Category: Travel

The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay.

Photograph courtesy of The Grove Theatre.

Gulwali Passarlay was at The Grove Theatre Eastbourne last night talking about his book The Lightless Sky, a Q&A event put on by East Sussex Libraries.

Gulwali, who fled Afghanistan and endured a terrifying journey in the hands of people smugglers talked about his passage to the UK, life in the UK in the early days of his arrival and of his life now. One of the most charming people I have met, the evening was relaxed, informative and a delight.

Cobh, Western Ireland

The departure town for over three million Irish Emigrants and final port of call for the RMS Titanic. We visited the Cobh Heritage Cente, which tells the story of Irish emigration through to the 1950s and traces the history of Cobh over the centuries. Starting with the indentured servants who were transported to the colonies to work on the plantations in the 17th century, to Annie Moore, who with her two brothers were the first emigrants to be processed on the newly opened Ellis Island in New York in 1891.

Annie Moore and her brothers.

https://www.newmarketholidays.co.uk/holidays/europe/ring-of-kerry-and-wonderful-western-ireland

The Kerry Bog Village. Western Ireland.

Located on the Ring of Kerry, the village gives a fascinating insight into how people lived and worked in Ireland in the late 19th Century.

  • The Labourer’s Cottage
  • The Old Forge
  • The Thatcher’s Dwelling

So what is Bog? Undrained bog is 95% water and 5% solid material. The solid part is made up of partially decayed vegetation i.e. trees, grass, roots, moss etc. Bogs were a major source of fuel for Irish homes.

A key member of an Irish Bog village would be the Irish Wolf Hound.

An ancient breed of Irish dog these were used for hunting.

The Kerry bog ponies are a native breed to Ireland and were used for transport and farm work, such as bringing home turf from the bog, seaweed from the beach and milk from the creamery.

Spent an interesting hour wandering around this true to life reconstruction. Life was certainly harsh.

Home

https://www.newmarketholidays.co.uk/holidays/europe/ring-of-kerry-and-wonderful-western-ireland

John Egan and Steve (Crusher) Casey.

The Irish love their sport and high up on the list are football and wrestling. On a whistle stop visit to Sneem in Co. Kerry there are two life size bronze statues of two Irish sporting legends, part of the Sneem culture trail.

John Egan 1952- 2012

By artist, Alan Hall from Valentia this statue is set in South Square , facing Sneem Sportsfield, where John gave many displays of his remarkable footballing skills and vision over many years.

Steve (Crusher) Casey 1908- 1987

Stephen Casey was an Irish sport rower and world champion professional wrestler. He was the second Irish wrestler, after Danno O’Mahoney, to become a world champion. He was World Heavyweight Champion for six years, while fighting in WWII. The statue was again the work of Valentia sculptor Alan Hall.

Sneem was a lovely little Irish village and the statues were a highlight.

London Gatwick to Dublin.

This morning was my first flight post pandemic. My last flight home to London was nineteen months ago, from Cuba the only country that would fly passengers home from the COVID-19 stricken cruise ship I was stranded in the Caribbean on.

I thought that International travel would be a bit further on than it was. London Gatwick was so quiet. The North Terminal is the only one operating. The normally bustling South Terminal is still closed. Strange to drive past and see it empty.

The Travel Lodge I stayed in the night before due to an early flight, normally a hive of activity, full of passengers coming and going was dead. I felt like I was the only guest in the building!

My early morning flight was the quickest I have ever got through. I expected to be delayed with long queues while everyone’s paperwork was checked at each end. I was asked a lot if I had filled in a Passenger Locator form and if I was vaccinated, but at no time, London or Dublin, did I have to produce any proof.

It was a quick and easy transit through both ends, but it was also sad to see such a vibrant and exciting space so empty and lacking vitality. For me a bustling airport was part of the excitement of the impending holiday. It was missing. International travel is far from getting back to normal.

Brownsea Island , Dorset.

Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

I have this goal to travel to the islands around the UK and this has been on my list for a couple of years. It was well worth the wait, although COVID restrictions limited our time there. lots of woodland, coastland and wildlife. Amazing experience.

The Brownsea Ferry.

Newhaven Heights.

This weekend’s walk was the stretch of coastline between Peacehaven and Newhaven.

Newhaven is a working port town, as opposed to a seaside town like Eastbourne and Seaford, with a regular ferry passenger service to Dieppe in France. It’s West Beach, French owned, was closed in 2008 because of safety concerns about the crumbling sea-defence walls and harbour steps. but there is an ongoing local campaign and negotiations to reopen the beach.

The coastline was barren and exposed but beautiful. We passed the coastguard watch tower and the old fort, which dates from the Neolithic age, through the Bronze and Iron Age and was then occupied by the Romans. Today there are the remains of various Second World War buildings.

During the Second World War the port, along with a large stretch of the South Coast, was a German bombing target. To protect Newhaven Port, the nearby river Cuckmere acted as a night-time decoy. The valley would be lit up like the port during bombing raids in an attempt to draw bombers off course and minimise the barrage of the town.

It was a fabulous walk, steeped in history and a totally different landscape from the Eastbourne South Downs where we commenced our coastline walk.

Together in the UK. Valentine’s Day.

Satchmo

As followers of my blog will know my partner is a musician on a cruise ship with his band Funky Blue. We say ‘goodbye’ a lot ‘Standing on the Docks in Southampton’ (Lennon and McCartney) and ‘Hello’ in lots of different countries as I travel the world to be with him. This year has seen a huge change in our lives. We flew back from Cuba in March and have been together 24/7 ever since. I’ve missed the travelling, but loved having him around.

Wherever we are in the world, together or apart, this is our song- the iconic Mr Louis Armstrong with All the Time in the World.