Back in Ireland - in a timewarp

It's strange to come back to a place that is so familiar - and to find so many things have changed since I left just a year ago. After living here for seven years, it seems like a whole different world in the village of Shankill, Ireland (just south of Dublin, right on the coast of the Irish Sea).

First, coming from Dublin airport on the big blue Aircoach (which now goes all the way to Shankill - actually my first real surprise), I noticed one big change -- the tunnel from the airport has actually been completed. The roads to and from the airport had been torn up for years as they worked away on this crazy tunnel, in between tea breaks. If you're willing to pay the extremely steep toll charges, you can get out of the airport and totally avoid Dublin City center now. It only took 45 minutes from the airport to Shankill Village, which is some kind of land speed record in Dublin!

Second, the housing market has gone bust - right at the time we decided to sell our house here. This time last year the housing market was going up up up - but now it's down down down. Well, the dollar is also going down down down . . .

Third, my local supermarket is gone! Just a ten minute walk from home -- the wonderful Shankill Supervalu. It was small but functional, with friendly checkers like Anne who always had the same comment about the weather, "It's gettin' very cold now . . ." (That comment works here in summer and winter.) Best of all - the Shankill Supervalu delivered all of your groceries to your door free of charge! When you don't have a car, that becomes very important. Now I have to walk just a little further to the tiny Tesco in the village, and I also have to drag all of my groceries home on my wheely cart. Well, I needed the exercise anyway. . .

Fourth, the post office moved. It's now over in the village, across from the Tesco. A slightly longer walk, but the same friendly people are still there, still helping me mail all of my boxes of books back to California. I plan to see a lot of them while I'm here.

Fifth, there is now a development of 31 2-bedroom apartments on a postage-stamp sized piece of land, the former walled garden of a nice big Victorian home. Amazingly, it was finally approved by the planning authority and has been almost completely built since I've been away.

We thought it would never be approved because it's going to create an amazing traffic jam on the little two-lane road through the village. Fortunately, I won't be here to see it - the apartments won't be finished until September.

Finally, the three little boys of our good friends and former neighbors seem to have grown about a foot each since I saw them last summer. Now age 7, almost 6, and 3, they're very lively, talkative, and more fun than ever. And best of all, they liked the pirate ships I brought for them from California!

Some things - the really good things - haven't changed. Like this amazing view from the DART train on my way to Dun Laoghaire last Tuesday.

And, across the street from our house the green tunnel leading to Quinn's Beach is still there, too.

Life moves on - and even with all of the changes, it's good to be back in Shankill, if only for a month, and if only to pack up and sell the house. I'll savor my short time here - when I can break away from the joys of packing.