View allAll Photos Tagged Slainte
Den letzten Abend bevor wir wieder nach Dublin zurück fuhren, verbrachten wir in Athlone, unter anderem in dem ältesten Pub Irlands, der Seans Bar.
OPA RUDI: “Na dann meine Lieben, alle lächeln und Prost oder besser gesagt Sláinte.“
LUIS: “S-L-E-N_T_SCH_A”
OPA RUDI: “Sehr gut, alles im Kasten.”
OMA URSULA: “Was sagt ihr, Opa hat da drinnen einen Engel getroffen.”
BÄRBEL (ungläubig): “Was ? Einen richtigen Engel, Stimmt das Opa?”
OPA RUDI: “Ob es ein richtiger Engel war, kann ich Dir nicht sagen, aber sein Name war Angel und er war sehr nett. Wir haben über Bier gesprochen und er hat mir eine Kostprobe seines Lieblingsbiers spendiert ?”
TANTE INGRID: “Bärbel, was machen denn deine Ohren auf dem Hut ?”
BÄRBEL: “Hehe hast Du es bemerkt Tante Ingrid ? Die stellen sich auf, wenn ich an den Schläuchen drücke !”😂
Fortsetzung folgt …
Vielen Dank Rudi für Dein Foto !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We spent our last evening before heading back to Dublin in Athlone, including a visit to Ireland’s oldest pub, Seans Bar.
GRANDPA RUDI: “Right then, my dears, everyone smile and say ‘Cheers’—or rather, ‘Sláinte’.”
LUIS: “S-L-A-N-T-S-H-R”
GRANDPA RUDI: “Very good, everything’s in the can.”
GRANNY URSULA: “What do you think? Grandpa met an angel in there.”
BÄRBEL (incredulous): “What? A real angel? Is that true, Grandpa ?”
GRANDPA RUDI: “I can’t tell you if he was a real angel, but his name was Angel and he was very friendly. We talked about beer and he treated me to a taste of his favourite beer.”
AUNT INGRID: “Bärbel, what are your ears doing on your hat ?”
BÄRBEL: “Hehe, did you notice, Aunt Ingrid ? They stand up when I press the tubes !”😂
To be continued …
Many thanks Rudi for your photo !!
Mud flats, Glounthaune, County Cork ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️Tá coilm an chogaidh ar na páistí a tháinig slán ón gcinedhíothú i nGaza. Beidh na páistí beaga a rugadh ag tús na coinbhleachta faoi mhíchumas ar feadh a saoil mar thoradh ar gháis thocsaineacha, ar dhrochdhónna agus ar chóras chúram sláinte a scriosadh. ▪️Kleizennoù ar brezel zo war ar vugaligoù zo deuet bev eus ar gouennlazh e Gaza. Ar re bet ganet e penn-kentañ ar brezel a chomo nammet o buhez-pad en abeg da c'hazioù ampoezonus, da loskoù grevus hag d'ur servij yec'hed bet freuzet. ▪️Mae creithiau rhyfel ar y plant a oroesodd hil-laddiad Gasa. Mae'r plant bach a anwyd ar ddechrau'r gwrthdaro yn wynebu oes o anabledd o ganlyniad i nwyon gwenwynig, llosgiadau difrifol a system gofal iechyd a chwalwyd.▪️ Children born during Israel’s genocide: Gaza’s child survivors bear the scars of war. Infants born at the outbreak of the conflict face a lifetime of disability from toxic gas, severe burns, and a collapsed healthcare system.
www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/28/born-during-israels-...
Sláinte!
Tualatin River Greenway Trail.
Media:
* Ryan Smith: Bennigan's Commercial: "Found 10 Bucks in the Pocket of Me Jeans"
See also: IMG_6111 Riverside Home (2022)
A very imaginative work done by a local sculptor and installed at The Workhouse in Lorton, Va. The Workhouse used to be a prison and it has been converted into a wonderful neighborhood arts center.
"Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he ...."
If you'd like a fine Irish version of this song, here "tis:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV8fy2s8_C8&index=8&list=...
Slainte !
"Hope is being able to see that there is light
despite all of the darkness."
Desmond Tutu
"Don't let the light go out!
It's lasted for so many years!
Don't let the light go out!
Let it shine through our hope and our tears."
Lyrics from "Light One Candle" by Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Be well and be safe, friends ! Slainte !
A reworked photo of The Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. I always prefer the Gaidhlig names for iconic locations in Scotland, they have a ring to them that loses something in the translation into the English. Slàinte Mhath.
round 2 ...
It's 5 O'clock somewhere...
magic day to get married...
probably should have stayed sober and taken more shots like this
=========
Explore #375
My 272nd to make EXPLORE
“In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.”
Deepak Chopra
Another garden shot taken early in the day while the morning was perfectly still, the sun had yet to rise above the treetops, and the neighborhood was silent save for a bit of pleasant birdsong. It’s easy in such a setting to temporarily escape from the chaos and tension of these difficult days. IMO Chopra’s advice is well worth following.
Hope you and yours are well and safe, friends. Slainte !
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard him say it, but there was no time at which those words seemed more relevant. I’d just arrived back at the campsite after a testing adventure that had taken me to the summit of Britain’s highest mountain and back, Ben Nevis. Five and a bit hours earlier I’d set off, part of a group of five on a grey July Saturday morning. Soft rain and mist wove a dampening conspiracy around us, and long before we were halfway up, the land below had vanished entirely. But it had been today or never for me on this middle instalment of three mountains in three days in the Scottish Highlands. Two of us were much faster than the other three and our brief stops to wait for them were rapidly abandoned so that we could keep on moving and stay warm. At the summit, a huge cornice of grainy snow covered the edge of the deadly north face. We didn’t stay at the top for long, huddling among the stone ruins of an abandoned shelter and taking the obligatory summit selfies. On the way down, the zip on my coat broke, and for the rest of the descent I was dogged by sixty mile per hour rain charged gusts that turned me into a sail and quickly soaked me to the core.
“The only thing that’s waterproof is skin!” said James as he peered grimly into the rain out of what I can only describe as a one man teepee. “Tea? Sausage sandwich?” I gratefully accepted, before trudging off squelchily to the campsite laundry where just about everything I had worn was poured into an industrial sized tumble dryer. Even my rucksack and ahem, yes my passport that had inexplicably been with me on the hike went in as I sat in a chair and gradually felt my senses return. It might have been July, but nobody had remembered to tell the Scottish Highlands.
James was always resourceful on these hiking adventures. The much loved patriarch of a Clydebank family, we first met him on the West Highland Way ten years ago as we hiked the hundred odd miles from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, to Fort William. A man who seemed bigger in stature than he actually stood, he was one of those people who emanated warmth and humour behind which you could sense was a quiet layer of hidden steel. A man who earned our respect without trying to. He was accompanied by several members of his family, including his daughter Karen, who’d taken it upon herself to watch over us like a guardian angel as we made our way north through some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Each day we all finished at the same hostel or campsite where we would share stories of our adventures over a pint or three, and by the time we arrived in the streets of Fort William during a torrential downpour, the three of us that had started a week earlier had somehow snowballed into a group of twenty.
There were no beds at Fort William that night. We’d intended to sleep in our tents, but the campsite was flooded. A different year, but it was still July. After a lot of frantic searching, Karen appeared with the rescue plan. Alder and Anna, the young teachers from North Carolina we’d befriended and walked every step of the last two and a half days with, would be smuggled into the long since booked hotel room she and Louise were sharing, while Dave, Tom and I would sneak in with James. If James was at all disgruntled by the fact that he was about to share his long awaited hotel room with three people he’d only met a few days ago, he certainly didn’t show it. Instead, he just grinned and poured the whisky. Such effortless kindness is a rare and special thing. James had it in abundance. And since that first adventure, he’s featured in each of the ones we’ve had in Scotland.
