After a fabulous seven weeks my time in Ireland for the Christmas break has finally come to an end.  It’s 3am and I’m getting ready to pack the car and make my way to the ferry. It’s been so lovely spending time here, helped on by one of the mildest December and January months on record. Benson snores away beside me on the bed oblivious to the journey ahead. He’ll sleep all the way in the car anyway (except for the start of the ferry where he will bark for about an hour until he realises no one is coming to release him)… oh to be a happy dog 🐕

Well I never knew it but the Hollywood blockbuster movie with Minnie Diver was shot in Inistioge just down the road from my place. Small world eh. Myself and Gillian Took the dogs for a walk there last weekend. Great view of the town from the folly at the top of the woods in Woodstock.

Talk about a food fest. I have put on 7kg over the past month. Okay so I’ve not been doing any exercise but regardless I need to get a handle on that or it will be back to the old days before I know it. Was considering Noom again  but I think that’s a step too far. For now I’ve downloaded an App called Calorie Counter from the App Store. It’s got some really cool features like a bar code scanner that works on UK products. Contains useful recipes, and it’s just £2.50 per month.