Images of Corsica

For the second year in a row we spent two weeks of September in Corsica. Last year we were in Tiuccia, this year about an hour further north near the town of Porto.

View Corsica in a larger map

The Marina Livia complex of bungalows provides simple but also charming accommodation just a couple of hundred metres from the beach at Bussaglia. This is a great location for our sort of “walk in the morning, beach in the afternoon” holiday.

One of our first walks was through the red granite of the Calanches. Just off the road and away from the tourist buses there’s a nice walk along the old mule path from Piana to Porto. The kids were happy to walk this, as long as the promised lollipops materialised.

From 2009-09-07 - Mule Path through the Calanches

From 2009-09-07 - Mule Path through the Calanches

From 2009-09-07 - Mule Path through the Calanches

Along the way people have built cairns as way markers. While some of these are mere piles of stones, some like the example below are veritable feats of balance and creativity.

From 2009-09-07 - Mule Path through the Calanches

The next day we drove north to the Fango Valley – a much flatter area than the mountainous area around Porto. Here the river gorge is famous for providing little pools to paddle or swim about in, which we promptly did.

From 2009-09-08 - Fango Valley

This was all very well for the humans, but Elsa and Tosca found the whole experience very exhausting, and just dozed off at the side of the river.

From 2009-09-08 - Fango Valley

The beach near our accommodation was pleasant despite being pebbly rather than sandy. One odd thing however was the establishment just up the road. We never figured out exactly what goes on there, but from the outside could be deduced that it is a business where camping and parking and dogs are forbidden. Not visible in the photo are the cows who grazed there, or the scrapped cars in the back. Answers on a postcard please.

From 2009-09-12 - Bussaglia Plage

The sea around Corsica is clean and warm, and the kids loved swimming there. Our guidebook complains about the fact that it gets deep relatively quickly, hence is not suitable for children. Our kids didn’t mind that – they found it all the more exciting that they could swim out to little islets in the bay.

From 2009-09-09 - Bussaglia Plage

From 2009-09-09 - Bussaglia Plage

The other good feature of Bussaglia beach are the sea cliffs which have been developed as Escalades. The kids and I spent a few afternoons climbing on these. Strangely these cliffs have been bolted, but all of the lower bolts have been removed. I’m not sure whether this was vandalism or well-intentioned removal of unsafe equipment, as the sea water makes the bolts rust fairly quickly.

From 2009-09-09 - Bussaglia Plage

Back in the Calanches we went for a walk which we had done last year, and photographed Rosalie in a cave she had been photographed in a year earlier. In case there's any doubt about her growth in the last 12 months, the right hand photo is from this year.

From 2009-09-11 - Chateau Fort

Another place we revisited was the Piscine Naturelle in the Forêt d'Aïtone. We were spared the hassle of last year when Liam managed to throw himself into the water, this year everyone stayed dry.

From 2009-09-12 - Piscine Naturelle

The water looks lovely from the picture but it comes from high up on the mountain and was much too cold for softies like us.

From 2009-09-12 - Piscine Naturelle

Back at sea level, and in water above the freezing point we decided to give snorkelling a go. For 5 Euros a head at the local supermarket, Liam and I were kitted out in snorkel and mask – we already had the flippers. What I hadn’t expected was the number of small fish which had clearly been swimming around our feet all week.

From 2009-09-12 - Bussaglia Plage

From 2009-09-12 - Bussaglia Plage

Because the weather was so pleasant for most of the time we often stayed at the beach until sunset. This had the advantage that we could watch a few spectacular sunsets, to which my photographic skills don’t really do justice.

From 2009-09-12 - Bussaglia Plage

The nearby town of Porto has a magnificent Genoese tower overlooking the bay, with a little museum inside. Liam was thrilled to hear that the tower had been the scene of some pirate activity, and was rather disappointed that there were no pirates in evidence as we visited.

