Celtic Calling 2026

59°f/15° C, clear and breezy. 22.8 3

The Celtic Calling Gathering in Charleston (WV) has been happening for ten years---ten years! Last year we made it down for a couple events, but this year I was determined to be there for more. This is my favorite kind of music, and it is rarely available in our area.  So after stocking our booths Friday we headed south. First stop, Hagy's Irish Pub to hear the local group The Gypsy Stars.

Great decor at this pub, but service was s-l-o-w.

We ran into a longtime friend there so it was fun to catch up in between tunes. Poor lady, she waited a half hour for a glass of water! 

Next stop was Taylor Books,  an independent and thriving book store that was hosting a music and open mic poetry event.  Our friend Pam came with us, and Colleen Anderson, another friend and awesome poet, also showed up. We had such a good time talking, listening, singing along, and sharing our poetry.

Then Saturday we went back because there was a full day of events we wanted to see.  We browsed the (small) group of vendors, bought nothing except a Celtic Calling t-shirt, but we ran into yet another friend! So we stopped for drinks and good conversation,  then it was off to Taylor Books again for coffee and browsing before wandering back to the Irish pub for the Almost Heaven Ducimer group. These guys were great. 

The dancing couple were amazing. Both 71 years old,  and they danced at various venues all day long!

Larry had Guinness cheese soup while I had stuffed mushrooms and fondant potatoes. 

His soup, served with a huge pretzel,  was delicious 

I was disappointed with my selections. The potatoes had no salt and were very bland. Two of the mushrooms were just okay, and the third with blue cheese/spinach filling, I just didn't like...but then I don't like blue cheese. Still,  i am glad I tried both. I will know what not to order next time.

We met a man there who was so entertaining that we ended up talking with him the whole time we were there! He is one of those old-time West Virginians, full of stories.  

After the music we walked up the street to see the parade,  only to find we had missed the best part. Well, it was a very short parade! Next stop was a place called the Blue Parrot, pretty much a dive bar but one of our favorite local groups, the Charleston Rogues,  was playing there. What a blast! They are so high energy. The step dancers werea great addition,especially when they did the Scottish sword dance.

While there were met a young nan in a kilt who turned out to be giving away Jameson beads. I was so tickled to get a strand, and later met the Jameson whiskey rep for our area who gave me a pair of sunglasses. Now, I rarely drink hard liquor,but if I do? Jameson, please. I guess it has been a couple years since I had any, but I did have a glass today. It reminded me of our first time in Ireland, standing by a lake in the rain, and having my very first taste of this Irish whiskey 

Even the security guard got into dancing! I don't have any videos or photos, but the dance floor was filled up as the evening went on, and we enjoyed watching them. 

And so ended a very fun  music- filled day. Fortunately the rain held off until we were leaving at 7pm. The wildest part of this festival is that all the events were free! Of course we bought drinks and food and t-shirts, but still,  free? Amazing. One place had a nominal cover charge, probably because they were absolutely packed for each event. There were many other things going on too, both on the west side venues (new this year), at a theater, and educational and children's programs at the library. It would have been impossible to attend them all. 

Well done, Charleston!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Signs of Spring?

55°f/12.8°C, overcast, showers, then clearing but more rain on the way. 

Finally we are seeing a few flowers! I planted about 150 crocus bulbs last fall, but between the dogs and the squirrels they are having a very bad time. 

These little guys have been there for years, still struggling along. I can't get close to them because the ground is so saturated my feet just sink in...or slip! Mud everywhere. 

The hellebords are finally blooming, almost a month later than last year. It looks like winter wasn't kind to them either. I will get them trimmed  and clean up around them soin so they look prettier. Not today though. A very bad and painful night last night means I am worn out and low energy today.

But isn't it nice to see some green? Even if some of it is weeds...

I worked on boobytrapping this garden today. The dogs have really done some damage, much of it done by Buddy in the middle of the night. He woke us several times to go out, and silly us thought he needed to wee. But no, he just wanted to plow around in the flowerbed! So I am stringing folding wire fences all up and down this garden. I did this last year and it worked well while not detracting too much from the plants. Once the garden gets growing the little fences are almost invisible, but the dogs can't run through them, dig or lay in them. Good thing I love these beasts.

