Bears in Relaxing Mode

After our very enjoyable visit to the Bushmills Inn, followed by an excellent Irish stew back at the ranch (Irish due to the makers, rather than the ingredients) we weren't in too much of a hurry to get up the next morning.

When we did surface we took a stroll down the road to the harbour to buy a paper and what we saw there gave Boating Bear, Eddie, a real treat.


Yes, we saw a lifeboat just setting out (between ourselves we think it was actually going out to try and rescue the local lifeboat which had run aground off nearby Rathlin Island, while trying to rescue another boat - they don't like to talk about it too much locally though). Looking at Eddie's animated face we could see he would have loved to go out with them, but he had turned up just a minute or two too late.

We did point out to Eddie that if he had gone with them, he would have missed the marvellous Ulster fry we were going back to the house to enjoy.

The fry was great, but after it we needed some exercise so off we went for a walk. Mid afternoon the rain drove us back home but we weren't disappointed as we were able to settle down in front of the T.V. and enjoy the Rugby.


As neither England or Ireland were playing, there was no inter-bear rivalry and we simply enjoyed the game for what it was. For us, it beats football any day.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Eddie & Patrick xxx

Driving Irish Style

We've just remembered an incident from our drive up the Causeway Coast to Ballycastle, that we forgot to tell you about in the excitement of introducing Patrick. You can tell it happened on day 1 of our holiday as there is still a bit of snow around in our picture, as you'll notice.

The road we were driving along was nice and quiet, because it was a scenic tourist route and it was a cold day outside of the tourist season. As we hadn't passed enough vehicles to really form an opinion, we were wondering what Irish drivers were like. Given the exuberant and lively character of the Irish people, would their driving style reflect their personality?

While we were pondering this, Eddie wandered off to look at some boats in a very picturesque harbour, after all, Eddie cannot see a boat and pass it by without a second look.

Even a boat enthusiast like Eddie, got distracted by this incredible sight:


In case our picture isn't quite big or clear enough, we were looking at the rear end of a lorry which had clearly smashed into a building so hard that it's rear door ended up in line with the building walls! There couldn't possibly have been any other explanation could there?!

At this point we resolved to given the local drivers a wide berth. From then on we turned off the main Causeway route and explored some great local roads that were far too small for us to run the risk of meeting a mad lorry driver. Our favourite one turned into nothing more than a track as we got very close to the shore of a beautiful bay.


At this point, as you can see, the snow had turned to rain, so we decided as the view was so good from the car, we didn't need to venture outside.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie & Eddie xxx

Patrick Welcomes Us to Ballycastle

Once free of snow, our car took us for a very scenic drive along the Causeway coastal route. We had lots of stops along the way as there was so much to see. The combination of unspoilt coast with snow capped hills in the distance was an awe-inspiring one.


We felt very much at home when we found a rock close to the water's edge which had a remarkable resemblance to a bear. It wasn't us who drew the face on - honest!


We felt even more at home when we got to Ballycastle and found the house we were going to be staying in for the week. There to welcome us and beaming warmly at us, was a very characterful Irish bear, with an Emerald Buddies i.d. tag in his ear. The even better news was that he was looking for a name and a home and was hoping that he might be able to join Bears Unlimited.


We wasted no time agreeing that his name would be Patrick and that he would spend the week showing us around Northern Ireland, then he would come back with us to England and live with us in Norfolk.

But I bet you're still wondering why I, Eddie, had come on this trip, as no mention of boating so far. The link is that we were staying at the 'spare' house of two of our Irish friends who were with us in Greece on our sailing holiday. They are very bear friendly and I had enjoyed their company so much while sailing, that I was very eager to see them again. I was also looking forward to seeing two more friends from the same sailing holiday who were flying over from Newcastle later in the week, to complete the re-union

They say that first impressions count and ours was extremely good. Where else can you go and be given free accommodation for the week, a warm welcome, a delicious meal, and to top it all be given a new friend?

We were all in bear heaven.

Lots of love, Eddie, George & Yorkie xxx