Back again

After an arduous journey we arrived in Westport on Saturday for our tenth summer visit to this very special town on the west coast of Ireland.  We were greeted by our gracious landladies, Carole and Colette, and met up with Rose who helped us get our voluminous stuff out of storage.  After getting sorted a bit, we headed up to the Duffys for a scrumptious dinner - broiled hake with a garnish of various aromatics, steamed root veg - carrots, potatoes - and broccoli, all preceded by a fulsome board of cheese and charcuterie, breads and crackers, olives and spreads.  You wouldn't want to miss an invitation to  the Duffys...  And, of course, a flavorful ice cream cake topped with fresh sliced strawberries and heavy cream.

On Sunday, Marion, Padraic and I headed out to play a few holes at Westport Golf Club.  This is the second summer that I've been a member.  Quite good value really, and membership gives access to many of the extraordinary courses in the area at significantly discounted rates being that I'm now a member of the Golfing Union of Ireland.

#14 WGC

#15 WGC

And our round yesterday proved to be memorable - I carded my first hole-in-one after thirty-plus years of being an avid golfer.  One hundred and fifty-five yards, the shot landed softly on the green and rolled and dropped in the cup like a well-struck putt.  I used a TaylorMade 24 degree hybrid - a club that Padraic gave me last year.  Quite the thrill.

The lovely Marion Duffy giving me the props

At night we headed to one of the better music pubs in Westport - McGings.  We caught a fairly new band - Mr Grubass, a powerful charismatic funk band - lead guitar, killer bass, terrific drums.  They played a widely eclectic group of songs - Hey Joe/Jimi Hendrix, Space Cowboy/Steve Miller Band, You Keep on Using Me/Bill Withers, and they brought the house down with their final song - Play That Funky Music White Boy.  Great musicianship - they made me miss the artistry of Souljam at home.  Great stuff.