A Day in the Life of a Sheep Dog

While on our Ireland travels and around Dingle Bay, our tour guide informed us we would be making a ½ hour stop, but that participation was optional and would cost five euros each. We would be watching a demonstration of dogs herding a flock of sheep. I really wondered if something like watching dogs could possibly be worth money….but hey, it’s a vacation….and Bob highly recommended we attend. So, off we went to watch the shepherd, sheep dogs, and sheep.

The shepherd was an older gentleman who owns the land and runs approximately 250 head of sheep.

He told us that in order for a person to make a comfortable living off of sheep, he must own at minimum 600 head. In fact, he said that the wool he sells old barely covers his costs of shearing and shipping. Rather, the meat is where he receives his income, and even then, he only receives 1/3 of the price the consumer pays. I assume he provides this particular demonstration as a means to ensure he lives that comfortable lifestyle.

The shepherd has two dogs – Bess and Max. While they will respond to his voice commands, he primarily uses a whistle.

Each dog has a unique whistle that he/she has been trained to respond to: forward, back, side, and off. The dogs lie down (off), waiting for his command to move. In his first demonstration, he whistled for Bess to run up the hill (forward) and round up the 6-7 sheep. Subsequent whistles instructed her to move the sheep down the hill. Max, all the while, never moved from his spot and the bottom of the hill…although he was alert and ready.

The next demonstration allowed us to see the dogs working in tandem in order to cull one sheep out of the herd. It was fascinating to hear the shepherd talk to and whistle at the dogs, and how quickly they responded to his commands. They were obviously well trained animals.

Next, the shepherd had one of the dogs move the sheep from side to side, seemingly making them dizzy! The dogs then worked together again to move the sheep back up the mountain.

The speed of the dogs, particularly when they are running up a mountain, was extraordinary to watch. I wish I would have taken my video camera.

It was truly intriguing to watch the discipline of the animals and the rather gentleness of the shepherd. When the dogs would approach the sheep, they appeared to be stalking the animals. We were told that since dogs are descendants of the wolf, the sheep view them as predators, although they would never intentionally hurt the sheep.

The shepherd took many questions from the crowd and was eager to share his knowledge. He explained that when he intends to buy a pup, he goes to the seller’s place and asks to see his trained dogs in action. If the seller is unable or unwilling, he moves on to another seller. He firmly believes it is important to see the seller’s other dogs in action, to really get a good feeling for the quality of the animals being sold. On average, a dog is trained for 7 ½ months over a course of a year and a half. They usually work up to the age of about eight, when they tend to slow down. He has 5-7 dogs at any one time, and two who are in training. He told the crowd gathered that a dog’s hearing is seven times that of a human. He demonstrated this when both of the dogs were a good 500 feet up the mountain and he quietly gave them a voice command; one to which they quickly responded.

Next to the demonstration pasture was a smaller pasture with a variety of different sheep. I’ve included a picture of them, but frankly….I don’t remember what they were called. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of sheep.

We all greatly enjoyed this stop….who would have thunk??

R&R #1 - London and Ireland, Part II

An unusually early start awaited us on Monday, as we had to be to London’s Euston Station by 8:40 a.m. We boarded the train for a 3 ½ train ride across England to Holyhead, where we boarded a ferry for Dublin, Ireland.

The trek across the Irish Sea was quite bumpy, initially, making Daniel and Melissa a little sick to their stomachs. However, we made it to Ireland safe and pukeless, and were picked up by a unique and kind Irishman who taxied us to the Ashling Hotel in the capital city of Dublin.

After freshening up, we went in search of some dinner. I got a tip from a facebook friend about a place called “Temple Bar,” so we took off in that direction. Temple Bar is really a huge block full of restaurants, pubs, shops, and people all along cobbled streets. We stopped at Fitzsimmons Restaurant, where there was traditional Irish music and menu. I would have loved to do some more exploring in the area, but it was late and we had to rise the next morning. We did have one of many lively dinner conversations.

I booked us on Railtours Ireland for a three-day trip through the southern and western part of Ireland (Cork, Blarney Castle, the Ring of Kerry, and the Cliffs of Moher). We boarded the train to Cork, which is in southern Ireland, debarked and transferred to a bus, which first took us to Blarney. The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the walls of the Blarney Castle. Here's me kissing the famous stone.

