WE WALKED INTO A PUB....PART 2

    The truth is we walked into a few. Hard to visit Ireland and 

and Scotland and do otherwise.

   Pubs are something special, culturally historic and important.

   But the point of this post is to tell you about two nights in particular.

 We were fortunate to be in Dublin on the day of the Irish National Football Championship.

      This is Irish football mind you. It's an extraordinary game and you'd do yourself a favor  to look up a couple of video clips and see how the game is played. 

    I would have loved the game as lad. As an old boy I was delighted to see it played. It requires skills found in soccer, rugby, basketball and even touches of American football.

    The national championship is huge-"It's our Super Bowl," my friend and host Jack reminded me a couple of times. 

  Walking from our hotel to where we set to meet Jack and Kay, every pub was jammed to the sidewalks, speakers were playing the pre game, and you could say Dublin was electric. 

   It was Dublin vs Kerry in the replay--they had tied in the first championship game and this was the decider. Dublin has been on a bit of a roll in the last few seasons, but historically Kerry has been the big winner. 

   It seems that almost no one is uninterested, and with good reason. These are amateur athletes, school teachers, pilots, lawyers, businessmen, truck drivers  and farmers and the like. They practice during the week and on weekend, they put on the colors and have at it.

     Something historic happened here, in this pub on this night. They ran out of Guinness. They ran out! The taps went dry! 

    Kay, an Irish lass said in her entire life she had never heard of an Irish pub running out of Guinness. And on the night of a national championship, no less! 

    I was crestfallen, but soldiered on by ordering a whiskey, of which there are many great brands. 
    At some point in the match there was a commotion at the door that was greeted with loud applause from the crowd. A couple of gents were rolling in kegs of Guinness. They were getting a grand round of applause. 

   As aficionados know, Guinness is brewed in Dublin.

  Between Dublin and our south western destination of Dingle, there are many other pubs and of great variety.

    But there is one that looms large in our memory. It's near the court house in the wonderful and charming sea port of Dingle.

    My lifelong friend Jim, of Irish heritage and an accomplished musician, told me about a mind blowing place he visited when in Dingle the year previous. It was Tommy O'Sullivan's place. O'Sullivan is a renown player and the pub is not so much a place where "shows" are put on, or where people do "performances." No, it's a pub where musicians hang out and jam. A gathering spot for music lovers. 

   Some tourists surely must find their way there, but it's truly  a mecca for Celtic, traditional, Gaelic and even Bluegrass players. And for the locals who love the music. Lucky folk they are!

   People were jammed in, standing room only when we entered and people were queuing for seats near the players.
    A local gent turned around to me and suggested that Lana, Kay, Jack and I, take seats next to the players and Tommy's wife, their dog and the other players. It was right up front.
   The kind man and his party had been waiting for open seats but he somehow knew this was a rare moment in our lives and so he offered a dose of Irish hospitality. 

   That's Tommy on the left side, with his back to the wall, guitar in hand. Some Scots players were up with him at the time. 

  Memories for a lifetime and some of the most skilled playing you'll hear in several lifetimes. Thanks Jim for the tip and thanks to the man who gave up seats to put us "ringside."

   There's another pub we'll walk into, coming up as we visit the extraordinary Dingle and Dingle peninsula. 

    See you down the trail.

Familiarity

     The fun of being in Trim Ireland in County Meath was seeing it with Willie and Kay who live in the historic village on the river Boyne. 

    Trim is also the largest Norman castle in Ireland.

    And it was in County Meath where Patrick came and met the pagan kings. There is a St. Patricks Cathedral in Trim.

   Trim, with some 9 thousand residents, is picturesque

      and hospitable. 

   When settling in for a Guiness in this pub I found a copy of runners and riders, the daily form chart for horse racing. 

   I urged my pal Griff to get to Ireland to meet his kin, some of whom have great pubs!

   This 12th century Norman castle may look familiar. 

    The castle was featured in the 1995 Academy Award Winning BRAVEHEART, the story of the Guardian of  Scotland, hero William Wallace. The film employed hundreds of Trim residents. Scenes were also shot at nearby Irish locations. 

  History is in the land around Trim in County Meath. A subsequent post explores how and why it is so prominent in Irish history, folklore and myth. 

