It’s been two years since I arrived to Dublin — on 1st October 2020, I took up residence at Sprangers Yard in the apartment where I still live and wrote the first post for this blog. My once daily posts have become much more infrequent as life has become more routine. Life has settled into a new normal. The COVID-19 pandemic is seemingly over; just the other day I finally relegated my collection...
Europe is experiencing an extreme heat wave this week. On Monday, a temperature of 33.1°C / 92 F was recorded in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, which makes it the hottest day in Ireland in more than more than 135 years. The highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland was 33.3 C at Kilkenny Castle on June 26th, 1887. Temperatures in London and Paris have topped 40 C / 104 F, so I am thankful for the...
It’s been a warm but somewhat grey June in Dublin. Today has been one of the warmer days, with highs in the low 70s F / low 20s C, and humid – but nothing like the heatwaves that continental Europe or the U.S. have been having recently. There is no denying summer is here, now that we’re past the solstice. The sun doesn’t set until around 10:00pm these days. A well-timed photo...
I’ve been remiss in blog posts over the last couple of weeks, in large part due to having limited use of my right arm in addition to not having had much news to share. The weather has been becoming more and more summer-like, with highs in the mid 60s F / upper teens C. There have been a fair share of rainy days but also many beautiful blue-sky /partially cloudy bright days. And now with the...
After some downpours of rain during the week, the weekend has been blessed by some beautiful spring weather with highs in mid 60s F / upper teens C. It was a short week given that last Monday was the May bank holiday. It was good to be back working (still from home for now). Beautiful spring weather in Dublin On Thursday, I returned to Tallaght University Hospital for a follow up appointment two...
It’s the May bank holiday weekend in Ireland, which means I have Monday (today) off. The weather has been raining for the past few days, although today it’s just been overcast. Given the situation with my arm, I didn’t make any plans and have been just staying in Dublin. Last week was rather boring, as I was unable to return to work without my doctor’s permission. The people at work have been...
The lobby to Tallaght University Hospital I haven’t posted since surgery, and given that it is more difficult for me to take, I’ll keep this to a brief recap. Last Friday I arrived to Tallaght University Hospital around 7 AM and proceeded to outpatient registration as instructed. It was a small area on the second level of the hospital, with two registration of windows and about half a dozen...
On Thursday morning, I set out to Tallaght University Hospital for my consultation with the orthopaedic specialist. Tallaght is a suburb to the southwest of Dublin city centre at the end of the Luas light rail tram red line, which takes about 50 minutes from Jervis Station a short walk over the Millenium Bridge from Temple Bar. Once outside the old city centre, the tram follows the Grand Canal...
The long Easter Weekend started off well. My neighbour Irene and I left Easter cards and treats for each other, and she dressed up the perennial skeleton that stands guard outside her “garden” gate in some seasonal attire. The weather continued to be warm during the day, but it’s still dipping into the 30s-40s / single digits C at night. My neighbour’s skeleton in Easter...
Inflation has been one of the biggest news headlines over the past week Ireland, which has seen an overall 5.0% increase in consumer prices from January 2021 to January 2022. Last week the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Finance announced in this press release a €505 million package in measures to mitigate the cost of living, including (among other things): energy...