Planning an Irish Holiday with chauffeur/ guide Ireland

Planning a holiday anywhere is not an easy job as you have to rely mainly on the opinions of others to guide you. Some of these opinions can be unreliable as you may be led by someone with an agenda of their own. You may be getting the opinion of someone who has been here on holiday, sometimes just once and sometimes maybe a few times but their information is bound to be limited. Guide books can also lean towards what suits them and there can be backhands for the writer from places that he or she recommends. The Irish Tourist Board or Failte Ireland are reliable and anybody or place recommended by them is going to be safe. It is very hard to select accommodation from photos or from adverts as paper never refuses ink. I do not want to be blowing my own trumpet too much but when i recommend an itinerary and accommodation i really have to stand over it as i am going to be going on that journey with the people i recommend it to. Judgement day will come for me and i want to be able to stand over it. Be careful when talking to people who have been here before as they will try to design your plan for you. They can only recommend what they have seen and nothing they have not seen. I think it would be nice to be able to go home and tell them that you found some places that were not on their list. Ireland may look small on the map but it can take a long time to get to see it all. I keep finding new places to enjoy and i am in this business and travelling my country before that for a long time now. Let someone who knows what they are at help you with your plans. I am here if you need me.

Irish Chauffeur for escorted Irish Tours

Who better to show you around Ireland than someone who was born and reared here. Someone who has traveled the length and breadth of this Emerald Isle long before he ever went into the business of doing it for a living. Someone who grew up with the Irish, went to school with them, learned to speak the native language, its history, its culture, its music and dance. Someone who not only loves Ireland but loves being Irish. If i was to hire someone to show me around the USA i would not hire someone over here in Ireland. I would hire someone who was born in, someone who lives in, and grew up in the USA. I would hire a native American. Everything i learned from day one i can use in the business i am in. It is amazing the questions i am asked. Many of them only a native Irishman could answer. It has to be in your bones and it is in mine. Why am i coming out so strong on this? I quoted a lady for a tour the other day and she was delighted and told me that i had come up with a much better figure than another company. I asked her who they were and she said that maybe i would not know them as they were based in the USA. She gave me their name and they were not only based in the USA but they were not native Irish. This is not unusual. She has decided to come with me and she said she was delighted to be traveling with someone like me because she feels that i know what i am talking about. I am not saying that these other companies do not do a good job but i am saying that personally i believe that you have to be Irish to really know Ireland and what being Irish is all about. People do not come here just to see the scenery. They have a million questions and they want the answers. They love to hear what it was like to have been a child here many years ago, what our schooling was like, what it was like as a teenager and our courting habits, our social lives, dancing, drinking, our food, our religion. What we thought about the English, about Northern Ireland, about the IRA and the troubles. They like to know about our political system and how it differs from that of the USA. You have to be Irish to be qualified to answer these questions. There is something magical about Ireland but there is also something magical about being Irish. Just look at the way people want to be Irish on St Patricks day. Many people go out and join in the celebrations and they do not have a single drop of Irish blood in their veins. I think that this is wonderful and good luck to them. It just makes me feel even more grateful that i am Irish myself.
If you are coming to Ireland maybe you will see a little sense in what i am saying. If you come with me then i will make sure that you see it. Maybe its the Leprechaun in me.
Comments welcome.

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Escorted Tours in West of Ireland

