by on

My oh my! Awake at 5.45am, before the alarm went off, in a cab at 6.30am and sitting in the ferry  caff drinking white tea at 6.45am. By 7.10am, on the ferry eating bacon, tomatoes and corn bread ( I brought my own bread).

If you have time on your hand, this ferry is the way to travel. The Ulysses is the biggest ferry I have ever seen (obviously don’t get out much)…. In this photo, I am drinking my tea on the first floor of the portand the ferry just towers above – I believe it has not missed a crossing in it’s 10 year life…and I bet there have been some stormy seas in the Irish sea over that time! It holds 2000 people, I think there were only a hundred  people on it today.  Quiet and so calm. I got masses of work done…walked round the deck. Marvellous!

Made the train at Holyhead to London by one minute with a bit too much running for my liking! Back home, which feels good, and I seem remarkably awake for someone who spent  over 24 hours on boats, tubes, buses and trains this weekend, so  a big  thank you  to singing in Dublin! Now where is that hypnotherapist, I might have to start working on my flying phobia.

SONG OF THE DAY Echo Beach -Martha and the Muffins

It must be all the sea I saw today that made me think of this.

by on

Wow! What a fantastic workshop that was today, thanks to 25 amazing teachers who took the time out to come and spend the day at the Ark with me…on a Saturday!

The Ark is an great  place. Lovely staff. I am so looking forward to my return visit in a few weeks. Next time I visit, I am staying longer and I shall be singing with classes of kids and families – that’s all type of families click here.   I had a bit of a walk round Dublin after the workshop  -it was a bit full of crazy excited rugby fans and Ireland had just won!  I saw Oscar Wilde ( well a statue of him in the park, and I cannot for the life of me understand why this photo keeps turning on its side, even in death he continues to be a rebel…baaa!) a green post box, the grounds of Trinity College, and ate a fantastic rib eye steak (vegetarians look away!) as I  need to keep my strength up for the mammoth journey home tomorrow, which will be a culinary desert for a gluten free person. Ferries and trains have never had a window for the ‘special diets’…Wish me luck!

VIDEO OF THE DAY – Stop it!

Listen very carefully now..this video will save you a fortune in therapy bills. ha ha!

by on

Well that might be what it is called and it might be where my chewy prawns came from that I ate last night. I was really in no fit state to appreciate the view (or for that matter the chewy prawns) at the time as I had been on a train and a ferry for about 9 hours. This morning I am feeling a little more pucker and looking forward to meeting a bunch of music teachers from the Dublin area to give them ( hopefully) some grand ideas and some words of wisdom about teaching singing with children. I was so tired when I finally got to my hotel room last night I cried! It was probably the final walk through night time rush hour Dublin ( which was my first) and the chewy prawns which tipped me over the edge. Much better now. Bit disappointed to find out my ferry on the way home has been cancelled and I would never have known to be there for the earlier

( slower…nearly 2 hours slower) one if I had not asked someone on the boat how much time I should allow to get there. That is a mighty mess up, as I booked my ticket through Virgin at a railway station and booked on the  specific ferry etc. so no-one would have been able to let me know there was not going to be a ferry. I would have had to be very philosophical if I had arrived at the docks at 8am  to realise the next ferry was not until 2pm. As it is, I shall be up before the sparrows to get to the port for 7am . Enough already with the moaning! No blog for ages and then just a bit of a moan. Shame on you Ms P.

Anyway, wish me luck today…I am sure I will stay awake. Not sure it is cost effective to spend 24 hours travelling for a days work, I am not even going to do the maths. I might have to get over my flying phobia if this happens again.

SONG OF THE DAY- Pride -Soweto Gospel Choir ( by U2)

There! A lovely little tug of forelock to some of Dublin’s finest with a lovely South African flavour.