NEURODIVERSITY - Some Thoughts

 

INTRODUCTION

I’ll come straight out with it – it’s a subject I know little about and what follows are just my thoughts based on my academic and lifestory background. What I sincerely hope this isn’t, is a journey into the rabbit warren of ‘trans’ et al., although it may be impossible to avoiding skirting its edges!

Essentially, all I shall write about is summed up much more easily in Wikipedia!

What stimulated me to write is a memory of how 'trans' issues became media fodder and how much damage that has done to people identifying as LBGTQ+ and their friends and families. With the lack of commonsense that pervades social media, control of understanding of neurodiversity could become another battleground.

I should also say that my good friend Dee has written about her own experience of neurodivergent conditions on her blog, here. I had already staring writing this before her post appeared and although I was then hesitant about continuing with mine, my approach is as an outsider looking in, not to the detail as much as the interaction with wider society. 

This is a very long piece which I have split up and some of the ideas may seem overly wordy, complex, possibly stupid. The wordiness is my attempt to embrace ideas, the complexity is because the subject is complex, the stupidity is all my own. 

Pathology and Philosophy

Pathology and Other Words

One thing I should state at the beginning, having witnessed in my lifetime the [criminality/ pathology > decriminalising /de-pathologising] of homosexuality, I am very wary about the simplistic addressing of the human experiences of certain minorities as pathology. If the history of homosexuality isn’t enough to make one question how men (for it was always men in the past) have dictated what and what isn’t pathological, there’s always ‘female hysteria’ and ‘trans’ (in its totality) to refer to. To that end, in general, I write of neurodiverse ‘experience’ rather than ‘condition’.

However, I have had exposure in my wider family and elsewhere of certain experiences (OCD, mute autism, body dysmorphic disorder etc.) in people that have been so severe that they needed third party management for the wellbeing of all those involved. In such cases, the term ‘condition’ is appropriate.

The Origin, Meaning and Significance of the Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is a relatively new term, coined in 1998. It appears to have first been used in respect of the autistic experience.

The term ‘neurodiversity’ most often arises in the context of people who have been diagnosed with ASD (autism), ADHD, OCD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or Tourette's. The term ‘diagnosed’ is normally related to a judgment of illness (in these cases belonging to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)). Yet, I took the above list and term from a site promoting ‘the value of embracing cognitive diversity’ and, to my mind, it illustrates how, possibly quite innocently, such diversity can be pathologised. If that seems a rather oversensitive reaction to the use of the term ‘diagnosis’, consider that homosexuality, aspects of transvestism and transsexuality, and female hysteria were all until quite recently to be found in the DSM. I doubt the use of the term ‘diagnosis’ in respect of these latter experiences would be well received today. Consider also that ASD, as the BUPA (an English health insurance company) website usefully puts it, “ ... is a spectrum. This means that different people are affected in different ways and to different degrees. Some people may just have a few minor problems while others may need more support and care.”

(The concept of a spectrum (not the simplistic one of TV<>TS) is also found in trans issues. With trans, the term ‘dysphoria’ is commonly used, and I think that has good parallels with ASD experiences, whereby the intensity of experience has an large range which may extend to a pathology, but not necessarily.) 

Of course, this trend to pathologisation may simply be a reflection of the evolution of medical thinking. Rightly or wrongly, however, having ‘neurodiverse’ experiences embraced as a pathology may not only be unhelpful to an individual who is well assimilated into societal life, but expose them to future risk.

The division between health matters and politics has been increasingly blurred over recent years. A prime case is of ‘trans', which has occupied much print ink over the last decade. The fundamental issue is that ‘diagnosis’ leaves even the most insignificant of neurodivergences open to political influences and manipulations, particularly by those driven by dogma. There is a better approach to neurodiversity.

