Kerry 1-19 Cork 0-9

Am not a big expert in GAA, but you don’t have to, to know that Cork’s performance this afternoon was shameful. They were there on the field today, but that was literally the only positive thing there is to say. When they were six points behind of Kerry, there maybe still was a little hope they could catch up, but after a Kerry goal and so 12 points behind the whole match turned into an exhibition game by Kerry on how Gaelic football is supposed to be played. An anti-climax of this year’s football season for Cork. All Corks hope now on the hurling team. They fortunately did make it to the All Ireland finale. Looking forward to that in two weeks.

The weekend is nearly over again. A good one. With another great Luka show. Got on the guest list. Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh is a great venue. It was like a big sitting room. With windows on two sides of the room. View on the harbour. Seeing the sunset on the background. The sky first turning pink, after that beautiful blue and eventually black. Luka played some great songs, he didn’t perform live for a long time. Lonesome Robin, Love is a place I dream of, a new song about the IRA declaration and my all time favourite Exploring the Blue…The atmosphere was great. The audience was completely into it. After the concert we went for a quick drink before taking the train back to Cork city. The train turned out to be a bus at the end. Some technical problems. Back in town around twelve. Mia, a Finnish ex-housemate was spending her last night in Cork so we went out for a drink in An Brog. Must be so weird, to leave Cork after living here for eight months. Made us realise how quick time is going. Am definitely not looking forward to the day I have to leave as well. Cork is just such a great place to live. Feel really at home here. Can actually not believe I’m already six and a half months in Ireland. Have the feeling it was only a couple of weeks.

Saskia

My mum did best...fair play to her...part 3

I know I still didn’t tell everything about my mums visit over here. After further reading, you’ll definitely understand why it took me so long to do so.

As I said before we were spending some days in Killarney and the plan was to go for a big cycling trip on Wednesday. And so we did. Had some trouble finding the beginning of the Kerry Way, but once we were there everything went all right. We started enthusiastically. At least for the time being. Although I did realize there was a slight difference between my mum’s form and mine. Euh….no, it was not her cycling a bit behind…but I could still follow. Road was still going flat. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the beginning of the Gap of Dunloe. That was indeed the challenge of the day. A small road winding up between the Kerry Mountains. It was there my day of hell started. It is a bit hard to admit but indeed….I couldn’t keep up with my mum. The first few moments I still tried to hide it by stopping every five minutes to ‘take a picture’, but after 1/3 of the gap behind us I just couldn’t do it anymore and whereas my mum was still sitting ON her bike, pedalling up the steep hill, I just gave up and WALKED miles behind needing all my energy to push my bike up the hill. Of course I felt a bit stupid. We reached the summit eventually, but that didn’t mean the end of my suffering. My mum is definitely more confident on the bike than I am. She was descending the other side of the Gap in high tempo while me again miles behind, using the brakes, deadly afraid to slip.

I did make it. We had lunch in Killarney National Park. Recovered from the efforts. Find my courage again. And became a bit overconfident about the whole cycling thing…so we decided to go for another trip, try to get to Lady’s View…a very bad decision. The only way to get there is via the N72. On one side of the road high rocks, on the other side bushes and a dangerous looking ravine. The road was steep. No chance to stop, as traffic was dangerous out there. Hell all over again. Had a little break at one of the viewpoints. Met some other Belgians again. My legs were shaking. My backside was aching. Still another 5 km to go. We did make it at the end. Went for a glass of wine at Muckross House. Managed to cycle back to the B&B. Must have been a funny sight…I couldn’t sit ON the saddle, was just too painful…so was standing on the pedals for the whole drive back. I was shattered like I was never ever before. Took a long and hot shower and went for dinner in Killarney town after. It was the last day of the holiday but I just couldn’t find the energy to go out for some drinks. So we went back to our room early. Had a cosy evening inside. And went to bed very, very early.

Next day I walked like a crippled. We visited Ross Castle and enjoyed our last morning together. Was weird to say goodbye to my mum at the bus station. Her bus to Shannon was leaving half an hour before mine back to Cork. Was pretty emotional. Was a great holiday. Found out things about my mum I didn’t know before. And so did she about me…I guess.

