Top of the Mornin' to yez all

From the title can you guess where I've been this week? You got it - Blackpool Airport.  No, really I was in Ireland.  It's just a hop and a skip away 'cos we can get the plane from the airport at the other end of the beach from where we live. It was a funny plane too with whirly things on the wings just like you can buy in the shops here on wooden sticks - only much bigger and not such fun colours.

We arrived in Dublin and then went off to a wee town called Maynooth and then out to our hotel - Carton House.  I was a bit worried that it would just be a posh cardboard box, and, given all the rain we've had, I wan't really looking forward to staying there.  He said not to be silly, and when we arrived, for once, he was right.  We had a lovely big room with great big windows with a view out to the gardens.  Just to be sure, I tested his bed for him and it was nice and soft.  I bounced up and down on it and turned a few summersaults for good measure.


When we'd had our dinner we went out for a walk and I got my photo taken in front of the old house - can you see me?

Have a look below and you can see me better.  It's always the same - he takes ages to take a photo and when he does there has to be three and sometimes the results aren't worth having.  But when I'm the subject they eventually look good, after all, with star quality in the model, things are bound to turn out for the best.

I thought I'd emulate Sebastian who's been collecting trees, 'cept I'm just collecting big things to sit on.  I thought I'd try trees too.  This one was very big and quite high up, so I got a good view.  Only one thing - Sebastian, how do you get prickles out of your bot?  I found that it wash't as comfy there as it looked and I squirmed around a bit because of the bark and stuff.

Well that was mostly fun and then we walked down the hill to see what we could see.  There we met some folks from Celbridge Camera Club who were out for the evening. I'm happy to say it was dry and the light was quite nice and we had a good chat with two lots of people.  The midges, midgies, mejazus or whatever you want to call them were out in force, but they left us alone mostly.  I gave them a stern talking to but they paid no heed.  Down by the pool I found this rubber ring but nasty old Alan wouldn't let me take it into the water, which is just plain mean. (It's only for emergencies and you weren't drowning, though you might have been if you'd jumped in.) You're still an old meanie. MEANIE, MEANIE, MEANIE. (Thank you, I love you too.)  

After I got over my disappointment (sulks you mean!) I went and sat on the bridge to add to my collection.  This time I got a cold bot - and Ann says if you sit on a cold thing you might get piles, whatever they are. S'all right though, 'cos I didn't sit there for long, there was much more exploring to do.

First I climbed an oak tree and sat on a big branch (It was a twig.) It may only have been a twig to you you big lummox but to me it felt like a branch (Listen, bounce fill brain you don't need to get so worked up.)

Ha, well after I bounced on my BRANCH I went and sat on a great big cedar tree.  I didn't get a cold bot and the bark was fairly comfortable.  Can you see me in the first picture?  I'm right next to the main trunk, sticking my tongue out at him for calling my BRANCH a twig.

 When he came closer I purtended to be nice to him and waved for his picture.

Then we were ready to move on and we found a nice garden with a sundial in it.  There wasn't any sun by then as it was getting a bit dark, but it did give me somewhere to stand in front of the big old house.

I was still smarting a bit about that BRANCH so I thumbed my nose and blew a raspberry at him when he wasn't looking, quickly turning it into a wave when he turned round.  He's a bit deaf so he didn't hear anything either.

(Have you finished yet?) Nope, but I'll forgive you this time.

All this time he was still being a bit of a sea lion, barking away and also playing the nephalent too, but as the week went on he did get a bit better.

When he was out at his conference I did get out to play, but some people kept firing hard white balls at me. They hit them with big sticks straight at me. They shouted, "Fore," very loudly, but that was a downright lie, 'cos each time there was only one.

I even tried to hide in some metal cup things, but that was no good as they kept firing the balls in there too.  A couple of times I nearly got stabbed by some big sticks that were in the middle of the cups too.  (You were on one of the golf courses, as I explained.)  Well, golf, smolph it's cruel to wee bears.

It rained a lot too, so I just went back inside and jumped on his bed again. (So that explains the muddy paw prints and the bits of grass on the bed. The cleaners weren't very happy I can tell you.  And I still think you were naughty taking that golf ball.) What do expect a bear to do if he gets hit on the noggin by a ball? I hid it behind my back so the man wouldn't see.  He said it was the first time he'd lost a ball on the green, but it serves him right.

Next week we're off to Londing again and then Germany the week after. I think he shouldn't go to Germany too often 'cos he just gets germans and they make him bark and trumpet.

Bye for now and have a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to Jack's stories of Londing 'cos LT says he got tucked into lots of interesting places.

Jock