“Neurodiversity describes differences in brain function from person to person that affect daily mental functions. It's a philosophy that embraces differences in brain function and behavior as a natural manifestation of humanity's variety rather than viewing them as wrong or problematic. It celebrates how these different ways of thinking, processing, and learning make us unique rather than seeing them as deficits.”  (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-neurodiversity-5193463)

By considering it as a natural manifestation of humanity’s variety, it opens the doors of perception, although not necessarily in quite the same way as William Blake (The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1793) meant, although he did write: “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.” (Perhaps, Blake's 18^th C interpretation of ‘through a glass darkly’ from 1 Corinthians 13:12 ?)

Evolution

To my simple mind, evolution is the antithesis of dogma which, for westerners at least, is intimately associated with the abrahamaic faiths and texts written many years before it was demonstrated that the earth is not flat. However well-meaning people of ‘religion’ may be, they are either endlessly trying to adapt their dogma to an evolving world (the via media) or simply refuting multiple factual sources in favour of one old script, such as on matters of porcine cleanliness. (I know too little of Eastern faiths to make any comment on those.)

After a lifetime studying and researching evolution in a number of biological disciplines, ranging from microbiology to human behaviour, and following it through other sciences, if I were to adopt any faith, it would simply be that of ‘Evolution’. I believe in evolution: it appears to be both universal and without any alphas or omegas, however much we might search for them. ‘Evolution’ seems to tally with Blake’s Infinite. It also seems, superficially at least, to tie in with Alfred Whitehead’s ‘Process Philosophy’. Very crudely, process philosophy focuses on becoming rather than being. It highlights and promotes the significance of change.

Resetting Foundations using Process Philosophy

Taking neurodiversity as a philosophical feature, rather than a pathology, it and its various social expressions (neurodivergences) do appear to fit within evolution – for all outcomes to the individual (good and bad).

Assuming everything is evolving, from the starry nights of the physical universe downwards and inwards, adaptation is evolution’s expression of diversity - its interplay with environment, both changing. That then heralds a confrontation with dogmatic social groups and the laws used by such to attempt to limit the expression of diversity, to provide bonding within such groups and protection from perceived threats. (Perhaps the use of the term idée fixe, usually associated with obsession, fetishism etc. is just as applicable to the rigid dogmas … such as not eating pork because a book says so, or simply claiming the earth is flat.)

Some Social Interactions

Neurodiverse Experience, Condition and Pathology

There can be no denying that in a society, there are certain behaviours that take an ‘experience’ beyond that of being part of a person’s character, through to being a condition that needs managing for the good of all. The compartmentalisation of such as a pathology enables wider social control of such behaviour. Determining which neurodiverse behaviour requires control is based on the particular threads that bind any society.

Within a society, certain divergences are conceived as ill-fitting to the extent that those in power decide, for whatever reason, that the divergence is, in its broadest sense, antisocial. It adversely affects the functioning of society, so historically, people experiencing or living with such a divergence have historically been contained – prisons, asylums, hospitals, isolation units and so on.

One positive function of pathologising a neurodivergence is the development of management protocols and treatments that lessen any perceived negative impact that an individual’s behaviour may have on society. This, in turn, can enable a relaxation within society at large to behaviours that might previously have been considered as posing too great a risk to stability. A result of this may be societal transformation, whereby a behaviour becomes acceptable, even celebrated. This is an example of cultural evolution. (It is not a neurodiverse case, but the change in attitude over a couple of generations towards people living with Downs syndrome has been remarkable – they just needed to be heard.)

There is, of course, the other side to this, in that neurodivergences can take on a fashionable label and, if history is anything to go by, that will stimulate a critical reception amongst those who lend themselves to bigotry. Add to that a seeming increase of the use of neurodivergence as mitigation in law cases. My understanding of the above is they come about, in the main, as a result of a recent 'diagnosis', either after someone has reached the pinnacle of success, or have been found guilty of a (usually) minor criminal offence. This seems to follow the same developmental pattern that fostered increasing criticism of the trans experience.

But here I feel I am beginning to get out of my depth. While I can postulate how society may react to ‘managed neurodivergence’, I cannot speak to how an individual with a neurodiverse condition reacts to social and other influencing factors. I am reminded of what R.D Laing (a 1960’s psychoanalyst) said concerning schizophrenia, that it may be “a sane reaction to an insane world”. (The anti-psychiatry movement of the 1960’s et seq., to which Laing belonged, remains highly controversial but his statement highlights the inequality between individual and society.)