Three years later we did the hike again, this time in a Mediterranean style heatwave. But not in July - this time we were in Scotland in May. And somehow I persuaded Ali to come with me, on what was her first ever trip to Scotland. Once again, there was James, now almost in his seventieth year, always magically producing a hip flask full of single malt at the moment it was most needed. I wondered whether there was a lorry following us - or a boat during the very long section of the trail on the remote east bank of Loch Lomond - topping up his hip flask when the rest of us weren’t watching.
Last summer we were back in Scotland for the first time in five years, invited by Alder and Anna to join them on a long overdue reunion hike along the Great Glen. Afterwards, Ali and I trekked the Rannoch Moor section of the West Highland Way alone. Back in 2018 she’d decided to skip the testing haul across the huge open wilderness and regretted it ever since, while I was more than happy to follow that path for a third time. But it turned into yet another July afternoon in the Highlands when the heavens opened and obliterated the landscape. From start to end we were soaked by bullets from the sky, although at least this time the coats kept out the worst of it as we trod the boggy twelve miles across mountain and moor. On a fine day it’s a stunning walk, but in heavy rain it’s sheer purgatory with nowhere to throw in the towel and wait to be rescued by the bus or a taxi.
A couple of days later we met up with James and his wife Joanne who’d joined Karen to visit us at our waterfront pitch on the campsite beside the east bank of Loch Lomond, not far from their home. At least the rain mostly stayed at bay for once. We spent the time drinking tea and reminiscing about those wonderful shared adventures on the trail, and the day Karen and I hiked up to the summit of Buachaille Etive Mor, only to be surrounded by yet another thick veil of suffocating fog. Also in July. Catching up with friends like these was among the highlights of a road trip that we’ll never forget. It was a surprise though to hear that James no longer touched the whisky. Even a beer was politely refused when I dug a couple of cans out of the fridge.
Three weeks ago we learned that James had died suddenly while overseas on holiday with Joanne. A heart attack we were told. He was seventy-five. It doesn’t seem that old, and nor did James. Such a generous and unassuming man. The sad news took me back to the memory of that soaking wet hike across Rannoch Moor, when I smiled through the mist as I heard his well worn mantra speaking across the hills to me in that unmistakable Clydeside accent - “The only thing that’s waterproof is skin!” He’d have loved an afternoon like this. Slàinte James. This one’s for you.
My brother Dave made a video of the 2015 hike: youtu.be/LUjhj2ojeX0?si=1cOJLsAv2Qln-O8a
And despite the fact that his was so much better, I made one of the 2018 hike: youtu.be/Qjq47Wiyko8
Sláinte in Irish roughly translates as cheers. If you’re saying it right, it’ll sound like “slawn-che”. This is our local fish & chip shop, a couple of miles from home. It was closed for a good while but has recently reopened with a Ukrainian proprietor. We've yet to try sample the food, maybe next week. I misread the date for SSC group, so will find a new image for next week's "Shop fronts - square on" theme.
For my group Takeaways and chip shops of the world New members always welcome.
Like so many Americans of Irish ancestry, I proudly celebrate St. Patrick's Day. As I get older, it's less about the beers and late night bar sing a longs as it is a reflection of gratitude for my ancestors. I think of their journey to America, and what that hard life must have been like. I hope they proudly look down on the life we have built as 3 generations of public servants, and lives dedicated to greater good. I think of their sacrifices, and how they truly led us to this life we're fortunate to live. For moments like this, where I have enjoyed the mostly still untamed American west in all its amazing glory. Tonight, I raise my cold beer in their memory. In perpetual gratitude. Slainte.
