Liebster Award - Part 2

For the second assignment associated with the Liebster Award,  I am answering the eleven questions posed by Doris from Inspired Follies


1. When do you write your blog posts and how long does it take you?
I have to admit to being a most disorganised blogger and, of late, had been thinking of abandoning it until Doris nominated be for this award. I usually write it in the evenings, after work. The photographs will have been taken in the preceding weeks (or even months) and I wish I could say I spend ages honing and crafting my sentences but I never seem to have time for that.

2. Which television programme/s do you watch regularly?
I watch very little television apart from the news.  I did watch 'Last Tango in Halifax' and 'Portlandia' recently on Netflix and enjoyed both.

3. Describe the last meal you cooked.
Yesterday's dinner.  I'm teaching my son how to cook before  he goes to college so have been looking up inexpensive and simple recipes. I married two recipes 'All-in-one baked sausages with lentils' from Sainsbury's 'One Pot' cookery book with the poser sounding ' Toulouse sausage pul lentil' stew from Donal Skeehan's 'Homecooked'. Basically, it's good quality sausages and chopped  bacon, browned in a pan, and then cooked with chopped carrots, celery, pepper, onion, puy lentils garlic, dijon mustard, red wine, stock, bay leaves, and theme, and seasoning. Very tasty.

4. What is your favourite item of clothing?  The yellow aran cardigan which my mother knitted me when I was a teenager.  It no longer fits me but it means a lot to me.

5. Your all time favourite book and why you have chosen it? That's  like asking a parent of a large family to name their favourite child! I have so many books that I like.   But if I had to choose one (and possibly because I happen to have a photo of it on my computer!) I'd pick 'To Kill A Mocking Bird'.

6. Describe your usual sleep pattern - i.e time to bed up, how many hours, any middle of the night wake ups etc. I usually go to bed around midnight and get up around 8am. I am a sound sleeper although our cat Toffee sometimes wakes me up as he meows outside our door looking for food during the night.

7. Which line from a poem/book/play or famous speech appeals to you most? '
The opening lines of 'A Tale of Two Cities' which still seem relevant today.
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only

8. The city/town you have enjoyed visiting most? My favourite town to visit is Ballycastle on the north Antrim coast while for city it's a tie between Paris and Rome.

Ballycastle, Co Antrim

9. What is the last film you went to the cinema to watch?
It was so long ago that I can't remember, although I'm guessing that it was the first 'Lord of the Rings'.
We now watch films on tv thanks to Netflix and Apple tv.

10. My current favourite nail polish colour is silver.  If you paint your nails, what colour do you usually choose? Pink

11. If you could award your own Oscar or Bafta to an actor/ tv performer, who would you choose and why?
The Irish actor Brendan Gleeson who brings a wonderful presence to his performances and who also has a great sense of social justice.

Earlier This Summer ....

A very belated post about our holiday earlier this summer, just before the heatwave,  in north Antrim.
It was the first time in several years that we didn't go abroad and also the first time that Fudge, our three  year old Labrador, went on holidays with us.

Do you have a favourite place to go? A place which never disappoints?  A place which takes your breath away and leaves you feeling refreshed? That place for us is Ballycastle, a small seaside village with a beautiful beach and stunning views to Rathlin Island and the Scottish coast.

It's a place rich in history and legend, one of which, The Children of Lir, is recalled in this
elegant piece of public art. I love how the swans, Fionnuala and her brothers, appear to fly over Fair Head.

I love walking along the strand, catching glimpses of Rathlin Island or looking back at the stunning Antrim coast.

Away from the seafront, the village is quite charming and manages to cater for tourists without losing its character.

We travelled over the Rathlin Island for the first time this year - and thanks to Fudge we got talking to lots of other passengers on the ferry. Aren't dogs just the best conversation openers?

The only inhabited island off the coast of Northern Ireland, Rathlin has a small community of around 100 people which increases during the summer season.

The island has three lighthouses. It was near to this one, the East Lighthouse, that Marconi sent his first telegraph messages.

The dramatic coastline is home to thousands of seabirds, including puffins, and a colony of seals.
We had lunch at McCuaig's Bar, the island's only pub, and I had the tastiest panini outside of Italy!
We then walked around the bay to see the seals.

The old Manor House is now run by the National Trust and serves as accommodation for visitors. While we didn't stay overnight on the island, we enjoyed a cup of tea on the lawn outside the house.

Although the north Antrim coast is most famous for the Giant's Causeway, we've seen it so many times that we decided to give it a miss. Instead we visited the ruins of Dunluce Castle, where, according to legend, the kitchen, cooks, pots and pans, went crashing into the sea during a terrible storm.

We stopped off and enjoyed the tranquility of the tiny Ballintoy Harbour.

We walked along the magnificent White Park Bay, marvelling at the crashing waves, so big compared to  the ones that lap our secluded coast.

We drove down the coast to the pretty village of Cushendun and clamoured down to its 'Pudding Stone' caves.

Gaelic culture is alive and well in Cushendall in the heart of The Glens with its old watch tower.

The sun reappeared by the time we got to Carnlough with its quaint harbor

At the end of each day's exploring, we were glad to go back to the delightful cottage we had rented and Fudge made himself at home in front of the fire.