Less than a week now till we leave Mourne Park. This has been a unique, very enjoyable house sit. So much so we are coming back mid/late November for a 2-3 months. It will be very different – not much chance of snow but we can always hope!
Mourne Park is a place of contrasts in so many ways. Obvious grandeur – at times hidden beneath fire damage and the need for ongoing maintenance. There are three ponds on the property – two still looking beautiful and one not so great. A swimming pool that is empty and cracked, a lake that needs to be dredged. Beautiful huge trees, lots of amazing walkways, a gorgeous river in the valley. The buildings are also a real mixture. Our cottage is comfy, the workshops serviceable, the huge laundry building next to us is being held up by big wooden poles. It would have been such a busy building in years gone by – no washing machines, things being boiled and starched. Different times!
It’s hard not to be reminded of the devastating fire here in 2013. Every morning we see the back of the main house from our bedroom window – holes where there were windows, parts of the roof missing, black plastic sheets flapping in the wind. There are piles of roof tiles and building stones stored in a little courtyard – numbered as needed – waiting to be put back in their proper place. There are rooms full of “things” – put there by firemen who did their absolute best to salvage what they could. We’ve spent some time with Brian – a friend who was on the first firetruck to arrive that day. He was the runner who laid out hoses to the lake to top up the water supply – quite a distance from the house. He tells of pushing a beautiful grand piano to the corner of the room, hoping that it might be saved if the floor collapsed. Stories of priceless historical paintings being removed from walls as it became obvious that the main building couldn’t be saved. Such brave fire fighters that showed such respect for the history of this place.
The main house is locked up – a real safety risk. Things continue to deteriorate as nothing is being done. The insurance company is still fighting the payout – lots of not nice things happening with all of that. Stuff I won’t repeat here. But Mourne Park does have a future!! Something very special about this place.
The grounds are looking good. The “boys” continue to enjoy their “toys”. Lovely to see things thriving. The tennis court is now used regularly – which helps the surface to improve. The more it’s played on the more the now very dead “moss matting” gets broken up. Moss had taken over completely so it got a dose of iron sulfate – the court turned from green to an interesting black! So the original playing surface is now being exposed – little patches here and there. I bet there’s been some interesting matches played here in the past – lots of socializing, a history of visitors. Unfortunately Reg’s Mourne Park tennis career has been cut short with a calf injury, and there’s been the odd player having a tumble and ending up with scrapes and bruises. But I guess it’s all part of the fun!
Well, off to Dublin next Wednesday, flight to Paris Thursday morning, bus to Lyon the next Monday, bus to Bern the next day, being picked up by house sit home owners – Remo and Christina – and taken to Spiez. Flight, buses and accommodation all booked. We were going to catch the train from Paris to Spiez but the train web site wouldn’t process our credit card – tried numerous times. Booking stuff can be incredibly easy or a pain. Eventually decided to check out some other options – see what else we could do. The whole bus thing came together so now looking forward to checking out Lyon – apparently has an excellent medieval centre. I foresee a nice wander and an excellent meal during our overnight stay! Also the bus is soooooooo much cheaper than the train. All good. Nothing like variety!!
My last piece of news is that I finally got a ride on the ride on mower – yeah!! Such fun. Makes a difference from being tied to the kitchen sink – just joking!!! I’ve really enjoyed all the baking and jam making. Has kept me out of mischief – most of the time!
Love
Di and Reg
This entry was posted in House Sits, Mourne Park (1), Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Friday . August 12, 2016
I admire your versatility, adapting yourselves to the various needs of areas to which you travel. You certainly qualify for dedicated and proficient and competent support staff. If Mourne has a future, you have begun the process.
Here in Colorado the sun shines and rain winks in and out during the days. School days have now diminished tourist travel in our resort village, Breckenridge. Tomorrow a son will do the brutal Leadville 100 mountain bike ride. It is entirely off road and consists of 100 miles with an elevation gain of over 3000 feet. The race begins and ends in Leadville which has an elevation of 10,200 feet.
We wish you good fortune through travels and settlement in Spiez.
Thanks for your encouraging comments Judy. All the best for your son’s bike ride – felt tired just reading about it!!
Googled your village – looks absolutely amazing. You get to live there!!!! The Rockies are on our “must do” list. We’ve flown over – but that’s it so far. We love mountains and snow – so majestic. We go weak at the knees – hearts skip a beat. Funny how certain things do that to you.
Best wishes
Di xx
Glad the boys let you loose on the mower!
Doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing you again down in Roussillon any time soon 🙁
But we hope you have a great time in Switzerland – and that the Lord shows you what He wants from you next.
With love,
Ann & Moray
P.S. Any idea how I can get to add a photo to my “profile” here?
Plan (?) to be back your way mid Sept. Keen to catch up with you all – miss you. Always learning to let the Lord open the doors. Process, but an interesting one!
Loved my go on the ride on – so satisfying to see everything looking neat behind you. Will try and sneak in another ride before we leave – not holding my breathe!
Google gravatar for your profile photo.
Love Di xx