Cultural Evolution and Its Risks to Neurodiversity (and Trans)

The empirical evidence as based on current professional knowledge is of an increasing recognition of ASD, including amongst mature and socially successful people. There does seem to be a parallel in the increasing numbers of people identifying as trans (or some variant of). Are these responses to a changing environment, or a more nuanced identification of variation amongst people? Or a mixture of both?

Whichever, a danger here is with characters like RFK Jr, the US secretary of Health and Human Services, who remains fixated on linking his extensively debunked idea that vaccination programmes have caused the rise in autism. He has the power to disrupt impartial research into the impact of vaccines and has used it. Also, the anti-gay Southern Baptists in the US, with their own rigid adherence to the bible as they understand it, are increasing in influence and power, with the result that a challenge to gay marriage has been submitted to the US Supreme Court. Their Convention also voted to ban other marginal groups in the LGBT+ constellation and return women’s social position to that of subordination to men (and no, this is not Afghanistan, but ... it’s all down to votes within the most powerful country in the world, with inevitable knock-on effects.)

There is, currently, a highly complex issue in the UK with gender and sex, whereby a basic (and increasingly recognised as simplistic) concept in biology – sex – is being used to undermine the protection for and social freedoms recently gained by trans people. As with research on autism, research into biological sex is becoming ever more complex as science tries to answer more and more intricate questions regarding the development of the foetus, its interaction with its mother, and influences from the exterior crossing the placental boundary. Instead, the law relies on an acknowledged imperfect definition of man and woman. As someone with a biological background I find myself agreeing with the basic definition but uncomfortable that by becoming fixed in law the presence and value of diversity (genetic/developmental/social) is forgotten. There are vested interests all over the place demanding … what? I have no answer.

Neurodivergence and Masking - A More Personal Story

Someone with a neurodivergence may, or may not, be aware that their relationship with wider society is unusual. My lifelong partner had OCD dominated by hoarding. I was aware of a predilection she had for handwashing which she seemed to manage well – it was simply an expression of a neurodivergence, no more. At some point in her life, however, she began hoarding. The detail really belongs to a separate blog entry, if at all – suffice to say that it was of far greater consequence than the handwashing and it developed into an untreated pathological state. Living conditions (having her own apartment) were such that no one in wider society was aware of the consequences of her hoarding – she was very good at masking it, even to me, until she needed other day-to-day medical care and with covid, we formed a ‘bubble’ at my house, where her hoarding continued. She had been aware of her hoarding behaviour for over twenty years, but I only found this out while clearing her apartment and coming across correspondence with health and research organisations reaching back that far.

The mask, for her, was not simply a coping adaptation, but part of the hoarding. An example: she had an overnight bag which she told me had been packed so that it contained everything in it that she might need for an overnight stay in hospital. On the first occasion it was needed (only some weeks later, when she had been hospitalised with a TIA), I picked the bag up to take it to the hospital and, realising how light it was, opened it only to reveal a large, hoarded collection of empty prescription drug boxes - nothing else! By this time, I was in tune with secreting behaviour, so just made a light joke of it when I visited her. What really struck me was that she hardly reacted, her expression didn't change and she barely acknowledged what I had said (nothing to do with the TIA, I must add). There was no communication, no joke for her, and it was then clear to me that the mask was not acting as a ‘gatekeeper’ managing her communications with the exterior world, but was a guard, protecting a deeply private, possibly subconscious world – her mask was an integral part of her neurodivergence. I never tested, even in fun, her mask from then on.

Trans

So where does ‘trans’ fit into all this waffling? Does it fit at all? (I regard myself as transgender, a particular subset of ‘trans’ but will use trans for convenience).

The empirical evidence as based on current professional knowledge is of an increasing recognition of autistic spectrum disorders, including amongst mature and successful people. There does seem to be a parallel in the increasing numbers of people, both young and old, identifying as trans (or some variant of).

