The Halloween Countdown has begun!

One week, tonight, until it is that darkly wonderful holiday that is Halloween...

We, in Ireland, take Halloween, aka Samhain, very seriously indeed.

The Irish have adopted the American way of dressing up and trick-or-treating, but there is an air of cautiousness and nervousness that goes along with this tradition.

Frequent looking-over-ones-shoulder.  Bats flitting around your crinkly tall witches hat.  Unknown beings rustling in the hedges as you run down the road in the dark to the next house to 'trick or treat', dropping your candle in fear.

For in Ireland, there are many magical beings and fairies that are truly around and not just some silly superstition or tale.

First example, and a rather scary one at that, the Banshee.  

One of the Most Terrifying Irish creatures a person could meet.  Her wail, her scream is never to be forgotten and she loves nothing better than to be out and about on the night of October 31st scaring trick or treaters to death,  Her sound I've heard myself (shiver).  It forewarns of an imminent death...of someone. Her appearance changes but the constants are long ghostly hair, shredded wispy garments and fiery red eyes

Second example, the Wild Hunt.

These crazed lunatics ride the night sky and will scoop up unsuspecting folk, especially at Samhain.   A ragged, motley assortment of Dark Witches, Fairies, the newly deceased and non-human spirits make up the Hunt along with red-eyed dogs and horses, often having missing or extra limbs and heads.  An alarming sight.

And finally, the Phooka.  Also known as the Puca, or Pooka, or plain mishievous little Pook. 

Shape shifting comes easily to the Phooka and it is known for appearing as a large black goat with wicked horns and evil claws, bull, horse, donkey and eagle. Sneakily, it has the power of speech and can call out in a quite normal voice to unsuspecting people, luring them to a terrifying adventure they will never forget. Those who dare to travel the back roads at night risk being carried away on the back of this creature, galloping madly through the night. It is said the human is never the same afterwards….November 1st is quite sacred to this creature and a day when it will actually behave in a civilized manner.

So I for one will not be venturing out this most wonderful Halloween night.  I will continue the tradition in our home of lighting candles in all the windows to scare away the Dark Things that lurk outside as well as placing a plate of cake, chocolate and wine outside in the garden (before sunset) to appease the Fairies, Goblins and Phookas that will surely be flying around.

Wishing you and yours a most fabulous Halloween next week!

Siobhan xox

The Darling Buds of May

What a lovely time of year is May!  I love the warmer days, when the nights are still quite cool.  I love the laundry flapping in the breeze, absolutely bone-dry and sweet smelling when you bring it in!

 

I love all the blossoms and trees just starting to stir.  We have quite a few different apples trees in our garden and the flowers are all blooming now, all different colours and fragrances.

Our 17th wedding anniversay came and went also.  It's a cliche, but I truly feel it was just a couple of years ago! We married in a registry office, with just my in-laws, as my own parents were gone quite a few years at that point.  I wore a knee length white dress with irises and freesias in my hair.  I think I'd wear something much more glam and sparkly if I were doing it now!  We've both grown a lot, through good times and some frankly devastating times.  And I do believe we're more in love now than we were then, if that's possible.  A little detail from my now, quite shabby, wedding dress:

I made some coconut cupcakes for afternoon tea on the day (thank you Ina Garten for the recipe!) washed down with a little champagne in the sunshine:

 

 

They (those in the fairy-know) say if you bath your face with early morning dew on May Day, you'll have a beautiful complexion all the coming year!  I haven't missed an early May Day morning in quite a few years and while I was out in my pajamas scooping up the misty drops, I took a picture of this solitary bluebell - the epitome of May.  And a flower much beloved of the Fairy Folk...

I hope you're having a magical, wonderful month so far.  I'll leave you with an image of my much loved orange cat Charlie, out and about in the garden, doing his cat thing!  ~Siobhan xox

 

The Inaugural Post

My first post!

This blog is intended to be about the magical, whimsical things of life, in Ireland, where I live.

Just to get a little snapshot of me, I live in the southeast of Ireland, on the coast, in a 400 year old house with forestry all around.

These are the things I like:

The whimsical, the magical, the fairy-ish










Green, dark, luscious trees











Sprawling museums










Mocha coffee, any coffee

Old Cemeteries

Chocolate













and my orange cat Charlie

Here's what I don't like:

Gossip
Bad manners
Fish
Avocadoes
Dried flowers
The cold
Trips to the dentist
Moodiness
Vacuuming

Like everywhere in the world, Ireland is proving a challenge to live in. Everything is way too expensive (for what you get), people are in a bad mood constantly, the roads are....indescribable, and everyone whines constantly about how bad everything is.

So, what you won't find on this blog is negativity, or complaining or whining.

There's enough of that around already!

What you will find are things/people/moments that inspire and uplift me, that make me smile, make me laugh, make me go weak at the knees (in a good way).

Wishing you happiness and a delightful week ahead!