From 2009-09-13 - Porto

The Porto beach also sports a bolted crag where Liam could try out his climbing skills again.

From 2009-09-13 - Porto

Having tried roped climbing a couple of times, both kids were insistent on dispensing with all safety equipment on the boulders along the beach. Because it was physically impossible for me to stand under both kids at all times with hands outstretched, I tried to ignore them and only pick them up after a fall. This earned me some stern looks from more safety-conscious French people, but I maintain that if I let them be silly a couple of metres off the ground, then they’ll learn not to be silly when they’re higher up. Time will tell.

From 2009-09-17 - Bussaglia Plage

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great the whole time. During the second week we saw a couple of spectacular thunderstorms, and we even managed to use some of the warm clothes we had brought with us.

From 2009-09-18 - Marina Livia

From 2009-09-18 - Marina Livia

From 2009-09-18 - Marina Livia

All in all it was a fun holiday, and despite the long and tiresome journey, Corsica remains a destination we’ll go back to in the future.

From 2009-09-19 - Homeward bound

Text from the Augstbordstafel Pass

I received a text message from my father today – at 12:44 he was going over the Augstbordstafel Pass in the Swiss Alps. This is the last but one leg of his journey along the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt.

A bit of googling told me that the location in Switzerland is shown with a red arrow here, and that it looks something like the picture below:

Homeopathic A&E

There are people who occasionally tell me I’m a close-minded old curmudgeon because I have a particularly low opinion of the efficacy of homeopathic cures. I encourage them to enjoy the video below :-)

I remember the spice burger

I stumbled across this article in the Irish Times this morning:

Spice burgers back on the menu due to popular demand

I especially like the description of the spice burger as, “one of Ireland’s few original contributions to world cuisine”, and “a delicious blend of Irish beef, onions, cereals, herbs and spices coated with traditional outer crumb”.

My old school canteen used to serve these things, and I loved them. I had no idea that

a. the spice burger was a uniquely Irish phenomenon

b. there is actually meat in those things.

I wish Walsh Family Foods well in their quest to keep the spice burger on the market.

Volkacher Lebensart

Last weekend the Heidelberg Cassidys travelled to Franconia for the Volkacher Lebensart festival. 

The idea is simple, and explained in the leaflet linked here (for German speakers). Nine wineries open their doors for the weekend, put on a different band in each winery, serve matching food and their own wine. We spent most of the evening at Weingut Erhard, and I can heartily recommend their blend of Scheurebe wine, Cuban food (tasted more like creole) and Latin American band „Frutos Tropicales“. As a result we’ve order a Probierpaket of 6 bottles which arrived today. As I write I can state that the Riesling is good too.

Some pictures below:

Richard Schlenk’s inaugural lecture

Last Friday we used the traditional German Brückentag excuse to take a day’s holiday between the Thursday bank holiday and the weekend. There was a good reason to do so as we were invited to the University of Ulm to witness our friend Richard’s Antrittsvorlesung, or inaugural lecture to celebrate his Habilitation. There’s a lively debate on LEO regarding the correct translation of Habilitation, I won’t delve further.

Rechard’s speciality is leukemia, and I know from helping him translate one of his papers that it’s pretty depressing material. This time unfortunately I didn’t get far enough into the lecture to get depressed, as both Liam and Rosalie decided that an hour of medical slides was more than they could handle. Heike reported that the talk was interesting and well received.

Our pictures from the University, celebration lunch in Butzental Biergarten and a touristy stop in the picturesque little town of Blaubeuren are shown below.

Plestin-les-Grèves

The Cassidy clan descended en masse on the town of Plestin-les-Grèves (Brittany) for the last week of May. Below are a few of our photos.

 

Peter Cassidy / Peadar Ó Casaide

Below is a fascinating memoir of my grandfather Peter Cassidy, as compiled by my cousin-once-removed Peadar Cassidy. Although Peter lived well into my adulthood, a lot of the detail below was new to me.