Not more than two or three weeks ago this part of our shady border was a cold, wet, and lifeless mess. Then night before last a severe storm moved in with pounding thunder claps that made the walls shake and with lightning strikes bright enough to make 3:00 AM look like daylight. So when morning came I wasn't expecting much of a day. Wrong ! The storm had blown off to the East, the clouds melted away, and the morning was filled with this warm, glorious, beautiful golden light. Moral to this story thanks to Gordon Bok, a very talented New England folk musician and song writer:
"It's so easy in the cold to feel
The darkness of the year
And the heart is growing lonely for the morning.
Oh, my Joanie, don't you know
That the stars are swingin' slow
And the seas are rollin' easy
As they did so long ago
If i had a thing to give you
I would tell you one more time
That the world is always turning toward the morning.
Be well and safe, friends ! Slainte !
Best viewed LARGE.
Irish whiskey differs from Scottish whisky in more than the addition of the "e". It is in fact distilled three times, compared to the regular twice distilled Scottish malts. That might make it a little less "fiery", but it does go down smoothly. It takes real skill and experience to craft a fine whiskey or whisky, and the Irish have been doing it as long as the Scots.
Ireland has produced an extraordinary range of great writers (following on from their storytelling traditions of the past). And every writer knows that sooner or later the ink will dry up and the tears will flow. So to find a whiskey dedicated to alleviating a writer's suffering is most encouraging.
Sláinte.
Here’s to a day filled with laughter, luck, and a little bit of Irish cheer! ☘️ Sláinte and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Taken at Belisseria Bike Drive Scoot.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bellisseria%20Fairgrounds/...
My second attempt to craft an image that does justice to the poetic definition of wine written by the great Italian philosopher and astronomer, Galileo Galilei :
“Wine is sunlight held together by water.”
This shot differs from the first one in that this time I’ve included the wine that pretty much revolutionized the global wine industry by proving the worth of wines made outside of France. That wine, Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay, was the central character in the movie “Bottle Shock” and if you’ve not seen it you really should. It’s a light hearted, upbeat, feel good tale of overcoming obstacles against all odds.
The heart of the story centers on the 1976 wine competition known as “The Judgement of Paris.” And if you can stand a spoiler alert all of the details can be found at
www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/05/24/479163882/the-jud....
Decanter.com reported that “One of the few remaining bottles of ex-cellar 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay has been sold by Spectrum Wine Auctions for $11,325.”
Needless to say I was not that buyer. : ))
Be safe, be well, my Flickr friends. Slainte !
One for the Road to Wend my Way Home ...
Cheers to you from Glasgow's oldest pub with a glass of Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky straight from the Deanston Distillery ...
For every wound, a balm.
For every sorrow, cheer.
For every storm, a calm.
For every thirst, a beer ...
♥ Cheers to U,cheers to me,the Best of Friends We'll always be ♥
However,never forget that :
"Wine is a turncoat; first a friend and then an enemy." Henry Fielding
If it's character and charm you're after,you won't find better than "The Scotia",Glasgow's oldest pub.Keeping customers happy since 1792,it's an atmospheric blast from the past with its low,wood-beamed ceiling,gleaming brass pumps in the traditional L-shaped bar and cosy corners to catch up with friends.
Mo chairdean choir!Slàinte mhòr agus a h-uile beannachd duibh.A h-uile la sona dhuibh‘s gun la idir dona dhuibh!
彡★彡 Alba gu brath! ... Scotland Forever ... 彡★彡
A dramatic start to this Christmas Eve. Mercifully the freezing rain forecast proved to be much ado about nothing...which is great news for those on the road. Now it's time to find my Wassail recipe. : ))
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all ! Slainte !
Please type L and F11 for a full view.
Hard to believe that this picture was taken in march. The weather was absolutely beautiful.
Kilkenny, republic of ireland.
Do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my permission.
© All rights reserved.
A LINK TO MY GALLERY ON PBASE
Isola di Skye, Scozia.
Quiraing, Skye Island, Scotland
On Black! // Interesthings // Slainte! // Hike with me!
