St Patricks Day 2014

For the first time since 2008 Marguerite and Jude got to spend St Patrick's Day at home in Ireland.  That seems an awful long time ..... well that's just how the clock ticks folks, that's just how it ticks!

So to mark the day they decided to take Ben down to where the story of St Patrick began all those years ago ....... in the Strangford / Saul / Downpatrick region of County Down. 







Jude likes to plan days like this out and so with the big St Patrick's Day parade starting at 3.00pm they worked their way back to the point where they started the day ....... some time around 9.00am.  That just about allowed for a 5 minute game of football out on the patio before .......









....... making their way to AJ's restaurant in Crossgar for a spot of breakfast.













Today Ben is rocking his super cool St Patrick's Day t-shirt.  Cool, wha?














Jude and Ben have a wee nosey out the window.














After breakfast Ben and Jude head into the Greengrocers to stock up on bananas.  Ben and Jude love bananas. 

They both think that it's always a good idea to have a banana tucked in your bag just in case of a random hunger attack. 

Then they made their way to Slieve Patrick.  Imagine marking the 1500th anniversary of something .... well that's what happened in 1932 (1500 years beyond 432) when a monument was erected on this mountain in honour of St Patrick.















What? 

You don't believe me! 

Well read it here for yourself then. 










And before you could say, 'will it be windy up here? Jude and Ben were away up the mountain with Ben's kite firmly in his grip.

















Lugging a pram with a well fed 17 month old baba up a mountain takes some going and so a few pit-stops were made on the way up. 

It's not often you get a nice pic with daffodils in it ..... well  ....... here is just that ....... a nice pic with quite a few daffodils in it.
  

Ben was very anxious to get up the mountain to get flying thon kite.  'But Dada, you're so slow .... hurry up! he may have been muttering.  You see Ben is trying to talk now - he has moved on from the grunting stage to the muttering stage! 










Slieve Patrick is called a mountain but it's really just a big hill ............. a big hill mind.















Marguerite struck a deal with Jude today which went pretty much something like this.  'So Jude ........ we can take it in turns to push the pram at Slieve Patrick ........ you push it up the way and I'll push it down the way'.  Here is Marguerite having her pit-stop.      

And on and on they went .............














....... while stopping here and there to admire the beautiful County Down scenery. 

So that's Strangford Lough where St Patrick arrived in Ireland .......










........... and that is the village of Saul ..... where St Patrick lived ......













........ and that in the distance is the Isle of Man. 

But what's that got to do with St Patrick? 

Nothing at all, just saying!












Eventually they made it to the top ..... all the way up to St Patrick's Statue ........



















....... from where the splendid views just kept on coming .......













......... like this view of the Mourne Mountains.

Is it a bird ..... is it a plane?

No it's ............














.......... Ben's kite. 

Here Ben is giggling away as he flies his kite from the top of Slieve Patrick. 













He flew it for a couple of minutes ..... the craic was ninety ....... life was perfect ....... then all of a sudden ...... disaster ....... the unthinkable happened ..........












he let go of the kite ...... and before you could say ...... 'it sure is windy up here' ...... the kite had gone. 













It had flown over the very wind bushes that Jude had chosen to ignore when deciding to fly the kite here in the first place.













There was only one thing for it ...... action was required .......... and so Jude was quickly into the bushes ........ in like Flynn as they say .......













......... with thorns tearing him to pieces .......














......... trying to save Ben's kite.  Why bother?
Well this is no ordinary kite folks.  This kite was purchased by Ben's Granda Michael in Martha's Vineyard ...... it has been flown in the Vineyard, flown in Brookline, Boston, Belfast, Wicklow, Donegal and now here in County Down. So it has sentimental value attached to it ...... it couldn't just be left to wither in the wind bushes.  How would you like to be left to wither in the wind bushes?

And so after a lot of hard work, about 20 minutes later .......



....... Jude, with (a lot of) help from this anonymous random punter, managed to save Ben's kite.













'That was close Dada', was surely what Ben was muttering at this stage.  'Don't worry son, your kite is safe and sound!













On the way down the mountain Marguerite fulfilled her part of the deal she had struck earlier with Jude.












Next stop was just a puck of a hurling ball down the road at St Patrick's Memorial Church in Saul.













Ben was full of energy today and his Mama could barely keep up as he made his way giggling down the laneway to the Church.












This place was beautiful and very, very old.  Check out the walls there.














Marguerite and Ben had a good look around.  But, 'what's the big deal about this place? I hear you ask.












Well on this site in the year 432 St Patrick built the first Christian Church in Ireland.  That's what the big deal is. 

And if you don't believe this ......

















......... then read it here for yourself on this sign parked on the laneway. 


 

Ben and Marguerite realised 3.00 pm was fast approaching and so they decided it was time to head into Downpatrick.  First a visit to St Patrick's grave had to be cut short because there were zero parking spots ......... so on they went to ......









...... the St Patrick's Day Parade.  

The parade was filled with lots of cool things like this De Lorean car .....













........ lots of folk dressed in super cool colourful costumes .......













...... lots of cool bands playing a variety of tunes ......













...... even Mickey Mouse made an appearance. 

At this stage Ben is thinking, 'Why is Dada pointing me in the wrong direction?












The floats continued ......















..... with this one being Jude's favourite.














Yer man's thinking ...... 'whatta ye want from me?













Watching the parade and enjoying the craic with Marguerite, Ben and Jude were their friends Sinead and Fiona, who were there with their sons Seamus and Manny, and their Neice Charlotte.











Ben really did love watching the parade today, he loves watching things like this.  Last year it was the Boston parade, this year Downpatrick. 

After the parade Marguerite, Ben and Jude took a spin out to the beautiful wee village of Ardglass and then onto .......











....... Coney island.  You would not believe this ........ well as they were 2 miles outside Ardglass Van Morrison's song 'Coney Island' came on.  It did!  There they were driving around Coney Island and singing the words to that song. 










It really did happen ...... seriously, you couldn't make that bit up folks!!!    And here's a pic to prove it!












St Patrick's Day 2014 was a great wee day indeed.  And it ended kind of where it started ....... back at AJ's in Crossgar for a nice evening meal.