It's cold here. I have lots of warm coats in Ottawa - but none of them here in Ireland. How stupid to have underestimated how chilly it could get. Tomorrow a little shopping trip is the plan - to find a warm coat and some mitts. Or, a pair of knitting needles, some wool and some roving to make some thrummed mittens.
The cottage is cosy although at the moment the laundry drying on the radiators and the drying rack is not adding any sort of atmosphere to the place. The washer is pretty good at cleaning but the spin cycle is not great. My washer at home almost spins things dry. Not so here. Two days indoors in a warmish room is needed for cotton turtleneck shirts - the mainstay of my wardrobe. Ah well, it humidifies the cottage.
I stopped in Athy after picking up my latest rental car yesterday. I had a nice long chat and info share with Clem Roche, a local genealogist. I can widen my search for the Fennells, having learned more about the townlands they might have inhabited. There were Fennells who were Quakers but I'm about 99% sure there is no connection. Their descendants still live in the area and there's been no evidence of conversions. There are apparently still a few Fennell families in the general area of Athy, but I've yet to locate them. I will however, visit Burtown House, owned by Quaker Fennells, where they have a beautiful garden and nice cafe.
There is also a possibility of finding some related Whelans. Michael Fennell, my ggg grandfather, was married to Bridget Whelan who was from the town of Athy. The folks at the Athy heritage centre are going to see if perhaps there is a connection with some Whelan families still there - possibly on the same street. It's a bit of sit and wait on that count, but I have lots to sort through in the meantime.
Back to the car. It's a Skoda Citgo - a not-very-lovely car. It's an automatic but thinks it's a jerky little manual. No pickup at all and it jerks when it switches gears. It's small and has a trunk that fits only my carry-on suitcase. I'm going to look into changing it. There is apparently a Hertz outlet in Wexford town so I might make a dual trip for research as well as 'car business' next week. Hopefully I will be wearing a new warmer coat and mitts.
The internet connection is only slightly more available than before I left, despite the provider saying the problem was fixed. It has been up and down all day, with a few hours consecutively. However, it seems that if I find something worth pursuing, the new website is not available because the connection has been lost. I might look into getting a portable wifi hotspot to supplement the service here.
So, tomorrow's program involves a little shopping trip. Not sure it's worth the drive to Kildare to the outlet mall. I don't need a name brand. It's more likely I'll to to Tullow or Gorey - opposite directions. I might flip a coin to decide which way to head out.
I still have not figured out how to get the pictures off my little phone and onto Dropbox. Of course I need a good connection to make it happen. One of these days I hope to surprise my loyal readers with photos from Leeds.
Just watched a tv show about the island of Inishbofin off the Atlantic Coast. There are lots of "flattish" walking trails and a vibrant traditional Irish music scene. I'll have to add it to the Irish bucket list. Given that it's on the west coast I'll wait a bit before planning an excursion. It's cold enough here, I'm not going off the coast until it's warmer.
Nothing else to report.
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