Two Trusty Sticks

Day 7:

Foot doctored by Marese - lots of padding underneath.

Started out from Patrick's Well six miles south of Limerick.  Negotiated turns and roundabouts through Limerick to 445 heading north towards Nenagh.  New bicycle path had been opened from Limerick to Nenagh (24 miles) a few months earlier.  No worries then about traffic.  There was a wide path each side of the road. Rolling countryside with blue hills reflecting the sky in the distance on both sides of the road.  I walked mostly in sunshine with some sharp brief showers including two hail showers.  Wind still sharp from northwest but not bad for walking.

Passed a couple of pubs that seemed to be closed for future business - more victims of the recession and the tendency for home drinking?

Since starting out I have passed many memorials on the roadside to people who were killed in road accidents.  Today I passed a memorial sign for four officers from the Irish Air Corps who died in an accident.

I came into Birdhill about 12 miles north of Limerick.  There was a sign proclaiming it had won the Tidy Towns Competition three times since 2007.  But it does not look big enough to be a village - just two pubs facing each other and a few residential houses.

Feet were crying: "No further today" so I limped into "Matt the Thresher's pub and phoned Marese to come and get me. The pub across the road was called Coopers.  Later I learned that it's main patron were local people, whereas "Matt the Thresher" attracted wider clientele because of its good food.

While waiting for my lift I had a couple of half pints and wrote some 'doggerel' in praise of my trusty walking sticks.

As with all the other hosts I have had, I went back with Marese to a lovely meal, good conversation and a glass (or two!!) of red wine - and of course had my complaining feet taken care of again.

I went to bed early  - I need lots of sleep these days to allow this tired old body to recuperate.

Marese stayed up late working on icing a cake for a friend's 30th birthday.  She made it in the shape of a football jersey and decorated it with the insignia of his team Tottenham Hotspurs.

                    

                        TWO TRUSTY STICKS

Two trusty sticks are by my side

Each step along the way

I talk to them but they don't talk back

No matter what I say.

 

They're like an extra pair of legs

To propel me up the hills.

They share the burden with my feet

And yet they're silent still.

 

My sticks repel the snarling dogs

Running barking out of gates.

They spy my sticks and cower back

Knowing their likely fate.

 

Day 8

Marese' car broke down on the way to drop me at Birdhill, today's starting point.  She phoned a friend Nicky who rescued me and brought me there.  I had only walked a mile or so out of Birdhill when a woman spied me from her front doorand ran across the lawn in her pyjamas to meet me! She had seen me the previous day on the road from Limerick and wanted to know all about the walk.  She gave me a donation for Ndi Moyo.

NW wind still blowing cold but with the late April sun playing hide and seek with the clouds it was fine for walking.

Knapsack at 8-9 lbs seems pretty heavy on the shoulders on a long walk.

I was not sure how far my feet would let me get today, but I knew I was already about half a day behind schedule and had decided to add an extra day to time allocated.  Walked as far as Nenagh and went into the Ormond Hotel to wait for Mary Ann.  Today she was coming to meet me and had booked us into a hotel in Birr.  Tomorrow would be a very welcome day off.  Mary Ann arrived in Nenagh and walked into the Ormond Hotel about an hour after me.  I was so glad to see her.  We found the back road I planned to walk on Monday from Nenagh to Birr and drove that way rather than the main road.  We stayed in Dooly's Hotel in Birr, and would recommend it highly.

 

Day 9 Sunday.

A wonderful day of rest, talking, reading, catching up with my blog beside the open fire in the hotel lobby, resting, eating and luxuriating in the company of Mary Ann