Fee. Fi. Fo. Fum.

David got it in my head that it looked like the woman in the picture was a giant peering out at the man on the cherry picker. The college was installing three large banners at the college as a teaser campaign for the new branding work that is being completed. The college is one of the organisations on the Innovation By Design programme; the programme I helped create and manage at the Centre. It was nice to catch the unveiling in action. I'd love to know the student's reaction to seeing this hanging in the main lobby when she came to class.

A pheasant trip

This past winter I picked up two volumes on the archaeological monuments of Sligo. The one volume is difficult to lift and the inventory only covers the southern half of the county. We haven't made it a mandatory weekend trip, but we have quite a few sites to visit. Today we went to the Ballindoon Friary, not ten minutes from the house.

Overlooking Lough Arrow, this Dominican friary was founded in 1507 and stands today as a complete 16th century ruin with no later appendages. There is a headstone in the nave dating from 1717.

Gabe and I disturbed a pheasant's nest behind the building. I still struggle with the focus on this new lens, and even though the photographer in me knows this isn't a perfect picture. I still loved the colour.

Home Sweet Home?

I have to admit to being a little embarrassed that Sligo was voted the dirtiest town in Ireland. Now I have always admitted that Sligo has suffered from some bad town planning, but the town could be fantastic with a little bit of effort. There are great views and the river cuts through the centre of town. I say we work toward a Tidiest Town award.

Making waves

(Photo credit: Mickey Smith)

Apparently we weren't in the right place to see some of the biggest waves over the weekend. There were, indeed, 50 ft. waves in Mullaghmore, just North of Sligo ... and people were surfing them.

We left from Mullaghmore on one of our best journeys to the island of Inishmurray. I got some fantastic pics there.

Ellen's worth the wait

Ellen's, Ballyconnell, Maugherow, Co. Sligo. €3.80

It took three tries to get into Ellen's Pub. We tried to find it once on some shady directions and ended up driving round Raghley Harbour and settling for a pint somewhere else. On the second try, we arrived around the lunch hour to find it didn't open until 6PM. On our third attempt, we came after work at 6:30, to find the doors still closed. Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for someone to show and open up.

Ellen's opened in 1610 and is the oldest pub in Sligo and apparently the second oldest in Ireland. (That second fact hasn't been checked, but nearly 400 years of service is pretty impressive.) A good deal of the original, thatched pub still exists, though it has been built upon in the back. I didn't have my camera with me which will serve as a good excuse to go back.

A testament to this pint is the fact that David and I had the first two pints of the evening. Not typically when you want to be sampling a pint of Guinness ... but the pints were still fine. I can only imagine what they would be round ten o'clock that same evening. This would have been in the top five had it been on the original 30 Pint Tour.

Get on your birthday suit

I mentioned in another post that a perfect day at Strandhill would include a seaweed bath. Having met with Celtic Seaweed Baths (soon to be Voya) at work, I had never actually had one myself. This was the perfect gift for Lisa's birthday, and may I suggest a great date for anyone.

You actually get in a claw foot bath with whole strands of seaweed, and the water is piped-in seawater. The price is a bargain (€20/single, €30/couple) in my book for 50-minutes of bliss.

Lisa said it was fine to mention the whole birthday thing on the blog, but not to give away what birthday she was celebrating. (I guess I "runed" that.)

Last minute shopping

Things weren't so bad in Sligo town today, but it was clearly more busy than usual on O'Connell Street. Only two more days until the big guy appears.

And for you non-believers out there, here's all the proof you'll need.

The parking disc

Parking is an issue in Sligo. There simply isn't enough. My least favorite place to find parking is in the Tesco parking lot. Irish drivers do not set a good example and cars appear strewn everywhere on curbs. I haven't learned what you can get away with and dutifully buy my parking discs.

... parking discs can be purchased in newsagents or in shops displaying a "parking discs sold here" sign. By marking the appropriate year, month, day, hour, and minute, you validate the disc. You display the disc in a visible place in your car, e.g., windscreen, side window. Discs are valid for one hour and you can only park in a disc parking area for 2 hours. Discs are usually sold in books of ten and will cost around 4 euro (again, charges for disc parking can vary greatly, depending on the area) ...

How can we improve personal mobility? The car is just not an effective means of transport within urban environments.