It is brighter outside in Cavan today, but still raining. Yesterday, I got drenched while out walking my dog, Poppins. My red dress dripped a trail of pink splashes around the stony path of the golf course at the Farnham Estate. But before that, last week, in the sunshine, it was as if I had jumped into a chalked up pavement picture, and was riding a carrousel of dreams, to borrow an image from Mary Poppins.

It is hard to believe that I was ever strolling along the tow path of the river Barrow between Graiguenamanagh and Borris, sniffing in the creamy scent of the willow blossom, bathing in its green waters, and sipping pints of bitter shandy on its banks. The gardens of the occasional lock houses along the way were filled with reds, blues, purples and yellows of roses, camellias, summer lilac, hydrangeas, fuscia, buddlia, forest flames.

Or that just two days ago, I was at Ballyjamesduff Museum, lying out on the lawn, eating salmon salad with beetroot wraps, drinking lovely leitrim cocktails, listening to live blue grass jazz at the launch of our new project, Drominn Creative.

(By the way, Drominn Creative is going to make Cavan the most sought after holiday destination in Ireland soon. We are bringing together local artists and businesses, local eateries and hotels to make sure that our visitors and guests are given the opportunity to sample the best of Cavan. Who wouldn’t like to traverse Loch Outer on a canoe, one evening, with a delicious picnic made of local produce, while listening to local musicians playing on the shore or spend an afternoon rambling around the Cavan Burren listening to old legends and poems while local cocktails are shaken up – but this blog isn’t an advert, so I shall stop meandering.)

Yes, the last two weeks have been the stuff of dreams that for nearly two years have been non-existent. And it seems dreamlike because, to me, the world still seems a dangerous place, despite my being double vaccinated and having a digital Covid pass. Somehow, that seems irrelevant when I hear about the Israeli Pegasus phone hacking device which enable governments who purchase it, to target their ‘terrorists’, (our ‘journalists’); when I hear about the massive increase in the profits of the tech companies; when I see fires and floods rage across the world because of climate change; when the delta variant is still on the rampage.

Maybe it will take time for me to summon the energy to wholly re-surface, but bit by bit, I am sure I will. Baby steps along the river Borris and at Cavan Museum will get me there. And Brad Blanks. He contacted me yesterday after reading my blog. It seems he is an Aussie Ennals, now living in New York, working in radio, and he loves my blog. This is why I’m writing this, now, after a such a long dry period. His enthusiasm spurred me on. It seems both our great grandfathers originated in Birmingham…or Walsall, to be more precise. I wonder if he has seen Peaky Blinders. Anyway, thank God for family. Family is always good to give you a kick up the arse and start you moving…whomever they are and wherever they come from.

See you next month!