Visitors

There's some excitement around the place. Ireland is getting some high profile visitors in the coming months. Prince Albert of Monaco paid us a little visit here in "The Wessht" of this lovely island just last week. I always find myself distracted by the fact that I think Prince Albert is the long lost twin of Neil Delamere. Just look at them, the resemblance is uncanny. Maybe it's the Irish heritage of Albert's mother, the lovely Grace Kelly, whose homestead in co. Mayo was also on the to-visit list of Albert and his lady friend whose name escapes me.

And just today, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is visiting Dublin and Kildare as I type. Now there's a cool dude I'd love to meet. Adding to the list of visitors, Liz and Phil from next door are popping over the small water for a quick hello and a catch-up. Nothing formal, nothing fancy, just a quick visit. Or so I've been told. And we might as well keep the nice tea set dusted and in use, because Barack Obama did mention something about visiting us sometime after Liz and Phil have departed. Ireland is going to be busy playing hostess to all this folk.

I, however am having not-so-high-brow but infinitely more exciting (well, exciting for me, anyway) visitors tomorrow (eep!). My parents are flying over for a visit with two of my mother's sisters and their husbands. A sextet of relatives for a whole of four nights. And because I have been working until today, it is time to cue the mad dash around the house dusting, hoovering, mopping and tidying up. I'm not sure why I'm doing this seeing as they won't be staying in the house. Six was just two people too many to accommodate, so they've opted to stay in Mr S's hotel instead. Handy thing to have, a hotel, last my a gang of my family decided to drop by, there were 16 of them. Yup. 16.

We have a little surprise planned for them on their arrival, but apart from Mr S, my brother Mika and his fiance Terhi, nobody knows yet. And I'm not going to put it up here until I'm sure they have no access to internet and therefore have no way of finding out until they get here...

Tee. Hee.