Jack and Charlotte Collins from Kentucky called in yesterday. They seem to be on a whirlwind tour of Ireland as they arrived in Dublin on the previous day and had visited Belfast, Newgrange and Clonmacnois and were looking for the famous bridge used in the John Wayne movie The Quiet Man. They liked the furze bushes and wondered what the fields were containing the yellow flowers of the oil seed rape.

Yesterday Geoff and Sue Prettejohn from Adelaide stopped off in Shannonbridge on their Waveline cruiser. I thought it a bit strange to see Australians on a cruiser holiday in Ireland. They told us that they had visited a holiday fair in Adelaide and had seen the Waveline brochure. As they were coming to Ireland they decided to spend a week on the Shannon. They searched out the internet for prices and chose Waveline which first caught their eye. Back home they own a flowers and plants nursery so they went on a walk to Raghrabeg to see all the wild primroses in bloom. Sorry I missed seeing them last night as there were cards to be played.

Hear that Bridie Carry, Kieran Kelly and Marie from Ard Chiarain have started a computer class in Banagher.

Looking forward to Mary Craughwell celebrating her 83^rd birthday tomorrow night.

Sad news from the Robin’s Nest in the backyard. Three of the eggs that were hatched out the babies died. Kieran Guinan told us that the harsh wind from the north would kill any young birds. No news from Ned Hendricks as to how his two nests in the cavity wall are getting on.

Waiting at the Cloghan Roundabout on Tuesday evening I noticed a black car approach from the Belmont direction and took what I thought was a short cut to Shannonbridge or Banagher. But no. Cool as you like they went around on the wrong side of the roundabout and out the Tullamore road. A few minutes after that a commercial van that was parked in the car park between the Belmont and Ferbane spoke roads decided to visit Daly’s Shop. He drove right across the Belmont road and parked on the footpath facing Shannonbridge. Admittedly there was a slight drizzle of rain at the time.

Ken and Betty Smith kindly took Pat and I and our cousin Kaye for lunch in the Carlton Shearwater hotel in Ballinasloe on Wednesday which was very enjoyable. Saw an old friend Father Viv Tuohy at a table nearby and stopped to say hello. He was with another priest Father P.J.Mannion. This priest asked me if I was related to Jimmy and John Killeen, my brothers. It turned out he was in school with the pair in Garbally and he remembered Jimmy for his singing voice. The two joined us for coffee / tea and Pat told Father Mannion that she remembered him singing one of the leads in a Gilbert & Sullivan Operetta in the college and that she was sitting beside his mother. His mother had her rosary beads along and prayed right through that the son did not hit a bum note. Her prayers were answered. Father Mannion finds two papers on the internet of interest –

.Guardian.ga.net and aljazeera.net for news on the Middle East.

Lots of people dying and around here recently a spate of older people have passed on.

-Jimmy Clancy, Belmont who was a barber died last week aged 94 years.

-Mary (Mai) Blehein, Ballymacward, mother of Maureen Thornhill died on Tuesday and was buried yesterday. The priest giving the homily told us that she would be 98 in July.

- Brigid Turley nee Gavin, Derrylahan was buried today aged 93 years. She was the widow of the late Michael Turley and her son Tom Turley worked in the local Bord na Mona.

- P.J.Kilduff, Cloonshask died on Tuesday and his funeral takes place tomorrow. P.J. was a brother of Eileen Mc Manus and of Mai Kilduff who died in the recent past.

-Maura Burke aged 39 years has died in England. Maura is a daughter of Joe Burke Taughmaconnell and she married a Burke. She is a niece of Kathleen Price.

-Michael Dee from Kerry has died and is now buried. Michael is a brother of Brendan Dee who lives in what was once The Bungalow Guesthouse.

- Yesterday a Dunne man in Birr was laid to rest. He was husband to Jacqui Dunne nee Cloonan who worked in Shannonbridge Power Plant.

May they all rest in peace.

Greetings to Mark Breslin who is now in Wellington New Zealand and liking it a lot.

Weather has got a bit milder with the odd shower forecast for most days this week.