Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Australians say, 'merry christmas' but the Irish say, 'Noiligg Shona Duit'!I was the only person who could answer what merry christmas was, all the irish kids didnt even know!!2 nights ago we went to a christmas disco for the athletics, it was really fun. But it was really sad to say good bye to them all!! I only have 2 more days of school, it's really bad we only finish 2 days before christmas!! We got our christmas tree and did the best we could to make it look good without having our stack of christmas decorations!!It will be MUCH different having christmas in the cold and without family but we do get a special visit from the Andrews and the Brodies!!We miss you all and I wish you a very merry christmas!!lots of love Niamh!!!

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone!
Merry Christmas!
Well, it's the end of the year. Sometimes i thought it would never come, but now we're getting ready for christmas and it's nearly time to go home!
I only have one day left at the Mercy Secondary school and then I am starting at Loreto next year.
My principal gave me a Waterford crystal vase as a going away present at a surprise party for me. I didn't know but they had invited mum to come and gave speeches and everything about me. It was kinda embarrassing but nice.
The Irish really go all out for christmas and there are loads of cool lights in town and there is a carousel in the middle of the town square that looks really magical at night.
I'm really looking forward to christmas and my birthday and I'm really excited that the Brodies are coming to visit!
The end of the year is flying and it won't be long untill we are on the plane home.
I can't wait to see everyone again so bye 'till then.
BY IMOGEN

The Marshalls of Chippenham

One of Dom's oldest friends is his pen-friend acquired in 1979 or 1980, Rachael Marshall nee Martin. It was a risk of sorts for our first face to face meeting to be a three night stay for the whole tribe at the Marshall family home.

Any apprehension about this step into the unknown was briskly swept away by the warmth and generosity of our English hosts {so like the photos after all!}. Paul, Rachael and Max entertained and guided us through big name tourist attractions and charming English cultural traditions, and even slept on the couch to keep us in luxury.



Chippenham is but a stone's throw from Bath, which I would have to say gave a good account of its attractions for visitors. The Roman Bath tour is a genuinely high quality tourist experience, for children and adults alike. The proximity of centuries of human history manifests itself with real potency. Bill Bryson's commentary is entertaining and informative.



Stonehange, also in the neighbourhood, is a less complex attraction, notwithstanding the air of mystery tourist operators have worked hard to imbue it with! Nevertheless, and despite the freezing conditions that greeted us, it too exceeds expectation. The place has grandeur, and has been ably preserved.
Our children enjoyed the open space, and a bit of a run around with their bouncy new friend Max Marshall.



The town of Bath was very charming to walk around. The photo above is taken looking up-river towards the Putney Bridge.

Windsor- home of QE2 and the Aussie Andrew's

After spending a few excellent days in Shakespeare country (Stratford Upon Avon and the Cotswolds..where we played in snow in a picnic spot on the side of the road)and a half day in Oxford we sat stationary on the M40 in peak hour traffic UK style heading to stay with our aussie mates Simon and Lisa Andrews.


The Andrews were gracious hosts and exemplary trip planners, launching us to Windsor Castle, London in all its glory, and a range of local attractions {including a great little italian joint where we caught up with Elle {little sis} and Nick.
All that we saw reinforced the "better to conquer than be conquered" mantra - notwithstanding moral objections to this interpretation of history.




We all agreed Betty Windsor has more stuff than she needs.
Simon's car tour of local attractions is worth the visit.

Holidaying on the Island next door

Mid term break has come our way, giving us an excuse for one more holiday abroad. With Dom being half pommy what better destination than the UK for the Frawley 6 and our Opel Zafira. We caught the Irish ferry from Co. Wexford to Fishguard in Wales on a fairly windy rough day. Three hours later we were driving through the stark countryside of Wales feeling like we were back in Ireland. The highlight of our stay in Wales was a full day play at 'Oakwood' a theme park set in country landscape of Southern Wales. Being cold and slightly wet and end of season time we basically had the park to oursleves and had a ball.



To everyone's delight there was a scary ride to suit all comers. Dom was especially thrilled to find a huge timber roller coaster modelled on the old 'Big Dipper', formerly of Luna Park in Sydney. There was also this thing called "Speed", which instead of the slow creaky uphill to launch your 60 seconds of terror, took you up precisely vertically, then as you flung over the precipice actually went back inwards - beyond vertical, then off to loops and corkscrews before the safety of the terminal. Good photos all round. For South Coast types, Oakwood is kinda like jamberoo off its training wheels.

Kids'n'Sport

Our life is fairly busy with trips to and from a myriad of sporting commitments, the most recent ones are represented here; Above is Imogen about to clear one of the early heights in the All Ireland Combined Events athletics. It was a good chance to check out the facilities in Dublin for Ireland's premier athletes. Bring on the renovations.

Below are the boys getting ready for their Martial arts lesson. Both thoroughly enjoying their new art and have already been awarded their first belts (Imogen is also involved and showing her stuff by impressing the Sensei with her strong high kicks...probably from all that jumping!)



Below is the line up from our club for the Waterford County Cross Country championship {featuring Niamh far left}. The bright sunshine and half soggy track are far from representative of most of the season - forget the sun and add an extra foot or so of mud, some frost and sleet! It is a great challenge and should toughen up the young runners, those that survive.....or turn them off for life!

Ireland by Road

Above is a photo looking across the River Suir from the Quays at Waterford. The girl's face you can see is about 40m high, installed for one of our festivals by an Austrian artist.
Below another shot from the car - showing the blue and white festooning that preceded Waterford's appearance in the All Ireland Hurling Final. The flags, which appeared on almost every building in the county, only get used every 40 years, the frequency with which the local team makes the final.



One of the great stereotypes of Irish life is the idea that you spend half your life trapped behind assorted tractors on narrow country lanes. In our experience this is only partly true, as the pictures below show...



You can actually be trapped behind tractors on fairly wide roads too.



We have to admire the optimism, and outright peculiarity, of some of the signage. Our local favourite is the one which states "Major Junction Ahead".The sign is reproduced here, followed by a photograph of the "Major Junction" at peak hour.



The man and his dog were running late that day.




This last snap is just around the corner from Bob's Lodge. Any morning en-route to work we can catch something similar from this angle.