"Bully Day" - The Irish Weather

Rain, hail, sleet, wind, snow, frost, sunshine, heatwave, humidity – all get the same treatment by my father, he calls it a “bully day.”

His tone changes from happiness on a nice day to slightly angry on a bad one, but the words stay the same, the weather is described as “bully.” Take it or leave it – read into it what you will that is the way it is.

Sunlight behind rain clouds over Garadice Lake, Co Leitrim

The Irish weather is a worldwide phenomena. Not because it is particularly bad, or extremely changeable, or frustratingly unpredictable or down right mean (because it is all this) but because it is so much more.

The weather is a conversation starter with strangers, a meaningful exchange with friends, an everyday (if not every hour) occurrence and it is always acceptable to talk about it – anywhere, any time. Us Irish are emotionally attached to the weather, we are fascinated by it. And it is something that transcends gender, age and class.

“Did you hear the forecast?” is a question heard about one hundred times a day, people walk into a room and announce “it's windy out there,” “God that is awful rain,” or once every five years “it is beautiful out there!”

Those who visit the country are always amused by how much we talk about the weather, the girl at the supermarket check out will comment as she scans your items, the bus man will usually make a declaration on your entry or exit and the bar person is well conversed in all things weather related.

And yet despite the fact the weather forecast is consulted two – three times a day, and we have discussed at length today, tomorrow and the weekend's weather we always look unprepared.

Tourists clad in rain jackets to their ankles, wearing woolly jumpers and heavy boots stare in disbelief as Irish people run through puddles and torrential rain in a teeshirt, jeans and flip flops to get to the shop in the middle of November!

Again this year the Irish people endured a pathetic Summer, and if we are to believe the forecasters (by the way we usually don't – hence the need for such discussion) then we are in for another crazy winter.

Another addition to the Irish weather phenomena is that we are never organised for 'extreme' weather. Over two weeks of sunshine will result in concerns over water shortages, two weeks of non stop rain will flood the country and the whole island comes to a stand still with frost and snow! Imagine what would happen if we got some real 'extreme' weather?!

Fresh snow in Tullyveela, Corlough, Co Cavan

Putting aside my severe Vitamin D deficiency, my loathing for days of rain and the amount of cursing I do over frost, I actually quite like the Irish Weather.

Actually maybe 'like' is a bit strong!

I am pale with freckles – so a lot of sun is not my friend, I love the wind and I also love the snow (aside from driving in it). A long Summer evening is perfect in Ireland.

We sometimes forget that the large amount of rain in Ireland contributes to the vivid green colour of our country side, and the sweetness of the grass leads to world renowned meat produce.

Rainbows dominate our skies, starry nights are dream like and morning mists are haunting.

Our handsome dog Wally enjoying a colourful Autumn in Ballinamore, Co Leitrim

If it were not for our attitude weather – what would we have to complain about?!

Jellyfish salad - my revenge

It came into conversation a few weeks back, I hate Jellyfish, they have ruined my life and I need to extract revenge on them – they must die.

My sentiments are not unwarranted, I have good reason to feel this way about those 'things', I have actually been suppressing my feelings for years now.

Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group (or jellyfish) in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived.

The story:

At the very innocent age of seven, when all things were magical and beautiful and what my parents said was gospel, I went on a family holiday to Bundoran, Co Donegal.

It was all going swimmingly until I went swimming at Rossnowlagh Beach. It was a glorious day, in the days when the Sun visited Ireland during the Summer, I had a spade and a shovel and life was grand.

Into the water I splashed. “Look at me” I cheered to my adoring parents.

Step, jump, up and down I bobbed on the small waves.

Then “squish” down went my tiny little foot onto an evil, dangerous and spiteful jellyfish. I didn't mean to touch it, I just wanted to play, I didn't even see it. But the jellyfish didn't care.

The sting ran up my foot, the pain was something I had never experienced before.

The stinging cells are triggered by an object touching a microscopic hair. This hair triggers the cell to squeeze violently, ejecting a hollow thread that penetrates the victim's skin and injects poison.

My father came rushing over, tears streamed down my face. I felt sick, I got sick and still the pain echoed through me.

“Why me” I would have pondered if I wasn't too busy screaming in pain.

It eased after a few hours, but the scar stayed with me forever. That evening I discovered a hearty appetite (yep I blame the jellyfish) because before then food was a disruption to my busy playful life.

And as a result of this fine appetite I have grown accustomed to, comes my idea for sweet revenge. 

