Ireland

We crossed the Irish Sea to Belfast after three nights in Scotland. I hadn't been to Ireland for at least 15 years and it was the first visit for Hannah and Henry.

My outfit is another warm woolly jumper. It was quite blustery and we did get some heavy showers so warm clothes were essential. This jumper was a charity shop purchase a while ago and no doubt cost me about £3.50. I have not worn it that much but I do like the vibrant pattern. Maybe I should have worn green when in Ireland but I do not have any green jumpers!

In Belfast we went on a Titanic trail as Hannah has been studying the story of the ship at school. This is the original memorial to Belfast residents outside City Hall who lost their lives in 1912.

This memorial was added nearby to commemorate the centenary and contains the names of all those who perished. It was very moving looking at all the names.

We then visited the Titanic Experience - a state of the art museum dedicated to the Titanic built in the shape of the bows of the ship - adjacent to the dry dock which was used to construct the ship. It is on four floors with interactive displays and traces the story of the ship from construction to diving on the wreck. We spent about three hours in the museum - it was so fascinating! You could even feel the heat of the furnaces when going through the story of the ship building with the noise of hammering. There were cheering crowds during the launch and the disaster was tastefully portrayed with recordings of the survivors telling of their experiences.

The marker posts show the postion of the dry dock where the Titanic was built.

The launch of the ship - just like we were there!

 

 

A cabin with films of two passengers which gave the impression they were actually there - bringing the display to life!

After we left Belfast we took a coastal route south towards Dublin. The gorse bushes were just starting to flower giving a yellow glow.

 

The centre of Dublin was closed to traffic on Easter Sunday for large scale celebrations so we visited this castle at Malahide instead. It is in the process of being restored and is set in many acres of public grounds.

 

We caught the ferry from Dublin back to England bringing our adventures to an end.

 

I hope that you were not too bored looking at our photos!

 

Our Easter Adventures - Part 2

Our second day in Scotland was drier but very windy. I wore this dark red jumper which, you guessed it was a charity shop find some time ago, over a navy shirt. Please don't look at my hair - it was a bad hair day due to the wind.

We had hoped to catch a ferry over to the remoter islands but the ferries were disrupted due to the weather conditions so we headed north west into the Highlands instead. The scenery was stunning and the colours changed dramatically when the sun broke through the cloud cover.

We saw several large herds of wild red deer but it was difficult to see them in photographs as they were so well camouflaged. Apart from some very isolated crofts there were no houses for miles and although we were travelling on an A class road we hardly saw any other traffic. It was so tranquil and such a change from the normal pace of life!

We passed the ruins of Ardvreck Castle which was destroyed by lightning many years ago and was the scene of the grizzly murder of the Marquis of Montrose in 1650!

A typical rural Scottish cottage - such a lovely setting by a stream crossed by an ancient stone bridge.

The hillsides are mainly devoid of trees but there were groups of silver birches in the glens.

Our trip ended by the sea at this lovely little fishing port of Lochinver where we enjoyed a home cooked meal in a little family owned cafe.

 

Our Easter Adventures - Part 1

We had a great family break over the Easter period despite some horrendous weather at times which caused us to alter some of our plans. As anticipated in my last post, my pink waterproof jacket was invaluable, certainly on the first day in Scotland when it was very wet. I was also glad of some warm jumpers which were needed to keep out blustery winds.

The photo shows a typical outfit - not very glamorous but practical and warm. The jumper came from a charity shop a few months ago. I think I paid about £3.00 for it. It is quite long and covers my bottom nicely when I wear these trousers to maintain my preference for modest styles. The trousers are a little slimmer fit than I normally prefer to wear and I tend to wear them at weekends or around the house rather than to work.

After a drive up the M5 and M6, our first stop in Scotland was in Glasgow - where it rained! We headed for the cathedral and passed a statue of Dr David Livingstone. Hannah has been studying his work in Africa at school so was keen to take this photo.

There are some magnificent stained glass windows in the cathedral. This one is fairly recent and although it is not too clear in the photo, it depicts the story of the creation. One thing which amused my husband and the children was that surprisingly the artist forgot the fig leaves!!

This little room housed a Sunday School and is preserved just as it was in the 1800s with a chalk blackboard on an easle, quills, candles and rather uncomfortable looking chairs!

 We then headed for the Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum as I wanted to see Salvador Dali's famous painting of Christ on the Cross. It was very moving to see it just before Good Friday.

These are the famous "floating heads" with strange expressions which the Queen found very amusing when she visited the Museum.

 

The "boys" were thrilled to see this spitfire suspended from the ceiling in one of the galleries.

 

We could have spent many more hours in the Museum and not manage to see everything. We will have to come back for a further visit one day soon.

 

Part two of our Easter adventures will follow soon!



Pink Jacket

 

I came across this waterproof jacket last week in a charity shop. It was in good condition and cost me £6.00. We will be away on a trip to Scotland over Easter and I am certain this jacket will prove to be very useful with the rainy conditions we have experienced in the UK so far this year! It has several zip pockets so that I can safely carry my mobile phone, purse etc.

 

It will be strange to be away for this important event in the Christian calendar but education rules mean that it is difficult to take holidays during school term time and the offer of this tour to remote parts of Scotland was too good to miss. I am sure that we will be able to celebrate Easter at a Church Service in Scotland. I will also post some photos on our return.

I have teamed the jacket with this skirt in somewhat autumnal colours but no doubt I will need much warmer clothes in Scotland.

Winter Coat

 

I bought this coat in the autumn and I have really felt the benefit of it during the cold winds we have experienced during the winter. It is dark brown in colour (although it is not easy to see that in the photo) and it is fully lined and made from a thick woollen material. The belt is really for decoration.

 

It keeps me warm and cosy on my journeys to and from work and was well worth the £10.00 I paid for it in my favourite charity shop.

 

Do you have a favourite winter coat?

 

 

A Dress Bought Earlier



Another post on a dress I bought last summer. This is because my charity shop trips have been curtailed this week by a bad cold. I didn't do a post on this dress at the time as I spotted a flaw in my tights after the photo was taken! I have managed to crop it out to save my embarrassment.

The dress cost £4.00 but I have not worn it that much as I am not that keen on the design of the shoulders. I do like the floral pattern though and I may give it another try when the weather warms up.

What do you think?

Thinking of Summer!

I didn't find any new bargains in charity shops this week so I thought I would do a post on a dress which I bought last July. I never got around to writing about it at the time. With temperatures of about 5C and cloudy skies in the UK at the moment, it is good to look forward to the time I will be able to wear this dress outside in warm sunshine!

It cost me £4.00 and has a light blue and navy floral pattern on a light green background. It is of a length I prefer - too many dresses are too short to satisfy my modesty standards.

 

Are you already looking forward to warmer temperatures and blue skies?