My favourite childhood place - Blackwater

When I was a boy, every summer I went to a place called Blackwater. My family had a mobile home beside the beach and we stayed there for two months. From what I remember, the weather was usually very good, but I’m sure that it probably rained a lot. I did lots of things there. When the weather was very hot, we played on the beach and swam. If it was raining, we listened to music and sometimes went into Wexford to watch a movie. After rain was the best time because it was easy to catch fish in the river.

As I got older, I spent less time there because every summer I played on a lot of sports teams. But when I went there I used the beautiful long beach to train on. I still liked to swim but as I got older the water seemed to get colder! When I left Ireland after university, I rarely had the chance to visit Blackwater but last summer I took my family there. It was nice but my wife, Gai, always complained of the cold!

my year in 2009

2009 had a lot of ups and downs for me. Some bad things happened, but some good things also happened.

Some of the bad things that happened to me are as follows. First, my job was very boring in the first half of the year because I had many problems with my manager at work. Also, I had some health problems during the year. I hurt my back because I played too many sports. In addition, my savings continued to drop because of the bad economy and the weak dollar.

But luckily some good things also happened. First of all, we were able to have a great summer holiday because we travelled to five countries in Europe. Moreover, my job was much better in the second half of the year. I won the Nikai Award for teaching and got a prize of 25,000 dirham and a TV. Finally, my job changed at the end of the year and now I will do some interesting work next year.

Easter in Ireland

The date of Easter Sunday changes every year but it is always in spring. The weather is usually sunny but sometimes it can rain or even snow! In Ireland, people do many different things at Easter. On Easter morning, we usually go to church to celebrate Jesus returning to heaven (but I rarely go). After that, we always have a big dinner with our families. Children usually get chocolates and Easter eggs. Painted eggs are sometimes hidden in the garden and the children must find them. We often visit our relatives in the afternoon but we sometimes go to watch a sports event. We never go shopping on Easter Sunday because all the shops are closed.

An Irish recipe - Colcannon

This is a recipe for Colcannon, an Irish potato and cabbage meal.

For this meal, you need these ingredients:

• 500g of cooked potatoes
• 250g of cooked cabbage
• 2 tablespoons of cream
• salt and black pepper
• 1 onions, sliced thinly
• a little bacon fat

You make it like this:

• First, mash the potatoes, mix with the cabbage and cream and add salt and pepper.
• Then, cook the onion in the fat until it is soft and beginning to brown.
• Next, put half the potato and cabbage mix on to the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until it is brown and crispy.
• After that, cut into 4 pieces and turn the pieces over carefully.
• Then, put the other half of the potato and cabbage mixture on top and after a few more minutes, cut and turn again.
• Finally, the colcannon is ready when the bottom is brown and crispy.