AL48

Watching Ireland v South Africa Autumn rugby my nerves are everywhere. Yes Hodd its a heron yesterday and very common here today the rare curlew i see daily but i think nest its nesting place is in the fields and it dosent go with the farming around here.

AL48

Half time Ireland 6 South Africa 6. South Africa are the better team so far lots of injuries for both sides. Why i let my son play this game i will never know.

AL48

Ireland 19 South Africa 16 Ireland win

AL48

What is it with weekend sober life, im up at 5am and doing housework before heading out for a walk. I did get to see some otters fishing, i love to watch them, so busy all the time constantly calling each other, a real family unit.
Also the swans have now grown to a flock of 9 and are bullying each other for top spot. Busy morning all the same and its only 10.30am.

tursiops999

It's so fun to see your pics with similar species from across the pond ... I saw herons and river otters on my walk yesterday here in California. And the occasional swan, although those are not native here, they're usually escaped domesticated birds.

AL48

Same happens here parrots and the grey squirrel in the Dublin area now. There's Turtles in Cork left go by people but uneducated in the effect on native species of birds eating eggs and so on. Unable to reproduce luckily because of the winters we get are too cold. Plants are the biggest problem in west Cork and Kerry the Rhododendron is everywhere and getting control of it isn't easy.

AL48

Its a really bad day wind and rain, some more wind and rain, kept myself busy at home i honestly just couldn't go out in it so cleaned up around the outside of the house and got out the deck scrub as the decking is really bad and you would slip easily. Put up a summer photo today im closing my eyes and dreaming of the summer to come.

advbike

Yes that's a great image to look forward to, AL.

I always loved windy, stormy weather - for the first few weeks.. or a month.. then it gets old. When I lived where it rained for 6 months, I would get depressed in winter, so I started spending winters in the tropics, which really helped - and eventually moved to a warmer, more sunny location.

Hodd

Blimey, it must’ve been stormy to keep AL at home! I went for a lunchtime walk, which is a rarity. I daren’t go running in the dark as too many holes and slippery autumn leaves to twist ankles on. It’s a serious concern for guys our age, AL. I saw a friend overtake me in a 5k race once and soon after he stumbled slightly and carried on. It turned out he’d done some damage to his Achilles and it took over 6 months to get sorted. We need to keep active to keep well physically and mentally.

I think I’d better postpone my Ireland trip until spring!

AL48

Its shocking and heading your way Hodd. Hope it will get better im going to see Munster v South Africa select team on Thursday night in Cork. I forcast a disappointing night😅.
Advbike its a plan of my wife and i to retire in the south of france around the bay of biscay, Just have to see if these fires get worse. Might have to stay in Ireland, Its a nice dream but we will have to wait and see.
Hodd how was the Cornwall trip?

Hodd

Cornwall’s always great, thanks, AL. As long as it’s not constant rain, it’s a great place to be in this close season. As well as the usual surfers, I saw a few hardy swimmers with wetsuits. I’m not brave/good enough to swim far out like they were, but next time (soon as Cornwall’s relatively near) I’ll dip my toe in. Sensible swimmers have tow floats mainly for visibility, but these also have storage place for a mobile phone (in case I get washed away). I’ll probably go again in 2022. The thing is my online lessons follow me everywhere so I had to think about these (and teach a few) whilst I was there. I shouldn’t moan, though, as being able to travel and work is nice.

Once of the few rugby games I’ve watched live was the Munster v Biarritz final in Cardiff 2006. It was a bit wasted on me, but it was a great atmosphere. Hope Thursday works out well.

Have to do more step before sending my application to register my foreign birth in Ireland. Because I had a birth certificate from a man I thought was my grandfather (same name, different guy), all the particulars such as his parents’ names were wrong on my application form. So I started again - new photos (witness signed and stated old application number), etc., but at least I know everything’s right. It should now take 18 months or so. A lot of Brits applying it seems!

AL48

My wife has all that gear for the mobile phone ect when swimming.
Yeah the passport situation got out of hand over the last year or 2 with so many applying. Luckily mine isn't due for another few years so im good 🙂.
You forget how easy it is to travel inside the EU with the EU passport.

Hodd

^ I think you’ll be OK renewing a passport in a few years time. Even getting a first time passport for an Irish citizen isn’t too bad. The longer process is for a foreigner to register their birth with the Irish registry office. That’s what’s taking 18 months or so.

And tell me about it. I worked in Germany before, I just turned up there and that was it. Now I’d get 90 days and then have to apply for a working visa. The people who voted for this obviously didn’t consider their kids might want to work/live in Europe. But at least we’ve got all the other benefits of Brexit such as …. (none from what I can see)

AL48

I understand Hodd. From the outside looking in i would see it as complete madness and the benefits if there are any seemed to be going to only a few. Propaganda at its best I'd say.
Its the same here at the moment the country is flying it, all households are getting free money to help with the electricity bills and as a country we didn't even have to borrow it, of course theres the usual housing and hospital issues but as countries go at the moment Ireland isnt that bad at all.
Even the seal looked happy this morning.

advbike

That seal does look happy!

Hodd

^^ Since Brexit, I’ve switched off all news. The BBC noticeably changed around that time. I haven’t quite gone off grid, but I more or less don’t believe anything any more. Interesting times

AL48

Yeah im the same really don't watch that much tv not the national RTE news or anything else, i got rid of sky but my wife got it back after a year just for House of the dragon on sky Atlantic. So its the radio at work i listen to at times which i do try to change as the particular station i like to call racist fm as its constantly giving out about other nationalities here and when you're married to someone that isnt irish it kind of gets o your nerves😅. I wont go into the DJ, lets just say he has a colourful history and shouldn't be giving out his opinion as far as im concerned. Actually thinking of completely giving up all social media and my smart phone so i can go back to reading more books but im not sure if its possible.I use my phone for everything these days, it might just have to be the social media sites even though im not bad. If im not here it's youtube and thats about it.

Hodd

A guy I know has just gone with a crew of 4 on a two-year sailing voyage. They’re basically going everywhere, over the top of Australia, Panama Canal, Cape Horn… He’ll have social media apparently, but he’ll be fairly busy I’d imagine. I don’t wish I could join him, but I wish I’d had the right stamina for such an adventure. I’d be arguing before we set sail! We’re all overexposed to social media and our phones. I’m glad I’m not a twenty something on Instagram or TikTok. I only learned what Tinder was from kids at school!

AL48

Hodd my dad was a sailor on many liners and cargo ships in his day and the stories are fascinating from him, i think hes been to every port you can think of. It must have been a disappointing experience to see all his kids and grandchildren are land lovers and never took on the family tradition which goes back centuries.
Everyone else has by now sailed off or gone up river for winter to avoid the coming winter storms the harbour is empty now but for one.

Hodd

^ Sounds like a place I’d prefer in autumn/winter than touristy summer. That’s why I like Cornwall this time of year with less riffraff (apart from me lowering the tone).

As a very part-time science with almost zero interest in biology, one topic that does interest me is Charles Darwin’s five-year voyage on HMS Beagle. He discovered a few different types of finches in the Galápagos Islands or something and from that came up with his evolution theory, but I’m more interested in the voyage. Anyway, I also read the captain of HMS Beagle shot himself! I’m not surprised. Imagine a five-year long biology lesson!