    About a third larger than our Cambria on the California central coast, it has a familiarity. About the partial self portrait below, the scene in the window looked so homey, it needed to be shared. 

   It's a great spot for a hike or stroll, enhanced by history
and the wonderful green beauty.

  "An entry place to the other world" and "a place of great prospect" as we wonder County Meath and a mystical capitol in an upcoming post.  

   See you down the trail.

We Walked Into A Pub...part 1

    Did you hear the one about the tourist who walked into a pub.....

   Scots and Irish pubs are a world unto themselves

    They are a distinct and vibrant culture.

   Strolling through a foreign neighborhood, they are beacons where you know you will find a good story.

   Looking for a lunch of fish and chips we popped into Deacon Brodie's Tavern on the Royal Mile at Lawnmarket in Edinburgh...we dropped into history

   Robert Louis Stevenson is memorialized on the walls of Deacon Brodie's because in turn he memorialized the Deacon.

   William Brodie was a Deacon in a Guild of carpenters. He was an upstanding citizen, a member of the town council. But his nocturnal personality was something else. He was a drinker and gambler and had 5 children by two wives. He got into debt and resorted to burglary to pay off his gambling.
   He was eventually caught and tried. The case was notorious in that day and 40 thousand people turned out to watch him hung in October of 1788.  It is reported he was born and hung within sight of the tavern that now carries his name. 

   Robert Louis Stevenson was fascinated by the double life of Brodie. Stevenson's father owned furniture that had been made by Deacon Brodie.  Stevenson wrote a play with another writer  W.E. Henley, Deacon Brodie or The Double Life. It didn't do well. Stevenson remain fascinated and in 1866 published Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde inspired by the double life of Deacon Brodie.

       Slainte!

    There are more pubs ahead on this path.

    See you down the trail. 

Of Monsters

   We've learned "monster" is a relative term. There are monster homes...

   ...monster hunters....

...and monster golf courses, in this region of Scotland. 

   St. Andrews is a lovely village, with an important history

  Elements of the past remain, a Cathedral that played a major role,

   and a castle also steeped in legend.

   Then there is St. Andrews, the home of golf.

  The club house that is a kind of castle in its own right...

 and the old course that is dream of golfers around the world. As one of this foursome told me, when you get a chance to play St. Andrews, you play it, weather and all.

 Not far is a loch that has gained legendary status.

  It's 24 miles long, a mile wide and some 950 feet deep.

  They come from every nation on the globe to take a look and watch for Nessie.
   Locals don't call her a monster. Here she is a gentle creature who resides in imagination and legend amongst these mountains of Glen Mor.

  During our visit a team of researchers, looking for DNA samples were at work. They reported Loch Ness shows signs of eel life in some abundance. 

   Transiting the Scottish Highland one enjoys the villages
with their culinary and shopping offerings.

As you are never far from a pub, neither are you far from a castle.

   The approach revealed the "back yard"...

  and then we wound our way to the front door.

 Ballindalloch Castle has been in the McPherson-Grant families since 1546. Grants occupy it now and the old McPherson Coat of Arms is now a legacy. And you are correct, the motto does read Touch Not the Cat, Bot a Glove.

  I'm still not sure what that's all about. But I learned one of the doors leads to the enterprise that permits the present family to maintain this monster house.

  Their kitchen staff operates a tea room featuring fresh scones, with clotted cream and preserves, tea, coffee and other goodies.

   Revenue from the goodies, preserves and souvenir items offset the operating expenses of keeping up the old pile. 

   The family occupies private quarters, but most of the castle is open for tours. It's a favorite of Prince Charles who has visited here for years when he's in the neighborhood. The Royal's Scottish Highland retreat, Balmoral Castle, is not far. Photos of the royals visiting Ballindalloch fill hallways. 

   The gardens are extraordinary, especially the "rock garden."

   There is a sizable stand of historic trees, including a cousin of a redwood, a national pine.

      Great views from some of the turret rooms, but it gave me pause...

  Ballindalloch is a lovely place to visit, but not the home for me...

   I left lawn mowing behind when I moved to California from Indiana...Look at these expanses...

    and this is only front yard....speaking of monsters!

   More of the Highlands, and then the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Skye, Glasgow, then Dublin, Belfast, County Meath, Kerry, Dingle and more on the schedule. Lot to see and share of Scotland and Ireland. 

   See you down the trail.