Bernadette's Bike Adventures (Part Three)

Polranny guest Bernadette Paternotte is continuing her cycle tour of Achill: "Cycling alongside the Atlantic Ocean was becoming increasingly difficult. Struggling against stormy, torrential rain, I tried in vain to cycle up a mountain. Finally I just pushed the bike to the top.

When I arrived back in Polranny soaked to the skin, Ray the builder came indoors, bleeding profusely from a gash in his wrist that was covered with a hankie. I ran upstairs to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit that I always stared at when sitting on the loo.

With a little help from my own medical gear, Ray's wrist ended up looking quite professional. However, I did make a point of telling him to go to the doctor to get it sewn up, which he immediately dismissed and went straight back to work.

Then it occured to me that Ray and I were now quits: me with my bike tyres patched by him, and him with his wrist bandaged by me.

Photo: Annie

Beyond the Secret Garden

Polranny guest Bernadette has borrowed a bike from Pirate friends Willem and Doutsje, the owners of the nearby Secret Garden. She writes in her journal of 24 August 2009: "So I set out on my adventures on a old-fashioned, rusty Gazelle bike. Willem told me to take the left-hand turn at Achill Secret Garden so that I could cycle around the most southerly tip of the Island. For most of this trip I was surrounded by water, and for half the time I had a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to get as close as I could to the point where the rocks and the sea fight it out with such violence. I wanted to capture the most spectacular moment of this battle with my lens. But each time the combatants were too quick for me; each click was too late. It was as if it were set-up. Yet I didn't mind that what I saw could not leak out, that I could keep it all for myself as the splashes of water on my lens and my glasses obstructed the view and I was forced to abandon the scene of the battle".

Photo: Annie

Finding Transport

On 24 August, Polranny guest Bernadette wrote in her journal: "Today there was a visit that I simply couldn't ignore. There was an absolute racket behind the door separating the extension from the kitchen, while simultaneously an enormous cloud of dust rose from under it and invaded my territory.

So this was how I got to meet the builders: Ray, who I talked to the most, and the others, who I could barely understand. I also noticed that the roof was now almost covering the extension.

A little later when I'd been standing by the road for a while trying to hitchhike, Ray came up and asked me for the key to the house so he could go inside. By now I didn't reckon my chances of getting a lift so I asked him whether I could borrow a bike from him. The answer was no.

But he had a think about it, babbled, and gave me to understand that there was a bike somewhere and that he was kindly offering to drive me over to it. Later we took the turning to Achill Secret Garden, where my bike was waiting for me with... two flat tyres. While Ray glued the tyres, I drank coffee with Doutje and Willem, the Dutch owners of the Garden."

To be continued...

Photo: Bernadette Paternotte

Love Hurts...

... a heart-shaped jellyfish found by artist Bernadette Paternotte during her visit last August to Polranny.

Photo: Bernadette

The Road to the Sea

On her third day in Polranny, our guest Bernadette Paternotte writes: "Today I turned my back on Achill Sound and walked in the opposite direction. Turning left, I took a side road towards the coast. I stood there for a while, absorbing my surroundings and recording them with my camera.

At first it seemed grey and dingy, but later the heavens opened and everything became ever more colourful with a little rain, which was something I took in my stride.

An untouched coastal landscape: large and small stones staring up at me silently, some covered with greenish yellow seaweed. Long strands with little balls that popped under my weight, I slipped with every step.

The sea water murmured gently, the sky became bluer and the emerging sun felt warm on my skin."

Photos: Bernadette Paternotte

The Next Day...

Polranny guest Bernadette Paternotte continues her Irish diary: "The next day I walked to Achill Sound. The weather was chilly and overcast but dry.



Achill Sound is located on Achill Island with a bridge connecting the island to Ireland. It's the largest Irish island with a circumference of some 144 square kilometres.

There was no bus in sight even after waiting for a while. My well-filled backpack made walking back rather difficult, so I made a virtue out of a necessity and picked the prettiest flowers alongside the road and took them home with me. Once I arrived, I arranged them in a vase and placed them on the kitchen table next to the window. This had become my favourite place for sitting and working."



Photos: Bernadette Paternotte

A New Guest Arrives...

Polranny guest Bernadette Paternotte writes: "On 21 August 2009 I took a taxi to Polranny House from Westport. It was evening and already dark when I arrived. Once I'd entered the house and turned on the lights, I wasn't shy about checking everything out. After all, it would be my house for the next ten days. Familiar smells wafted towards me. The smell of stove polish dominated, and for a moment I was overcome with nostalgia for my old house with the wood-burning stove, sawing the wood that was washed up in the ditch, spending the summer outside in my shorts. Then there was my studio with its view of the meadows, the cows and the vast skies. So far as I'm concerned there's nothing unfamiliar about country life."
Photo: Bernadette Paternotte

As Smooth as Silk

The side of a fallen tree at Bleanáskill Lodge, Achill's secret garden run by Pirate friends Willen and Doutsje (http://achillsecretgarden.com/).
Photo: Annie. Click to enlarge

A Child's Paradise...

