Windy

I have been spending a great deal of time on back-blipping, concentrating on the time around 1988-1991, an exciting time at work and in part, in my private life. But it was also a very challenging time for all the personal issues that also arose.

My back-blipping is done solely for my own purposes and my family "knowledge bank". I really don't want to burden others with the nonsense. This together with a warning from Blip that an anniversary is coming up has made me turn off notifications at times. I don't want to confuse people and certainly not be congratulated for some unearned "special entry" Blip award. So I will continue to turn the comments on/off at times.

I thoroughly enjoy looking back despite the amount of time it takes and due to the haphazard way I do it, I keep on repeating myself. I get a kick out of it but I do not want to live in those times again. I guess I would like to come back today but not as a baby but the day before my 18th birthday, school done and about to set off on adult life. I would, however, want the knowledge I have today and at some point my two children too.

Morning dog walk in the forest to make use of the shelter from the strong wind.Just before I set off had sent my daughter in Ireland a WhatsApp message concerning yesterday's Blip and the next family visit.

Suddenly in the middle of the forest, the phone went off and a reply came from her. There followed a whole host of messages, photos, videos and audio files. Without making a call,  and separated by a few 1000 km, we were had a fun ten minutes and amazingly the grandchildren joined in with small voice messages every so often.

I thought at first the children must have been ill following yesterday' birthday cake orgy and asked if they were OK. Kate quickly replied they were still at home, the school didn't start until 9:20. It was 8:30 Irish time!

Here primary school (6 to 10-year-olds) starts at 8:00 and generally ends at 13:00. I think at the 10-16 age schools, classes begin at 7:30.and can last until 14:30.

Anyway was great to hear their voices in the woods. The local goblins and fairies were not to be heard above the noise of the wind.

On the way, home spotted this pre-fab house suddenly springing out of the ground. Last week there was only a concrete slab. I stopped to take a photo just as they were fighting to get this piece of a wall under control in the wind. I suddenly realised a video would be great and waited for the next section. However, the builders had spotted me with the camera and clearly thought I was some "inspector". The next two sections were moved just above the ground to the side of the house and then slowly lifted until they just got above the ground floor and then manhandled in to place. Shame but perhaps I saved someone ending up in hospital.

One thing I always note from TV reports or other films and pictures from the UK is that everyone wears high visibility vests. If anyone complains this is EU over the top bureaucracy, I wonder if it really is. Hardly anyone on a building site wears them here, at least on smaller ones. Clearly on the roads and maybe on city centre sites where they need to be around roads and pavements