Today we drove around the Ring of Kerry. When we left the cottage it was -0.5 degrees C and the warmest it got all day was 6 when we were sitting in our car eating our lunch at Cahersiveen. It wasn't cold though - there was no wind and we didn't even wear our coats.

Along the way: Tom and the girls skated on roadside puddles; we explored a deserted, dilapidated gatehouse; deserted castle; dismantled railway lines; we bought a huge packet of Irish wild salmon, smoked with oak for 4.99 punts. It did Tom, Shannon and I for dinner; we found a shop at Sneem where I bought a claddagh brooch (hands for friendship, heart for love and crown for loyalty) and Tom bought film.