FA Cup Final - 14th May 2011

Another brilliant day!

Gealgum Cottage

I'm just back from a weekend in Northern Ireland at the lovely  Gealgum Cottage just outside Derrilyn.  The cottage is a beautiful small thatch with a great caravan that acts as the second double bedroom.  Booked through www.underthethatch.co.uk which has a great range of properties to choose from.

The cottage sleeps 5, with two doubles and a single and is filled with vintage and retro touches.

The soda bread and jam were a nice touch - and the milk in the fridge too.  Unfortunately the promised fuel for a fire was not there and the cottage wasn't as clean as it could have been (the dishwasher smelt so fusty when opened it made me almost sick - also we had to clean some of the crockery and utensils before using but these are really really minor niggles in what was othewise a lovely cottage).  The underfloor heating made the place cosy - but if you're over 6ft be careful in the kitchen.

The cottage is slanting - my friend took a bit to find his sea legs and felt quite queasy until he got used to the fact that the cottage runs down hill (the bed in the main bedroom is on blocks on one side to level it out) but this just adds to the general quirkiness.

The caravan was lovely too, with it's own wood burner to keep it cosy

The setting is beautiful, the only sounds you will hear are the birds and farm animals - and it gets properly dark which was so restful.  Its a short drive over the border into Ireland (we went for a pint one afternoon) and only 12 miles from Enniskillen - where the Buttermarket is worth a pottle for the indpendent galleries and craft shops and great cafe.

Close by the cottage is Gealgum Quay - which is described on the website as 'your own private beach'; it isn't.  It's about half a miles walk away down a leafy road and has picnic tables with metal plates on which to place your bar-b-q (genius).  The picture was taken as the clouds became quite stormy but the predictive constant rain never came.

All in all I had a lovely weekend (topped off by a visit to Stormont Castle which I shall share the photo's off in another post) and the neighbours were a pleasure - here they are saying hello:

Scary Psycho Duck

I have a stream at the end of my garden - it's lovely and peaceful and beautiful.

I also have a very very angry duck - he doesn't eat the bread I put out and often comes up towards the house and quacks aggressively at me (yes honestly).

So today I decided to come home to take a late call with colleagues in the US - whilst I was on the phone pottering around the house I opened the back door and went back through to the front of the house.

I was in the front room when something caught my eye - it was only the bloody duck waddling across the conservatory.  He was ok - then realised that the windows were not open and started to panic and get angry.  He threw himself at the windows, and shouted and shouted.  Eventually I worked up the nerve to walk out of the door (hope the silly thing would follow me or at least see me).  When I got out his Missus was out there quacking away (this should be sweet but just added to my fear).

Eventually he got out - then proceeded to stare at me quacking......I managed to run past and get back in the house and lock up.  I don't have a great track record with ducks (ask KBW about Paris when we were 18) and this one had already made me wary.

Glad he's out and ok - but blimey I'm all a fluster.

Silly PCB - I know!