More from Pattern Festival 09

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St Patricks Day Parade 2009

A tune or two being belted out by this chap on a chilly Paddy's Day back in March.

Hurling Semi Finals 2009

The now seemingly yearly clutching at straws by all hurling teams other than the K boys is in full swing. Who would have thought that at the semi stage we would have Waterford and Limerick joining K and Tipp. Ok, the Premier lads are on a roll again this year but they were on a similar roll in 2008 and ended up with Deise egg on their faces. Will Limerick do the same to them this year, I wonder ? Limerick showed great resolve to get over Dublin when it looked like the game was up and who knows, they could do it. Remember the series of thrillers the two of them played out a couple of years ago? Another scorcher could be on the cards. I go for the Shannonsiders by a few points, Tipp to fade in the last five minutes.

Waterford and Kilkenny. Now this is all over bar the stratospheric scoreline according to the "experts" but I'm not too sure about that. Sure, the thrashing handed out last year was beyond belief but that was then and this is now as the song goes. Waterfords form all year has been erratic to say the least but K have not been tested yet in 2009. All it needs is for the Deise to have the same dogged fight to the end spirit that they have shown recently and a major upset is on the cards. No one is really sure which Waterford is gonna turn up..the one that stuck it to Galway or the one thart wilted and collapsed in the Final last year. If I was realistic and put aside my county loyalties one can only see a win-huge one- for Kilkenny but then buckets, wells, water etc......

The weather

The weather. A perrenial topic of discussion if you happen to be living in Ireland. It is just p###### down again and looks set for the day. August Bank Holiday how are ya

Sheep on Mam Tor, Derbyshire

Some of the sheep who graze on the common area of Mam Tor near Castleton. Friendly.

House in Eyam, Derbyshire

This is a house in the village of Eyam in Derbyshire and the place is well known for being one of the few places in England to pro-actively deal with the Black Death in the Middle Ages. They simply sealed themselves off from the rest of the world in an effort to curtail the spread of the plague. While it did not completely stop the spread of the Black Death in their village it was instrumental in keeping the fatalities down.

Today the village is a very busy tourist attraction and welcomes visitors from around the globe to its streets. The gentleman who works in the main museum in the village makes everyone feel welcome and just loves to talk about the Eyam rats !

The Fudge Shop Sign

The fudge shop in Castleton where we called while on holiday in the nearby village of Hope. If one is any way sweet toothed then this is a heavenly place, full of jar after jar of sweets which can still be bought in the traditional measure of "a quarter of those please".