Thursday, October 13, 2011

Still settling in

Thursday, October 13, 2011
Yesterday was interesting. First I awoke at 5:30 a.m. If you know me at all, you know that was abnormal! But with the 6 hour time difference, I was awake. I showered and came back to the room. Bebe was still sleeping so I took a wee nap, then got up just before 8 for breakfast of scones and tea.
Bebe and I were given a task by Deirdre, the cook, to core and quarter the pears she had poached in ginger sauce. After that we had apples to peel, core and quarter. Most of the apples were the size of a small egg so we had a lot of work to do. Both the pears and apples come from the trees here at Murlough.

Later we decided to take a walk to the sea. We were about to go out the door when the bell rang. I let in the visitor who said he came every Monday and wanted to see Jo. Jo has been in the US for about 2 weeks. He made his way in the entry hall and down the grand hall to the office.  I followed him in. Deirdre suggested that we visit with the fellow before our walk. Bebe went off to fix a pot of tea and I sat down to chat…or rather to listen. He asked where I was from and “Indiana” brought on a wealth of information and unrelated facts from him.  “Hoagy Carmichael is from Bloomington. Of course, there’s a Newcastle in Indiana. There are 11 in the US.” I mentioned that Cole Porter was from Peru. He told me it is pronounced “Pee ruh” in Indiana. Then he leaned back and looked at me and said, “you must be a lot older than you look”.  Bebe had arrived with the tea and biscuits (cookies) and he quickly drank up two cups noting that the biscuits were soft and should be thrown out but not in the dustbin. They should be thrown out for the birds and then he ate a couple more biscuits.  He spoke briefly to Richie and then was out the door.
Jenn wonders if he might have Asperger’s. I think he could be a savant. He doesn’t like to answer questions but asks many. He met Chris, a young man who is helping in the kitchen. Within a few minutes, Leonard (the old visitor) had sorted out Chris’s family on both sides.
Besides being savant-ish, he is quite the character. He has bushy white eyebrows with a few wild hairs nearly four inches long. His face needed a shave. He wore no hat; his sandaled feet had white socks on wrong side out. His pants were baggy and his sport coat badly soiled. He could have used a bath.

Jenn said he stops by nearly every week and usually on Monday. There’s a special Facebook page for “Leonard sightings” as he lives in Newcastle but is seen all around. If Bebe had not gone for the tea and biscuits, he would have asked for it.

He’s a friend of John Moxen’s. To complete Leonard’s ensemble, he wore a pair of binoculars. He didn’t answer my questions about whether he was bird-watching or not. Jenn said Leonard is the one who has compiled a list of 40 or so birds that can likely be seen at Murlough National Preserve.
After the visit with Leonard, Bebe and I set off down the lane to the boardwalk to the sea. It was early afternoon, maybe 2 pm so we only met a handful of walkers. Some were alone, one had two dogs (one who stopped and greeted me) and there was one particular couple. She carried a walking stick. I asked if it was collapsible, a very nice stick and useful in the rocks. She said it was and made her way up the rocky beach. Trudging along several metres behind her was her hubby, huffing and puffing to keep up. He said that he was also collapsible! I think she had set a pace a bit too fast for him.

I met the gal who comes in to clean the rooms after teams leave. Bebe said her name was Chevan and I asked “Chevan” to spell it…it is Sioban, very Irish. Sweet girl!!

I’ve met many people, full time and half time and volunteers here at Murlough House. It’s hard to keep them all straight but this is only my second day. An interesting thing at breakfast---I had yogurt and tea. Deidre came in and fixed her cereal, puffed rice, and added a roasted potato from last night’s supper…these Irish and their potatoes!!

Thursday

Bebe at the Hole in the Wall
After breakfast Bebe and I made a list of things we’d like to see around NI. Richard the gardener helped us. We decided that since we didn’t have much scheduled for today, we would take a drive through the Mourne Mountains. Richard helped us find maps and off we went. Bebe handed me the keys so I did a round in the driveway to acclimate myself to the steering wheel and we headed down the lane. The 5-speed isn’t the problem. I have some troubles getting to close to the curb but mostly it’s the turn signal! I keep turning on the wipers. We headed to Newcastle looking for a “hole in the wall” (ATM machine). Bebe was out of pounds. We tried two machines and both refused her card. I was able to get funds from my card so we had money for lunch.  Then we traveled on down to Annalong for lunch at the fish place where we ate last November. Neither of us remembered it quite correctly and we passed it twice! Bebe called Deirdre to get precise directions and there it was!! The Galley has great fish with a “Pensioner’s” portion.

We went on south toward Kilkeel with the sea on our left and the mountains on our right. According to the map we were to continue on B27 but we couldn’t find a road sign to turn off. We continued and ended up at Cranfield Caravan Park, a camper park. I pulled over to look at the map and a red Royal Post car pulled up alongside us. The mailman got out and came round to my side. At this point, I think I had again turned on the wipers and then choked the car so it died. He asked if we were having troubles and I told him I couldn’t understand the car and I couldn’t understand the map. He said “oh you’re Americans” and I said, “yes and I can’t understand the language here either!” He said his brother has a girlfriend in Indiana on Safari Street…did I think I knew her? We asked what town and he wasn’t sure….funny. Then he said ‘she’s a hairdresser’ like that would help. Finally he remembered it was Muncie so we told him that was rather close but no, we didn’t know her.  He was very kind and helpful. He told us where we had missed the road and gave directions. He kept saying I had to go down to hell and if I missed at the bottom of hell, then I shouldn’t go up to hell……finally, it dawned on me he was talking about the hill. The turnoff was at the bottom of the hill, just a wee bit past the light. If I missed the turn, I would be going up the hill. Well, I missed the wee turn….it was quite wee….and did go up and back down.

But now we were going through the Mourne Mountains…absolutely stunning! Irish stone fences and hedges and quaint cottages and then wonderful new homes. Lots of fields of sheep and green, so much green. The mountains are beautiful. The roads are narrow and winding with me putzing along at 30-40 mph but wonderful! It was a lovely day and a fine time in the mountains. Bebe said it reminded her of Austria. The clouds hung low over the peaks.

Back at Murlough House we had a quick supper of scrambled eggs and toast and then were off with Alan and Martin to Kilkeel Secondary School for a presentation. Bebe and I set up the display table for AIM (Africa Inland Mission) and greeted those coming in. There may have been 200 by the time it began. It was sponsored by the SUNI…Scripture Union North Ireland. SU seems to be like Campus Crusades or Youth for Christ…a group of teens. These kids lead in music, scripture reading and prayer. About half of the attenders were adults. After the missionary from Madagascar and Martin spoke, there was small group prayer, and then the teens read from Revelation 7. It was moving.

Back at MH by 10:45 after a stop for petrol….don’t complain about the price of gas!! It’s 136p/liter here which figures out to $9.21/gallon.

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