The Newgrange Winter Solstice was discovered by Professor O’Kelly, 40 years ago today.

So it was good that the shone rose this morning and some 20 minutes later started lighting up the narrow corridor leading in to the chamber. This year cameras captured the event live and it was shown on television. Tomorrow morning will also be shown and you may see more on www.heritageireland.ie/en/solstice2007/- Newgrange is much older than the Pyramids I am told.

Congratulations to David and Dympna Fitzpatrick on the birth of their first baby – a girl.

Clonfinlough Gun Club held a table quiz on Wednesday last in Killeens and over 280 Euro was raised.

A new ring road around Kilkenny City has been opened and they reckon that some 6000 cars and heavy duty vehicles per day will not now have to go through the city. Yesterday when opening a shrink wrapped parcel of Dun Carrig water in the store I noticed something moving in the bag. Not another version of Paddy Kenny’s famous story but a red admiral butterfly which flew away. Hope that the pretty heavy frost last night did not put an end to its life.

Had a welcome surprise when an e-mail arrived from John Wilson, England, who back in the early 1980’s came on holiday with his grandparents for six years in a row. John tried to teach Shane, Louise and Colin Killeen and Mike and Aileen Thornhill in the art of coarse fishing. He can visit www.louisekilleen.com and she still has a great interest in fishing..

JP or John Price told a story about a parachute jumper that one day jumped from 30,000 ft. After he jumped he waited for a time and pulled the cord.

Nothing happened.

After a while he pulled the Emergency cord.

Nothing happened.

As he fell he met another man on the way up.

He shouted “Do you know anything about parachutes “?

“No”, replied the ascender “do you know anything about gas boilers”

Timing was perfect as the gas heater in the self catering had just gone on the blink.

Congratulations to Ciara Macklin who has been elected as a Director of Ballinasloe Credit Union. They are the ones with the great calendar for 2008 with photos by Liam Jordan.

There are 32 counties in Ireland with six in Northern Ireland. The local paper this week tells us that at present in County Westmeath that over 5000 homes are vacant at present.

Jane Mooney from Doon / Ballinasloe called in yesterday with a dead bird which she thought was a peregrine falcon. It seems it had probably caught a bird and flown in to a shelter place to kill it. It flew against a building and died. Kieran Guinan our local bird raiser thinks from my description that it is one of the smaller hawk species. Anyhow even dead it looked beautiful and Jane intends to have it stuffed. She must first obtain a licence to have the work done.

The river level has dropped to 4.1 metres and there were lots of seagulls feeding on the flooded callows today.

Must be the cold night or lack of natural food but ten goldfinches joined the motley crew at the bird feeders in the yard this morning. Just in time Kieran Guinan brought along a fresh supply of peanuts for the feeders today as we had just used the last ones to fill the feeders. He also promised to pick up a few new bird feeders at Clara Market on Sunday.

Our Parliament which we call Dail Eireann sat for 76 days this year.

Welcome home Karol and Alan Rock for Christmas the first of the arrivals.

No Christmas visit this year from P.J O’Rourke from New York, his niece Paulien tells us.

Enjoyed a lovely dinner in Haney’s in Ferbane last night and a game of cards afterwards.

Hineys Bar and food is now leased to Damian Spollen and everybody was full of praise for the meal presented to us.

Adian Kelly told us that he did some voluntary charity work for the firm that lays kerbing. Tonight they are having their Christmas Party in Ballygar and they sent Adian an invitation. Better still they phoned him yesterday to remind him to come. Sorry that I do not know the name of the firm but good on ye whoever remembered the good deed.

  ¶ 12/22/2007 12:24:00 AM