Swimming in the Atlantic

Sacha and I had a swim in the Atlantic, I shant lie and say the water was luke warm but we had a good splash around with the dogs.

We are now making an airfix model (two tanks in a battle sceen)

80th

Well it was Angies Mums 80th today so she got taken out for lunch, there were bets laid as to what she would order, salmon was odds on and right enough she was true to form. Her flowers were put on display in the lounge room of the care home so that everyone could enjoy them or to tease the other ladies :)

Was a nice day weather wise for the Links golf which was held here at the castle stuart course http://www.castlestuartgolf.com/course.html " The course should elicit anticipation and hopefulness in players" is quoted from their speel who the heck are they kidding its GOLF!!!! mind you on retrospect I used to hope I would hit the ball when I did my air swings with eyes closed. Before breaking my arm I used to be hopeful about 20  rounds a year,  at an average of 720 shots a game thats a lot of hopes.

490 km drive

Well that was a bit of a drive, Oughterard to Luing via Dublin, Larne Cairnryan and Oban with a full car. My wee sis and her two wee ones were at Mums last night too so it was a housefuwas nice to see them and today we have driven another 4 hours up to Inverness to Sheenas.

My neice Cara.

A yacht passing Mums house

The weather was ok yesterday and with the ferry ride it took us 14.5 hours in total. I'm pretty jiggered today lol dont know how those long distance lorry drivers do it.

Consumer sentiment weakened in June, recording its lowest reading since February, as consumers become increasingly concerned about the ongoing debt crisis, possible interest rate hikes and household charges. What is consumer sentiment? The Consumer Sentiment Index is a monthly report (electronic) produced jointly by the ESRI and KBC Bank Ireland. What the heck is ESRI ? hang on I'll google it.  Environmental Systems Research Institute. Ok so the population of Ireland is concerned about the ongoing debt crisis, possible interest rates and houshold charges, I wonder how much they paid out for this startling monthly report.

Anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyy I'm fed up of hearing gloomy news, the sun is out the sound of lawnmowers reverberates as folks take advantage of the weather. My Mom and Dad arrive for a wee visit tommorow so I have cut the grass and may try and launch the boat on Thursday
 I saw on the news two police dogs died in a car from the heat, I put my two in the car if any customers come round so I better be carefull, mind you I leave the windows partly open.

The 120th Lawn Tennis Championships

Wimbledon is six days underway and the temperature is rising, its meant to be 33 C in London tommorow I dont know how they manage to play in that heat. Anyway here are some Wimbledon facts The inaugural tournament of 1877, held at Worple Road, was an amateur competition and the only event held was the gentlemen's singles. The first champion was Spencer Gore from a field consisting of only 22 players. It cost just one shilling to watch the final and Gore received 12 guineas for his triumph. (21 shillings is 1 guinea 20 shillings is one pound) As an example, assume an up and coming professional living around 1890. He might earn a salary of approximately £700 / year. His expenses, which would include: rent (up to £150 annual), taxes, maids (2), food, laundry, heating (coal), electricity, alcohol, insurance, clothing, and savings would add up to close to £500. This would leave approximately £200 for other expenses (transportation, entertainment, education,etc.). Todays salary might be  £50,000 but the prize for winning mens singles is 1,100,000 I guess its slightly better to win nowadays ehh.
In 1930, Brame Hillyard became the first man to play wearing shorts. That was on court 10 - and Bunny Austin was the first to do so on Centre Court three years later. Change was slow to come to fashion in women’s tennis. While men continued to labour away in full-length trousers, women attempted to make the game easier for themselves by divesting themselves of hats, and bustles (the stiff corset like garments attached to the back of their dresses). A small revolution took place when female players started using men's shirts, even daring to roll back the sleeves to cope with the heat.

I must admit that the frilly knickers or baggy shorts they wore when I was a kid were a big attraction to watching the tennis.In 1968, the championships were opened up to both professionals and amateurs for the first time, with Rod Laver and Billie Jean King winning their respective singles titles.

Chairs were provided for the first time for players to rest when changing ends in 1975.

The first-ever player to be disqualified from the men's doubles was Tim Henman in 1995, for hitting a ball in anger which struck a ball girl.

Only eight left-handed players, six men and two women, have ever won a Wimbledon singles title - the most recent being Goran Ivanisevic in 2001
The country that has provided the most singles title winners is the United States (with 33 men's titles and 50 women's titles). Britain is second claiming 32 men's titles and 29 ladies titles.

Cong house

Well we had a shifty at the Bramble cottage in Cong, it was lovely, the origional house was the first double story house in Cong, with walls 2.5 ft thick and the best of materials used in the renovation it was as pretty as a postcard. The plot has room for a donkey and veg garden and all sorts but the house is too small, the photos make it look larger than it is and I dont know who they will sell it to really unless its for a holiday home. Anyway having a look at it makes me realise that Oughterard village is better and we need a house with at least 3 bedrooms and decent sized living space.

Its another horrid day here drizzle and wind not nice at all.

lack of blogs

Well I havent been blogging much at all recently ehh, I have been busy with website design and to be honest sitting at the pc after a days designing isnt as much fun as it is if I have been out and about. The bike hire is about successful as Coco the clown's bid for the Americain Presidentship, thanks to rubbish weather and a lack of tourists.

My parents are coming for a visit this next week and I shall be driving back with them to Scotland and picking up Sheana and Sacha who are coming back with us. I hope the weather is better as May / June has been woeful. John Eagleton, forecaster with Met Eireann, said that after a chilly June things are finally set to improve this weekend. "We've only really had one real summer's day this year. That was the Friday before the June bank holiday," he said."Sunday is the big day, we should get 21C to 24C in most places, with the east and the midlands likely to get the best weather."

The west isn't predicted to be as fortunate with conditions likely to remain misty and drizzly.
Weather is due to become unsettled next week, before picking up again for the following weekend.
But Mr Eagleton believes the first two weeks in July will be a crucial.
"I'm a bit of a believer in St Swithun's Day (July 15) to be honest.
" If the first two weeks of July are wet, you can throw your hat at the summer," he said.

Going to look at a house for sale near Cong on Saturday it looks lovely but heaps smaller cong house for sale The price will have to be negotiable right enough as I would have to build a garage or large shed at the least to accomodate all our junk.

Apple will release a new iPhone with a faster processor in September, according to reports.The new Apple iPhone will have a faster processor and an improved camera, according to Bloomberg, which cited “two people familiar with the plans”.
The report said that the new iPhone would be upgraded to include the same A5 processor found in the iPad 2 and that it would have an 8-megapixel camera - an improvement on the 5-megapixel version found in the iPhone 4. The new phone will launch in September, Bloomberg said.
The report follows another rumour from technology blog Boy Genius Report, which yesterday claimed that the new iPhone would have “a radical new case design” - possibly one that was “teardrop-shaped” and would be launched in early or mid-August. My Iphone is looking weary but I shall have to rent a few bikes before I can get a new one.