Noodling around
I've been lazy about checking in lately. It's not that we haven't been doing stuff, but it kinda seems like a routine bit of business. We've taken some trips around the area; I've played some golf; we've eaten some excellent food; we've slept in too much. Heck, it does sound routine, huh? But I do have some good pictures for you - been especially happy with some of the panoramics I've put together (again, the told-too-often reminder - click on the photos to see a larger version).
We did do something special, however. We followed Uri's advice and headed over to Castlebar to hear the duo, McKay and Leigh. He's from Texas; she's from North Dakota. It might not be a group we would ordinarily go to see. It would be hard to summarize or categorize their music in a neat little bundle. Just about every song they performed was written by them together or by them individually or by them with a collaborator. You could probably call it old time country, but you'd have to say it would fill every category of old time country. So many influences, so many different rhythms. Some songs were not sung but talked through. Some songs had complex harmonies. Some were sweet; some were hard. Some were sad; some were wry. It really was a creative tour de force.
My only regret was that I didn't drag Padraic along with us. He has a deep appreciation of all kinds of music, and he loves literature and theater. He would've gotten all of these in good measure from McKay and Leigh. The venue was terrific as well - the upstairs room at Bridge St. The whole place is cool - a sorta modern, sorta funky re-do of an old space in town centre Castlebar. Terrific coffees, a mind-numbing collection of gins, Irish whiskies, and quality wines. Understated and tasteful design, and comfortable and effective lighting. Blink your eyes and it could be an old time "salon" - maybe Dorothy Parker, Oscar Wilde, or Stephen Fry will stroll in and hold court with cheek, wit and sass. "If you don't have something nice to say, come sit right here by me." "Their pooled emotions wouldn't fill a teaspoon." "It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard..." Just a great venue. We hope to go see more music there during this stay.
 |
| McKay and Leigh - click here and here and especially here to watch some videos. Well worth it... |
 |
| Backyard pano |
 |
| Reek pano |
 |
| Backyard sunset pano |
 |
| Reek from Mulranny pano |
 |
| Doolough pano |
 |
| Another famine memorial, this one at the foot of Croagh Patrick. If you look closely, you'll see that what appears as shredded sails are actually skeletons hanging on to the masts. |
 |
| Never tire of shooting scenes of our backyard. |
 |
| Low-lying fog gathering over our lakes as I left for the golf course this morning at 6:30 |
 |
| Yep, that's me in the "Member's Booking" section. Pretty cool, huh? And, yeah, nobody with me. Hey, I do have some friends, but probably nobody wanted to start out at 7:40. And it's just as well. I misread the clock this morning and tee'd off at 6:40, and played a quick nine. Back home and back in bed by 8:30. Slept til 11. Do I have to come home...? |
Also, very pleased to be Dave and Bronach's guests at the Westport Town Hall on Saturday night for a multi-media production about the historical figure Grace O'Malley - "bald Grace" - the Pirate Queen who ruled Clew Bay and all the coastline around Westport. She was born in 1530 and died in 1603. When her brother was captured by the English, she sailed to petition Queen Elizabeth for his release. She was granted an audience with the queen and refused to bow because she didn't regard Elizabeth as the Queen of Ireland. The conversation was conducted in Latin since neither spoke the other's native language. Granuaile, as she is known, is a fascinating figure - I encourage you to do some online research about her.
At any rate, Bronach, who is an accomplished and very well-regarded local actress, will be playing Queen Elizabeth in the production. We're honored to have been invited. And very pleased that we'll also be in the company of the Duffys. Read more about the production here.
And lastly, we finally got out on our bikes. After recovering from walking WGC this morning, I tempted Candee and myself with the promise of a lunch at The Creel on the Quay (key) if we could ride our bikes there and back. I suppose the round trip would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 - 15 miles with some ups and downs. We ended up walking the more difficult inclines, but heck, it was a good bit of exercise. And the lunch at The Creel was well-worth it...