Carlow
(27th January 2007)

The trip out of Glendalough put the Leon under pressure once again. Half way up the mountain we pulled over to have a look down in the valley where we spotted a couple of remote houses. These 2 houses were built in the middle of nowhere and can only lead to inbreeding in the future. JP showed us a hill or walkway or something he had previously conquered in warm up to our CASA trip. Maybe some day we shall conquer that also. We also spotted a farmer bringing sheep down the mountain which was nice to see. Especially for Dave who maybe got an insight into the hassle that goes on to get grub onto his table. I'll expect a retaliation from Dave for that previous statement. Maybe not.

Pearson was once again on map reading duty and he led us in the direction of our Carlow stone with great care. Christy Moore managed to entertain us on this leg of the trip for a spell, but all in all, the choice of music leant to the CASA members getting slightly more tired. There wasn't the usual up tempo stuff from the hours previously. It was like we were driving to the most depressing place in the country. It wasn't far from the truth in fairness.

All we knew was that the Dolmon was on the Rathvilly road. After a good spell on the road, I was about to crack up cos of the lack of a dolmon. Pearson spotted what looked like a massive house so we headed off up the little road. A nice woman was out walking, so it was suggested we ask her where the dolmon was. It made sense, because if she was out walking in that area then she surely lived round there. And if she lived there she'd surely know where the dolmon was. And she didn't disappoint. I got the feeling she was delighted to be able to help us. She told us we were on the wrong road before telling us how to get to our destination. Straight on she said, go left, through an archway, take the road in front and the dolmon is just there. Fantastic we thought and sped away past the massive house. We were all amazed by the place. It must of been owned by some seriously rich dude in the past as it was all falling apart at this stage. In fact, it looked more like a mini castle than a house. Further down the rad was the archway promised which I presume was the entrance gate to the house in times gone by.

Not far up the road, we landed at the dolmon parking area. Out we jumped and had a few pictures taken at the Browns Hill Dolmon sign (just to prove we were there). We scrambled up along the path to what can only be described as a massive stone. Apparently, the cap stone of the dolmon is the largest in Europe and weighs around 125 tonnes! As I say, it can only be described as massive. Earlier in the day we met the stone master in the zoo, now we met the daddy stone. After marvelling at the size of it for a while, I suggested we climb up onto it. But that idea was shot down out of respect for the people buried underneath. A short stone cermony was undertaken before legging it back to the car and heading for Carlow town.

As we were all fairly hungry, we went into The Dinn Ri hotel for grub. They served up lovely food and I washed it down with lucozade while watching Utd and Portsmouth on the telly. We soon left and headed back to Naas to get ready for the night out.

JP brought us to Grace's bar where we found a table upstairs. We chatted and what not for a while, before heading to Time nightclub. Dave was freezing so very eager to get in, even when the bouncer told him to hang on. I thought it was curtains for the night at that stage. After paying the fee in, and hanging up the jacket, we headed for the 80's area for more pints. Not much happened in Time. I have to agree with JP's assessment of the place though. It is full of yob's. Full of pretentious gimps in rugby jerseys and the like. Kids of solicitors and doctors, members of the tennis and/or cricket clubs. People who don't have a clue what its like to live and work outside a town or city. Anyway, we left Time before it finished and got a feed of chips from a chip van outside the place. This was nice for 2 reasons: firstly because I was hungry, and secondly because it brought back memories of gettin grub from chip vans in my youth. There's something exotic about being given a bag of chips from the back of a lorry.

The rest of the night was a new experience. Firstly we climbed a wall and a fence to get into JP's house. After that, I had tea in JP's sitting room with 3 girls who were trying to kill all known living creatures in the room with smoke. This was followed up by watching JP and Dave jam a bit, chatting to Caroline (who I thought was a fox) and Lorna (who I think wasn't) and then falling asleep on the floor beside Dave. JP joined us round the half 4 mark and he spooned up with Pecker on the bed for the night. I was shattered after the long day's travelling and stone activities, so I fell asleep almost immediately. At this stage I was looking forward to the mornings fry-up and the trip to a cave in Kilkenny.

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