To Dublin & Newton Abbot

May 6. Take Aer Lingus from JFK to Dublin airport. Surprise, the plane took off and landed early. Long wait for customs in Dublin, however.
May 7. Taxi to home of Evelyn Owens, a long time friend of Marian's, not in the best of health. Marian alerts her friends via mobile, as they say in Dublin, that she has arrived.
May 8. Visit the Hugh Lane Gallery in Parnell Sq. Homecoming for Marian; she was the director of this gallery before coming to America. Lunch with Sheila, currently a curator of Irish Art at the National Gallery. She gave us tickets for the opening of the exhibition of the Impressionist Interiors.
May 9. Reception at the opening of the Impressionist show at the NG.
May 10. Lunch at Paddy Morrissey, one of Marian's bosses at the Dublin Corporation.
May 11. Buffet lunch at the Malahyde Golf course with Joan Collins and Mary Cremin. Good food with a fabulous view over the golf course and the Wicklow Mountains.
May 12. Went to lunch/theatre at Bewleys. Saw a one act play Roman Fever by Hugh Leonard, taken from a short story by Edith Wharton. ( Two wealthy American widows chat away amicably until one of them, tongue loosened by wine, admits that she 'borrowed' the others husband one night before their marriage.) In the evening we viewed the Seafarer by Connor McPherson at the Abbey Theatre. A drunken lot of Irish men get together in a pub and lay bare their souls in foul language.
May 13. Hugh Lane Gallery to hear concert by Rimsky Korsakov quartet. Haydn, Glazunov, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Went to Chester Beaty Library to see Russian films.Lecture at Trinity by Tatyana Ponazeva on Nabokov and Joyce.
May 14. From Dublin to Newton Abbot in Devon via Flybe. The name suggests a fly by night airline, but actually, Flybe is a division of British European Airways. They tend to use twin engine turboprops for short hops, like the hour and a quarter trip from Dublin to NA. Taxi to Newton Abbot. Dinner at Carlino's. Good meal.
May 15. Visit Joan at Donerail. Lunch at Sally Ann's in NA. Dinner at Barn Owl Inn.
May 16. Taken by Melanie to dinner at the Waterside pub in Totnes. Immediately afterwards listened to the Mellia Consort at St John's Church in Totnes. Totnes is an old British town that time forgot.
May 17. Visited Priscilla and Richard Inkpen in Newton Abbot. Priscilla has been very kind in visiting Joan and taking her to church on Sunday.
May 18. Visited Cathedral in Exeter. The train journey between NA and E passes along the rugged coast of Devon. Highly recommended.
May 19. Long ride with Melanie through the hedgerows of Devon.
May 20. Reverse the trip--NA to Dublin and then to NY. Perfectly done by the airlines on time.No complaints.