Is this a response to a changing environment, or a more nuanced identification of variations amongst people? Or is it a mixture of both? As far as these experiences go, we are still in the dark ages. One significant difference is that being trans is primarily self-identifying. But, perhaps this is due to the ease of such self-identification. Of course, there is the further problem with trans - because of its nature, for some it does find expression through sexual activity, if not sexual indentity: a double whammy as far as the Old Testament is concerned.  But this piece is about neurodiversity, so, for now, I'll just leave any correlation with trans as an open question.

 ... And Postscripts

When I decided to publish this piece, just a few day ago (24/08), it was partly to avoid getting sidetracked into 'trans' and partly to avoid writing about experiences I am not familiar with. Since then, however, I've come across things which, I think, add to the above:

1.'Phobias: I have acrophobia (irrational fear of heights). Using coping mechanisms I am quite able to walk along precipices etc, but if the coping mechanism is removed, I freeze. This seems due to confusion between the optical input to my brain and how the relevant part of my brain responds - I find myself, literally, 'wanting' to edge towards the danger, even while feeling terror. This is NOTHING to do with neurodiversity, but I just wonder whether this phobic response bears any resemblance to the stresses that can arise in ASD. If so, it could aid understanding. Maybe ... 

2. How does the anti-psychiatry of RD Laing re-appear after all these years? I was reading a report in The Guardian (27/08) about the winner of the Edinburgh comedy award winner, Sam Nicoresti, who happens to be trans. I'll simply quote from the article: 

"... being transgender may be, for Nicoresti at least, as much a journey as a destination – and not one without its bumps in the road. Happy to report, after the quasi-spiritual experience described in the show, when she passed nine times through the Mên-an-Tol stones in Cornwall, famed for their healing properties, “I’ve felt fine since. Absolutely fine! I mean, life is hard at the moment, but it’s hard for everyone. I take the RD Laing approach of, it’s perfectly rational for us to feel insane.” But generally, she says, “I’m feeling good right now.”" Hmm...

3. More on RFK Jr - a news feature in Nature (26/08). It's an article asking what is really driving the rise in autism?  RFK Jr is blaming an environmental toxin, but years of research have indicated that autism diagnoses have changed as diagnostic methodology has evolved. The predisposing causes appear to be genetic (possibly de novo mutations in the parents germ cells) with environmental factors being secondary. (This does appear, on first reading, to tie autism into a form of evolutionary process, rather a poisoned population).

I have a feeling that these postscripts may be continuing ... 

 

 

Arvo Pärt

 I should have posted this 'shorty' post at the end of BBC Radio 3's composer of the week session on Arvo Pärt, but life (as usual) intervened.

Anyone interested in Arvo Pärt will have encountered his music - Spiegel in Spiegel, Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. Almost minimalist, but not  ... still fitting well into a personal 'canon' for me that includes Philip Glass, Max Richter etc. - something otherworldly, contemplative but 'areligious' if that's a reasonable word. His own term for his particular music is 'tintinnabuli' and yes, it is music for whom the bell tolls.

Up until the R3 prog, his music uplifted me when I heard it, but by the time I had finished listening to the programme through the week, I found I had already ordered a CD from Amazon. Why? His music is freely available on youtube? My purchase would mean nothing to him, but I felt I needed to acknowledge the debt I owe to him for bringing such beauty into my world. The CD then played continuously for the following week. 

It's age ... maybe. I recognise few, if any, 'pop' musicians today (I've heard Taylor Swift by accident, possibly twice, and as for the ginger guy with glasses whose name I can't recall just now ... I'm sure he is good). It's as if I recognise my time here is limited and what I seek is modern music that encompasses a wider and older world than pop can do. There is music that can inspire memories of my life - recollections of young times, fun times, wild times, times that I would rather not have happened but have, but these are episodes in life now gone. That is music of my past, which I still enjoy today, but they are not of today. One day, but not yet, I might find myself only listening to John Cage and 4'33" LOL!