A lovely, sunny evening, I sat in the garden watching the sun going down...with a wee glass of amber nectar. Nice to see the sun coming a little farther north with the spring.
Here, Beinn an Tuirc and Cnoc Donn on The Kintyre Peninsula, are the two farthest Hills, to the south. To the north, over Kilbrannan Sound is Cnoc a’ Chapuill on The Isle of Arran. Over the Firth of Clyde, onto the Scottish mainland can be seen Mossgennoch Wood, Quarrel Hill (n) and Craigens Hill (s).
From my garden,
South Carrick Hills
SW Scotland
💙 |><| 💙 Drambuie is a Scottish liqueur, made from whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. Slàinte Mhath.
Rossbeigh Beach, located on the Ring of Kerry along Ireland’s rugged west coast, opens out to the vast North Atlantic. The Yield sign stood there in such a way that it reminded me of the legendary Pearl Jam album cover. It was August 2013 — windy, raw, and intensely alive, just like Ireland itself.
Gay's newest Menorah which is a real beauty.
Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, and safe holiday season !
Slainte !
Bow Ties and Silly Green Hats! Yep it's that time again. The time of year the staff expect me to put on cute and wish people a Happy St. Patrick's Day. Oh well it keeps them amused I suppose and let's face it, I will get my own back tonight when I toss this stupid hat across the bed and chase after it at some unGodly hour.
In the mean time Happy St Pat's to one and all.
Sláinte, Hank
Asking us all to wear a mask in order to stem the tide of this deadly pandemic is neither an attack on nor an abridgement of your liberty. Far from it. Putting on the mask is simply doing your part as a member of society. It’s about doing the responsible thing to help, to protect, to respect others.
Four thoughts for the day:
“ Liberty means responsibility . That is why most men dread it.
George Bernard Shaw
“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.
Molière
“Civil liberty is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation.”
Noah Webster
And one from a higher authority:
“ Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Slainte !
Raising a glass to spring with items available @ Designer Showcase.
The March round ends on the 20th so be sure to stop by to find the EXCLUSIVES and other unique items while they're all conveniently in one location.
Shown in the pictures ~
Outfit ~ La Feminique Dakota Top and Tegan Pants
SATO ~ Emerald Luck Backdrops
Details & links on my Blog ~ aznanasfandangles.blogspot.com/2026/03/030526ds04.html
Even before fully opened this rose is the star of our garden. It has now climbed up and over a pillar on our front porch so its annual pruning is now done from a ladder. which is not my favorite garden chore but it's well worth the effort.
Many thanks, Miriam ! ! ! Slainte !
There is The Golden Hour and The Blue Hour twice each day. Once each in the morning Blue then Gold and then again in the evening this time Gold then Blue and they are never the same and they always have something else within their embrace to give to the image maker. To dance with light is a romance for life and a continual search into illumination for all of the wonders of our creation. Some will define the Blue Hour as that time before sunrise and then again that time after sunset. Modern apps and old fashioned tables delineate the Gold and Blue times for each day, but localised conditions such as cloud cover and other atmospherics can give them bold intensity and also seemingly cancel them and yet without notice the weather and altitude can reignite as well as restrict these colour changes around us as we move through them. With Loch Ness just beyond your terrace, The Falls of Foyers to the South and the gateway of Inverness to the North along the old military road of General Wade then poised here at Boleskine House the Highlands are surely calling and the atmosphere is answering Blue and Gold and then Gold and Blue.
If you are still wondering about the Blue Hour then have in mind that is sometimes mentioned as either Civil, or Nautical Twilight and being evident to the observer when the Sun is between 4° and 6° below the horizon. Please do not worry about the horizon and accurate measurements. The cooling and warming of the light around us is not always precise and definitely not a constant, rather it is another wonderful variable available on some days more and less than others.
