Racing for fun. Whose fun?

After the Film Fleadh and the Arts Festival, July finishes off with the Galway Races. University staff is entitled to two afternoons off during this last week of July. To "go and see the Races", which basically means (as far as I understood it): Getting a fancy hat, dressing up, seeing fancy hats and dressed up people, getting drunk and/or puked on (yes, I was told so by an Irish colleague), betting and... Am I missing something important here?
Yeah right, the "Mad Hatters competition", the "Best Dressed Person Competition", "Friday's Fair Lady competition" and the "Ladbrokes Red Day" (another fashion competition - you have to wear red). But there was something else...

Oooooh, of course, the horses! How could I forget that... Well, maybe because they are hardly mentioned on the homepage of the Races. Which I find strange for a web-site about the biggest HORSE race event in town and one of the most famous in the country. It seems, that the animals, running for entertainment, are just worth a side note.
How could they ever compete with fancy hats and beer!?

Light

Walking home from work today someone behind me shouted: "Excuse me, do you have a lidar?" I nearly turned around, before the thought struck me, that this is an odd question to ask in Shop Street at 7 pm. And then he might just as well have asked a smoker for a lighter. Imagine the embarrassment.

Coffee

I knew it. Half past three (in the afternoon) was too late for cappucchino... After two more hours of work + one hour swimming in the wonderful Corrib with view to the Cathedral (if I could see anything without glasses...) + floating in the clear water gazing up in the blue sky + having a shower + making jam + going out to see the dragons (without wings) + having dinner with friends + going to the pub, I still have caffein running through my veins preventing me successfully from falling asleep. Or it's just writing this blog that keeps me awake...

Good night everyone :)

Summer, sun and animal cruelty

A heat wave is rolling over Ireland. This means daytime maximum temperatures of about 25 degrees, blue skies and lots of sun. In other parts of the world there are heat waves of different dimensions. But wherever, the term heat wave describes an extended period of unusually high temperature. Conditions, the local fauna (incl. humans) is not used to - and often not prepared for.

During such times, it is common sense to avoid excessive sun exposure and to drink more (water) than on other days... So we do, and cope more or less well with the heat. But what about animals? Often it is forgotten, that they suffer from the heat even more. They are restricted in their choice of where to spend their time and what to consume. It is our responsibility to ensure, that they have plenty of water and shade. So, wherever you are, heat wave or not, keep an eye open for suffering animals.

Daytime maximum temperatures of more than 35 degrees are not unusual in Portugal during summer. Still, for some (too many) owners of horses, dogs, or other pets it seems to be too much effort to supply their animals with water and a place to hide from the blazing sun.

There, horses are dying from the heat. Owners are sending horses to slaughter before they die from starvation or the lack of water, in order to get at least a little profit out of them.
It is the high season of the only Portuguese association to rescue and help those poor animals. Their Voice Portugal are working hard to save as many horses as possible.
Anyone can help them continue their amazing work!

Moving in

Looks like someone is living here now...

The other side

Today I went to the other side of the bay with my new (used) bike. And I took my camera...

Travelling

People are often astonished by how little I travel. When they find out that I lived in Portugal for more than four years, they tell me about all those famous places in Portugal they heard about or visited during their own holidays. I didn't see all of them yet. I am not a traveller, at least not in the sense of visiting new places. If I am on the road (or rather in the air) it is for my job or to visit my family or friends. It has always been like that. For example, I was living in Bavaria for two years and only passed through Munich once. And as it wasn't the purpose of that trip, I didn't even stop. Years later I was living back in Saxony and on holidays with a friend I visited Nuremberg for the first time, which is actually very close to the place I used to live. So I am travelling, when the opportunity arises, to be with people I like, not for the sake of exploring and finding beautiful places.

There have always been many beautiful places around my homes, places I often visited by bike or on foot. I am very happy with those - no need for seeking more and more (or just different kinds of) beauty on further away places.

And here in Ireland I will travel around the island with visiting friends, but I don't have a list with 'places to see'. Because for me it is the people that matter rather than the places. I wont find anything without, which I am not already carrying within.