Last week seems like such a long week, I often find that January feels like the longest month of the year. It’s nice to see the evenings getting a bit brighter though, if we could just finish with the icy days, I’d be happy out.
I haven’t ventured out much due to the ice, and now that I no longer have a dog to walk it’s made me a bit lazy (and I was lazy enough already). I did get to do some exploring this week though, and it was lovely. The photo above is from the Green Road, Sligo, normally you’d see Lough Gill, but the mist was lingering, it was stunning though. The photo below is Lough Gill, also taken this morning.
I visited Tubbercurry yesterday and if there were awards for the friendliest town in Sligo, I think Tubbercurry would win it. I had lovely chats with people I bumped into, some people I knew and some I didn’t, it’s so nice to see smiling faces and friendly folk. I also got to visit the library and pick up some books that I’d reserved, I’ve written before about my love for the library, and this week I completed my first online course through their website. I’m now an ‘expert’ on Hauntings!
It was actually a really interesting course and I liked how there was some communication with the tutor, I told him about the Sligo Dracula connection, and a few of my ghostly experiences. I’ve now signed up for a Creative Writing course, so I’m looking forward to that.
Speaking of the library, there is a book about Sligo that’s free for people to keep.  Read more about “A Door Opening: Sligo and The Legacies of Partition”. It’s well worth picking up, I would think they have limited copies so don’t miss out. I saw quite a few in Tubbercurry library, but the other Sligo Libraries might have them too. Lovely to see my Hands of Sligo book there too.
Back to exploring. I bought myself a Christmas present, something that I’d had my eye on for years. It’s a glass pendant containing a water essence, made by Ruth Le Gear with water from the Holy Well in Sligo. Celestial Aquatics is a collaboration with glass artist Graham Reid. The Holy Well is such a special place for me, it’s somewhere I go to when I need a bit of peace, or just to think about things. I visited today with my pendant and took some photos; I’m just delighted that I have something of The Holy Well that I can wear. Ruth also makes essences with water from other special places, and Graham makes the beautiful glass orbs that contain the water.
This is what Ruth says about the essence, read the full description here:
Tobernalt Holy Well Sligo
Ruth Le Gear – Celestial Aquatics
This essence is about the foundations of your roots, the body. Grounding nourishment and trust within one self. It can help one to be comfortable in their body and to feel safe and secure. There is a stability that emerges from wearing the essence.
The Holy Well is such a beautiful place, it’s so close to Sligo town but it feels like a world away from reality. When I was there today there were some brave souls in the river, the temperature was close to freezing, and I don’t envy them at all.
Wishing you all a good week ahead and thanks for reading.
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