Waiting for the boarding Assistance with all the other elderly passengers at Heathrow
A first view of the Emerald Isle
and a wonderful welcome from Liam and Elaine who had driven up from Kildare to fetch us
The Murphy homestead in County Kildare
Liam in his Scruffy Murphy's pub which is in a shed on the property
Liam restores vintage Volvos, some imported from South Africa
in his workshop shed - works in progress, two Volvo P1800s (the Saint's car) and one PV544
and races them - at a young 82!
Liam in 1973
when John joined him on the Volvo rally service crew
A 1973 Volvo 144, standard body, but very non-standard mechanically as a rally car
The Redhill Adventure Centre was established on Liam's late father's farm, and is managed by their eldest son Paul
It is a great playground for families
in a safe environment
Kildare is farming country - a view from Redhill
Kildare Village - very modern, upmarket shopping centre built in a rural area
Lynne and Elaine window shopping
all decorated for Christmas
Liam says that Nolan's is the best pub in Kildare
Mine Host, the landlord
It is very atmospheric, even on a quiet evening
A pint and a half of Guinness
Then off to supper at Harte's of Kildare, a gastro pub
where we were hosted by Paul
A very good Irish red ale
The Harte's menu, scrumptious food, and we ordered too much! The Potato skins starter was very filling and the Prawn and Chorizo Pil Pil nearly took your head off, it was excellently hot.
and an excellent Spanish Albariño to go with the very good food
Winter trees
A large family party had been arranged for us to meet all the family
Dierdre Murphy, Paul's wife, with their daughters
We first met Paul and Dierdre when they came to Cape Town for their honeymoon
Lisa, Liam and Elaine's daughter
She visited us in Cape Town with Liam a few years ago
John photographed her with Elaine in 1973
Three Murphy generations - Liam and Elaine with their four children, their spouses and all the grandchildren
A very good-looking family
and the grandparents with their grandchildren
All good things have to end, and we were back up the road to Belfast,
the airport and the flight back to Heathrow
Then a night at the Airport Radisson Red which we wouldn't recommend
We have stayed in two Radissons before and they were excellent. This one is not
Our room was painted black (!) so it was very dark and it smelt of sulphur
We arrived late, just before midnight and woke at 9. Breakfast is finished and cleared away by 10! It's a bun fight
Checking in at Heathrow the next morning, waiting for Assistance
a pause to buy some luxuries
a bite of lunch and a beer in one of the hospitality lounges
and back onto the A380 to Dubai and Cape Town
It was a holiday of note, so many highlights, so many sights, so much walking
but the best was seeing our family and close friends. We are very thankful
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
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