Jennie Finch on the seafront at Saltburn.
It is a given that Ireland is wetter than Britain, sitting further out in the Atlantic. It is generally quite a bit warmer however. The locals were delighted and a bit apprehensive when we woke to a light dusting of snow in the New Year. We took the dogs into the park and they trotted […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/learning-to-appreciate-what-we-have/
Now, I don’t want you thinking we were just sitting around moaning about the cold. We had intended to stop and try to recover a little after the recent insane few months but we were struggling in the cottage. It was a perfect base for a holiday but not really set up for long-term life […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/time-for-a-radical-rethink/
A lot of people have commented on these posts (thank you all!) and many have said how brave we have been. Well, we don’t feel all that brave. And we didn’t do it on our own either. Throughout this whole “adventure” there have been people by our side. Some are old friends. Some are unexpectedly […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/the-wonderful-kindness-of-strangers/
We hadn’t expected much of a Christmas. We had moved in December and were mainly confined to our cottage but Christmas is a big deal in Ireland. When we arrived on our first evening there were fairy lights around the Ingle nook. We had scarcely got inside before our friends’ young daughter was demanding we […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/christmas-is-a-big-deal/
Joni Mitchell once sang “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” and I can vouch for the truth of that statement. We finished our packing in a mad scramble and the car was mainly filled by us, the dogs and our bedding. How Jacqui got a couple of cases, some books and a […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/you-dont-know-what-youve-got-til-its-gone/
It is dark at night in rural Ireland. Very, very dark, especially in the rain – and especially in winter. As we turned the corner into the village suddenly there were lights from houses by the road. The shop and pub opposite the entrance to our little enclave had bright windows and outside lamps shone […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/moving-from-darkness-into-light/
December is never a good time to move house. We should know – all of our moves have taken place in December due to differing circumstances. This December however was the hardest of the lot. We drove off in the car loaded with bedding, three dogs and essentials of life for the first few days. […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/december-is-not-a-good-time-to-move/
There are some advantages that come with age and one is a wealth of experience. My remarkable partner Jacqui had, in another life, been in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Refusing to panic she rang the Stranrae hotel and explained – several times, using increasingly small words – we were not travelling for “Leisure or […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/a-wealth-of-experience-or-too-much/
With new restrictions and rules changing almost weekly it seemed we were moving at full speed but going nowhere. Suddenly time seemed to speed up as the deadline to move came ever closer yet we were still floating in a sea of uncertainty. Moving home was one of the exceptions to the lockdown but only […]
https://www.jenniefinch.me.uk/full-speed-ahead-to-nowhere/
