I have some friends.

One of the drawbacks of Ballymaloe which may be an advantage or disadvantage is that it is located a 20 minute drive from Middleton the nearest urban area in the countryside. One bus leaves Ballymaloe at 9:45 and one bus returns at 4:45. The plight of people using public transport is the same everywhere . Bad service. There are a limited number of people here with cars and some of the car people are doing their own things on weekends. There are only a limited number of spots out of here in a car. The two women with cars in my house are doing their own things on weekends. I spent the week trying to position myself to get a ride out on the weekend to no avail. I would have been voted off the island if this had been the tv show Survivor. At the last moment on Saturday morning I was invited to join Jakob and Lynda from my house to go with Edel. Edel lives off site with her father. She grew up in the area but moved away to work in England. She drove us to Middleton and deposited us at the grocery store. We did a quick explore of Middleton and a grocery shop for some provisions for light suppers. I have been eating one sandwich per night as the lunches are so filling. I also bought some salmon, potatoes and carrots to make supper for Jakob and Lynda but bought some extra so Nils Phebe and Kate could join in if they desired. These are the people in my house who don't have cars. Perhaps for whiskey connoisseurs, the town of Middleton will ring a bell. It is the home of Jamieson's Whiskey. Edel took us over to the distillery for a look at the grounds and the gift shop. There was a 750 ml bottle of 50 year old whiskey in a Waterford crystal bottle which had just sold for 150000 Euros. The bottle alone was valued at 8000 Euros. Crazy. I would have bought it but I don't drink. We then went over to the Ballymaloe House which is a separate entity from the school. It is a very high end hotel which was started by the parents of Tim and Darina who own the cooking school. It is owned by Toby and his siblings and some investors and is a different entity than the school. It was a beautiful country house on an estate. We stopped for a snack and drink in the coffee shop before returning to the school. I had a little break before heading off for a swim in the sea. I think I am getting more used to the cold water of the Irish sea. My shoulder is feeling better so I have been able to do some actual swimming. I find that I am meeting the locals at the beach. One woman, a retired Psych nurse called Josee I have met twice. The locals will only go at high tide but many of them are retired so have the luxury of time.

Today was Sunday. One of the women on the course Grace is an enthusiastic runner. She wanted to do a half marathon in Yougal a community on the coast but wanted to split the cab cost. I thought it would be fun to go so accompanied her. While she ran the course I could wander around town. There were lots of people in town for the race. When we got there the 10 k race was under way. I wandered around the very pretty town taking in the medieval Anglican church, part of the old wall fortifications, some of the old buildings, a tower dating back to the Normans. Unfortunately all the businesses other than the grocery stores were closed as it was Sunday. I wandered back to the race course and watched the race and cheered Grace on when she ran by. Grace finished in 1:43 which was very good. We went for a late lunch and then cabbed it back to Ballymaloe.

That evening I made supper for everyone in my house except for the two women who had gone off in their cars. I served pan seared salmon which I had bought in Middleton the day before, mashed potatoes and honey carrots. Lynda from California gave me a little help with the carrots. Everything worked out wonderfully and everyone was happy.Read more