable timing required to prevent the trip. (It could have been worse: if she'd developed the spots while we were over there, we may not have been able to travel home!) So, a hasty bit of replanning was required.

Meanwhile, our car's recent reliability issues finally got to the point where we couldn't trust it to get us to work, let alone to an airport on time. Getting it fixed, we figured, would pretty much be throwing good money after bad, so we went looking for a replacement in a hurry. Luckily someone at work was selling something suitable at a suitable price, so we managed to get ourselves sorted there. And we have since managed to pass the old car on to someone else who doesn't mind doing some work on it.

Xmas day worked out pretty well for an improvised one: we ate duck and had to bribe the Youngling with chocolate to get her to open her presents. Actually, by the end of the holiday, with several bouts of presents (including a birthday), she was getting a bit too good at opening packages.

On Boxing Day, thanks to a bit of hasty rebooking a few days earlier, we flew out to Ireland to have a shortened visit which was still good. The big discovery here was how much simpler and mellower it is to travel through Knock airport instead of our previous main choice of Dublin. I mean, we get off the plane, walk through the nearest door, wave passports at an immigration guy and, just past him our bags were turning up on a carousel. How cool is that?

New year's eve involved a trip to stay with I&E in South Wales, as per last year. Another great, mellow party with some good friends. We seem to developing new traditions, like substituting the theme from The Archers for the more usual Auld Langsyne at midnight.

Then after a couple of nights back at home, we were off to Wales again, this time to Pembrokeshire for another banquet, this time to celebrate a birthday. And much fun, food, mead and ale was had by all.

So, it's a new year and I'm back at work again. So far, so good...

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

...But driving from Wantage to Sligo is also a sizeable journey (about 900 miles on road for the round trip), even when the bit between Fishguard and Rosslare involves sitting on a boat drinking coffee and we stop at Athlone for a couple of nights before doing the rest of the distance. One of <3's cousins was getting married in, so we drove over with the Youngling (who was suffering from a nasty cold) and the necessary paraphernalia to stay with the in-laws and go with them to the wedding. It made for a good trip and driving almost from corner to corner of Ireland helped me appreciate what a beautiful country it is.

Amongst other things...

• It would appear that playing "I Used to Love Her" by the Saw Doctors at an Irish wedding has a similar affect to playing "Delilah" at a Welsh do.
• There was a small swing band playing at the wedding reception (billed as "The Irish Rat Pack", which made the female singer and the Abba covers seem a bit incongruous), which provided a great opportunity for <3 and I to dust off our half-forgotten jive moves. Great fun even when we are so out of practice.
• We spotted a poster in a shopping centre in Portlaoise calling for help in finding Madeleine McCann. Well, you never know, do you?
• At the same shopping centre, we rolled up at a café just in time to get first dibs on a freshly made batch of scones to have with our tea while we fed the Youngling. Sometimes it all just works out. I am now more convinced than ever of the righteousness of my long-term ambition to run a little tea shop where scones are baked fresh throughout the day/
• Dosing the Youngling up with Calpol and/or Tixylix isn't easy, though we are starting to get the hang of it with a technique that probably has more in common with drenching sheep than holding out a spoon for a child to obediently drink from.
• There is something comical about a bunch of early-teenagers playing "Killing in the Name Of" at a charity fundraiser in Strandhill, near Sligo, particularly when the singer's voice hasn't broken.
• The coffee on the Stena Europe ferry was better than that on the Stena Express, which we took on the return journey. However, the latter was, true to its name, an hour and a half quicker, so there was less time to ponder beverage inadequacies. Plus we had fresh Wexford strawberries to eat, picked up at the side of the N11 on the way to the ferry. You pays your money and takes your choice.