This article is due to be printed in the Clogher Record, journal of the Clogher Historical Society, Peadar kindly gave me permission to reprint here.

Peadar Ó Casaide (Peter Cassidy) was born at Nafferty, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan in August 1913, the youngest of four children:  Rose, Mary, James  and Peter.   His parents were Peter and Ann (nee Callan).  They lived on a 30 acre farm, a mile from Carrickmacross.    In his family circle he was known as Petie.

He attended St Joseph’s National School, Carrickmacross from 1918 to 1926.  He secured a Monaghan County Council scholarship and went to the Patrician Brothers High School from 1926 to 1932.   His parents died while he was in his teens, Peter in 1925 and Ann 1927.    He was in the care of his older sisters until they emigrated to the US in 1928/1929.  His brother James, four years his senior, took over the farm as a teenager and was his guardian until Peadar (Petie) was 21.

He acted as pupil teacher occasionally at his old National School while preparing for his Leaving Certificate examination in 1932.   He was successful and was called to teacher training in St Patrick’s College in Dublin.  His time in Dublin had a strong influence on him.   He heard speakers such as Countess Markievich and the sister of Padraic Pearse on O'Connell St. while the new Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein, Cumman na nGael and Eoin Duffy's Blueshirts fought it out, often literally, on the streets of Dublin.   In the lecture rooms his classmates included John D. Sheridan, Paddy Crosby and Sean O'Siochan.

He graduated from St Patrick’s College in 1934.  For the next four years he lived mainly in his old home and taught for short periods in national schools in the vicinity of Carrickmacross, such as Lisdoonan, Magoney and Blackstaff and subsequently in Killybrone NS in north Monaghan. There he was appointed to teach Irish since the principal teacher, having been educated many years earlier, had little knowledge of the language.

He married Nora O’Neill of Lisgall, Carrickmacross in 1938 and obtained an appointment as Principal of Knocknagrave NS in 1939. They resided at Cornagilta, Tydavnet in north Monaghan from 1940 until 1948 when he was appointed principal of Aghamakalin NS and they moved to Emyvale.   His final appointment was to Ballymackney NS, Carrickmacross. in 1952.

Three of their four children, Páid, Mary and Peadar, were born in north Monaghan; and the fourth, Dympna, in Carrickmacross.   Their new home at Drummond Otra, Dundalk Road, Carrickmacross was their pride and joy, a welcoming place for extended family and friends. They took great pride in household decoration and comfort and they won prizes for their superb garden with its flowers, shrubs and vegetables.  

Soon after his arrival back in Carrickmacross he resumed his involvement in amateur drama which had begun in Emyvale.   He was a prominent member of the cast in many plays but his most memorable role was the lead part in the Passion Play in mime performed each Easter for several years in the 1950s and 1960s.  He also adapted the traditional Mummer's Play for the children of Ballymackney School, which they brought to a variety of drama competitions around the county.

As well as his successful career as a teacher Peadar was involved in numerous voluntary projects cultural and charitable. He founded, with others, Scoil Rois. the local Gael Scoil.  He served on many local committees including Connradh na Gaeilge and Support for the Handicapped.  With several other concerned individuals he was closely involved in the setting up of the Holy Family school for handicapped children in Carrickmacross, which was later combined with other local schools and was moved to Cootehill.  The celebratory weekend for historian and folklorist Henry Morris in 1974 was his inspiration.  He compiled and published a list of townlands in South Monaghan and their derivations and he left a wonderful legacy in the quarterly series ‘Macalla’ which recorded the folklore and traditions of Farney and which is now available in Trinity College Library. 

