Glory is the reward of valor and virtue...

Sunday morning and the sun was shining. More soda bread makes Sharon (not posh remember) happy. We hit the road, destination Blarney castle. In no time at all we were there and we'd beaten the tour buses - they arrived as we were leaving with every bad stereotype of bus tourists you can imagine - the dorky guy in a patchwork cap and an 'Ireland Rocks' t-shirt, the divorcee dressed in skimpy clothes and high heels, the bored teenager, the two old people who looked like they weren't sure if they were in Ireland or still in their loungeroom. hmmm I may be being too harsh.

Anyway we wandered around Blarney and up the stairs. Did I kiss the stone? Come on dear readers, surely you must know me well enough to know I'm not putting my lips on a stone that millions of people have kissed before me - god knows what I'd catch. I'll risk a lifetime of not having the gift of the gab in the certainty of not having a cold sore.

In the gift shop I discovered the family crest and motto 'glory is the reward of valor (or virtue)' - depends on which coaster you look at. Apparently the mcdonoughs (also known as mcdonaghs) are a literary breed....lots of famous poets and writers. God they better not read my dodgy brain dead writing or they'll realise I'm a disgrace to the family name - maybe I should have kissed that stone after all.

We then decided we wanted to visit 'donoughmore' before we left - maybe I'd find a long lost relative there as well. I found the signs and we took the road, but as we got closer and closer the signs disappeared and then the gps told us we were there, but it was a just a paddock.

No glory. No virtue. No valor.