Fiacre Banks

@xFiacre (13795)

Ireland

Joined myLot 10 years ago

An Irishman who has called many places home, enjoys whiskey in moderation and reads Dostoyevsky frequently.

Discussions (207)

Fiacre Banks's Discussions

Country cottage.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 17h

During a country ramble this morning we came across what is locally known as the hidden village. Ten or so cottages like the one in the photo above were abandonned over the course of time. In the 1820s the population was about 60...

10 responses •

10 people

Appetising or not?

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 19 Jun

I think it’s usually better to leave menus untranslated because translators invariably get stuff hilariously wrong. Pictured here is an extract from a menu where we ate last week in France. I think the term ‘sausage’ would have...

11 responses •

11 people

All in a day’s flying.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 18 Jun

It’s good to be back on my own toilet and in my own bed. We flew out of Rennes at 16.00 hours, got to Dublin two hours later then drove up to lovely Larne. Not since the 70s have I flown in such a tatty airplane - that was on...

5 responses •

5 people

If it quacks like a duck …..

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 16 Jun

Best meal so far this trip and that’s for both Greece and France. Unfortunately the trip ends on Wednesday. To say that I enjoyed a Magret du Canard in the shadow of Bayeux Cathedral this lunch time would be a serious case of...

5 responses •

7 people

One night in Bayeux.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 15 Jun

It was good to sit in the late afternoon sunshine behind Bayeux cathedral and enjoy a Ricard before dinner arrived: a piece of steak cooked au point. Not only so, but the waiter had the good sense to hold off with the food...

5 responses •

6 people

How embarrassing is this?

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 14 Jun

Remind me please, why does money have to be squandered celebrating the King’s birthday? Oh yes, I remember now, it’s because we haven’t bothered putting that particular family in its rightful place. We just let them go on thinking...

13 responses •

17 people

Salomé’s garden.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 14 Jun

I took my brother out in his wheelchair today for lunch. It’s only when you do that sort of thing that you discover how well or otherwise a town caters for wheelchair users. Bayeux is reasonable although there are a lot of cobbled...

6 responses •

7 people

Normandy deluge.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 13 Jun

Bayeux got a really good soaking tonight when an almighty thunderstorm broke at about 8 pm, just as we found a restaurant to eat and shelter in. it was a really good downpour following on the heels of a torrid afternoon. During...

4 responses •

6 people

When the rooster calls at the break of dawn …

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 12 Jun

I’m up and about right now at 4.30 on an excellent morning because there’s a rooster crowing nearby. These noises of nature bother me not, but if the noise were generated by human lack of consideration (music, cars, talking etc) I...

8 responses •

10 people

Bayeux - I like it.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 12 Jun

This little house we’ve rented in Bayeux (of tapestry fame) is a wee gem. It’s just a 20 minute walk into the centre of town where the nursing home my brother resides in is - that’s why we’re here. The house is in a hyper calm...

view from hotel in rennes

3 responses •

6 people

No squirts thankfully.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 9 Jun

I woke in the early hours this rainy morning from a very bizarre dream in which I had experienced two very productive episodes of explosive diarrhoea. The dream was so vivid that when I woke I was a bit reluctant to check if...

5 responses •

7 people

Decisions, decisions.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 5 Jun

I can’t decide if I wish to squander €14 euro (for each of three of us) to view the Bayeux Tapestry. There it’ll sit all curated for us to shuffle past before heading to the exorbitantly priced café and gift shop, and really I...

6 responses •

7 people

Sweet profit not expected.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 5 Jun

While I languish here in the Normandy sunshine, propping up the French economy with my hard won savings, I am greatly encouraged by a communication (appropriately verified) from the establishment that looks after most of my...

3 responses •

5 people

Time well spent, and in the company of good wine.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 3 Jun

Many of you will think I need my head looked at with this declaration, but I find little in life that’s as deeply satisfying and uplifting as a long, slow, ponderous read of the book of Genesis. That’s how I spent a goodly hour...

6 responses •

7 people

Served with crusty bread and a big, hearty red.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 2 Jun

It was not my kitchen skills that produced a deeply satisfying meal this evening, but the excellent quality and freshness of the ingredients. It is surely a heaven-sent joy to go to market and take in one’s hand plump, squeezable...

7 responses •

8 people

Main benefit of marriage.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 2 Jun

I’m very pleased with myself this fine Monday and it’s not just because the sun is shining and I’m promised Maigret de Canard for dinner, but because I’ve just wangled £200 off my car insurance. Not only that but my breakdown...

8 responses •

11 people

The Swiss aren’t known for being hilarious, but what about this.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 31 May

There is a very scenic railway that runs between Domodossola in Italy and Locarno in Switzerland. It’s famed for its dramatic scenery. But wait for the best part. It’s managed jointly by an Italian company and a Swiss company,...

8 responses •

11 people

Free - a novel concept.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 31 May

I’m trying to renew my car insurance but I need it to cover both Ireland and the UK since I hop back and forth across the border frequently. I also want breakdown cover for both jurisdictions. Prices are on the high side and...

3 responses •

6 people

I’m in love with the internet right now.

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 30 May

This internet thingy is just great. It has many down sides but right now it feels great being able to organise the renewal of my car insurance while xertzing a very cold locally brewed beer in a walled garden in Bayeux. It’s a...

6 responses •

7 people

Boy or girl?

Fiacre Banks @xFiacre (13795) • Ireland 28 May

Cute gender-denoting signs on lavatory doors in restaurants may be fun, but they can also confuse. Quite often I find myself dithering as I try to decipher little pictures and titles, and here photographed is one such from a...

11 responses •

12 people