Because “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

How to cook jellyfish:

For cooking jellyfish you have to first soak the jellyfish overnight in the refrigerator. The best way to cut the jellyfish is to roll up the flesh and slice it, so that you get thin julienne strips. These strips are then to be blanched. The blanching can be repeated one more time (it is sooo evil), after which you drain off all the water.

Now you can marinate these pieces with the seasoning of your choice, like vinegar, salt, spices and so on, and then add them to salads, or vegetables or other sea-food dishes. After mixing the seasoning the marinating process should be done in the refrigerator. Usually the juices which collect after marinating, are to be discarded as they might have harmful bacteria.
Recipes include: Jellyfish sushi, burgers, stew, salad, satay and stir fry.

Satay Jellyfish - www.rasamalazia.com

Meet more like minded people on: Revenge on those dumbass Jellyfish that sting for no reason Facebook page!

Photo Vs Video

I have a conundrum. My big trip (it involves a boat ...) is over a month away and although I have a zillion things to think about for it, one item appears to be fogging my brain: should I take photos or a video of my amazing holiday.

Photography or videography?

This is a new issue, brand new in fact from the weekend, I am a photo person, I love photos, I make photo books, I print out photos and frame them, I regularly look back on photos – they make me happy!

But at the weekend I watched a friend's DVD of her trip to the West coast of America some years ago. It was fascinating, we watched on as she and her boyfriend escorted us around Las Vegas, gambled, took shots at Osama Bin Laden (his photo) and we jumped when a lightening bolt appeared on screen as they flew over the Grand Canyon! We awwed as they drove their swanky convertible up the coast, as they examined the interior of Alcatraz at San Fransisco and we laughed about how young the looked.

Despite my array of photos from a similar trip in 2008, they seemed quite inadequate, we certainly didn't show off Vegas like they did, The Grand Canyon looked pathetic, we had just glimpses of the vacation – while they had the full story.

Does video capture more?

Does video kick photo's ass?

In this instance it certainly did. But yet I struggle.

I look back on my photos from that trip regularly (they are in a photo book ...) would I do so with a video? – certainly not.

Photos can be more artistic, more flexible in terms of use but they do not show the full impact. Video can capture sound, more expressions, vastness, depth and you are probably more likely to capture the perfect picture, moment from a constant video than a lucky photo shot.

A Tasmania Devil aggressively feeding on a tail - this would have been more entertaining as a video.
(c) fifiheavey

Yet you will not stop the DVD player to tell a story, you will with a photo, it deserves more dialog – an explanation, some context – what happened next.

Maybe it is time to move with technology – take my photos from the footage filmed – become a youtube sensation ...

Even when taking photos I usually take a few minutess out in places of true inspiration to stare without a camera lens, to trace the image or the scene into my memory, to savor the feeling. Would I be too busy filming to do this, would it take away from the moment?

Could a video have captured this silent, serene scene any better - I think not. Lake St Clair, Tasmania (c) fifiheavey

Still artistic image or fast paced footage? That is the question.

What is the answer?

Maybe a little bit of both?

How do I breathe???

How do I breathe? - This was my one and only concern when I decided (I didn't decide actually I was cajoled, pushed and bullied) to go for a tandem sky dive.

Before I jumped with my sky dive instructor
(c) fifiheavey

We were in New Zealand, I already had the bruises from Skiing, money was short and we needed to make some decisions: bungee jump, black water rafting or sky diving.

Bungee jumping was immediately ruled out – it only lasts a few seconds, you have to jump yourself (in sky diving the instructor does that for you) and you dangle upside down and may hit the water – no flipping way!

Black water rafting – this seemed like fun, it was unusual and involved abseiling, climbing, cave tubbing and a lot of, eh black water. But by this stag of our trip we had snorkeled, scuba dived and surfed so we had ticked the water sports box enough.

Sky diving it was then. New Zealand is the best place for your first sky dive (yes that is a biased opinion) and Lake Taupo is breathtaking (with or without a parachute).

So we booked our appointment with Skydive Taupo, I informed family and friends of my impending death and we anxiously waited for the big white stretch limo to collect us.

The stretch limo
(c) fifiheavey

I didn't sleep the night before, I was excited (really I was shitting it) the next morning I didn't eat, the limo arrived and inside we met some Irish lads (of course) also paying for the service to jump out of a perfectly good plane.

Sky high
(c) fifiheavey

They chatted with my boyfriend about what music they would choose for their DVD of the experience. I didn't partake in this trivial chat because all I was worried about was “How exactly do I breathe?”

