Fergy's Rambles.

Stormy weather? Not really.

I left you at the end of the last entry awaiting the arrival of storm Hector coming in from the Atlantic and for which an amber weather alert had been issued but it had proved to be a bit of a non-event here in Tandragee. The roof was still intact! I did hear later that the nearby Mullahead Road had been closed due to a fallen tree but that was about it. The West of the country had been subjected to a bit of a battering but it had obviously blown itself out by the time it got this far East. Continue reading “Stormy weather? Not really.”

Batten down the hatches and get the pan on.

In this entry I shall re-introduce you to a Northern Ireland institution I have mentioned before and introduce you to one I have not yet spoken of in this travelogue although it will be familiar to anyone who has visited the country. Continue reading “Batten down the hatches and get the pan on.”

It is not like it used to be.

Nothing much happened on the 10th and 11th of June and I settled into a quiet routine at home which I found quite relaxing. Apart from reading everything I could lay my hands on and spending time with my Father I was keeping up this journal which is proving to be time-consuming. Time is not a problem at present but I do wonder how practicable it will be when I go travelling again. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Continue reading “It is not like it used to be.”

I haven’t really got lost.

Main Street, Tandragee, Northern Ireland.

Hello again and thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to visit my rather disorganised little site.

I am writing this in my Father’s home in Tandragee in Northern Ireland where I have been for just over a week now. Being even more of a Luddite than I am, my dear old Dad does not have any internet and this, coupled with a virtually non-existent mobile (cell) ‘phone signal, has rendered me virtually incommunicado . Continue reading “I haven’t really got lost.”

Some sad news, the Musicians Union and a few observations.

The days of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the 6th, 7th and 8th June passed passed fairly unremarkably with me sitting in the back garden reading a succession of good books. My late Mother was a prodigious reader and instilled a love of reading in me. She left an extensive library at home which I still have not managed to wade my way through and my complete inability to walk past a charity shop without checking out the book section means that I have plenty of choice. Continue reading “Some sad news, the Musicians Union and a few observations.”

Time for a pubcrawl, Sorry, a daytrip.

After my impromptu gig with my mate Ritchie in the Montague Arms on the Monday night and a good night’s sleep, I was up on the morning of Tuesday 5th June and wondering what to do with myself. I thought I might take a wander round Portadown which is a mere five miles away but, as I previously explained, is a bit of a pain to get to owing to the parlous state of public transport in the Province. I managed to get one of the infrequent buses and got off for a walk round and with no set plan as always. Continue reading “Time for a pubcrawl, Sorry, a daytrip.”

It was bound to happen.

After a wonderful evening meeting long-lost and never before met cousins followed by a great sleep, I was up and about the next day with no particular plans so I spent the day fiddling about at home, talking to my Father and reading a book about Blair “Paddy” Mayne who was a fellow Northern Irishman, Irish rugby international and wartime commander of the original Special Air Service. An utterly fascinating character. It was good chatting with my Dad as it is a while since I saw him. Continue reading “It was bound to happen.”

I got there at last.

If you have come upon this page other than via the previous entry then I suggest you read my entry for 1st June, 2018 as that explains how I had unexpectedly ended up in a Dublin hostel en route to my family home in Northern Ireland. Continue reading “I got there at last.”

It didn’t start so well.

If you have just stumbled across this entry I would suggest that you read my entry from the 10th June 2018 entitled, “I haven’t really got lost” as it explains exactly what is going on in relation to this particular series of entries which I hope to link sequentially if I ever work out how. They refer to a trip I am currently still on in my home country of Northern Ireland where I have been for jut over a week and may be for an unspecified time for reasons which I shall touch on now. Continue reading “It didn’t start so well.”

I don’t quite believe this.

I am publishing this in the early hours of 17/05/2018 and am going to preface it, as I so always do, with a series of apologies. I seem to have spent half my life apologising.

I had started my lovely brand now website and had posted a few entries about my trip to the West Country of England and ulitmately Lundy Island and, whilst it seemed to be going fine if somewhat chaotically, it was tickling along nicely. Enter at this point stage left, stage right, from the flies and very possibly by way of hydraulic ramp through the stage floor (think the genie in a pantomime), my health. I have literally been effectively in bed for a month. I know this may be seen as a blessing by many but it is a right pain in the posterior. I seem to have recuperated somewhat now and am feeling right in the mood to add a little more. Continue reading “I don’t quite believe this.”