We have had our car for two weeks now and it has made quite a difference! I can drive myself and Richard is also able to be a passenger with me without needing oxygen. I still find it scary to see cars virtually "coming at me" and I worry that we have enough space between us. But we do and I am also not proud about slowing down when a truck passes.
Last Friday the weather was almost nice--no rain anyway--so we went off to see some abbeys. I started as the driver, drove us to Passage East and on to the tiny car ferry. Along the road to Tintern Abbey. No, not the Abbey that Wordsworth immortalized but a 13th century Cistercian located on the Hook Peninsula in Wexford. There really wasn't much to see at the Abbey. The tour office is closed right now so all we could do was walk around the outside and wander down to the river, which was beautiful.
We walked past the river and the bridge and came across the Old Church and Graveyard described above. I photographed as many tombstones as I could read as well as a plaque that dated from the reign of Henry VIII:
Luckily I can zoom in on the photos with my iPhone when I transcribe them for igp-web. Couldn't read the Latin part (have lost too much of that facility) but the English was fascinating.
Apart from that, though, there wasn't much happening at Tintern yet. The garden isn't blooming so we headed off for lunch in Duncannon. I had had enough negotiating single lane roads so Richard took over. We had a very nice lunch at the Wild Rose Cafe (shades of the old West!) and then drove on to Jerpoint Abbey. While we had been slightly disappointed with Tintern in terms of not being able to see anything of the interior of the Abbey, Jerpoint was fantastic. Both Abbeys are ruins, of course, but Jerpoint still has a cloister walk, remnants of a chapel area, and amazing carvings.
We haven't done any more sightseeing since last Friday. Mainly due to the weather--not just raining but gale force winds. I walk Mitzi in between the showers. We did have a few hours of sunshine yesterday though and I took the opportunity to drive over to a small cemetery that Richard had noticed near the leisure centre where he swims.
As I entered the beautiful iron gates I looked in vain for a sign or plaque that would identify the church and its churchyard. Nothing. And the church looked quite neglected as were the graves. Several were overgrown not only with ivy (which I could remove) but with holly (which I couldn't, ouch, ouch.) Still, there were about 40 legible headstones that I was able to photograph. But what was the name of the church and, also, what was the area called? I exited the gates and looked for someone to ask. There was a young woman pushing a pram but when I asked her, she had no idea. Then an older (well, actually he was younger than Richard) man came along and I asked him. Turned out that not only did he know the name of the church, he was very familiar with it as his father had been the caretaker there before it was deconsecrated in the 1960s. He told me all about its history and then he asked if I would like to see inside it. Of course!! So, chatting away, he got his keys from his house and took me inside. It is actually a badminton club now.
Last Friday the weather was almost nice--no rain anyway--so we went off to see some abbeys. I started as the driver, drove us to Passage East and on to the tiny car ferry. Along the road to Tintern Abbey. No, not the Abbey that Wordsworth immortalized but a 13th century Cistercian located on the Hook Peninsula in Wexford. There really wasn't much to see at the Abbey. The tour office is closed right now so all we could do was walk around the outside and wander down to the river, which was beautiful.
We walked past the river and the bridge and came across the Old Church and Graveyard described above. I photographed as many tombstones as I could read as well as a plaque that dated from the reign of Henry VIII:
Luckily I can zoom in on the photos with my iPhone when I transcribe them for igp-web. Couldn't read the Latin part (have lost too much of that facility) but the English was fascinating.
Apart from that, though, there wasn't much happening at Tintern yet. The garden isn't blooming so we headed off for lunch in Duncannon. I had had enough negotiating single lane roads so Richard took over. We had a very nice lunch at the Wild Rose Cafe (shades of the old West!) and then drove on to Jerpoint Abbey. While we had been slightly disappointed with Tintern in terms of not being able to see anything of the interior of the Abbey, Jerpoint was fantastic. Both Abbeys are ruins, of course, but Jerpoint still has a cloister walk, remnants of a chapel area, and amazing carvings.
We haven't done any more sightseeing since last Friday. Mainly due to the weather--not just raining but gale force winds. I walk Mitzi in between the showers. We did have a few hours of sunshine yesterday though and I took the opportunity to drive over to a small cemetery that Richard had noticed near the leisure centre where he swims.
As I entered the beautiful iron gates I looked in vain for a sign or plaque that would identify the church and its churchyard. Nothing. And the church looked quite neglected as were the graves. Several were overgrown not only with ivy (which I could remove) but with holly (which I couldn't, ouch, ouch.) Still, there were about 40 legible headstones that I was able to photograph. But what was the name of the church and, also, what was the area called? I exited the gates and looked for someone to ask. There was a young woman pushing a pram but when I asked her, she had no idea. Then an older (well, actually he was younger than Richard) man came along and I asked him. Turned out that not only did he know the name of the church, he was very familiar with it as his father had been the caretaker there before it was deconsecrated in the 1960s. He told me all about its history and then he asked if I would like to see inside it. Of course!! So, chatting away, he got his keys from his house and took me inside. It is actually a badminton club now.
Still, it was very interesting to hear the history and there were three very beautiful memorial plaques still on the wall. I confess I had a moment of nervousness when he took me into the bell tower and there was a long ladder leading up to the belfry. Shades of Vertigo!! Was he going to insist I climb the tower? Was he really just a nice man or...? I needn't have worried--he told me about the belfry and the tower needing work but that was it. Whew!
And that is about it for the past week and a half. We did go to Waterford per usual on Tuesday and tried to get Richard's passport stamp renewed for the next 8 months but apparently one cannot just go into an Immigration Office even if there are no other appointments that day. No, the form is you go in and they set an appointment exactly one week away for precisely the time you are standing in front of them. So we will be back this coming Tuesday and our trip to England will be delayed another week and a half because, of course, they can't stamp the passport there and then.
As usual, I sign off with photos of Mitzi who continues to enjoy herself and our rare morning of sunshine.
A badminton club . . . !
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