According to legend, those who kiss the stone receive the gift of eloquence or skill at flattery. Visitors must climb the 100 steps to the top of the castle, lean over backwards on the parapet’s edge, and kiss the stone. There was a guy there helping us, and you hang onto rails. Evidently, people use to kiss the stone while someone hung onto their ankles. This would have been a little more authentic to me!! It was pretty anti-climatic, but now all five of us can say we did it.

The Cobh (cove) Heritage Center was next on our list to visit. From 1848-1850, more than 6 million people immigrated out of Ireland because of the famine – over 2.5 million from Cobh alone, as it was a major port. The heritage center provided a history of the immigration, which was pretty fascinating. Additionally, Cobh was the last place the Titanic and her passengers visited before they met their fateful demise in the icy seas.

We were taken to our Bed & Breakfast in Killarney, which was actually a hotel. It was a nice, quaint town, and we had a good dinner at Failte Restaurant. Failte is the Irish word for “Welcome.” Benjamin chose his own live lobster, and ate every bite, except for what he identified as the lobster’s brains! Killarney is also the location of the 2011 Irish Open to be held at the Killeen Course at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club from July 28-31, 2011. Rory McElroy and Graeme McDowell are both scheduled to play in the tournament.

While the song, “The Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash played through my head time after time, we did, in fact, visit the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry (or Iveragh Peninsula, which is its real name), has some stunning scenery. Kerry, in fact, is the name of the county, and the tour basically took us around the most beautiful county I've ever seen. During this tour, we stopped at Dingle Bay where we watched a demonstration of a shepherd and his sheep dogs – but I’ll go into more detail in a separate blog. After stopping at several places for beautiful views and pictures, we returned to our hotel in Killarney and went exploring. We were told there are only four roads in the whole town, but we are sure we found a few more….or got lost on the same roads more than once!

The next day we travelled to Limerick, which is the 3rd largest city in Ireland. We connected with our big tour bus which would take us around the area. I found Limerick to be one of the prettiest cities/towns in Ireland. Limerick is where the author Frank McCourt was born. He wrote, “Angela’s Ashes,” which was also turned into a feature film. My mom gave me that book as well as another, “Tis,” a story about his time in New York City as a high school teacher last fall….and I read both of them. Benjamin is sure that he and I watched the movie together. The bus driver took us by the pub where most of Frank’s father spent most of his money, sadly.

Bunratty Castle was the first stop of our day. It’s another castle, and was built in the 900s by Vikings. The castle was in disrepair until Viscount and Viscountess Gort purchased it in 1954 and restored it to what it is today. Unlike the Blarney Castle, the Bunratty Castle has old and unique furnishings included, which gives you a better idea of what it must have been like to live there in that time.

Our third day took us to The Cliffs of Moher, which I will write about in more detail in a separate blog. Suffice it to say…they are magnificent!

We stopped for a photo shop at the Burren. The Burren is a region in County Clare, and is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe (karst is a geologic formation often shaped by carbonate rock, such as limestone). I've included one of my favorite pictures with the kids on the Burren rocks.

Seven years ago a mass grave was found in which there were 35 bodies – men, women, and children. They apparently died of natural causes, and none were over the age of 30. Scientists believe they lived more than 580 years ago, I think. I say, “I think” because the notes I wrote indicated they lived more than 5,800 years ago. Not sure which is correct! There were supposedly a lot of flowers that were supposed to be growing between the rocks, but I only saw a few; one of which look like an American dandelion – damn…those things can really spread!

I suspect most everyone knows Ireland is famous for their green and lush countryside, but I don’t think one can truly appreciate it until they personally experience it with their own eyes. We were fortunate in that it did not rain while we were in the country, although temperatures were fairly cool (55-60 degrees). I have never seen more beautiful landscape in my life.

Ireland’s economy is in the toilet, with a 14+% national unemployment rate. Agriculture and tourism appear to be their primary industries, and their housing market did pretty much exactly what it did in the U.S. In other words, people applied for and were granted housing loans that far exceeded their financial capability. In the last year alone, more than 50,000 people immigrated out of Ireland; primarily younger people with an education; the largest mass exodus of people since the great famine.