There are several pictures of this now mossy cairn created to commemorate and celebrate The Clan MacGillivray Gathering held here in 2002. Further monuments exist in Boleskine Cemetery and in Dunlichity Graveyard as well as at the battle site of Culloden. Strathnairn Heritage Association has just recently bought Dunlichity Church and has plans to highlight the history in a visitors centre exploring the link to blade sharpening marks claimed to be made in part before Culloden in 1746. I list details of plans for 2027 in the description below. If visiting Culloden do look out for the much photographed inscribed stone that informs you when you have reached, “WELL, OF THE DEAD, HERE THE CHIEF OF, THE MACGILLIVRAYS, FELL.”
This House at Boleskine and the surrounding environs are now being highly regraded for links to The Clan Fraser of Lovat and they too have their markers at Culloden and in Boleskine Cemetery. The site popularly known as The Clava Cairns which is the type noted at Balnuaran of Clava next to the River Nairn feature a large stone now looked at which eyes full of Outlander longing, with many people queuing to take a chance at time travel and indulge in a photo opportunity all together and at once.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
The Boleskine House Foundation
The Clan MacGillivray International Association 2002
Boleskine House was the location for the 2002 Gathering. The gathering was organised by Ronald MacGillivray and Annette MacGillivray the then owners of Boleskine House with some of their deceased clan members interred with memorials still in view of the house in Boleskine Cemetery. Dunlichity Graveyard close by also hosts prominent MacGillivray graves and memorials with an enclosure extension in 1968. Both Boleskine and Dunlichity Graveyard have marks claimed as being made by musket balls and they share links to Culloden with blade sharpening marks still visible in Dunlichity Graveyard. At the battle site of Culloden a marker still reads, “WELL, OF THE DEAD, HERE THE CHIEF OF, THE MACGILLIVRAYS, FELL.”
This Clan MacGillivray International Association Gathering in 2002 was the successor to two other such events recorded in modern history. The previous gatherings having been held in 1992 and 1997. The stone work memorial cairn still exist in the grounds of Boleskine House. A globe of composed of interlocking metal bands with a piercing dart, or an arrow feature no longer tops the cairn.
Ronald MacGillivray
18th February 2002 Herald and Times archive
www.heraldscotland.com/news/12139093.ronald-macgillivray/
Announcement of Clan MacGillivray International Gathering July Inverness 2027.
“Dear Clan MacGillivray Worldwide,
I’m writing to inform you that our much anticipated Clan MacGillivray International Gathering is officially to be held in Inverness, Scotland in July of 2027.
The dates are set to be Wed 7th July - Sat 10th July and I’ve been in various meetings with our events manager and others for the past few months to facilitate things through to make this happen.
Another very important announcement is that we’ve finally received notice from Office Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms in Scotland that the Derbhfine of Chiefship for the Clan MacGillivray is to be held in December of 2027. Our Clan Chairman and President will disclose more information on this as it comes through and will continue to be on correspondence with the Lyon Court Secretary representing our Clan MacGillivray matters.
Both these items of news I am most thrilled to share with you all and should come as great excitement to us all as a Clan!
Kindest Regards and with Blessings!
Slainte agus le moran durachdan ‘s Beannachdan!
Iain MacGillivray
Commander of Clan MacGillivray Worldwide”
I hope that my interest in juxtapositions didn't take me overboard on this one. If it did please remember that:
To err is human and to forgive is bovine. : ))
Or to put it correctly:
" Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join;
To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine."
Alexander Pope
Stay well and safe, friends ! Slainte !
It seemed appropriate to post a photo I took in the ‘Pot Still’ in Glasgow recently. I’m sure glasses will be raised to Scotland’s Patron Saint in there tonight!
I am an original....
I can only be me..... and sometimes that is good enough
thanks to my lil buddy Gabe for letting me borrow his hat
I was so bringing sexy back
after this photo was taken
I LOST 20lbs because I saw these shots of myself (HOORAY BEER)
======================
Explore #429 and dropped before I saw it....
