A Bit O' Blarney

“A Recce”

My friend recently asked if we had it to do all over, would we still move to Ireland. In a word, absolutely! No regrets. Wettest 18 months in recorded history, livestock as neighbors, bathroom showers the size of a phone booth. What’s not to love?? In all seriousness, it’s been such an adventure, and we’ve cherished every minute of it! The best part…we’re heading into summer!! 😎🙌 The weather finally broke 70 degrees for the first time since we arrived!!  When it’s sunny, it’s spectacular. And the outdoor population suddenly explodes to three times its normal size. People are giddy!

Looking Ahead: At the end of October, our one-year Irish residency expires. At that point, we plan to move to the outskirts of London for our last six months before heading home in May 2025. Since we have family and friends visiting this summer and into fall, we decided to go on an early recognizance mission (a “recce”) to start figuring out where to live in London.

We used Richmond as our home base. Before “Ted Lasso”, we had made a brief trip to Richmond. Peaches, being the Anglophile that she is, arranged a trip for us to Ham House near Richmond, where they filmed “Young Victoria”. It’s along the River Thames, idyllic. 

The first night we were in Richmond, we walked past a pub called The Red Cow. Eric pointed to it and said emphatically, “I am not eating there!” (we’ve had enough pub food). We were excited about a Cambodian restaurant called Heng Heng, only to discover that directions to the restaurant led us right back to The Red Cow. It’s an English pub that serves another restaurant’s Cambodian food. Of course! They go together like Lennon and McCartney.

While we are more than ready for something other than pub food, pub culture is pretty awesome. A few young Brits joined our table and started chatting us up. After hearing that we moved to Ireland, our new mates started yelling out Irish songs — “Galway Girl,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” “Dirty Old Town” — which the British band surprisingly played on demand like trained seals. Naturally, there was an Irishman from Limerick at the next table. There we were — Irish, Brits, Americans — all singing Irish tunes in a British pub. When the band played “Mr. Brightside”, the Brits yelled, “We love this song! This is like the British song.” I whispered, “But ain’t it American?” But who were we to burst their bubble? That’s what pub life is all about, sharing culture and having the craic with strangers who become new mates, lads, friends. We’re happy that when we move we won’t leave the pub culture behind.

Friends & Family: While in London, we had a short but delightful visit with our friend Jenny on her home turf. In May, we were also reunited with Bette & Fintan, our friends whose bed & breakfast we lived in for our first months in Ireland. Only this time, we hosted them in Westport. It was a treat! (Bette and Fintan spend winters in California, summers in Ireland. We, being not so smart, moved to Ireland in the winter. ☔️🌨️🙄)

We are counting the hours and minutes until Annika and Peaches arrive in Westport! We can’t wait! It is the official kick-off of visitor season. Woo hoo!

We hug you tightly!

The Leprechauns ☘️
Rosbeg Gate Lodge, Westport, Co. Mayo F28 V564 Ireland

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