At the end of our three-day tour, we had dinner in a true Irish pub and discussed our trip. I asked everyone what their favorite part of Ireland was and the answers weren’t too surprising:

Benjamin – either the sheep dog or the Cliffs of Mohrer
Daniel – Cliffs of Moher
Melissa – the history of Ireland
Beth – Cliffs of Moher
Dave – dinner every night with his family

Because most are unique in and of themselves, I will write a separate blog for each, as I think they deserve more attention than what I would include in this blog. I think we would all agree that we learned a lot about the country, we laughed a ton, we definitely tested a great variety of ales and lagers, and ate a variety of local fare. Our first R&R trip ended with family movie night in our hotel room in London Friday night. While it was hard to say goodbye to our kids on Saturday morning, Dave and I did it knowing we would see each of them very soon, and that we have many more adventures ahead of us.

R&R #1 - London and Ireland, Part I

Dave’s boss scheduled a teaming session to be held in London, and we chose to add one of our three annual R&Rs (rest and relaxations) at the tail end of his business trip. Fortunately, we were able to include Benjamin, Melissa and Daniel on our first adventure.

Our trip began late one Saturday evening as we flew from Accra to London, landing bright and early Sunday morning. Fortunately, we were traveling with a couple of other Newmont folks, one of whom (Dale) has visited London often and knew his way around. We boarded the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station where we then took a taxi to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Since we couldn’t yet get into our rooms, we ate breakfast at the hotel, and then ventured out to begin a quick tour of the area with Dale as our guide. We arrived at Buckingham Palace

where there were loads of people standing around and in which the roads were blocked. I asked several people why the roads were closed, but no one seemed to know. A tour-guide “wannabe” was spouting off, so I went and asked him. He claimed that the roads were blocked off because it was Sunday…and Sunday is the day for the Queen’s subjects. I still don’t know what that meant….but….ok. He also claimed that when the Queen is away, there are only two guards stationed outside of the Palace (which there were on this particular day). He informed the listeners that she was probably in Windsor, as that is where she spends most of her weekends. When she is in the Palace, there are four guards stationed on the grounds. Well, not long after a REAL tour guide came by and told the crowd that there was going to be a changing of the guard, and sure enough, we heard the music begin and a band of the “Queen’s Guards” moved towards us, and the reason for the blockage was evident. According to the official British Army website, “The Queen’s Guards in London changes in the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11:30 a.m. every day in the summer and every other day in the winter.” We were fortunate to be there at the right time!

In addition, there was a big 10K London Race that was in progress which went right through the heart of London; another reason for the diversion of traffic. It was great, as there were no cars or busses on the roads, making the walking tour much more peaceful. We were able to cheer on many of the runners/walkers, and even watched an 82 year old gentleman cross the finish line in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.

After walking around downtown London, we headed back to our hotel for a short rest and a shower. Dave and I then wandered over to Hyde Park, which is one of the largest parks in Central London and right behind our hotel. We had some yummy ice cream and sat in the grass to people watch. There are tons of people of all ages in the park; lots of families, soccer games, volleyball games, paddle boats, and just generally people hanging around. For dinner, we took in some American food by going to the Chicago BBQ Grill and visited a pub. Pretty quiet Sunday evening in London, but a good way to begin our trip.

As Dave had meetings/teaming on Monday, I ventured out on my own. I took a walk down the street, headed towards the famous Harrods Department Store. There are 5-6 floors, but frankly, not as cool as Macy’s in downtown NYC…in my opinion. The clothes were gorgeous, but the stores are a lot different than those in the US, which seem to fill their racks with clothes. These racks are spread out, and there are only 8-10 pieces of clothing on each rack. The shoe section was fantastic…and I drooled over a pair of 710£ Jimmy Choo sandals (that’s about $1,200 US dollars!!). I even tried them on….just so I could say I did. I wandered around the store wondering what it must be like to have the kind of money where buying a 710£ pair of shoes is just a fact of life.

After Harrods, I decided it was time for lunch. I went from one of the world’s most expensive department store to McDonald’s! It was a nice treat, and gave me some energy to continue my exploration day. As I was walking through central London, I came across a salon, where I booked a manicure for later in the afternoon. Shortly after, I found another department store that had a hair salon…and treated myself to a London-style appointment. My hairdresser, Marcus, is from Brazil and studied in NYC before coming to London. Before he cut my hair, he took me to the back where a woman shampooed my hair and gave me a scalp massage. Loved it!! It looks nice, but pretty sure it wasn’t worth the money I spent. But hey…I figure I had one of many London experiences.

