The river at Glendalough fed by the two lakes and plenty of rain. 

One of the ancient buildings in the early Christian settlement founded by St Kevin in the 6th century. 

Tory at the entrance of the ruined cathedral. 

The impressive 1000 year old round tower in the monks settlment was a place of refuge from the marauding invaders. 

The entrance to the monks tower (approx 6 metres off the ground). 

The Lower Lake, Glendalough, County Wicklow. 

Tory at the Lower Lake, Glendalough, County Wicklow. 

The Upper Lake at Gledalough, County Wicklow. 

Riverside at Glendalough, County Wicklow. 

Super healthy breakfast 

Tides out in Dublin, island in the distance. 

Weekend in Dublin

I took a short break from my project last weekend to visit Tory in Dublin departing on Thursday evening and returning on Monday afternoon.

Sadly, with increased airport security and having to travel to Gatwick on a slow bus from Oxford the entire journey across a very small stretch of water takes approx 8 hours. Naturally seeing Tory at the end of the trip makes it all worthwhile. Still, it has made me realise that living outside a main city, even one only an hour from London, has its disadvantages.

Tory had to work on Friday so I walked with her to the office going as far as the UCD campus where I stopped to check emails. After an hour or so I returned to the apartment to continue working on the Nokia report. Tory is currently working for one of Dublin's premier hospitality and events management companies and after she finished work I met up with her and her boss at Kiely's Pub for a few pints of Guinness. We then went home for dinner stopping for one drink at an upmarket bar and restaurant called Ashton's.

On Saturday we stirred to grey skies and wet bitumen. Undeterred, we took a bus to Glendalough meaning "The Glen of the Two Lakes". It is situated in County Wicklow which is only about an hour from Dublin. It is a beautiful spot and is the site of an early Christian settlement with plenty of stone ruins to explore. The rain continued on and off all day and when we returned to Dublin that evening we decided to take shelter in the cinema where we watched the latest Jack Black film, 'Nachos Libre' possibly the worst film made in the last 10 years.

Sunday was much sunnier and we went for a long walk down to the water front and soaked up some sea air. The tide was out exposing mudflats far into the distance. It reminded me a bit of the view of Moreton May from Wynnum. Later that evening my old school mate Richard and his Irish girlfriend Hilary came over for roast lamb that Tory cooked. It was a delicious meal and showed just what a good cook my girlfriend is.

The next day I slept in but caught up with Tory near her work on my way to the airport. It was a very relaxing weekend and one that I really needed in preparation for the final presentation to Nokia in Helsinki that we made on Wednesday of this week just passed. I will cover that news with photos once I learn how to download the photos from my Nokia N80.

Cheers,
Doug.

Trinity Term Exam Results......

Exam results were released on Friday afternoon.

I passed all subjects comfortably adding a further distinction to the two that I picked up last term.

Now I just have to pass the SCP project (due 1 Sept) and the final case study examination (on 7 Sept) and my MBA will be over.

Doug.

Tory was very excited at the prospect of her G&D Icecream on Brownie. She had to wait 7 months since she was last in Oxford. 

G&D Icecream on Brownie - Before 

G&D Icecream on Brownie - After 

Tory and I were joined at the Head of the River pub by MBA friends Adam, Richard, Jaesan and Chris. 

Relaxing outside at the Head of the River pub. The best place in Oxford on a hot Sunday afternoon. 

Accidental portrait. Tory took this while I was riding my bike.. 

I demontrated my cycling technique  

Tory reckoned the seat on my bike was too high 

Catching rays by the river in Christchurch Meadow, Oxford. 

Summer is not over here in the UK....hooray! 

Tory at 'Fruitstock' with my best mate from the MBA programme, Josh and his girlfriend Olga. 

Tory and I at the 'Fruitstock' food festival in Regents Park London. 

After the presentation Tim and I went to the beach. The seven star Burj-Al-Arab hotel is in the distant background. 

View of the beach. The white sand in the distance is vacant reclaimed land shaped like a palm frond.