A most welcome story in this weeks Fingal Independent in support of my trip to South Africa [click here for more info] included this beautiful picture 😆 of my delightfully tanned legs in it…. how I let myself down sometimes 🙄
Thanks lads really appreciated.
this saturday and sunday...
Have you read all about the event thats taking place this weekend at The National Garden Exhibition Centre. The one you have been donating to so kindly so you can have some peace and quiet in Ireland for a little 😆
Here’s how you get there
By DART
get the DART to bray and then Dublin Bus 184 from outside the DART station you will need to hop off at Burtons 4×4 garage and from there a 3 minute walk [approx] will bring you to Kilquade Church which is directly opposite the Garden Exhibition Centre.
By Bus
Bus Eireann bus number 133 from the City Centre will leave you a 1 mile walk away from the National Garden Exhibition Centre
By Car/ motorbike/ bicycle/ very long walk
If you have a sat nav here are the co ordinates to the Garden Exhibition Centre.
53.111132,-6.090202
map to garden exhibition centre
If you don’t have satellite navigation. Here are the directions. I took them with Dublin Airport as the starting point.
If you don’t live in Dublin Airport 😉 Just click here and add in your own place of departure. Time from Dublin Airport is about 41 minutes by car.
 |
Dublin Airport
Co. Fingal, Ireland
|
| 1. | Head south toward Swords Rd |
75 m
|
| 2. | Continue straight |
0.3 km
|
| 3. | At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit |
0.5 km
|
| 4. | Slight left at Dublin Rd
Go through 1 roundabout
|
0.9 km
|
| 5. | At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto the M1 ramp |
0.7 km
|
| 6. | Merge onto M1 |
1.1 km
|
| 7. | At junction 1, take the M50 exit to N81/N4/N11/N3/N7/N2 |
0.4 km
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| 8. | At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto M50
Partial toll road
|
38.8 km
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| 9. | Continue on M11 |
3.7 km
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| 10. | Continue on N11 |
10.7 km
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| 11. | Turn left toward New Russian Village (signs for Cill Chomhaid/Kilquade) |
0.8 km
|
| 12. | Slight right at New Russian Village
Destination will be on the right
|
0.3 km
|
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National Garden Exhibition Centre
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If you can’t go – maybe you know someone who can or who could help out on the day. You can make an online donation securely [click here]. Or if you have a blog/ a twitter/ a FB/ a newspaper/ a radio – you could repost this – it really is so very much appreciated
are you going...?
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the guide to the event:
and what a fantastic weekend its lining up to be…. please if you have a blog/ a twitter/ a FB/ a newspaper/ a radio – can you repost this – it really is so very much appreciated 🙂
If you can’t go – maybe you know someone who can or who could help out on the day… to make an online donation securely – click here
are you going.....?
Saturday & Sunday 12th & 13th of September 2009 sees some of Irelands top horticulturalists come together at the Garden Exhibition Centre in Kilquade to raise awareness and funds for Peter Donegan to travel to South Arica in what is his third year building community gardens. 28 stunning sample gardens, cream cakes and great coffee, pet arena, garden guest speakers with Q& A sessions and live music and a host of activities for family and children. All for the price of a donation.
Because of your 10 cents, your 10 euro or even your very much appreciated 10 minutes I have managed to go there for the last 2 years. This year, this November I’m going again. The event above is gonna be a jam packed family day out with soooooo much to do and plenty for the gardener, the non gardener or the wannabe gardener…. Take a look at what the garden of hope team managed last year….
here’s a taster of what will be on offer and a little information on the charity….
it’s going to be held in the garden Exhibition Centre in Kilquade which is already an amazing place here’s some of what they have to offer….
not only that…. but the very kind gentlemen of The Riptide Movement – a band that are booked to play support for none other than Fleetwood Mac in the o2 😆 are coming along on the Sunday to play some tunes from their debut album….
I’ll keep you updated here….. btw… you can also stick a big fat cheque in an envelope – donate your time or whatever you got going 😉 and or you can click here and throw in your few cents.
I hope to see you there. Thank you 🙂
PS: on facebook events – click here
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part 1 of the khayelitsha story is here
part 2 of the khayelitsha story is here
the deadline was Friday lunch-time. I believe it was 3 minutes before one when we finished. Some were on the plane within 12 hours, some where stayng on a bit longer. I had an extra day – to sleep mainly. So many more needed a lot more than that. It was worth it. Another journey was complete. 253 houses were built. A community was given a centre. I played a very small part. I was proud to have done so. I dont have so many photographs of the complete garden, surprising, possibly. But the official blog was there along and so too was the Niall Mellon Township website.
Will I return next year. Yes. Will I need your help. Yes. If you can help – please call. To those who did help me this year – from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much 🙂 It was appreciated.
To read part 1 of khayelitsha, south africa 2008 – click here
I was part of the garden team. A community centre was in place when we arrived. Two schools sat nearby. A primary and a secondary. Horticulturally, the land outside that was to be landscaped was pretty much all sand. Some shacks surrounded the community garden on two sides with a metal fence to seperate. Reality set in. This was to be a mammoth task. But as with all things, planning is everything. The foremen [Gerry, Matty, Dermot and Janet] were in place. Dominic had assembled only the finest to complete his designs. My task – whatever was to be done. Whatever was needed. All of that that was Donegan Landscaping and Ireland to an extent, went right out the window. I wasn’t the boss. I wasn’t Donegan. I was Peter. I was part of a team. Part of a bigger story than I will ever be and I was proud to be there. Who I was didn’t matter. What was achieved did.
Work was done with the local schools. Gardens were built. Once again, more details of this can be read at the official blog. Work was done at a local orphanage. Slides and swings, water features, elephants, grass, plants and trees were put in place.
They say it’s the people that make a place. It made it for me. I met one man at a local school who was asking me how I got to South Africa. He had never been on an aeroplane before. He wanted to know what it was like and if I could see him from the sky. He hoped one day he would be in an aeroplane. I met the beautiful singers of the Baptist Church. I met the school children who did beautiful paintings with the ladies of the garden team.
People worked hard. The heat was crazy. The sand blew in the wind and stuck to our factor 30-40 sun cream. Water bottles emptied almost as quick as they were perspired. It was an inspirational journey.