Some Neolithic Ireland and a visit to Brú na Bóinne (The Palace of the Boyne)

 Ireland is rich in ancient sites. Some years ago Pauline and I stayed in Carran, Co. Clare and one of our first sights was in the evening when the majority of tourists had drifted away. It was Poulnabrone, an icon of Megalithic Ireland - an amazing sight, almost floating above the limestone pavement of the Burren. My supposition is that it is probable that the landscape at the time, 3800 -3200 BCE, was not so different - Hazel would probably have been extensive in the grikes in the pavement (it remains so where there is sufficient soil), but would be easily harvested for manufacture of baskets, fences etc. The free-draining geology would have militated against bog formation.

Poulnabrone Portal Tomb

 A year later saw us in Co. Mayo visiting the Céide (pronounced Kaydje, apparently!) Fields.

Céide Fields, Co. Mayo

Céide Fields are the site of the first known landscapes of stone walled fields in the world, possibly dating back some 6000 years*. This is a wholly different landscape to that of the Burren. There is not much to be seen in the open as the walls were covered by metres of depth of peat bog. A local landowner, Patrick Caulfield, discovered stones while turf cutting. The stones were in a regular pattern. Using the iron rods that were driven into the bog to find tree remains, his son Seamus, an archaeologist, uncovered the ordered nature of the stone walls. Since then artefacts have also been found. I am anything but a paleobotanist, or paleo-anything, so the following must be taken as approximate (the Céide Fields Visitor Centre has far more information).  It is thought that at around 3500-3000 BCE the forested lands (Pine and Birch) were cleared for grazing. With the warm wet post-glacial period, blanket bog took over and covered the land, burying the farmland, walls and remaining trees. 

* UPDATE, 20/08/25 On seeing 'The Mystery of the Desert Kites' on BBC Channel 4, I found it intriguing that to the SE of what is considered the fertile crescent of the Middle East, thousands of huge 'desert kites' have been found stretching from SW Saudi Arabia round to the Mediterranean and NE to Kazakhstan. These 'kites' comprised sails - enclosures - and 'tails' of stone walls believed now to have guided gazelle on migration into sophisticated traps. The kites are considered to date across the neolithic, perhaps to 7000 BCE. There are similarities with other structures to my mind - carvings of human figures that echo what I saw at Filtosa, Corsica, dating back 4000 BCE (although these latter carvings have been modified over time).

On visiting Ballycroy Nature Reserve nearby we were lucky enough to be told where to find the exposed stumps and roots of Pines that predated the overlying peat bog.

Pine Stump and Roots, possibly 6000 years old, below the Peat

 

 Although we had seen megaliths before, from across western Europe, it was with these sites in Ireland that we were truly bitten by the prehstoric landscape bug, and Newgrange, being on the Boyne just 30 minutes from our friends in Dundalk, was now in our sights. A speciality of Newgrange is seeing the Winter Solstice from within the tomb passage. Having my birthday at the Winter Solstice, we twice entered the raffle to see the sunrise on that day, but without luck.

 This year, for unrelated reasons, I was visiting P and M in July and took advantage to book a 3.5 hr tour of the Newgrange site, including Knowth. The Newgrange website is a little frustrating in that it provides limited information and urges booking for tours, with the focus very much on Newgrange. On the day, I visited with D and M as P felt 3.5 hrs was too long. I did wonder whether I should have booked the shorter 2 hr visit just to Newgrange but that would have been to miss the main bulk of the neolithic landscape.

Arrival: timing is stressed; the visitor centre is nowhere near Newgrange and parking at the centre gives a 5 minute walk to the centre itself where there are numerous staff to welcome, put on colored wrist bands (very important for the tour), and direct visitors where to go.  Built into the arrival time is an allowance to familiarise oneself and grab a cup of tea from the reasonable cafe. Then it is another 5 min walk across the River Boyne to the coach pick-up point. Then, onto the coach and off, along private tracks and narrow lanes until the arrival at Knowth.

