Kevin began his 2nd Term on Monday 7 th at Bellerbys again with a new group of students in his Foundation accounting and MQP classes but the same ones in his other A level classes.
On Monday I got a bus to Woolwich to visit the job centre for a National Insurance No, only to find I needed documented proof of a job offer, therefore a waste of my time. I also visited "Pulse " my nursing agency re my uniform & this N.I. number & they said they would apply for me.
On Wednesday evening we went to see ' The Phantom of the Opera ' at Her Majesty's theatre. A great musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber ( world class ) with superb costumes, stage sets and singing. Some amazing voices these actors have.
Thursday evening saw us head off to a stage production by Agatha Christie ( The Mouse Trap ) which is the longest running production in the world ( in its 56th year ) at St Martins theatre. It was a 'who dunnit murder mystery' which was a great show. The cast had us guessing all night as to who the murderer was as all Agatha Christie's books do. We had a meal before hand at the Angus Steak house
Friday saw me visit the medical lab for a blood test, wanting proof of having had Rubella, as well as going on an inservice course on Manual Handling and First Aid Met several other girls there. ( approx 25 in the group) I am getting quite experienced now at finding my way around Inner London and feel better at doing this now.
After Kevin had finished work at 5 pm we were off on our trip to Dublin, Ireland. This involved a trip to the Liverpool St Station and on to the Stansted express to Stansted airport. Our plane ( Ryannair ) was delayed ( how common is this ? ) at least half an hour or so but we eventually arrived at Dublin airport to be met by Karen Dwyer ( my cousin ) at around 11 pm and taken to her home and it was after midnight before we finally hit the sack.
We had left Greenwich at 5 pm getting to Liverpool station around 6pm before catching the 6.10 pm train to Stansted ( arriving around 7.15 pm for a 9.15 pm departure which was delayed to 10 pm arriving at Dublin around 11 pm Quite an day. It was to be a longer day coming home.
Saturday 12th April. We were up and off to explore Dublin on the hop on hop off bus. Seeing the Trinity College, National Museum of History, Christ Church Cathedral, St Patricks Cathedral, the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, Arran Quay, Orman Quay and the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Dublin is rich in history and has many fine buildings and streets.
We stopped off at The Guinness Storehouse which is an excellent visitors stop and learnt about the brewing process going right through to the Gravity Bar for a complimentary pint of Guinness. Kevin even purchased an Irish Polo shirt here.
Visiting the Kilmainham Gaol and Museum was an eye opener. Seeing where the prisoners were kept after the Easter Rising of 1916 and where they were executed. Kevin and I caught the bus home to Karens' after this and she had just arrived home from picking up Racheal O'Dea from the airport. ( both are cousins of mine ) Racheal was visting just by chance and was on her way back to NZ after a 3 month work stint in Canada.
We all freshened up and headed south to Glencullen- through snow covered lanes to Johnnie Fox's Pub. ( The highest pub in Ireland ) which has been going since 1798. This was to be a really enjoyable evening. The pub has stone flagged floors spinkled with sawdust daily for the hammering Irish dancing feet. Lots of ancient bric-a-brac lines the walls and ceilings.
It has a great traditional and antique charm and the food was excellent too. Mussels, crabs and oysters are a speciality here as well as other sea food. You have to make reservations approx 6 weeks ahead to get in and Karen did this for us. The Irish music and dancing was fabulous and we arrived home happy and really tired out.
Sunday 13th April. We all got up and headed off to Newgrange in the Boyne Valley. Passing through very beautiful countryside. We saw a Neolithic tomb - a most important and impressive stone age tomb in Europe. It was said to be at least 5000 years old with the central chamber reputed to be the oldest stone structure in the world.
During the Winter Solstice the rays of the sun reach the central chamber. It is a very tranquill and peaceful place to visit.
We next headed on to the village Trim to visit the beautiful Trim Castle. We had a great tour with a hard case lady - Brenda, she was terrific and had a great sense of humour. The castle has not been restored- its as is. It sits near the river Boyne and is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, constructed by Hugh De Lacey in the 13th century.
We then headed home for a cuppa and to collect our bag before Karen dropped us at the airport for our homeward journey. We had an excellent time and special thanks goes to Karen for this.
Yet again we had a delay only this time is was close to 2 hrs and we didn't arrive at Liverpool street station until 1.00am. The underground trains stop at midnight, therefore it was a couple of buses, before we eventually walked in our door at 2.30am. Tired out but happy with our Irish experience.
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