Saturday, May 29, 2010

An excursion to a little village in Devon...

Today I went with my host to shop in Kennerleigh, a small nearby village. There's an old church there, with this reinforced door.
The nave with lovely stained glass panels - click on the photo for a closer view.
From the outside. A peaceful place to be buried.
There are also houses there with traditional thatched roofs. This one looks like it's had birds building nests in it below the chimney-pot.
The rear of the little village store, with a traditional Dr Who-style phone box.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Day out in Exeter

I found a nice little wool shop on my day out in Exeter, and bought this 80% merino, 20% silk skein of laceweight yarn as my next project. It only weighs 100 grams so won't bog down my suitcase. I am thinking of knitting a shawl or a wrap of some kind.
Exeter (population 120,000+) lies on the River Exe.
Ther are charming buildings around the cathedral square.
The cathedral, completed around 1400, is a major tourist drawcard.
The main street has some amazing buildings, like this one...
..and this one next to it. I have no idea what is in them.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

In Devon with goats

These are Cayuga ducks, that I am feeding in the mornings along with geese and chickens.
The goats are lovely. This is a young one.
The kids are adorable.
Due to the lovely hot weather, we've been eating our meals outside near the big lilac tree.
Where I'm staying - Riverside Cottage was built around 1800 and was originally 2 cottages.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Western Quilters exhibition, Galway Museum



This was the winning quilt. I didn't record the quilters' names.
Close-up of applique flowers used in a couple of the quilts.
These flowers are all appliqued like the one above.
I liked this.
And this.
Close to the Museum was this wonderful paved area. Very quilty!

Scenes from West Ireland

Oscar Wilde is very big over here.
Street scene in Galway
..and another.
Street in Athenry, a small town near where I was staying....
...famous for its Norman castle, built circa 1240 AD.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Afternoon tea with a naked man

Sorry, no photos to accompany this post.

I arrived at my first Help Exchange place this afternoon, near Galway in west Ireland. My host is Yvonne, a South African single mother who runs a small garden centre. I was working in the kitchen doing housework (no, really) when a friend of hers arrived to fix something in the bathroom. As Yvonne's landlord does no maintenance on the property, this friend does small repair jobs for her for free. He also likes to take his clothes off whenever possible.

As I turned around from the sink, I was confronted by the sight of a completely naked middle-aged man. Having ascertained that I'd seen it all before and wasn't going to scream the place down, Yvonne made us a cup of tea and we chatted while she went outside to serve some customers.

Apparently, this is not a local custom, just his personal preference. All part of life's rich tapestry, I guess.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Dun Laoghaire, Bray and Greystones

This lovely rainbow appeared as we were driving into Greystones.
I loved this painted motor scooter and the business name -"The Crepe Crusader".
Bray Harbour - I've never seen so many white (mute) swans at once. In New Zealand, they are quite rare, and we usually see the black Australian swans.
Many of the houses are in rows.
Dun Laoghaire from the harbour.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Soaking up the culture in Dublin

This little pub had a gorgeous exterior.
Although many of the the buildings are built in rows, they don't always look the same - as well as different coloured doors, sometimes each building in the row is a different colour.
The statue of Molly Malone is very famous - she has a fine pair of copper breasts on display.
The Natural History Museum has a large and impressive collection of stuffed animals from all around the world - here are a few.
These Giant Deer have been extinct for 7700 years -in Ireland, specimens have been found in peat bogs. These skeletons are huge - the deer were nearly 3 metres tall (10 feet) and the spread of their antlers was up to 3.5 metres (12 feet).

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Images of Dublin city

Double decker buses in the main street
Beautiful stained glass canopy in Temple Bar, the cultural area
Ivy covered facade
Brightly-painted doors
Imposing buildings everywhere.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

And some more...

Laxey is a lovely village on a hill, and very hard to photograph from the bus or tram.

In summer, you can take a horse-drawn tram for a ride along the Promenade. We went home in the electric tram behind.


Old London buses are used on the island, winding up and down narrow village streets along the coast. I could have touched some of the buildings from upstairs.
Not quite Hollywood, but Douglas has its own sign on the hill.

This is one of (slightly stuffed) rare Manx sheep. Apparently, this one doesn't have especially large horns. Some even have six horns.





Doing the tourist bits

Today, Loulee and I went to Douglas, the island's largest centre (25,000 people).
This is on the Promenade, looking back at the lighthouse and where the ferries moor.

This is the lovely little room I'm staying in, complete with a gorgeous batik quilt made by Loulee. The computer won't let me rotate or move this photo, so it's out of order.

Some of the lovely old buildings on the Promenade.

The buildings opposite where Loulee and Tony live. That's a Cabbage Tree front right.