One of the only things any of our kids said they wanted to do while they were in London, was go to the opening night of “Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” I ordered tickets online and had to pick up the tickets at the cinema.

I decided to try my hand at the Tube, which is the underground transportation system in London. I found it to be quite simple, inexpensive, and fairly quick. I made my way to the Chelsea area, found the cinema, and did a bit of wandering and shopping.

On Tuesday I hooked up with Michele, her kids, and her mom, Claire, for some sightseeing. We left the hotel on a cool, early morning and headed towards Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. Not really knowing anything about London, I always thought Big Ben was a clock. Not So! Big Ben is actually the nickname for the bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. So, when the tour guide asks how many hands are on Big Ben…the answer is “none,” because it’s the name of the bell, not the clock. Trivia, trivia! The Palace of Westminster is also known as the Houses of Parliament, and is where England’s two houses: House of Lords and House of Commons (like our Senate and Congress) meet.

It’s a beautiful, old building, with unbelievable detail and architecture. We were unable to go inside, as arrangements had to be made in advance, due to Parliament being in session.

Next, we visited Westminster Abbey, which is right across the street from Parliament. It is also provides a view into old England with its intricate, old, and fascinating architecture. There are thousands of years of history in this building, which was originally occupied by Benedictine monks in the 10th century. They established a tradition of worshiping daily, which continues today, and in which we briefly participated while inside the church. There are statues, paintings, stained glass, and other artifacts, but none so disturbing or interesting (depending on your point of view) than the tombs and memorials of some of the country’s most significant people. Taken as a whole, Westminster Abbey is home to the most significant single collection of monumental sculptures than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. It is most famously known for the site of the royal weddings of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and of course most recently, Prince William and Kate Middleton – now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We were able to stand at the front of the church and look down the long aisle through each of the brides walked.

Our next stop took us a little more north to one of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants for lunch. For those of you who have never heard of him, Gordon Ramsey is the star of Hell’s Kitchen USA. He is a famous chef, who opened up his first restaurant in the chic Chelsea area of London in 1998. He has since expanded his many restaurants to include the Maze and Maze Grill, as well as establishments in the NYC, LA, Tokyo, Dublin, Paris, Tuscany, Sardinia, and Melbourne. Michele, Claire, the kids, and I ate at the Maze Grill. According to our waiter, Ramsey does make an occasional appearance in the restaurant, but primarily with the intention of eating with his children. The Maze Grill has a little more “kid friendly” menu as one can order hamburgers, spaghetti, and ribs. Otherwise, the menu is fairly unusual, in American terms, with roasted bream (fish), pork belly, sardines, squid, and pigs on toast (??). However, there are some yummy looking steaks on the menu, and the dessert was to die for!! Not sure the price was worth the food served, but hey….I can always say I’ve been to one of his restaurants, and isn’t that what adventure is all about? Trying the unusual? On a side note…I ordered the penne pasta with Bolognese sauce (spaghetti) and it was delicious! Not too adventurous on my part!

As coincidence will have it, when I returned to my room that evening, I turned on the TV and came upon one of Ramsey’s other shows, Restaurant Nightmares, USA. So, I sort of came full circle!

Benjamin, Melissa, and Daniel were scheduled to fly into Heathrow at noon on Wednesday, and I had to get Dave and I moved from the Mandarin Oriental to our next hotel – Gloucester Millennium, while he finished up his day of teaming. After misspelling the name of the hotel several times over when trying to get a cab, I learned that the “u-c-e” are silent – Glah-ster. After I was settled, I stepped across the street to the conveniently located tube station to await their arrival. Melissa, unfortunately, puked virtually the entire way across the Atlantic Ocean as she contracted the stomach flu somewhere between Elko and Minneapolis. As they came through the station, I could see she was quite pale. I got her settled into her room with pepto and a suggested nap. The boys and I went exploring the Gloucester neighborhood, but didn’t get far (across the street), where we had some lunch, and sampled a few of the local brews.

Later that afternoon Dave met us at the hotel and we took off for the play, Wicked. The kids had a hard time staying awake, mostly because they were exhausted after a very long trip. I, on the other hand, LOVED the play and have rated it my favorite to date. The singing and acting were both absolutely phenomenal. I highly recommend to anyone who loves musicals.

