Polly Blogs Sheela ...

Last August we stayed in a self catering townhouse which was part of the hotel which backs onto Bunratty Castle and FolkGardens ; located some 30km or so west of the city of Limerick. We had full use of the leisure complex and were made welcome in the hotel restaurant and bar, which turned out quite a good selection of bar food.

In the mornings, I lay in bed waiting for the cockerel to announce the coming of the new day. For a modern four bed cottage, it really wasn't bad at all. Each of the upstairs bedrooms had en-suite facilities and the boys enjoyed sharing the bathroom adjacent to the two downstairs rooms. They particularly enjoyed the fact that for the first time in over eighteen months they had a room of their own!

The days came and went, we were on holiday and this time we even had proper beds to relax in, we went swimming in the pool as the sea was some distance away, and we generally lounged around the place; doing sweet nothing.

The crowing of the cocks over the fence and the smell of the turf fires burning in the open hearths of the reconstructed cottages eventually got the better of us and demanded that we pay a visit. Thankfully this took place on one of the few sunny days of last summer, which to date had been cold and wet. The boys enjoyed popping in and out of the various different period houses and cottages, belonging to humble farmers and fishermen, the old school house, the pawn shop, printers and the pub. There is so much to see and if you get up early you can meander at your own pace.

The castle had its own delights, including canons, sheela na gig, fully fitted kitchen - seventeenth century style, and oh, so much more. Up the stairs to gaze down at the ground from the castellated turrets, down the stairs and up some more, it really was a case of pandemonium. The kids were pretty well behaved; it's a shame that the same cannot be said for some of the older and supposedly wiser adults present.

There were even lovely girls dressed in period style costumes, which were very old, ie thirty years or so and paid little attention to detail, including modern zipper fastenings which were quite visible. As an ex-historical re-enactor this was entirely unacceptable, although the wealth of knowledge offered by these ladies in waiting more than made up for the historical inaccuracies of their clothing!

And when enough was enough there is even a lovely tea shop located close to The Golden Vale Farm House. All the food, especially the apple pie is made on site, in the kitchen of the farm house across the courtyard, there is one disadvantage however, and that is the attending wasps! Still, it was funny to watch other people, ie my family panicking as I attempted to play table tennis with the little blighters!

My tummy's rumbling which is probably a hint that I ought to go and load the 21st century style dishwasher and make some dinner from the hock's I boiled up last night. I might even have a go at making lentil soup with the broth...

Bye for now,

Polly Px
ps. I'll give you the recipe for the Lentil Soup the very next time I blog