It was really great meeting up with old friends in Coleraine and also Cork and we were very lucky with the weather and virtually no rain although in places it was quite misty and cloudy although we are not sure that the mist is not pollution as many people still burn coal, Polish at that.
There are some really beautiful views in both the North and South and the Ring of Kerry and also the Giants Causeway are really worth visitng.The Wicklow Mountains which are so close to Dublin are also worth a visit and also the fishing villages all around the Southern Irish coast.
The population of Northern Ireland is approximately 1.7 million compared to England, Scotland and Wales where the population is around 57 million give or take a million and yet this small amount of people cannot get on with each other for very stupid religious reasons.
Due to the history of Northern Ireland where the UK Government has pumped in so much money that in some towns over 70% of the population are working for government and needless to say this will never bring prosperity. When you visit Londonderry where the Bloody Sunday event took place and the recent apologies by David Cameron to the families of the bereaved. The residents who were not caught up in this matter are not happy about the Government‘s apology....
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In Southern Ireland the once proud Irish person seems to be disappearing, not all but some, there is rubbish lying everywhere from fly tipping to used drinks cans, empty whisky bottles being thrown from cars in some of the most beautiful landscape you can find. In Limerick whilst travelling in the bus to the shopping mall it was attached by a group of lads throwing stones and spitting.
A few years ago, Dell Computer used to directly employ about 4500 people and a further 3500 indirectly and this is now down to about 1000 people only being employed. The huge loss of jobs in Limerick of around 8000 people when the working population is only around 35000 is significant and hence major unemployment.
We also noticed all the major housing estates which remain empty and many people being kicked out for failing to keep with mortgage payments is not going to help. The general quality of roads in Southern Ireland, by exception, makes River Road from Weybridge to Walton Bridge seem like a smooth motorway.
There are areas of Dublin, Cork and Limerick where nobody paints a house or keeps the place tidy and you can understand why the Sothern Irish are leaving home in droves to find work elsewhere and then visit an Irish bar and sing songs about home.Humm.
These are purely personal comments and it is with disappointment that I write them as in my earlier days of visiting Southern Ireland many times per year in the early 2000’s it wasn’t like this I felt.
Oh well, moving on we are beginning to plan our French caravan holidays...Oh it’s a tough life but somebody has to do it..