He founded and managed for many years a small museum in the old High School containing artefacts and documents of local historical interest.   When the museum closed the contents were taken over and moved to the Monaghan County Museum.  He also researched and wrote a history of St. Joseph’s Church, Carrickmacross which was published by Clogher Diocese.   The 18th century poets of Oriel were another of his interests and he was an active member of the Clogher Historical Society; and became President of the society in 1978.  In recognition of his contribution to the county he was named Monaghan Person of the Year.
Peadar was strongly nationalist in outlook with fervent opinions on language and cultural matters. A soft spoken self effacing man, he was by nature  optimistic and warm hearted with an understated sense of humour.  He had a great affection for kinfolk and community and also professed a sincere devotion to spiritual matters and religious observance.

Peadar Cassidy (nephew)
21st April 2009

Bergtierpark Erlenbach

We spent the afternoon today at the Bergtierpark Erlenbach, literally a zoo for species of mountain-dwelling animals. The goat family was very well represented here, but also a lot of other animals such as lamas, alpacas, wild pigs, monkeys, ponies, donkeys, yaks and emus.

The kids loved it of course, especially as they were allowed to feed the vast majority of the animals they saw. Some pics below:

From 2009-05-10 - Bergtierpark Erlenbach

From 2009-05-10 - Bergtierpark Erlenbach

From 2009-05-10 - Bergtierpark Erlenbach

From 2009-05-10 - Bergtierpark Erlenbach

From 2009-05-10 - Bergtierpark Erlenbach

I like Christian Pauls because…

as well as being the current German ambassador to Ireland, he’s willing to throw out some undiplomatic truths now and again.  He famously described Irish society as “coarse”,  “chaotic” and “greedy” in 2007. On that occasion the public reaction was just enough horror at these insulting terms in order to avoid thinking about whether there may be a grain of truth there somewhere.

Most recently he had some thoughts about the Lisbon Treaty:

German ambassador defends Lisbon Treaty remarks

In this speech Herr Pauls touched on the delicate subject having your cake and eating it. Particularly those who  “complain about other nations fishing in their waters. . . and forget who pays their milk subsidies” were singled out for criticism.

Of course the anti-Lisbon group Libertas were quick to label these comments as “unacceptable” and “insulting” to Irish voters. But aren’t they just obvious? Isn’t it clear that if Ireland rejects the Lisbon Treaty again, that there can’t be a continued stream of subsidies?

As an Irish citizen paying taxes in Germany, I am happy that a portion of my taxes are subsidising my native country. I’ll be even happier when the Irish electorate face up to their European responsibilities.

Skiing in Selva Val Gardena

We spent last week skiing in the Dolomites, together with my parents. The weather was for the most part excellent, and the skiing fantastic.

From 2009-03 - Selva Val Gardena

This was the first time we’ve gone with self-catering accommodation for skiing, and we were very impressed with the Apartment Renata. The location could hardly be better, about 50 metres from the Costabella lift and not much further to the town centre. The apartment itself is brand new and very tastefully decorated. And as an optional extra, Frau Lanzinger will deliver fresh breadrolls from her bakery in the mornings. Highly recommended.

Liam went to ski school, and learned to snowplough, which was handy as his initial attempts didn’t include any braking manoeuvres.

From 2009-03 - Selva Val Gardena

The kids enjoyed their sledging in the afternoon as well, as the photo below illustrates.

From 2009-03 - Selva Val Gardena

On the down side I managed to pick up a concussion by unknown means on the last day, and spent three hours wandering about the slopes not knowing where I was until my father found me. This has resulted in me spending this week visiting a doctor per day, and undergoing the following tests: CT, X-Ray, EEG, ECG, MRT. After all this effort, the net effect seems to be that I’m ok.

My cousin Caoimhe Muldoon is running the women’s mini-marathon in Dublin on June 1st in aid of ISIDA

Caoimhe lost her son Oscar in 2007. In today’s Irish Times she talks about the grieving process which goes on to this day. The link is here:

Living with the grief of sudden infant death

It’s a very moving article,  which concludes with the message that anybody wishing to join or sponsor her for the mini-marathon can contact the Irish Sudden Infant Death Association (ISIDA).