Part 7 - Fosh Warning; Contains Sunrises

The last four weeks have been much fun. We've been settling into our new home and enjoying the high life of sunrises, breakfasts overlooking the sea, tidespotting and planespotting. The high tide comes right up to the base of the tower. You could fish from the window, but you'd have to make a special casting assembly, as it would be difficult to swing the line. Would you believe, there is only one boeing 747 that lands at Dublin International Airport, and that's around 1540 on saturdays. I await with anticipation for this once a week event as the plane comes in low over Portmarnock beach.

Usually the sky is grey and overcast, but almost every morning we see a beautiful sunrise that lasts for about twenty minutes. The sunlight fills the interior of the tower, throwing a warm glow along the inside walls. After these majestic few minutes, the clouds all join together and the sun becomes obscured and it' all over. Perhaps later in the day, you might get a slither of blue sky. Once a week this blue sky can last an hour or so. If you're lucky, maybe even half a day.

We bought a new French cast iron pot for our kitchen, so we are now fevourishly cooking 'new' foods, like whole chicken, whole lamb (well the pot's not that big) and going 'oven roast' style. We found a crocodile in the supermarket the other day, so we brought that home and cooked it. No, really, I don't miss Australia. This was a KenyanCrocodile.

I still haven't really started Ulysses, still on the introduction. We did though, revist the other famous Martello Tower near Sandy Cove, but to be honest, our's is far more exciting. We have bigger windows.

Speaking of books, we went off to Kells to see where the 'Book of Kells' was kept during those dark times back around the turn of the 1000 AD. We visited the Round Tower and old Church and the Five Celtic Crosses, of which one was never finished. This unfinished Cross was apparently used as a gallows during rebellion uprisings. When we visited the cemetry, it was very very cold and windy. I had not believed that our car, Ernie's, thermometer reading of the outside temperature was correct at minus 16.5 degrees celcius. However, after a few short minutes in the cemetry, I could hardly operate the camera, let alone stand around taking pictures. I did manage to pop my unexposed Nokia 5510 mobile on to a headstone and use the built in temperature sensor to get another reading. The reading dropped from 24 degress (my pocket temperture) to 2 degrees, then minus 18 degrees and then finally stabilised at minus 28 degrees celcius. This reading calculated wind chill, as it was howling wind by the time I staggered over to pick up my little scientific sensor device again. To conclude, i agree, it was indeed that cold, i could hardly get back to the car, and would have to say that ways my most bone chilling experience yet. I ached for hours afterwards.