Saskia

Mum knows best, part 2

Sunday 7th August. It is becoming a real habit. Sunday night, early in bed with a cup of tea next to me. Listening to the radio, typing away on my laptop. Am exactly six months in Ireland now. Strange thought. Everyday from now is one less left, like a countdown. Don’t know if I’ll stay longer or just go home and try to find a job in Belgium. From today on, I better try to think about that from time to time. Have to sorted that out as soon as possible.

Had a great weekend. Didn’t do anything special during the day, but went out last night and it was great fun. Went together with Tracy and a couple of New Zealand people. They left quite early and Tracy and me closed the evening with a bunch of Scandinavian guys. Don’t have a clue what time we were kicked out off The Bailey, but we got home safely anyway. Each accompanied by a nice guy, mine was Swedish, Tracy’s Norwegian. The Swedish guy had to content himself with a good night kiss (after buying me a couple of drinks earlier), the Norwegian one was probably a bit luckier spending the night here. Will they call again?


Have to continue the report on my mum’s visit now. As said, listening to the radio, although one of my housemates music is drowning out. Gave him some of my Christy Moore cd’s. It’s always a bit weird hearing YOUR music in someone else’s room. Especially when they try to sing along.

Second day in Cork so. We were going to go to the English Market in the morning. But before that I had another important point on the agenda. A jeans. My old one is full of wholes so I definitely needed a new one. No better shopping assistant than my mum. Found one in…FCUK. Thanks mum. After a soup of the day in one of the few outdoor cafes Cork has (the weather was indeed great on Monday) direction English Market. My mum loved it. We bought some great food for the night. And had some coffee and cake upstairs. Great atmosphere. They even came around with the coffeepot, filling your cup again. As mentioned earlier, the plan was to go to Cobh in the afternoon. But my mum woke up with a serious pain in her hip the other day and wasn’t able to walk very far. She felt guilty about it. I just felt pity for her. We decided to take it easy instead and just stayed in Cork. After all, my mum loved the place. Shopped around a bit and back to the house for an aperitif in the garden. Glass of Italian wine, olives and sun dried tomatoes. Felt like being home again. Have to do that more. After an early dinner, we went upstairs for a mother-daughter evening in my room. Sitting together in my bed, watching pictures first, a movie after. Listening music. Chatting, laughing, giggling, eating chocolate (Jazus, really sounds a bit cliché, doesn’t it?). We were not really up to go out again and just stayed home so. Around eleven I just took some pillows of the couch, the ‘sleep-over-duvet’ of the house and installed for a night on the floor next to my mum, snoring away in my bed. Strengthening the family ties, that’s what my dad would call it.

I wanted to give my mum a good impression of what Ireland is about and after Dublin and Cork I was going to take her for two nights to Killarney. I booked a room in Bloom Slieve Manor. We took the bus early on Tuesday morning. The guesthouse was definitely all right. A big room with a double and a single bed (left my mum the honour to occupy the double one), clean bathroom, tea and coffee making facilities and television. We went to Killarney town first, to gather some information on renting a bike, bus tours etc. Don’t know if one of you readers is planning to go to Killarney, but if so be cautious not making the same mistake we made. There is a big Tourist Information Office in Killarney. And there is a Tourist Information Centre. The last one, that’s were we ended up first. It’s not what it pretends to be. We should have noticed from the very first moment we entered. Two old ladies sitting behind a desk. They certainly gave us the impression not having left that desk for the last thirty years. Wearing the type of blouses probably fashioned enough in the seventies. They were not there for pleasure. They were there to sell ignorant, naïve tourists a ticket for their bus tour on the Ring of Kerry. So, still not realizing we were not in the real Tourist Information Office we went to the desk and start asking one of the ladies about the possibilities of cycling the Ring of Kerry. Booking us for a bus tour, that was what they had in mind. Understandable they advised against cycling. Not in words but using a much stronger kind of communication, body language indeed. I had been in Killarney once before. Together with Julia. Suddenly remembered her showing me the Tourist Information Office. Somewhere on a corner. Near a big square. So thanked the lady politely and dragged my mum outside. Mum, this is not the real Tourist Information Office, there must be another one. Which we found eventually. Having the information we needed, we decided to go for an exploring walk at the lakes around Muckross House on Tuesday and a big cycling tour the next day.

Saskia