After a much needed rest for the kids, we purchased tickets on the Big Bus Tour, which could take us all over the city. We stopped at Hyde Park, had a bite to eat, and then took off for Buckingham Palace and my 3rd visit to the Big Ben/Parliament/Westminster Abbey area. We decided to take in Ripley’s Believe it Or Not, so off we went for the closest tube station.
Later in the day, we chose to go on the “Ghosts by Gaslamp” walking tour. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Just as we were heading out on the walk, Daniel noticed he had forgot his camera at the last pub/restaurant we had been at, so Benjamin and I waited for him while Dave and Melissa started the ghostly tour. Dave sent us text messages with directions on how to catch up to them.

• Go past super tall statue and across 2 street down north umberland ave.
• Left at Sherlock holmes restaurant, down craven passage alley.
• Thru arches shopping building.
• Right in front of Pret a manger then left thru gate by Treats and Gordon. Watergate walk.
• Walk a little way past tables then up stairs on left.

Maybe you had to be there, but the text tour was way more fun than the actual ghost tour. When we finally caught up with Dave and Melissa, they were at a wine bar, but alas…no wine was to be had as the tour continued. After another 10 minutes or so, we all agreed we were bored to death (no pun intended), and left the tour and went back to the Sherlock Holmes pub for a pint or two. After calling Dave’s mom to wish her happy birthday, we went back to the hotel for the evening.

Friday was the big premiere of the Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2 movie, which we watched at the Curzon Theatre in Chelsea. The door to the theatre left a lot to be desired in terms of size, but once we got into the actual theatre, we found it to be quite large. The movie was a success, and we all enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went down the street to a pub (recurring theme, don’t you think?) and stood outside watching some pretty amazing cars pass by us –Lamborghini, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes. Chelsea obviously is an area where there is lots of money!

Because the Gloucester Hotel did not have rooms available Saturday night, we had to move to another new hotel. The concierge arranged for a “people mover” to transport us to the Park Plaza Embankment Hotel, which sits right on the Thames River. A people mover is just a better way to describe a minivan! This hotel was the least expensive of all three places we had stayed, and in my opinion, was the nicest and most definitely the most modern. The play, “The Lion King,” was on the agenda for Saturday, and we watched it at the Lyecum Theatre. The costumes were amazing, but we all agreed that the singing/acting were not as good as we expected. Both Benjamin and Melissa have seen the play in NYC, and both felt it was better there. With that being said, we still all very much enjoyed the experience.

The skies were threatening after the play, and we chose to go back to the hotel to get settled, as we couldn’t access our rooms before we left. As we exited the tube, the rain started to come down in buckets. We were getting soaked, even with the borrowed umbrellas we had gotten from the hotel concierge. So…yep…you got it…we stopped at a pub to get in out of the rain. The one drink extended into several drinks, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We stopped at an Italian Restaurant (Picos) and had a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

What happens in Picos….stays in Picos….right kiddies?

Now that we were down by the Thames River, we actually got to see a whole different view of the city of London.

We were on the opposite side of Big Ben and Parliament, which sits right on the river. I had no idea when I was on the other side! Also, on our side of the river were the famous London Eye and the London Aquarium. Michele and her family had ridden the London Eye and she didn’t recommend it, which was good, because none of us were really that interested in going up. Instead, we visited the aquarium. As were stood in line outside, the skies opened up again and the rain came down…hard! Thank God we had our umbrellas, and even then our shoes and pants were soaked.

The aquarium had an extensive collection of marine life, but my favorite was definitely the penguins. After all, who can’t love penguins!! There were tons of kids, and lots and lots of people, in general. I suspect the weather had something to do with it.

Ice cream was next on the agenda, as we sat along the Thames River, just taking in the view of the London skyline. While the Thames River is supposedly one of the cleanest rivers in the world, you could have fooled us. It was full of litter and quite brown. I guess it’s all relative….
We took off on a walk down the river, and ended up at the London Millennium Bridge, which Benjamin and Melissa pointed out was the same bridge that was blown up in the Harry Potter movies by the deatheaters. It provided another great view of the city.

We stopped at a bar (not a pub….but a bar – Oh? There’s not a difference?). Then, we stopped at a place to have some dinner, and was the first and only place Benjamin or Melissa were carded – and that was just to get in the establishment.

One thing about food in London. It’s not that good. We ate at a variety of restaurants during our week, and I can only think of two good meals I had, excluding McDonalds! I think there is actually better dining options in Accra. The variety of ales and lagers, however, is quite extensive!

Our next stop….Ireland.