 

 

Arriving at Knowth we were warmly welcomed by a very knowledgable guide who 'opened our eyes' to the value of Knowth. The site is astonishing! The first impact is that the main passage tomb is partly hidden by a number of smaller mounds:

 

Arriving at Knowth

 The main tomb has 17 smaller mounds surrounding it. It is larger than Newgrange and has two entrances (not accessible) which face East and West but are not solsticially aligned (although, like much else, there are different theories). The main feature seen are the kerbstones - 124 of what would have been 127. Many are intrically carved. There have been various reasons given for the carvings. Currently 'art' seems to be in favour - and why not, given the culture that erected the tombs was clearly sophisticated, simply lacking metal:

 

 

 

It was put to us that the Newgrange sites hold more than 50% of all neolithic art in Western Europe and that the vast majority of it is at Knowth.

 

From the top of the tomb at Knowth it is possible to see across the neolithic landscape to Newgrange:

Newgrange from Knowth

 

The remaining passage tomb making up the Newgrange complex is Dowth, which was iredeemably damaged during ill-thought archaeology in the past. The site is freely accessible and I hope to visit it on another trip!
 

 Scattered to the foreground of the tomb at Knowth is white quartz. It is thought, somewhat controversially, that this was a revetment of the wall of the tomb. There are a couple of examples of such in France, but the most striking is the reconstruction at Newgrange, which apparently, was based on reverse modelling the assumed fallen positions of the quartz stones:

 

To enter the tomb, we had to split into two groups and make sure that we had nothing extraneous that could be caught in the narrow passageway. Sadly, but understandably, photography was forbidden. Squeezing along the passage we arrived at a cruciform chamber where the guide explained about the finds and the magnificent corbelled roof, made of interleaved rock slabs.In front of the passage is a very impressive kerbstone which I thought I had not photographed but it turns out to be the first snap taken at Newgrange before the rest of the tourists turned up!

 

 

Although striking in its appearance, in some ways, Newgrange was less impressive to us than Knowth. I suspect that this is because the reconstruction at Newgrange, while undoubtedly impressive, can never be conclusive and the surrounding landscape will be different to how it was, whereas the very intensity of structures and rock art at Knowth is enveloping. (It must also be said that the focus at Newgrange is the passage and that was reflected by the people management there).

 

Back at the Visitor Centre there were displays, including a reconstruction of the Newgrange chamber. Question to myself - would I visit again? Certainly, but there are other sites as well: Loughcrew and Fourknocks, as well as Proleek that we visited in 2019. It sits on the edge of a golf course:

 

Proleek

 

Using my guide 'The Old Stones', a field guide to the megalithic sites of Britain and Ireland (a 'must have' for anyone interested in such things), I have also noted down a few sites in NI to visit. What with those and the old castles and religious ruins ...

 

 

 

 

Ireland in July

Trips to Ireland in recent years have tended to be out of Summer, but a few weeks ago the bug got to me and I booked a fortnight at Chez Lennon.

I have had multiple eye problems recently - periorbital stuff - psoriasis, blepharitis, plus conjunctivitis which started before my trip to Wales and have waxed and waned since then. The previous week everything was looking good, but that had a sudden reversal on Sunday, 6th July, such that driving the next day was a problem. For this trip I had decided to stop at motorway services a couple of hours from Holyhead to get several hours rest and that proved wothwhile. The original reason for this was Travelodge/Premier Inn dynamic pricing. Uusally at Holyhead I pay £30-£40, but both chains had taken the price to £140+. The 04.00 ferry from Holyhead was almost empty. Arriving in Dublin at 07.15 on the 8th meant a leisurely drive to Dundalk and the first of many cups of tea. 

Pamela kept reminding me of how, on my last trip, within a couple of hours of arrival she needed me to give her a lift to the nearby Dunnes store and then I had immediately to repack for our nights away in the Irish Midlands, but this wouldn't be the case this time. My eyes were bad so we did nothing until the next morning. At that time my eyes were a little better and Pamela asked me to take her out for a photoshoot, which was accomplished at the Gateway Hotel. This was repeated on Wednesday at The Fairways Hotel. The second was a little less successful as the sun and heat were becoming testing for both of us. My eyes remained quite poor so I wasn't dressing as Thursday was Warrenpoint day and I was saving myself for that. 

