After permanently deleting all personal social media, this is an email I send to keep in touch with friends and family I don’t see regularly, to share a bit about what I’m up to each month. You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my Substack or because you’ve asked me to manually add you. You can unsubscribe at anytime, I won’t get notified and I’ll never know you left.
August 2026
We had what is becoming a bit of a tradition where we take a week off and let the kids decide what we do and what we eat each day. I’ve written about it in more detail here so I’ll not double up by talking about it again here.
My brother Aidan came home from Newcastle for a few days and we spent a morning retrieving my golf balls from the bushes around Ballymac golf course. Aidan is a much better golfer than me so beating him on 3 of the 18 holes was a great result for me. Also good to get a few hours craic with Aidan without the children hanging off us. We went for lunch after the golf then home for a couple of hours before heading out to meet a few of our cousins.
We had a solar eclipse party at Mary’s mothers house but had no glasses so we made our own DIY viewers with cereal boxes and tin foil. Had no idea what we were doing but the kids had plenty of fun which is the main thing.
Caroline took the girls to Lusty Beg for a few days for their annual girls trip. I don’t get told much about it but Grace was excited to let me know that Caroline let them drink coke with their dinner. I’m sure Caroline is delighted she spent so much money only for Grace to have drinking coke as her highlight.
Saorlaith had a blitz in Killeavy — for those who are new here, Killeavy is my football club but my kids play for neighbouring Shane O Neil’s — so I’m still getting used to not supporting the green and black! She hasn’t been enjoying football so this was her last hurrah. She also dances and swims so I didn’t mind her dropping football, she has been playing for a couple of years and gave it a good crack, that’s all I can ask.
I learned how to drive in the Summer between primary 5 and 6 so I told my kids I would teach them at the same age. The night before Saorlaith was starting P6 I was putting her to bed and she took that opportunity to remind me of my promise. So we went for a driving lesson. She did really well. She drove through the farm from our house to the building site and back again without any damage to car or child.
Mary organised a glow stick disco for the kids. £3 for a box of 200 glowsticks and an hour of dance music from our glory days and they all loved it. Proof that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to have some fun with the kids. Grace has requested a repeat for her birthday party but with 1000 glow sticks. Grace being extra as usual.
What I’m watching
We don’t have a series on the go at the minute. We watched Voicemails to Isabelle on Netflix which was very good. We also saw Toy Story 5 in the cinema. It set a new record for the highest grossing opening weekend in Disney & Pixar history and is already the highest grossing film in the Toy Story series. Crazy stats for the 5th movie in a series.
What I’m reading
I re-read Free Country by George Mahood. It’s the story of two guys attempting to cycle from Lands End to John O Groats relying on the generosity of the British public to provide food, accommodation, clothing and bikes. (They start the journey in a pair of boxer shorts.) This is a brilliant read. Available on audio book too if that’s your thing.
I’ve just started All The Medals Have Been Handed Out by Guy Martin. I’m a big Guy Martin fan so I don’t know how I missed this when it was released in 2024 but I did. Not much to report yet as only a couple of chapters in but it’s his 6th book now so I have a fair idea what to expect.
House update
Busy month on the house front. Plasterboard all fitted and loft insulation laid. Cavity walls have also been pumped with bead insulation. Plasterers starting on 1st September.
I’ve been letting it get messier than I should so Mary and I took a couple of evenings to clean it up. I find if the house is tidy, the workmen tidy up after themselves, if it’s a mess, they dump their shite everywhere.
Whats coming up
September will be quiet hopefully. No plans to go anywhere or do anything exciting. Back to school so getting the kids back into routine will be priority and we have the excitement of Cían starting big school to come.
Let me know if you’ve been up to anything interesting this month.
Until next month,
David.