Hello from Gleno!
Last week, I promised you greenery galore, in celebration of the lush, verdant delights of the Irish summer!
Our summer here is, well, a little temperamental. On any given day, you could head out with an umbrella, a woolly jumper and sunglasses, and odds are you’ll have the chance to use all of them before you get back home. The upside of this is that, unless something really weird (like a fortnight of hot, dry weather) happens, the countryside is awash with greens all summer long. But don’t take my word for it! Paddy and Plunkett – who themselves sport rather fetching moss-coloured complexions – have gone to the ends of the earth the island to bring you some quality leafy goodness today!
They’re starting out in the pretty little village of Gleno (sometimes written as Glenoe) in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Although the glen and waterfall at Gleno lie a little south of the bigger, more famous Glens of Antrim, they’re really beautiful, especially at this time of year – plus they’re a bit removed from the crowds of visitors who head to the Causeway Coast during tourist season! But before we head off for a look, let’s check out those houses, which are also pleasantly in keeping with our chosen colour palette!
The street here is pretty steep, but the houses work with it…
…And the boys even got to meet this very chilled-out local resident as they puffed their way up the hill!
Oh, and just in case you thought this place was a folk park or film set…
Nope! Just a regular street full of regular cars!
But let’s press on to the Glen, shall we? The boys were pretty excited to visit the waterfall… Especially Paddy, who had seen this sign on the way up!
For those of you reading this on a teeny phone screen, he’s spotted an ad for a canyoning tour of the glen with Climb NI. Paddy is, of course, sold.
“Plunkett! PLUUUUUUNKEEEEEETT! We can climb on the waterfall!”
Unfortunately, I’d need to kit the lads out with the proper gear before they’ll be allowed to dive into this particular adventure. So paws stayed dry this time around – did anyone else just hear Plunkett heave an audible sigh of relief? And although he really would rather have been scrabbling over mossy rocks to reach the top (or imitating his favourite shampoo commercials in the plunge pool at the bottom), Paddy was still pretty happy with a view of the waterfall from further back.
It’s also worth taking a closer look at the water in this river…
Yes, it’s brown! This is a common enough sight in Co. Antrim, thanks to runoff from peat bogs in the mountains upstream. But the colour had Plunkett thinking about stopping for a nice cup of tea. Quick, distract him with…
… A tree growing sideways!
This beech tree took a tumble many years ago, but it’s still alive and thriving… Albeit from a horizontal position. And then Paddy made a discovery…
“You’ll want to see what’s on the other side of this hill, Plunkett!”
He was right… Finding a quaint little church tucked away in the trees a little further along absolutely made Plunkett’s day!
Then, on the walk back through the glen, it seemed like even the sunlight was coming through green…
See you again soon, lads!
We’ll be back next week with more monster fun! In the meantime, did you see the new-look BeastieBlog yet? If you came here from an email or through the Reader, you can still take a sneaky peek from here! I’d love to know what you think, so don’t be shy – have your say in the comments below!
Delicious! Burger Beastie seems to be especially enjoying the whole picnicking experience.
4. For a smoother curve, cut a few notches at intervals along the edge of the felt, near to (but of course not actually touching) the seam. Then turn the body “shell” right side out.
6. Don’t stitch all the way around, though! When you’re within 2cm of the beginning of the seam, take a break from sewing and get stuffing. Gently push the toy filling inside, making sure it gets right up into the top of the bee’s back! I find a chopstick or pencil really helps with this bit.
Then continue sewing to close up the opening.
8. Pin the face to the front (point 1) of the body, then use whip stitch to sew along the bottom edge (side C) first, and then along the top. I’ve done a couple of stitches in orange for the photos, so you can see what’s going on!
When you get to the antennae, sew a couple of backstitches across the base, so that they can stand up from the bee’s head.
10. Next, attach the tail piece to the bee’s bottom (point 2) in the same way as you attached the face piece. Side C covers the line of black stitches at the base, while the zigzag edge goes over the bee’s back. Pin in place, then stitch as before…
11. …And then repeat for the stripe as well!
Nearly there!
12. For the wings, fold the wing shape in half and sew a seam 2mm from the short edge in cream thread.
… Just in time to take the stepping stone path across the bog garden’s lake!
