Psalm 90:12
"teach us to realize the brevity of life so that we may grow in wisdom"

Merry Christmas!

Fiona and I just had a great week with three young friends from Romania, Bela, Marian and Levi. We had a great Christmas together and we thank all our friends and family for making them feel so welcome and giving them a brilliant christmas. I think, for all of us, it was one of the best.

On their first day here Charlie and I got to share a great experience with them. We took them up the Mournes and then went to see the sea for their first time ever.

This is Charlie and the boys on a what was a beautiful day beside the raging Glenn River.

And then there was Christmas with the family... with lots of presents and way too much food... as usual.

Just a little highlight from last Sunday night...

It was a great night at spring and airbrake and I have to say that live music is brilliant when you are only five or six feet from the artist.

Just going through my pictures from Romania and found this beauty...

I can't take credit for it though becasue I think our friend Kelly took it. This is near the town of Sovata beside a tiny little pilgramage church on top of a hill.

Just thought you might want to see some of the more beautiful side of Romania.

This picture has been added in response to my good friend Chuck questioning whether the picture in my last post was truly representative of the roads around Ballynahinch which I was encouraging you all to make good, healthy use of.

I hope this one is more in keeping with the spirit of the post. In fairness the last one probably was taken just outside of anywhere USA where neither you nor I have ever treaded foot.



















Ballynahinch Rd, Somewhere, Northern Ireland

On the road again...

Over the last few weeks I have started running again on the beautiful roads around Ballynahinch and I'm really enjoying it. I have to admit that the recent bout (a week and a half strong until today) of good weather hasn't hurt my love for the experience either.

But I think the brilliance of running goes beyond the good weather and dry roads. There really is something powerful about having some down time to release stress, ponder life, enjoy some good scenery and get a good workout all at the same time.

For me running really is a great way to clear my head and even to get my creative brain going for all that is coming in the day or week ahead. Sometimes I have my best ideas while putting in the miles. The only downside is that I have nowhere to write them down.

So my tip of the week is to get up early some morning, put on the trainers and hit the road, rain or shine. Start small and slowly and put on the distance without killing your self. Remember that pain is an important message that your body is giving you, so don't try to pull a Forest Gump on the first day. Leave that till week two... And then sign up for the Ballynahinch fun run this spring.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

A day at the beach...

Isn't Ireland beautiful! And its right on our doorstep.