My final blog post

Hello and welcome! 

It seems a long time since I last posted but as you know we went to Ireland for a month and I've been very busy since my return. Before I briefly tell you about our stay in Ireland; I'll just go back to the end of August when I, with the middle grandson, went to check out Brighton and the university where he would start studying in September. It was a very long train ride from Bedford (about 2.5 hours) but a beautiful sunny day. We walked a lot! We walked to his campus which took about 45 minutes from the station and then from the campus to the accommodation; another 40 minute walk. Brighton is a very hilly place compared to flat Bedford. We took a bus from the accommodation back to the station as we both had walked enough. He seems very happy with his choice of uni and I was delighted to visit Brighton again. The last time I was there was soon after I met OH roughly about 25 years ago! Brighton had a lovely, buzzy vibe, I thought. I shall look forward to, what I hope will be, many visits in the future.

I wore this cool summer skirt from Anokhi by way of a charity shop and a pre-loved M&S jacket. The sandals were pre-loved from a charity shop in Cambridge and so comfortable for all the walking we did. All jewellery pre-loved.

Brighton has a very pebbly beach.

The pier and views from the pier or promenade. (It all seems so long ago, now).

I loved this sculpture at the entrance to this building.

Lovely Georgian houses we passed on our walk to the university campus.

A glimpse of the Brighton Royal Pavilion. Built as a seaside royal retreat for the Prince Regent and completed in three stages; also used by George 1V. The buses would get in the way...

Another random outfit - all items pre-loved.

We had a lovely, peaceful and relaxed time in Ireland. We visited  relatives but spent a lot of time just staying in the local area. I made it into the sea three times for a swim all in Donegal; and did lots of walking with the dog - who, by the way had a marvellous time. The hares that abound at the mobile home site drove her to distraction!  As soon as it began to get light she ran up and down the caravan whining and trying to get at them through the windows. We tried pulling the blinds down but she just put her long nose behind them...

We visited  Derry, twice, and finally made it across the Peace Bridge to Ebrington Square. We were very lucky with the weather having only a couple of days where it rained all day. It was bright, sunny and sometimes pleasantly warm...

On the Peace Bridge itself.

View from Ebrington Square. The red brick building to the fore is The Guildhall.

Some murals from Derry.

The Undertones - punk band from Derry.

The infamous 'Derry Girls' - a British TV show. To the left is part of the walls of Derry; it is a walled city.

As this was in a small square off Ship Quay Street housing the Donegal Craft Centre; I assume it's of the many women who worked in the shirt making industry which powered the Northern Irish economy for almost a century.

We visited the Inishowen Peninsula in Co. Donegal where we went to Malin Head; the northern most point in Ireland. Across the sea, next stop is New York...

More closer to home in Donegal:

 Just by the bridge in Donegal town is this stone sculpture of Red Hugh O' Donnell which looks like wood. Hugh O' Donnell was an Irish clan chief and Lord of Tyr Connell (the ancient name for Donegal).

 On a walk along St. John's Point.

Rain looks demented here but was actually asleep with her eyes half open...

I took no outfit photos whilst we were away and I really enjoyed not blogging. It made me realise even more how time consuming blogging is and that I didn't miss it all; although I missed reading your blogs, I must admit. I have enjoyed my blogging 'career' and it's not far off 9 years since I started blogging in November 2015, but I feel the time is right to stop now and use the precious time I have to focus other things. I am a little closer to finding my biological father which entails a lot of time spent on Ancestry UK and communicating with distant relatives and I have an important call coming which may give me some crucial information. If I do happen to discover who my father is I promise I will post about it.

So, I'm afraid it's farewell from me. I would like to thank those who followed me and read and commented on my posts. I appreciated each and everyone of you. I've met some wonderful people both online and in real life through blogging and blogging has certainly enriched my life in many ways. Continuing on a positive note, I will continue to follow and read the blogs (your blogs) I've come to know and love and I will comment on them so we'll still be in touch that way. As they say in Ireland: 'Mind yourselves and each other.' (Look after yourselves and each other).