Local colour and mundane laundry

Dick, Carol, Alex, Sue and Mike

We'd had a slow day, spending the time banking, emailing, and blogging. Mid-day we went to lunch at the River Cafe (very nice and good food) then sauntered back to the B&B by way of the boatyard. It was hot and sunny - summer had arrived. We got the news that the part was due in on Thursday so if all goes well, our boat will be put back together then and we'll be on our way.

We were invited to dinner at Mike and Carol Hodder's house not far from Crosshaven in Fountainstown. Mike, the OCC Port Officer, picked us up at the marina and gave us the scenic tour en route. We arrived at Fountainstown House, a Georgian on 100 acres which has been in his family for 400 years. Mike was a dairy farmer until he couldn't make it work anymore, at which point he scaled back and switched to beef, which is now difficult at best. Alex and Mike, who reminded us both very much of Robin Williams, had a lot in common.

Invited to dinner were also Dick and Sue Gibson. Dick is an ICC member who worked for a long time for Des Williams in his sail loft and then as a manager at RCYC and stepped in to help us get assistance when we arrived in need. We'd met Sue in Galicia as she had crewed on Dan Cross' yacht. The day had been very warm and we started with prosecco and raspberries on the deck.

Carol, an accomplished artist, made an amazing meal, with spring lamb, potatoes and roasted veg, gravy, and peas, followed by homemade Basil and Strawberry ice cream made by their son, and heaps of fruit salad, cheeses and after dinner drinks - the food and the conversation and the laughter flowed well into the evening. When all was done, Dick and Sue gave us a ride home as they live on the road to Camden overlooking the Owenby River. What a great night! We laughed and laughed.

When you live in a place on your boat, you become part of the community, seeking out the types of services community members need. Pharmacy, supermarket, and laundry top the list. Even though we are displaced from the boat into a B&B, we still have need of these services, mundane as it might be to seek them out. The laundromat in Crosshaven closed down so the only option for doing laundry is in Carrigaline. Today, we loaded a huge bag of laundry onto the hand truck and boarded the 220 for Carrigaline, the home town of Simon Coveney, Fine Gael politician and our Tánaiste.

The laundry is a dry cleaning and laundry service -- no self-service laundromat like in Galicia.  I had been quoted €15 for a small bag and €25 for a large bag on the phone. The nice man in the laundry took one look and quoted us €30 for the load - washed, dried and folded. He guessed that we were passing through, and when I explained we were on a boat in Crosshaven and hoping to leave the next day, he took pity and told us he could have it done by 2:30. It was then just about 11:30.

We walked the town which has two charity shops. I bought a tiny vase and Alex found two books. I found Venaforce at the pharmacy. We then took a walk to Dunnes, which has toilets, and Lidl, which doesn't. Alex found heat resistant metal paint at Lidl, exactly what he wanted for the exhaust pipe, and I found a thank you note for Mike and Carol Hodder.

A long lunch at the Gaelic Bar got us past the drizzly part of the day. We arrived to pick up our clothes at about 2:15 and the bag was waiting, when we walked out the bus pulled up - it was the right one, the 220 to Camden. We got on and rode back to Crosshaven in record time for €5.60 for the two of us. Another day in Crosshaven, another challenge met.

Tomorrow, if the part arrives and they can install it, will be our last day here. A week is plenty of time in Crosshaven. We've sampled the pubs and restaurants, done our laundry, gotten to know some interesting and delightful people, tomorrow we'll provision and get on our way. It will be good to be heading home.