I understood that thousands sky dive probably each week (I made up that stat!) and very rarely does anything go wrong, but I just couldn't comprehend how I was supposed to breathe in the face of free falling at over 50mph for one minute.

Sixty seconds of 50mph wind in my face – where, how when was I supposed to breathe?

It seemed so unnatural, so wrong.

These questions all seem irrational, even annoying now, post sky dive but before hand, no amount of talking or explaining would calm me. My instructor did a great job of distracting me and he reassured me I would be able to breathe, he promised his life on it – if I arrived alive I would keep him to that!

So up we went in the pink plane, and actually inside I regained my nerve – on the other side of the small aircraft however I saw my boyfriend's face and realised panic had just crept in.

The pink Skydive Taupo plane

Despite my pleading to be the first out, I had to watch the other two fall from the plane before I got my turn.

The experience was out of this world, the free fall exhilarating, the pull of the parachute released, the feeling of flying, the view of the two New Zealand islands, the lake, the birds and clouds.

Even the landing was so much fun.

Sky diving is a high like no other, those who are thinking about take recreational drugs should be first introduced to this, a high adrenalin activity that cannot be beaten.

Preparing to land ...
(c) fifiheavey

How did I breathe? Well actually quite easily and once out there it was the least of my concerns, I just wanted it to last longer, to see more, to feel more.

Sky diving is a whole lot better than drugs – but be warned it can also be highly addictive!

A different view and something new

The West Coast of Ireland never looked so beautiful as it did on BBC2 last week.

Mony Halls 'Great Irish Escape' to Connemara has done more for that area in Galway than thousands of euro of advertising and marketing by Tourism Ireland.

The programme listing had slightly caught my interest on paper, and so I tuned in, an eye on the TV another on the laptop. But I soon closed the computer.

Connemara Coastline

If I had watched the programme with the sound off I would have been 100% sure that the location was somewhere tropical, remote and a million miles away.

Instead I looked on, eyes glazed and listened with disbelief that this beautiful turquoise blue ocean crashing against an ancient rocky coastline, shadowed by the most luscious green landscape was in fact just 2 hours away from my cosy sitting room.

There had to have been some photo shopping going on and I have no idea when Mr Hall got this stunning weather for filming but according to him he was in Connemara, forgotten Connemara – the location of school child family holidays, a remote corner of Galway – the same location for Brendan Gleeson's dark and hilarious film 'The Guard.'

The great Irish Escape is no tacky show, there is big money invested in this project and it shows – sitting on my couch previously contemplating a holiday in Greece (hence the eye on the laptop), I really did take a u turn and ask out loud – why not Connemara?

Monty Hall and Rueben

Monty and his dog Rueben are helping the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group to examine how many whales, dolphins, porpoises, basking sharks and even blue sharks visit the Connemara coastline. (If these water mammals seen this series it would surely attract more of them!)

Mussel cooking competition, scuba diving with congers, dolphin watching, otter spotting ...

I have no doubt that Connemara has been inundated with accommodation requests from the UK following this show and the area will enjoy much more positive searches with another six episodes to be indulged in on BBC2.

So this is obviously the way to go, forget the huge marketing campaigns on the back of buses, the posters, the radio and TV ads – lets promote it “by accident.” Get some movies filming here – look what Lord of the rings did for New Zealand.

My advise to those marketing the country is don't just tell them about Ireland – show them. Or better still let broadcasters show themselves, they may just see something that we are overlooking – lets maybe take a step back from the world known landmarks in Ireland and promote the lesser spotted ones, find something quirky, a different view – something new.

Sharks off Connemara?
(c) fifiheavey

Sharks in Ireland – who ever knew? 

I didn't, but I do want to know more.

Monty Hall's 'Great Irish Escape' BBC2 8pm every Thursday until September 22.

Melbourne is Unforgettable!

Sydney or New York are the popular responses to the question of favorite city in the world.

Before I went to Australia all I ever heard about was Sydney, Cairns, Brisbane ... but I knew, even thousands of miles away none of them were the place for me.

South Bank, Melbourne at night
(c) fifiheavey

Because of my pale complexion I chose to live and work in Melbourne for five months, despite this when we lived there in 2008, Melbourne got a heat wave while the East Coast was battered with rain.

Melbourne became our home (my first with my boyfriend), we lived right in the CBD, Lonsdale Street in a cosy studio apartment and life was bliss. Usually you need to leave a place to recall how good it was, not with Melbourne. We knew it, we loved the place from the first night we drove in fresh from the Great Ocean Road, in the middle of a carnival in St Kilda.