...your very own house in the woods at the Valley House hostel on nearby Achill Island.

Photo: Annie

A Prayer for Sr. Natalie

A thoughtful reminder at Ballintubber Abey. I wonder who she was...?
Photo: Annie

Sad Saint

This tearful saint adorns a lichen-covered gravestone in Burrishoole Friary, located near the waters of Clew Bay.
Photo: Annie

Jesus of Westport

Jesus floating in mid-air as he ascends to the Kingdom of Heaven in St. Mary's Church, Westport.
Photo: Annie. Click to enlarge

It's Always Good to have a Spare One

Spotted parked outside the very beautiful Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo.
Photo: Annie

Typical Irish Weather...

... blue skies and rain!
Photo: Annie

Patiently Waiting His Turn...

... is the surfing gull of Achill Island!
Photo: Peti

After the Storm...

... come the windsurfers of Keel Beach!
Photo: Peti

And It Heats the Space as Well

The new stove in the living room, looking quite splendid!
Photo: Annie

Mulranny Beach at Its Best

Sunshine, clear blue skies and candy floss clouds.
Photo: annie

The Holy Ghost?

It's probably all a matter of smoke and mirrors...
Photo: Annie

You Never Know When They May Be Feeling a Little Peckish

Spotted in Connemara.
Photo: Annie

Finding Your Bearings in Connemara

A handy signpost with all the important details.
Photo: Annie

Those Hardy Annuals...

Although the garden is now ready for the winter, the dahlias are still going strong.
Photo: Peti

The Garden Still in Its Summer Glory

Photo: Peti

The Ayatollahs of Achill????

Pirate Peti writes: "It has come to pass that the flag of the Ayatollahs of Iran is flying over the Slievemore mountain. Has Achill been invaded by the Axis of Evil or is it in honour of visiting dignitaries of disreputable character? Nobody seems to know. The girl at Bretts Newsagents thinks the flag's there because it adds the traditional County Mayo colours of green and red to the festivities surrounding the annual Achill Regatta."
Photo: Peti

The Men Behind the New Bathroom

PJ and Tony Kilbane, father and son, are two of the men working on the new bathroom extension at the back of the house. Tony does the plastering.

It's All Go in Polranny!

The pantry and the shower behind the kitchen have been demolished and are being replaced with an extension with the latest, state-of-the-art amenities. Fortunately for our guests there is still the bathroom upstairs, which is also the best place for watching the local wildlife.
Photos: Peti

Nature Watch

There are two foxes in the garden this summer. This young gentleman and an older female with grey shanks, possibly his mother.
Photo: Annie.

Halloween in August?

Standing in the misty shadows of the spooky Slievemore Mountain, this has to be the scariest scarecrow of Achill Island.
Photo: Annie

Some Pirates Have Green Fingers...

... and this summer's dahlias are their pride and joy!
Photo: Annie

Where's the Rest of Him?

... spotted in nearby Clew Bay.
Photo: Annie

Birdy Paradise

A handy addition to the garden: a avian tree house with a variety of tasty snacks.
Photo: Annie

Simple But Effective

The essential details of the bathroom door...
Photo: Annie

Land of the Giants

This may look like some slightly weather-beaten sculpture installation; in fact it's part of the extraordinary rock formations of the Giants Causeway in Country Antrim. The official explanation has something to do with volcanic activity during the Paleogene period. But personally I prefer the stuff of legends and that Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner.
Photo: Annie

Corraun Diary (13) Checking the Takings

Despite the uncertain future of their pub, Pirate friends and neighbours Jane and Al are determined to look on the bright side, as Jane writes in her diary entry of 29 July 2005: "The Currane Yawl Race takes place at the front of our property over the August Bank Holiday Weekend.

Bar takings for last night, the Thursday before the August Bank Holiday, were €153. The same night last year it was €420 and the year before it was €2919! Of course the reason for the huge takings on the equivalent day in 2003 was the opening of the Currane Failte Abaile (Welcome Home festival). We moved our bar license to the community centre for that event. You have to go to court to do that, so there were legal fees to pay not to mention the large number of staff we had to employ for the occasion.

There was, however, a play in the community centre and a golf event in the Compass last night so hopefully things will improve over the rest of the bank holiday.
Photo: Jane

Irish Weather

In Ireland, they say that the weather changes every 15 minutes...
Photo: Annie