UNCORKED - PART II OF THE WILLIAMS IRISH ESCAPE

Been meaning to put this snapshot up forever... But meet Clan Williams... This was taken during the trip-that-didn't-get-properly-blogged... (Cork, Jan2006) So its time to change that. Plus, Pete keeps reminding me that I have so very much more pictures to put up, and I honestly think Cork is really gorgeous and that everyone should visit. So consider this my plug for the Cork county tourism board. 10 Fabulous reasons for going to Cork 1) Cork welcomes everyone with open arms.... They don't care who you are, they love you anyway. So much so that after we got spat out of the plane and, still bleary eyed, stumbled across the tarmac, into the airport and obediently filed into the EU Members and Non EU Members channels for Immigration, there was not a single Immigration officer actually behind the counters. Not one. There were no Customs officers either. Just come on in! Well, welcome to Cork I say! 2) A wonderful international environment Brother Dave awaited, with a fully prepared Singaporean welcome, peppered with more "Lahs" than a musical score (translation note: "Lah" is the Singaporean equivalent of the full-stop, so a regular sentence would go: "How are you lah? Long time no see lah." Don't even ask us why. Lah.). In any case, he then got us down to Glasheen Road where Pete's Mum was waiting at the house... listening to Hindi music. And not just any music - the soundtrack to Kal Ho Na Ho. It was surreal - first encounter in Dublin: Indonesian food, first encounter in Cork: Hindi music. Add an oddly named cafe, and a niece who has a penchant for all things Indian - henna, fussy Indian dresses - and you get the picture. 3) Murphys. Cork's native stout (which I swear is nicer than Guinness but which I am not allowed to say out loud because I married an Irishman who doesnt want to upset the Guinness gods for fear that he will be cursed into forever being stuck with nothing but the stuff that passes off for Guiness here.) In any case, Dave has also introduced me to the delightful (yet apparently wimpish) practice of adding a drop of blackcurrant to stout, which I would recommend to anyone (except an Irishman, who would likely bop me on the head for defiling their life essence... But it tastes good, really (Note: Please do not try this in Singapore. Nothing, and I say nothing, is going to make the Guinness there taste any different from the way it does.). 4) A sneak peek at Irish history. The picture says it all, I think. Incidentally, the second shot is of the hospital where my lovely man was born (According to Dave, the area is trying to shut it down. There is no evidence at all proving that the two incidents are related in any way.) 5) Christmas on demand. What happens when your son and daughter-in-law can't get their act together to get to Ireland on time for Christmas? You celebrate Christmas at the end of January, complete with an oversized turkey (this one surely was on steroids), spiced beef, bacon and Christmas pudding (doused in a liberal amount of Jamesons). For good measure, you fly in all available relatives from the region... including London and Birmingham. 6) The sights (though there is no guarantee they will actually physically be opened on any given day.) We found out - the hard way - that places like Saint Finbar's Cathedral actually close for lunch. Of course, that wasn't half as bad as hiking up all those hills to the Four Faced Liar to ring the Shandon Bells to mark our anniversary, only to find out from a very very very grumpy caretaker that the bells were ""closed for cleaning". Bit of background here - the four faced liar refers to the four faces of the bell tower of Cork's St Anne's church - there are four clocks, all of which tell a different time, and all four of which are apparently wrong... hence liar. Useful though, when late for work. Pick your clock of choice. In any case, even more interestingly, the bell tower houses the Shandon Bells, which you can go up and play, even an AC/DC song if you happen to know the chords... and they'll be heard all over Cork city. That fateful day, though, all was heard all over Cork city was me yelling very loudly in frustration. That said, Pete made it up to me with a bag of hot chips from what is Cork's most famous fish n chip shop. Please note that what I am carrying in my hand is a serve of SMALL chips. It cost a euro and some. I donno what a big chips is like, but I gotta say, them Irish sure love their potatoes. 7) Quiet neighbours The stunning and amazingly peaceful cemetery near Pete's mum's. It really is beautiful. Its also home to a plot of the original IRA. 8) The things children say... Rewind to Ireland day one, when bleary eyed, we make it to the house and promptly collapse into bed for a nap. Brother Dave thinks it might be a good idea to bring the kids around, and they managed to find their way upstairs, into the room and onto the bed before our eyes were fully opened. Dave casually introduces the sleepy pile on the bed as "Pete and Arti". Luke, the sweetheart, however, didn't fully grasp which one was Pete (he was born after Pete left for Singapore), and which one was Arti. The rest of the weekend, he called Pete "Arti". 9) Fishing (For Pete, that is) I refused to brave the cold, but nothing - and I mean nothing - will stop the Williams boys from trying to fly fish -- even the seasons. Despite the freezing cold and the fact that it is completely not the right time to fish, Dave and Pete found some lake in North Cork and froze themselves silly trying to catch trout. That said, they didn't come home empty handed! 10) And finally, the fabulous craic.... especially that which comes from being with family. Slainte. Next change: Kinsale, Killarney and the gorgeous Gap of Dunloe.