You would think living way out here would be quiet and serene, wouldn't you? But have a listen at what's going on today.

Peepers, hoards of wild honeybees working the maples (yay!) and birds singing their little hearts out---makes a nice concert as I sit here drinking my coffee and writing this blog.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Movies, Anyone?

43°f/6°C, rain showers, overcast.

My post about authors' homes got me thinking about places I have visited where movies have been filmed. Of course, movies are made everywhere and often are filmed using multiple locations. But some stand out to me because of their location, and we have a few favorite movies or TV series that we have watched multiple times. I mentioned Cross Creek in the authors post, and Grantchester in my last post; I don't watch much TV, and didnt watch many movies until after I retired, so I find myself surprised at this list. Do you also visit places like this?

For instance, the Irish film The Matchmaker. We love that silly romcom and I cannot exactly pinpoint why. I think it is several things: the beautiful scenery of Connemara and the Aran Islands, the snarky humor, and the utterly believable characters. We watched it so many times, in fact, that the place it was filmed was the focal point of our trip! Roundstone is a small village, right on the water, and fishing was its main industry until tourism has sadly taken almost all the homes and turned them into rentals. (Click the link to see my post about Roundstone).

But when we were there in early October 2017, tourist season was over. We were pleased to learn from our Airbnb host that he had actually been an extra in the movie, so we had a great discussion about it with him. It was absolute joy to be in the town and to see all the things we remembered from the movie: the boat ramp where the bus and later the police car wrecked, the bar, the old souvenir shop...really, just the whole main street. Later we also visited Lisdoonvarna, the place where the actual matchmaking festival still takes place.

We were there during the matchmaking festival, and it was packed!

If I could ever get back to Ireland, I would want to go back to Roundstone. I think I left a piece of my heart there.

We also visited Cong on that trip, which is where the movie The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, was filmed. Now, I am no fan of John Wayne (big ol' draft dodger and a major player in thd Hollywood blackballing epidemic during the McCarthy era), and I had never seen the movie, but Cong is lovely, and when we got home I did watch the movie. Didn't make me a John Wayne fan though!

Then, on the Aran Islands, we saw several familiar things from the ridiculously funny Father Ted series. If you haven't watched it, well...it might not appeal to everyone, but we loved it. So we had to also visit the house featured in the series when we were exploring The Burren. (I had been to the smaller of the Aran Islands in 2015, and on that trip I first heard of Father Ted.)

Also in Ireland, when we explored the Ring of Kerry, we were surprised to find scenes from Star Wars had been filmed there. Apparently the rugged coastline and countryside were well suited to both The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi.  

In Cornwall in 2019, my sister's and I visited many sites from the Poldark series. Judy is a huge fan, and before we left I binge-watched most of the series and really enjoyed it. I found that I had actually seen several of the sites during my visit to Cornwall in 2019, but seeing it all again with Judy was such fun. 

My sister's Theresa and Judy, caught by surprise when the pirate and I pulled a joke on Judy!

And in 2016, Larry and I made the trek to see Port Isaac, where the series Doc Martin was filmed. It's not an easy place to get to! They want you to park in a lot above the town because the lanes are so narrow and indeed, we saw several instances of traffic messes as we walked around! Well, if you have seen the series, you know. Seeing it all first-hand was quite a thrill, and remains a cherished memory. I would love to go back to see my favorite sea shanty group, The Fisherman's Friends, in performance, as that is where these guys are from, and where the movie about them was also filmed.

On that trip we stayed in a small stone shepherd's hut up on Bodmin Moor, a wild place that features prominently in both Doc Martin and Poldark. 

The Hurlers

In our little hut. 

What drew us to all of these places, of course, was the scenery---we just had to see it for ourselves because it seemed too beautiful to be real. But real it is, and boy would I love to see it all again.

If you want to see more, I have linked in this post to many of my blog posts about these trips.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.