Mad Maggie's Lair

It's been a while since I've visited my friends Derek and Rita in Ashbourne, so this evening's trip was very welcome indeed. It had been a beautiful day, but I'd been too busy to enjoy any of the fine, warm weather. On a bit of a whim I decided to take a different route than usual, and went out by the old road which has long seen been bypassed. I had half a notion of catching a blip or two of ploughed fields in the late-evening sunlight, but that didn't happen. Instead I caught a glimpse of The White House pub on the way and turned back for a quick blip stop.

Whatever about The Golden Ball being stuck in a time warp, this place really cashes in on quaintness. The road frontage looks as if it's an abandoned set for an old-fashioned B-movie, and the quirkiness carries over into the car park as well. Mad Maggie's Lair is a tiny shed whose front wall has been totally painted like a rather bad stage set from a school play. ('Fir Fáilte', incidentally is somebody's literal idea of what 'Men welcome' might be in Irish.)

I remember this road in 'the old days' when the fields would be chock-a-block with sunflowers during the summer, but I don't know if that still happens. Anyway, taking this route turned into a bit of another trip down memory lane to add to yesterday's in Naas, this time of trips to Ashbourne long before the N2 bypass was built, when summer was summer and winter was winter.

We had our usual really enjoyable night together, just chatting, watching telly, stroking the cats, eating a sociable supper and generally doing what friends do. Thanks for another lovely night, Derek and Rita!