The beach at St Kilda may not be up to scratch with Bondi, the city may not be a clean as Perth or as tropical as Cairns but Melbourne had something I felt was missing from all other Aussie cities: Culture and identity.

Broad streets carry traffic and trams all over the city, landmark buildings not only sparkle but they are full of character, it may be missing ancient history but it makes up for that with vibrant life.

The heart beat never leaves the city, during the day it is busy and bouncy, colourful, people of all ethnics and shows and events – at night although the sky gets dark but the colours get brighter.

You cannot be bored in Melbourne – if you hate art, theatre, sport and even comedy then there is music, top food from all over the world, fashion and well... life! (also a must for Neighbours fans!)

Fed Square, Melbourne
(c) fifiheavey

People watching is a permanent activity, Federation Square (ugly or unique you decide!) is a circus of protests, shows, emerging talent and down and outs!

Every week of the year it holds a different festival, it is impossible to take a solid interest in just one thing. Even makes flowers and plants seem exciting here.

Caught enjoying a mince pie at an AFL game!
(c) fifiheavey

Coming from Irish Gaelic Football, we fell in love with the AFL but we didn't stop there, Melbourne loves sport so we submerged into the culture and went to cricket, rugby, tennis and even had an amazing day at the Grand Prix.

The city has plenty of superb art galleries, museums and exhibitions but outdoors in the parks and walks you get the real feel of Melbourne. The Docklands at night and the Yarra River are very romantic.

The contrast between Flinders Street Station and Southern Cross Station (the only real scary part of town) is stark and yet they are both iconic of the thriving city.

Maybe it is because Melbourne was voted as the most livable city, and because we spent over five months but I found no place on earth like it. The people of course are the main ingredient in the recipe that makes this city, they are fun and flirty and support the city and all the activities it promotes.

When we returned back to Ireland many people wanted to know if we would move to Australia for good, like many Irish young people. My boyfriend exclaimed “I wouldn't go back to Australia – but I would go to Melbourne!”

The Docklands, Melbourne
(c) fifiheavey

The only way to sum it up: Melbourne is unforgettable!

The Iraqis in the Ceide Fields

The North Mayo coast line is dramatic, especially on a very wet and windy (Summer) day like the one I chose to visit it last week.

A friend and I took the advice of our elders “what harm will a bit of rain do ya” and ventured to Co Mayo and to the mysterious Ceide Fields.

The Ceide Fields are almost secret, nobody seems to know about them, even the visitor centre looks sort of hidden in the bog , we drove past it at first - the sea cliffs sort of distract your attention!

But in a strange way, that is the whole point of the Ceide fields, for centuries they held a secret – a stone age field and village system – a remnant of domestic farming not too far removed from modern farming.

5,000 year old wall - showing the oldest field system in the world
(c) fifiheavey

It seems that at the same time as the people of the Boyne Valley were plugging away building Newgrange passage tomb, the people who settled in North Mayo (people from Iraq and Iran!) were organising themselves into villages, communities and dividing the farm land equally – essentially domestic farming.

The Ceide Fields have the “most extensive stone age monument in the world.” The Ceide Fields translate into “fields of the flat topped hills” - the sea cliffs. But Ceide goes back further and relates to a gathering of people or a meeting place.

Walkway through the ancient fields which were unearthed at Ceide
(c) fifiheavey

A tour from the visitor centre gives details on the walls, their structure, their purpose, the walls of houses, of animal pens etc. We know that these Iraqis (that is what the guide said) were peaceful people, no weapons were found during excavation, but pottery and seeds from Iraq and Iran were discovered in the soil.

All this, civilization from 5,000 years ago can be exhibited thanks to the bog, which grew and grew and preserved our little known origins.

Tour guide demonstrates how to find the stone walls
(c) fifiheavey

A farmer first discovered these walls while cutting turf in the 1930s but it took his son 40 years later to excavate them and make sense of it all. 

No wonder the European Parliament wants to ban turf cutting in Ireland, it seems we have a lot of history buried “in them there hills.”

The Ceide Fields are well worth a visit (try and pick a nice day) even if you have bad memories of slave labour in the bog during your childhood, or indeed are still recovering from the back breaking work this year. 

The history is titillating and the views sensational.

Oh but don't miss the horror movie they show in the centre about the bog – you have to see and hear it to believe it!

Ceide Fields Visitor Centre, Co Mayo
(c) fifiheavey

The stone ages in North Britain and Ireland