Some heavy showers on Tuesday followed by a bright and sunny Ash
Wednesday.Floods have eased back well but there must be lots of
water still around.Swans were swimming in the floodwater a few days
ago but now the drains are just slightly overfilled.
Had a phonecall from a Dublin angler yesterday enquiring if the access
road to the Hot Water Stretch was passable.He is going to try his luck.
In the past week a few pike anglers have been fishing but did not
hear any results.

Our local referee Damien Brazil and his umpires Frank Guinan and
Noel Rock were engaged at matches in Blessington last Saturday and
in Kilkenny on Sunday.Frank Guinan told us that the Saturday match
was a Leinster Colleges match between a Dublin and Athy schools.
The Dublin team and trainer spoke in Irish to each other during
the game. Frank got no chance of selling either team a lottery
ticket for the Shannonbridge/Doon Lotto with a Jackpot of 8,000 Euro.

A padlock that was very hard to open after a hard nights frost was
opened with some Dairygold butter after a pliers, WD40, and lots of
curses had failed to make an impression.

If you are going out for a few hours and frost is expected, you might
try Brid Larkin's solution and take along a hot water bottle with you
in the car.Wrap the bottle in a cloth and leave it on the windscreen.

Belated Happy Twenty First Birthday to Donal Corbett from Rachra House
who celebrated the occasion on last Friday.

Martin Donegan was telling us that his son Daithi Rua is on a tour of
Ireland at present.He also has a new CD available. Find out all about
his goings on through his website www.daithirua.com

Martin Donegan remembers many years ago that one day the late Kieran
Hynes and Martin were having a drink at the bar when some visitors
came in.One of them asked what was the Soup de Joure?
Hold on a second and I will find out.
After a minute I retuned and told him that it was the soup of the day.
You learn something everyday if you only ask.

Last Friday Tom Allen Conway and his wife Carol from Ohio stopped by
after a visit to Clonmacnois.Tom told that he believes that his
forefathers came from Offaly.They emigrated to Pittsburg after the
Great Famine and worked in the coal- mines.
Tom now lives in Ohio and his Aunt Hazel,103,lives in Baltimore,Maryland.
Tom and Carol were taking time out for Saint Valentines Day and were
staying at Adare near Limerick.

A letter from Margaret O Reilly,Adelaide, in the Irish Times caught
my eye.On her last trip to Ireland,driving around and staying with
family friends in Galway. Driving around she stopped and asked an
older man on the road "Does this road go to Corrandulla?"
He just quietly looked at her and said,
"This road goes nowhere,it just be where it is."