At the first stop and man got on the train and sat in the seat across from us. At first glance he looked a bit quirky. He was dressed in a funny hat and had lots of jewelry on. Before we knew it he was pointing out where Bram Stoker (the man who wrote Dracula) lived, the school where the band U2 was formed and other landmarks. We began to talk and told us he was a poet from Malahide and sold his books in Dublin and other places around Ireland. He went on to tell us about his life hosting a children's TV show and how he had received electro-shock therapy a few years back....ummm yep what do you say to that one??? He told us he was once on a mood stabilizer but felt it made people into zombies who walked around smoking all day. He told us about his mother who used to scare him with stories about communists. He said at the time he didn't know what a communist was....but he was pretty sure he'd know one if he ever saw one. He also told us how much he loved Johnny Cash and that he had met him once when he was in concert in Ireland.
We had a lovely conversation and he said he was headed to the Starbucks in Malahide to meet a friend who designed the album covers for U2. At the end of our ride I asked for his name and a picture for my blog. His name is Pat Ingoldsby and he was more than happy to let me take his picture. He told me to google him because despite the fact that he doesn't have internet he had heard he was on "it" a good bit. When we got off the train Chad and I looked at each other and couldn't decide if he was a total nut, truly a famous Irish poet or both. Well sure enough when we got home I googled him and he was telling the truth. He is all over the internet including Wikipedia - you know if it's on Wikipedia it has to be real : ) Below is the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Ingoldsby
I felt like we had just encountered something/someone very special. Not everyday you meet a famous poet. I am going to try to find a copy of one of his books while we are here since I can now say I know him.
Anyways, back to the trip to Malahide. The festival was not very festive but we really enjoyed the little village. We walked around the coast looking at all the boats and then in true Ireland fashion we were caught in a massive down pour of rain. Cold, cold rain!! We headed for the first restaurant we could find and stopped for lunch.
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| Chad refused to be in any pictures...guess he wasn't feeling his cutest : ) |
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| This bird sat up there forever just surveying the land |
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| Can you see the rain off in the distance? |
By the time we finished eating the sun was back out again. We had seen most of the village at that point so we walked to the Malahide Castle. It was closed for renovations but we were able to see the outside. It re-opens in September so we will have to make a trip back.
On our walk back to the train we were again blessed with a beautiful rainbow. That's one of the wonderful things about having bi-polar weather I guess!
On our train ride back we did not have the company of Mr. Ingoldsly, however we did get to listen to 3 gentlemen talk about all the odd things they had ever eaten.... to include dog :(, alligator, guinea pig and kangaroo.....seriously no joke! Chad and I just giggled like kids listening to them talk.
In the morning I am off to a camp at Barrettstown Castle for children with cancer. Not sure if I will be able to blog from there but I promise to have lots to tell you when I get back in a week! Below is the link to their website if you want to check it out!
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