So before I start ... Mick C (schoolmaster) make sure you have your cup of tea and a slice of Ballymaloe sourdough in front of you before you read any further !!!😝

After a late finish on Saturday morning I was running a little behind when the first text from my mother came in to tell me they were 10 km from Midleton and they would meet me at the market ... when I say I was running late ... I had just woken up and there was more chance of me marrying Megan Markle today than getting into Midleton to meet them, and besides ... I hadn’t finished my Friday Blog update by then ... priorities! ✅

I got a few progress updates on WhatsApp as they made their way across East Cork ... Midleton farmers market, Midleton distilery, Ballymaloe House ... all this time I was writing and then cleaning in a desperate effort to get something out of the day before they arrived. 😇

Unknown to me ... apparently a cup of tea is mandatory on arrival ... so after the mandatory was supplied we went for a nice stroll around the cookery school and the gardens ... I ... of course acted as tour guide and did my best to emulate the lady herself, Darina!

While we were around the school we decided to have lunch at Saturday Pizzas ... And the schoolmaster was converted ... from a pizza fighter to a pizza lover ... with the taste and quality of the pizza ... then a quick stock up at the school shop and a quick look at the beautiful Ballycotton cliff walk we then made our way to Kinsale and managed to catch the end of the rugby and the start of the F.A cup final ... I’d rather talk about rugby today for obvious reasons 😞

As it was my fathers birthday, I won’t tell you what age ... as he’s probably already upset that there is a reference to him on the internet never mind me telling you that he’s ...  😂 we went for a nice meal in the White House in Kinsale, simple food done pretty well! It’s amazing how after 4 weeks of Ballymaloe you look at menus (from choice of print to dish selection) and the working of the floor staff so differently ... so my mind was still stuck in Ballymaloe for the early part of the night! A few pints in the Blue Haven and a few Red Breast 12 years (the schoolmaster will frame the receipt where he ended up paying €12.50 for a Red “brest” cask edition instead of the normal 12 year old) thanks Mick 😂 was a wonderful end to the night! 

Tomorrow it will be back to Ballymaloe at lunch and then buy a few chickens so I can practise jointing them 😂 (where did it all go wrong 😝) hopefully a haircut and then I think I need a Kotopita 🇬🇷😂😘