This is proving to be a wonderful holiday. The Moya Brennan concert was superb, though I must say I am really stuck with the idea that Clannad's 'Macalla' album is unbeatable. We have enjoyed musicians that I had never heard of - Sean Donnelly, for example, who has the lightest touch on his guitar, and words that pierce straight through the toughest skin to your heart.

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How is it possible that we were the ONLY TWO people at his pub concert, apart from his wife and his support act and the lady collecting the money? Yet two days later, when BBC Ulster were at a concert where he and a bunch of other musicians were playing, he had great support from the audience. It seems to be hiit and miss - we are trying to get a couple of concerts in this afternoon, one in the square and one in a pub.

Our cottage is right beside parts of the Ulster Way, and the weather is being kind to us, so we are getting loads of walks. Can't wait for the kids to arrive on the 8th August. My parents leap across from Italy before then - they are unstoppable . I'm enjoying quality newspapers and TV programmes and the things we didn't get (and didn't miss) in Uruguay.

Finding real withdrawal symptoms from my Internet addiction, but was delighted to see today when I came in to Warrenpoint Library for my every-second-day-one-hour-internet stint that 'The Funeral', my first ever fiction peice, was accepted by Writelink resources! And I have a story coming up in an 'Ireland's Own' special next week - opne I wrote after our last Iruish holiday a year ago.

Missing you all but don't have time as yet to read the blogs!