Floods in Castleconnell

It's very strange to be living only a few hundred metres away from people who have had to leave their homes due to flooding. Our only inconvenience is the fact that there is only one route by which we can reach our house, and that can be a long roundabout way to reach it if coming from the wrong direction. In order to reach the village and shops it is now a 3 mile trip, instead of a few hundred metres. Or, alternatively, we can wade through water that now contains a lot of sewage.

B's blog is attracting an unprecedented readership as it has a lot more information than most sources on what it all looks like on the ground (or under the water).

I've just come back from a different world - a day of pampering in a spa in Co. Wicklow, in the sunny eastern half of the country. I'd never had a facial before, and found it to be surprisingly good. Reflexology was also a new experience. It was relaxing, but not as stunning as others seem to find it.

While in the Dublin area I attended Chris Moriarty's talk on Darwin in Monkstown Meeting House. It was very interesting and enjoyable. I must read about Darwin and the Beagle again.