So I decided to go to Ireland anyway. Wednesday I booked the tickets and early Thursday morning I set off. It was a long journey, but I quite enjoyed it, finding time to read and write and drink tea. I had way too many moments of bad timing and getting lost to mention them all, but it all turned out good in the end.
Once I arrived in Rosslare, the port town in Ireland, I ended up in a hotel with wonderful staff and charming Irishmen. It was a good start of the journey! The next morning I made a move down to the ferry terminal to catch a coach to Tipperary, a small town apparently known from an old song I'd never heard of. I had to wait for the bus and spent the time well, going for a long walk on the beach watching out for the waves rolling in and then settling down at a cafe for more reading and more tea.
I arrived to Tipperary just as the Friday kettle market was finishing and the streets were full of trucks and trailers waiting for the day's bargains to be shipped over to the farms. People looked at me in a funny way as I was walking down the streets, in that kind of way that makes you wonder if you've got something weird stuck to your face or if you forgot to do your zipper up. I guess I just looked different. I was on the hunt for a B&B, but every place I went into seemed to be just an old bar. I entered one place and it looked suspiciously dodgy, even by my standards. I went in, quickly changed my mind, had a look around to see if anyone had noticed me entering and then made a run for the door. Oh the bravery. Eventually my tummy made itself known and I had to stop in a pub for food. I asked the bartender if he knew any B&Bs and he directed me to one just down the street. An old man called Gerry welcomed me in and I was provided with a lovely warm room with a heavily trafficked road running just outside my window.
As I sat down to do some more reading I suddenly got extremely homesick. I felt really lonely and I just longed for my own bed and some good company, and my mind battled with the desire to catch the first bus to get me back home the next day. I came to my senses though and thought about what I was missing from back home that I didn't have where I was in Tipperary, and I realised there wasn't that much. It also made me contemplate what makes something a home and I was reminded of how a few years ago I had discovered that God was my home, that wherever God is, if I am with Him, there I will find peace. I then decided I wanted a cup of tea and I went down to ask Gerry for a cuppa and found him and two other guests chatting in the kitchen. I was given a pot of tea and some chocolate biscuits which made me feel a lot better. Then Gerry went to let their little energetic dog in, and she ran into the kitchen and flew up onto my lap, and there she stayed for the next two hours. It's amazing what a hot drink and a pet can do for your nerves, and when I went to bed that night I went to bed with a smile. God is good.
Saturday morning started with a full Irish breakfast, a moment of contemplation and a nice stroll around town. As I was walking past the supermarket I recognised one of the ladies from the B&B and she invited me to sit down for a coffee. So I bought myself a black coffee and sat down for a chat. Her name was Katherine and she had not long ago come out of a messy divorce and was now homeless and quite damaged. We ended up talking about outlooks on life, psychology, philosophy and sharing life stories. I talked to her about the faithfulness of God and it brought a smile to her face, making her dentures move slightly. At the end of our two hour long chat our coffee had turned cold and so had we. There we were in the end, a 70 year old Catholic and a 27 year old Protestant, holding hands and praying for each other. At that point she was not an acquaintance or a friend, she was my sister. And later she turned into a granny, prompting to buy me food for the journey. Sometimes you don't accept a gift because you need it, truth is you might not even want it. Sometimes you accept a gift to give a person the opportunity to show gratitude and appreciation. We exchanged contact details and we parted with a warm hug.
The journey back to Rosslare was painful. Imagine a rickety bus travelling on small crooked roads a little bit too fast. After a couple of hours I could not take my eyes of the road in fear of my stomach turning a little bit too much. The smell of fresh sea air and the sound of the waves came as a beautiful relief and I took my time strolling back up to the hotel, singing gladly along the shore as I was walking up the road. Back in the hotel the staff recognised me and the bartender gave me free Whiskey as it had become known that I was heading over to work in Africa in not too long. It got later than planned and I was half asleep when I finally hit the pillow. The next morning, suffering from losing one hour of sleep as the clocks went forward I stressed down to the ferry and made it down, a good 3 minutes before take off. It was a beautiful sunny day and I spent almost 14 hours travelling. The last part of my journey I skipped the train and took a taxi straight home, best spent £14 this week!
All in all a lot of busing and training, but it was good getting a bit of distance to life in Bristol.
I met up with Tony today and he said I was the happiest he'd ever seen me. Amazing what some holiday, spring and sunshine can do. But then, after going through some tough times I realised again why I love that man. Despite all our obvious differences we're quite alike, not taking ourselves too serious, strong but soft-hearted. He's my mate and I'm his little mucker.
All Love
