January: the HR department at Dover had been very poor at forwarding information to Kent Pensions, and I ended up having to wait until March for my works pension. That took a toll on my cash reserves. I can't recall the weather but I do recall indulging in staying in bed late and generally being lazy! The impact of the previous year's work on the local landscape characterisation of the district was taking its toll, however. My eyes were in a poor state and I felt rather detatched from eveything. Curiously, the moment I left work I never thought about the project - it was done and whether it was ever used was not my concern; I had delivered what I could for the benefit of people of the district and earned my rest.
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I had started doing a 'bit of art'. Part of the cruel nightmare of Barbara's death was that of all her things, it was only her watercolour paints and papers that I could ask her daughter Lisa for. It was these, together with visits from Tom, an accomplished artist and the one remaining dresser that Barbara was content to have at her flat, that triggered some daubs by me. I knew I must throw myself into something the moment I retired and so enrolled on a watercolour course that started in January. I had no idea what I was getting into but it was interesting. The course was due to run through to May and with our travels, I had to cut it short. Having many years of academic study under my belt, it felt only natural to then enroll on a more advanced course in the Autumn as I wasn't going to stand still and just keep at a beginner's/improver's level which it seemed a number of other students were happy to do. But that's jumping ahead.
February: Pamela and I were now in the habit of speaking weekly and when I said to her being retired was boring (well, it was the start of the worst month of the year) she invited me over to Dundalk for a few days. I accepted and flew with FlyBe from Southend, hiring a car at Dublin which Pamela generously shared the cost of. It was a good break ... we were able to share our 'lost youth' moments and had several days out including
Warrenpoint and Newry 
I had a whole morning in the NGI which was wonderful. There was, of course, 'The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife' which we had seen on our first trip and I again saw in an empty gallery.
I was lucky enough to be there when the tragically romantic pre-raphaelite ‘Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs’ was lit for viewing. 
And I was enthralled at Caravaggio's 'The Taking of Christ' (detail above) It was, of course, all too short a trip, but we would both be returning in May.
A week after returning from Ireland Pauline and I went off to Brighton for the weekend to see Joan Baez on her farewell tour. My previous visits to Brighton came in useful (seeing KD Lang with Barbara - one of several visits) as we ate at Al Duomo on the way to the Dome. In the morning we wandered around the Lanes before heading back along the coast.
March: the early days passed with me dressing and painting. Pauline was coming over more frequently. I started some planting in the greenhouse - the garden has been so neglected over the years and the sheds just used as dumping ground. The results of my painting were varied, but I could see some potential. Late in March, Pauline and I went off to Dartmoor and Cornwall. We stopped overnight in Dorset and had dinner with old friends before stopping by Stourhead and heading to Truro to stay with my sister for a few days. We then set off for Dartmoor, staying at Parke which was as enjoyable as ever. We had set a goal of 'three hares' in Devon churches as this meant that we could get around and see places at a pace to suit Pauline, although she also managed two quite long walks. We also had a day out with Nikki, which was really nice.
We started off doing the moorland pictures at Combestone Tor which has
very convenient parking but which is not as popular as the area around
Haytor.
We then went down to Hexworthy and took some photos by the West Dart River. I changed there into more appropriate modern day clothing and we continued our quest for the three hares.
That took care of March and April was spent getting everything ready for our trip to Ireland. By this time I was organised enough to get a battery powered irrigation system for the greenhouse to keep the young tomato plants growing during our absence. The weather was fine most of the time and I managed a swimsuit photo on the 17th:
May: We spent three weeks in Ireland in May, 'topping and tailing' stays in Carron, Co. Clare and Newport, Co. Mayo with Pamela and Mary in Dundalk. Before then, however, I had to alert my neighbour to the fact that the cattle were stripping the bark of the lime tree in the field ... only to find out he was in Connemara!
Staying with Pamela and Mary is a tremendous pleasure - they are wonderfully relaxed hosts, but say there's nothing to see around Dundalk. On the first day we headed north to Hillsborough Castle, the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland that had recently be re-opened after refurbishment.
Following that we visited the Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge House.
We weren't dressed for either visit as we had no idea what to expect and certainly the security at Hillsborough was quite daunting despite the staff being friendly and polite.
It was then time to head west.
It was our second stay at Limestone Cottage in Carron and just as pleasing as the first. We stopped on the way at Kilmacduagh Monastery near Gort which we thought would be a good place to return to for some Nikki photos. As it was we ran out of time and that'll have to wait for our next visit. The west coast of Clare continues to entrance us. Nikki had just the one day out, visiting Corcomroe Abbey and driving to Bell Harbour and then the Fahee Ridge:
Back at the cottage I changed into a dress:
Pauline was becming increasingly relaxed with me dressing and even suggested some of the location shots when we drove around. I had a couple of days for a walk and one was took me up Mullaghmore:
The main features that were coming to the fore with me, aside from the dressing, were an increased intensity in landscape photos and re-invigorated botanising (such that I submitted several finds to Biodiversity Ireland). After a week of great weather we headed north to Newport in Co. Mayo. We had been told Westport was a place to visit but we found it too frenetic for us whereas Newport was much more to our taste. I didn't dress in the second week as we were far too busy touring and indulging in landscapes. The trip to the Ballycroy National Park Visitor Centre has to stand out simply because the girl at the centre was so helpful in directing us where to find the remains of pine trees emerging from thousands of years of bog; a find of St Daboec's Heath (Daboecia cantabrica) and the most powerful image of the whole trip, the view towards Nephin Beg:
Co. Mayo did well competing with Co. Clare for our hearts and on getting back to the UK we booked a further two weeks for Spring 2020. Even the town of Newport had something special to offer - the church featured Harry Clarke stained glass. We then headed back to Dundalk for a few more days with Pamela and Mary.
We stayed in on our first day and had failed attempts at an intereview. The next day was very wet and three of us went to Armagh to visit the observatory and while there we also called in at St Patrick's Catholic Cathedral. The observatory was full of kids. The cathedral is prominently located and although the original St Patrick's (now Church of Ireland) Cathedral is also sited on a hill, it appeared in the rain to be rather subdued. it was only reading about it later that, in historical terms, it would have been well worth visiting. The weather had improved the next day and as Pamela had to work, P and I went off to the Mournes to get a further impression of Co. Down. In the evening we went to Blackrock for a meal:
Finally, it was time to leave - another all too short a visit.
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