Of Bikes and Ballintoy

 Just when you think Northern Ireland can't get any prettier you discover something else that simply blows you away.
On Saturday Mrs P and I re-discovered Castlewellan Park and Tullymore Forest Park. We cycled through both. Two memorable trips both for their beauty and the latter because that's where I came off my mountain bike - in some style too : straight over the handlebars somersaulting unceremoniously onto my back. I had had the back luck to hit a major rock in the pathway while my attention was drawn to people playing in the river.

On Sunday we headed to Ballintoy which is in between the two great NI tourist attractions of The Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede rope bridge.

 This small harbour has to be one of the quaintest places I've seen in NI. It has a tiny coffee shop, a small sandy beach and some fantastic rocks that just ordered Anna and I to come back soon with our snorkeling gear.
The weather was kind to us too. We arrived and the sun shone bright and hard until it dropped over the horizon. We hopped into the car and it rained pretty much all the way home.
Not such an unlucky weekend I guess.

Of The Best Man's Speech

I was Best Man yesterday to my old school friend Andy Owen. It's a great role. You get to see the wedding form the inside. You're right up close when the Groom and Bride are exchanging vows. You can hear the tremors in their voices You're first to see the tears welling up. You're first to congratulate both on their new lives together.
And then there's the Best Man's Speech. For many men this is a terrifying experience but yesterday was my third go and I have to say I really enjoyed it. There's something rather wonderful about making people laugh on a special day and wrapping up leaving everyone feeling on high - especially the married couple.
Here's a tip for anyone having to do a Best Man's Speech in the near future. Think you'll goof up and the chances are you will. Visualise success beforehand and chances are you'll really deliver. It's such a mental thing public speaking and the mental game you have to be on top of more than anything else.

Of One Glorious Week

Mrs P and I are just off the back of a really great week. On Wednesday evening last, we completed our first tri-athlon. We ran in last but didn't come away with the wooden spoon really because at least 10 competitors failed to finish the 750 metre sea swim, the 22km bike ride or the 5km run. The Glenarm tri-athlon, we found out afterwards, is avoided by many because most of the bike ride is up hill. In fact about 10km is up hill and quite a gradient at that.

On Friday we took off in the Legal-Island hot air balloon. Anna loved the flight. I suffered it I guess.
Saturday was more relaxing with a trip to the Ballymena Steam Engine Rally.
Loved it!

Of Using our Heads Off Torr Head

Mrs P and I took the kayak out yesterday and went for a paddle near Torr Head. It was sunny. It was beautiful. It was also a close run thing. As we paddled along the coast with Scotland in full view just 12 miles away I noted the pattern in an otherwise tranquil sea, change. I noted too a buoy chained to the ocean floor appear to go whizzing by us. I told me clearly we were in a outward current and a strong one at that.
I turned the boat around and tried to paddle back the way we had come. Despite paddling full out for a good two minutes we appeared to make no progress back. Mrs P then tried herself with the emergency paddle and, when timed with me at the back, we slowly edged our way further from Scotland and back to port. Phew! Close run thing!

Of MG @ MOT = AA

I took the MG for it's MOT on Saturday evening along with Mrs P for good luck. As we approached the test centre I could see the needle on the temperature gauge threatening to dip into the red. I was pleased we were early with time to switch off the engine and let the old girl cool down a bit -- or so I thought. As soon as we arrived we were beckoned forward into Lane 3 asked for the mileage and then told to turn on the headlights. As the wheels were tested the assistant was pointing out something to me on the screen which suggested that rear wheel left was underinflated. But I was watching the temperature needle which was firmly in the red zone and the car bonnet for signs of smoke. Mercifully, we moved forward onto the ramp when I was asked to exit and the engine was finally turned off.
Remarkably, the MG passed! We hopped into the car and burned off into the sunny evening with a real sense we'd been lucky. Really lucky. 5 minutes later we broke down and had to call the AA to get us home. As my ex brother-in-law said to me on Facebook MOT certify your car is safe, not reliable. The two we discovered are not always the twain.

Of Painless Russian Language Learning

Something rather wonderful happened a while back. I went on Ebay to see if I could find a Russian language CD for the car. Most of them we're quite pricey and full courses were approaching £100. Right down the bottom of the search results was a CD for £2.99. Perfect I thought! It didn't have much of a description to it but for that price who could go wrong?
The CD duly arrived a few days later and it turns out it contained a highly illegal copy of the famous Michele Thomas technique to learning Russian. Curious, I popped on the first lesson and it was great. I did the second, the third and now I'm hooked. Best of all its quite painless too.
The aim now is to do 18 5 minute lessons each day. The course is clearly working because I had my first conversation in Russian with Mrs P yesterday. She asked me if I wanted eggs for breakfast. I said I didn't I wanted porridge because I was hungry. I asked for a cup of red tea. And replied "Yuk" (thinking this would surely work in Russian too) when she asked if I wanted milk in my red tea.
Michele Thomas was an interesting guy. He fought in the French resistance before going to make his fortune in the US teaching foreign languages to "A" list celebrities and popularising his language techniques.
Spacebo Michele. Thank you Ebay.

Of Twee and Tweed in Devon for the Weekend

Mrs P and I have just spent a delightfully "English weekend"enjoying the sights of Devon and some glorious weather to boot.
We flew into Bristol early Saturday and in a hired convertible Mini. It's a fabulous car. It drives like a Kart on steroids.
We wound our way through beautiful Devon country lanes and villages to Colyton Church to meet the Reverend Hilary.
The Reverend Hilary is a lovely lady and I can't think of anyone I'd prefer to do our Blessing in August. She's full of smiles, joie de vivre and clearly loves what she does.She invited us to the vicarage for afternoon tea and a chat. The vicarage is a wonderful building bathed in history.

She told us it was built in 1517 and has been occupied by vicars ever since. I guessed she was the first female occupant but hopefully not the last.
Almost an hour and a half later we were on our way to Bovey Castle on the edge of Dartmoor. It doesn't get any more English than Bovey Castle. All the staff are in tweed waist coats. The foyer contains an array of wellington boots in case you wish to join a shooting party as well as a pile of towels topped with a sign "Please wipe down your dog".

We walked through the grounds and out up a hill to the nearest village, North Bovey, which consists of a delightful church, a few thatched cottages and "The Ring O'Bells" pub. We sat in the beer garden and slurped some old English ale and wondered if life gets any better than this...