This is my #191st to make Explore woohoo
Happy First Day of Spring, meteorologically speaking. : )) So to all my good Flickr friends in the Northern Hemisphere, it's time to say adios to Winter !
I took this shot of some Guzmania blossoms with the intent of pairing it up with Robert Frost's "A Prayer in Spring" which starts like this:
"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year...."
Be well and safe, friends ! Slainte !
This painting caught my eye as I passed the Boathouse Gallery in the charming port town of Kinsale on the Atlantic in southern Ireland. It was a sort of “grab” shot with my iPhone through the shop window. I really liked the painting, but didn’t think a lot about it until I looked at it more closely a few weeks later in Photoshop on the computer. Wonderful color and detail by the artist, and very sharp results from the phone through the window glass, no less. I thought it deserved posting to Flickr, but I could hardly take credit for this delightful work of art and not give this talented artist his due credit. With help from the Boathouse Gallery, I learned that the artist is Dublin's own Vincent Smith – an award winning artist who specializes in land and seascapes in oil on canvas. If you're so inclined, you can see more of his work at: www.vincentsmithart.com/. Sláinte, Vincent!
"Tógadh an foirgneamh Seoirseach atá ann faoi láthair idir 1782 agus 1788, in ionad an struchtúir mheánaoiseach a bhí ann roimhe sin."
▪️
St Peter, Cork
"The present Georgian building, constructed between 1782 and 1788, replaced the earlier medieval structure." - stpeterscork.ie
▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️
"Ní féidir liom mo chárta creidmheasa a úsáid. Ní féidir liom airgead a aistriú. Cuireadh mo árachas sláinte ar ceal. Ní féidir liom óstáin a chur in áirithe. Mothaím cosúil le Pablo Escobar... é sin uile toisc gur ndúras go bhfuil Iosrael ag déanamh cinedhíothaithe i nGaza." - Francesca Albanese Rapporteur Speisialta na Náisiún Aontaithe. --- Inné, faoi dheireadh, cuireadh bac ar na srianta sin. en.royanews.tv/news/69819/US-federal-court-blocks-Trump-s...
▪️
"I can't use my credit card. I can't make transfers. My health insurance was canceled. I can't book hotels. I feel like Pablo Escobar... all because I said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza." - Francesca Albanese
the UN Special Rapporteur --- Yesterday, at last (13/Bealtaine - May/26) these restrictions were blocked: en.royanews.tv/news/69819/US-federal-court-blocks-Trump-s...
I wonder if I will make it through the whole alphabet...
It's FRIDAY people... Enjoy it
I probably won't be drinking this weekend if I march on with my master cleanse.
Those that asked why do it....
To control some of my weak spots...
It's a mental game NOT TO
eat cereal at midnight (because it helps me fall asleep)
drink a beer while I am relaxing on the weekend
eat pizza because the pregnant wife and the teenager want some
Control over my impulses and to jump start my diet are two of the main reasons
🍀 DRD's Pub Patio Collection: Perfectly Poured for Your Space! 🍺
Elevate your Second Life with our authentic patio pieces! This collection seamlessly complements our popular Irish Pub and Whiskey Bar. Featuring dividers, wrought iron chairs & tables, and large patio umbrellas, all in three charming colors. Turn your virtual realm into a lively Irish rendezvous with DRD. Sláinte!
Available at The Fifty on July 25th at NOON SLT
There is The Golden Hour and The Blue Hour twice each day. Once each in the morning Blue then Gold and then again in the evening this time Gold then Blue and they are never the same and they always have something else within their embrace to give to the image maker. To dance with light is a romance for life and a continual search into illumination for all of the wonders of our creation. Some will define the Blue Hour as that time before sunrise and then again that time after sunset. Modern apps and old fashioned tables delineate the Gold and Blue times for each day, but localised conditions such as cloud cover and other atmospherics can give them bold intensity and also seemingly cancel them and yet without notice the weather and altitude can reignite as well as restrict these colour changes around us as we move through them. With Loch Ness just beyond your terrace, The Falls of Foyers to the South and the gateway of Inverness to the North along the old military road of General Wade then poised here at Boleskine House the Highlands are surely calling and the atmosphere is answering Blue and Gold and then Gold and Blue.
