Ireland - Part 1

I love Newborough Beach on Anglesey!! Miles and miles of soft sand, all available to dog walkers, as well as thousands of acres of woodland. So, the perfect start for my trip to Ireland was to spend a few hours there, then overnight at Peter Robert's place, doing a bit of agility measuring with him, before catching the ferry the next day. The camper was a bit reluctant to start, like it was cold, although actually the weather was very warm. No worries, sort that out later if need be.
The camper started second time in the morning - in fact, that seemed to be the pattern for starting it. It is 9 years old, so a few idiosyncrasies are to be expected. The ferry trip over was smooth, and the journey from Dun Laoghaire to Portmarnock took scarcely half an hour when in the past it has taken ages to get round the M50. I arrived at the IASDA Show Venue to find Liam, and Frank already there and just about to set up. A lovely venue - a huge rugby club set in a community park that stretches for miles. It overlooks the sea so has wonderful views too. We basked in sunshine as we built the rings and my course for the next day, Saturday. Sarah arrived with her caravan and dogs, and the evening ended with chips from the local chippy, and a good natter about everything that has been happening in Irish agility.
Saturday dawned bright and fair, and I really enjoyed the judging as ever. I did something I don't usually do - I ran Bryn over the 1 to 3 Agility course after the class ended as a lot of people had problems I wasn't expecting. Now Bryn is still only a baby, and he had been left at the camper all day while I judged, so not the best preparation, but he didn't have the problems that I had seen, so I had to decide that it was not the course giving the problems, but perhaps some of the dogs?? The Champ class was fun to judge, but pitched too hard for many of those eligible, especially in the Medium dogs. I had agonised over to set a 'proper' Champ course (UK7) or make it easier, and opted for the former, but now think that was a mistake. Anyway, the Champ Final was more UK6, but still caused some problems for those who got through the qualifying rounds. A bit disappointing for us all - I blame myself for not providing a more exciting end to the show.
We stopped over on Saturday night - barbecuing away -and then Frank allowed Bryn and me to join his training class on Sunday, which was great. It is so nice to have someone else to watch and offer advice - and Frank's advice is always sound. He set quite a demanding course for us to run, with a wicked ending, and I loved working it out as many ways as possible! Great fun!!
Then off to Forest Farm Caravan Site at Athy for the next few days. I've been here a couple of times before, but have to say that it is starting to look its age now - some of the electric hookups don't work, and the showers trickle rather than shower - but it is still a pleasant, tree lined site to stay on. And so to bed......