On Carlingford Lough

Knowing the predicted temperatures, Pamela thought it unlikely she would accompany us and even early in the morning it was getting hot so Pamela stayed at home while Debbie drove Mary and myself to get the ferry from Greenore (RoI) to Greencastle (NI). I was wearing my new short-sleeve Seasalt dress. At Greenore we had drinks at the COOP (an old coverted COOP shop). The ferry ride was fun and when we arrived at Greencastle we drove to Rostrevor to Kilbroney Park and its Narnia Trail where we had tea. Unfortunately, although I was wearing my old comfy town shoes, something was wrong, especially walking in the park ... blisters, blisters, blisters! (I think that my feet have changed over the last few months). 

With Aslan

We cut short our walk in the park and made our way to Warrenpoint, which is a nice little seaside resort at the head of the Carlingford Lough that I remember fondly walking round with Pauline (we even did a bit of tentative house hunting there in the one year that prices seemed affordable). We had a snack at the Whistledown Hotel before heading back to Dundalk via Newry. The Whistledown Hotel was where, years before, Pauline had insisted finishing a snack despite us being due back at Dundalk in 20 minutes to pick up a Christmas cake ... we made it, just! Back at Chez Lennon it was apparent, on inspection, my right foot was a mess where the skin had blistered over a bunion and bled. I had really enjoyed the Carlingford ferry and I hope it manages to keep going despite a bridge across the lough near Warrenpoint.

 

Three's A Crowd in Next, Newry!

 On Friday, the weather was getting hotter but we got away fairly early in the morning with Debbie who drove us to 'The Secret Garden', part of Carrickdale Hotel and Spa. I was wearing a t-top and long peasant skirt over my flatties. More tea was drunk by the others - I was sticking to black coffee - and photos taken, before a drive into Newry, The Quays. We visited Next and M+S (including tea at Next!) before going into the shopping centre itself. I picked up some things for my blisters in Boots and then we did the tour of the sadly diminishing shops there - River Island, H&M, and even Waterstones. Then it was back to Dundalk again.

 

My right foot was now outdoing my eyes as a source of difficulty and it was very hot. Saturday was a day for doing nothing.

On Sunday, realising that my flatties wouldn't do for the whole time away,  I took myself off to Newry and managed to buy two pairs of sandals - a female pair in Regatta and a male pair in JD Sports, both at half-price. I thought that would be sufficient to cover eventualities.

On Monday, Debbie came and picked Mary and myself (Male mode) up to go to Newgrange, a Neolithic site. The heat and the length of the tour (3.5 hr) had dissuaded Pamela from joining us. It was a long day, but very successful. I'll write about that separately. 

In the Judge and Jury

Tuesday and we headed for Trim for a two-night stay. I was wearing my Regatta sandals which worked perfectly. I was back in my first dress for the day, but wearing the new RW wig. We stopped at Bective Tea Rooms for lunch on the way but it was very crowded and noisy; a different experience to the previous visit for me. At Trim  Castle Hotel, I changed into the blue/blk/white dress for photos and dinner. Unfortunately, the white sling backs I had for evening wear were too uncomfortable and I stuck with the sandals. The hotel was very busy and there was a large group of middle-aged women (from NI) who were clearly having a riotous time! We had mocktails, provided by Debbie on the roof terrace. Dinner was uninpsiring. We decided to go for a drink and after passing plenty of closed bars and cafes stopped at the 'Judge and Jury', near the hotel. 

The next morning I felt very sluggish and with all the bits to do - eyes and feet - I decided to skip breakfast. I chose to wear my other new, blue Seasalt dress. After meeting the others in the foyer we went to the Tourist Information Office where a chap was very helpful. We then went back to the hotel while Pamela and Mary went off to the chemists for whatever they needed. When we got together again we all went in Debbie's car to the outskirts of Trim where we stopped to visit the ruins of the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul and Marcie Regan's where we had a drink (my first coffee of the day!)