If you are still wondering about the Blue Hour then have in mind that is sometimes mentioned as either Civil, or Nautical Twilight and being evident to the observer when the Sun is between 4° and 6° below the horizon. Please do not worry about the horizon and accurate measurements. The cooling and warming of the light around us is not always precise and definitely not a constant, rather it is another wonderful variable available on some days more and less than others.
There are several pictures of this now mossy cairn created to commemorate and celebrate The Clan MacGillivray Gathering held here in 2002. Further monuments exist in Boleskine Cemetery and in Dunlichity Graveyard as well as at the battle site of Culloden. Strathnairn Heritage Association has just recently bought Dunlichity Church and has plans to highlight the history in a visitors centre exploring the link to blade sharpening marks claimed to be made in part before Culloden in 1746. I list details of plans for 2027 in the description below. If visiting Culloden do look out for the much photographed inscribed stone that informs you when you have reached, “WELL, OF THE DEAD, HERE THE CHIEF OF, THE MACGILLIVRAYS, FELL.”
This House at Boleskine and the surrounding environs are now being highly regraded for links to The Clan Fraser of Lovat and they too have their markers at Culloden and in Boleskine Cemetery. The site popularly known as The Clava Cairns which is the type noted at Balnuaran of Clava next to the River Nairn feature a large stone now looked at which eyes full of Outlander longing, with many people queuing to take a chance at time travel and indulge in a photo opportunity all together and at once.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
The Boleskine House Foundation
The Clan MacGillivray International Association 2002
Boleskine House was the location for the 2002 Gathering. The gathering was organised by Ronald MacGillivray and Annette MacGillivray the then owners of Boleskine House with some of their deceased clan members interred with memorials still in view of the house in Boleskine Cemetery. Dunlichity Graveyard close by also hosts prominent MacGillivray graves and memorials with an enclosure extension in 1968. Both Boleskine and Dunlichity Graveyard have marks claimed as being made by musket balls and they share links to Culloden with blade sharpening marks still visible in Dunlichity Graveyard. At the battle site of Culloden a marker still reads, “WELL, OF THE DEAD, HERE THE CHIEF OF, THE MACGILLIVRAYS, FELL.”
This Clan MacGillivray International Association Gathering in 2002 was the successor to two other such events recorded in modern history. The previous gatherings having been held in 1992 and 1997. The stone work memorial cairn still exist in the grounds of Boleskine House. A globe of composed of interlocking metal bands with a piercing dart, or an arrow feature no longer tops the cairn.
Ronald MacGillivray
18th February 2002 Herald and Times archive
www.heraldscotland.com/news/12139093.ronald-macgillivray/
Announcement of Clan MacGillivray International Gathering July Inverness 2027.
“Dear Clan MacGillivray Worldwide,
I’m writing to inform you that our much anticipated Clan MacGillivray International Gathering is officially to be held in Inverness, Scotland in July of 2027.
The dates are set to be Wed 7th July - Sat 10th July and I’ve been in various meetings with our events manager and others for the past few months to facilitate things through to make this happen.
Another very important announcement is that we’ve finally received notice from Office Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms in Scotland that the Derbhfine of Chiefship for the Clan MacGillivray is to be held in December of 2027. Our Clan Chairman and President will disclose more information on this as it comes through and will continue to be on correspondence with the Lyon Court Secretary representing our Clan MacGillivray matters.
Both these items of news I am most thrilled to share with you all and should come as great excitement to us all as a Clan!
Kindest Regards and with Blessings!
Slainte agus le moran durachdan ‘s Beannachdan!
Iain MacGillivray
Commander of Clan MacGillivray Worldwide”