On the banks of the Boyne 

 

A few photos were taken and then back to the hotel so Pamela could rest - she'd had little sleep the night before through discomfort to her knee. Debbie and I stayed out for a stroll along the Boyne.

Trim By Night

It was very pleasant and then we went back to the hotel and I rested until it was time to meet up for an evening meal which we had at the Stockhouse. I had changed into my green Seasalt dress. My salmon was excellent but Mary's burger order was all wrong; they had to redo that and the apple pie desserts were very poor with curdled custard; sad really as the place had a good atmosphere otherwise. On the way back to the hotel we took street pictures. 

On the last morning, in my first dress again, I decided to join the others for breakfast but that took a while to sort out as the breakfast room was on the first floor and the signage was inadequate (only being in the lift and I was using the stairs). Breakfast over, we decided we would stop at the Conyngham Arms, Slane, for tea-top-up. We had to park a long way off and the hotel was shut for a wedding, so we just headed back to Dundalk. Knowing how hungry P and M would be I went off to Mullens to fetch chicken 'n chips, before we settled down to the TV series of the Ipcress File.

Friday was definitely a rest day ... and my eyes felt reasonably OK!!! In the afternoon we drove into town to get a cake for Mary and have dinner out - the Jockeys...full, the Windsor ...not serving for another 1/2 hours, so P and I dropped Mary off and got more food from Mullens before settling down to more Ipcress File.

Saturday was another rest day for me. I was feeling better than I had done for ages and wanted to enjoy that feeling! My eyes were still a tiny bit gritty and on close-up there was still blepharitis, much-reduced, but the periorbital odema to my left eye, which seems to be caused by psoriasis, was completely clear and the drooping on the left lower lid was gone (as far as the chalazion lets it go). Pamela dressed and we went to the Gateway for dinner to celebrate Mary's birthday. Then back for the final part of the Ipcress File.

Sunday was spent continuing rest. Debbie had indicated that she would like us to go out on Monday, and that was fine for me - more rest for my eyes and feet (almost better). Pamela had had a bad night so I decided to take the opportunity to take some pictures in Dundalk. I even managed Blackrock alone, much to the chagrin of my hostess. Sleep prevailed inbetween times - the house is very warm and I felt like an old dog!!! No Ipcress File, so we had Miss Marple (don't ask me which ...)

St Patrick's Church, Dundalk 

Dundalk was an industrial town, with the manufacture of shoes (five factories), cigarettes (Sweet Afton) and lager (Harp) - now all gone.

It is now focusing on tech, but many of the trappings of that history are visible.

Carlingford Priory

Monday, we were due to go to Carlingford, but the weather was dreek, so I took the time to pack. In the evening we went for a farewell drink at The Gateway, but we had reserved enough time for Debbie to kindly drive us to Carlingford on Tuesday morning, for a visit to the priory, tea and scones and a visit to a well-frequented (by Pamela and Debbie) dress shop!

 

 There will be more pictures on flickr, but by 6.15pm it was time for me to take my leave and head to Dublin for the ferry. The uneventful return may be more eventful (I might have triggered a speed camera) and, sadly, there was a major diversion before the M2 ... possibly a suicide. But I was back by 7am to unwelcome visitors  ... wasps - a queen has found a way in!!!

All in all, a wonderful two weeks at Chez Lennon with regular appearances of Debbie, who was charming.

 (Apologies if the format is odd, I wanted to get this up before going onto Newgrange and I have difficulty with Blogger, and everything else nowadays ... I've now tidied it up a bit, 23/07).

Footnote ... on 10/08 it is now passed the time for me to have received any summons re speeding ... phew! However, the lesson has been learnt ... there was no purpose to me driving the speed I was (I was simply bored with repeated speed reduction areas with nothing happening at 3am, so didn't slow down the third time I saw the 50 mph sign with no indication as to why the need for the reduction). And the hold-up at the M2 was because of a suicide, putting life into perspective.