Are we beginning to emerge from this disastrous recent recession? In the US they tell us that the green shoots are beginning to sprout. Mainland Europe is showing signs of recovery and things here in Ireland are stabilising. In my own line of business, chauffeurdrive/car and driver/guide, escorted tours,we are so dependent on our friends in the USA who are our main source of business. Nearly all of my clients are from the USA. Without them i can park my car and stay in bed. Looking ahead to this year a few weeks ago i would have been delighted to think that i might hold my own. I would certainly not have expected to be very busy. Now all of a sudden i am amazed at just how busy i have become as enquiry after enquiry comes in. I have been tied to my phone and computer putting together itineraries for interested clients all the week and i can honestly say that i can never remember being quiet as busy as i am right now. The Irish American will always want to come back again to his or her homeland. If they can afford it, they will do it. There are so many wonderful places they can visit on their own side of the world. They can go south to Florida or Mexico or head for the Carribbean. They can go to Hawaii or even South America. They can come to Europe, visit Great Britain or even head for Africa. They have many wonderful choices but none that can match Ireland. Here they can walk where their ancestors walked, drive through the countryside where they grew up. Stop and gaze at the rock strewn fields where many of them worked their fingers to the bone just to scrape a living. They can murmur a prayer where many of their forefathers starved to death on the side of the road for those who died in their efforts to free their country. This is where they can feel in their bones that they are once again back with their own. Coming to Ireland for them is not just a holiday abroad. It is a spiritual experience. I have driven through areas with my American friends where their ancestors lived and, eventhough they have no accurate information as to exact locations, i have witnessed the emotional transformation in these people as something or someone let them know that they were home again. I have seen the effects that being in the exact locations can have on people when they do have accurate information...as they visit ruined cottages or make contact with existing relatives they have never met before. These family reunions can be one of the most enjoyable parts of my job and i feel honored to be the one to take them home again to where it all began. For the Irish American there is no place like Ireland and travelling with someone like me who knows his country and can share with them its tragic history, its struggles and its final emergence as a free nation makes my job worthwhile. I do not boast when i say that i do a good job. I say it because that is what i am told i do. I love my country and i take great pride in showing it off to those who really want to experience the joys of being Irish. I am sure that there are people reading this now who know what i am talking about. There are those who have not been here yet and who will want to come even more now. There are those who have already made the move and who are writing to make enquiries and they are doing it because once again there is a new hope that the worst is over and that there was never a better time to come as the value is there now. We are all doing our best to bring prices down at this point in time and make it more practical for people to travel. Prices are falling in just about every area, Hotels, restaurants, pubs, and in my own business also, i am doing my best to help as much as i can. Maybe i should not be so surprised that the enquiries are pouring in. I really do mean it when i say, do not hang about if you are really interested in coming this year. The early bird catches the worm. I can only look after so many and first come...first served. Is it your turn?
Comments welcome.

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Hopes rise as dollar improves

The chauffeurdrive/private car and driver business in Ireland has been given a boost by the gradual improvement in the dollar over the last few days. As always these changes show an up and down variation but let us hope that the movement is mainly positive and that it will make things more attractive for those visiting us from the USA. When i was a kid i can remember that you got three dollars for one Irish pound. If it was that way now we would not get anybody coming from the USA at all. So it could be worse. The Euro has been weakened recently because of the concern over the financial conditions in Greece. This recession has been so widespread and has left so many countries, including Ireland, in a shaky condition. We will recover i have no doubt. The Irish are very resourceful and we are fortunate that we do not have a huge population. There are international corporations that have an annual budget greater than our whole budget. I keep telling all of our patriotic cousins in the USA to buy Irish and give us a dig out. We do have an awful lot of really good products besides our whiskey and crystal. Try our delicious butter. Our meat is second to none....and all free range. How about those Irish sweaters? How about a holiday in Ireland with Dave? I had to get that one in. For those of you who are already coming to me, there is great value here this year and i know that you will enjoy it. All the stores have great bargains in sales that are ongoing. Golf courses have reduced their fees drastically, and no harm. Food as you go, drink prices, coffees and teas and snacks are much cheaper and hotel rates are also a lot more attractive. This is a great opportunity for anybody who has wanted to come here for a long time or for those of you wanting to come back. I am getting a lot more enquiries of late and i have been very busy this week doing out itineraries for prospective clients. Do not put it on the long finger. I can only deal with so many clients and i hate to disappoint anybody.
Karen wrote a nice little piece on my Blog for me last night and it is great to see just how excited she is about coming in April. Have a look. Well Karen, am looking forward to showing both you and Marcie around and i know that Ireland will not disappoint you. She never does.
Comments welcome. If you have difficulty posting a comment just sign your name on your comment and post it under anonymous. People seem to be having difficulty posting.
Keep coming back.

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Ireland in the sun with Chauffeurdrive Ireland West

What a difference the sun makes, especially after our recent spells of flooding and then freezing conditions. Now we need this to continue for a reasonable length of time to allow the water levels to reduce and the land to dry up a little again. We also need time for our reservoirs to return to their normal level. The problems we are experiencing pale in insignificance to what has happened in Haiti and it just goes to show that if you are feeling sorry for yourself just take a look around and see for yourself just how much worse things are for others. It will be a long time before things get back to anything resembling normality there.
I have to report that i am now that i am now begining to receive more and more enquiries for the coming year. The vast majority of my clients come from the USA and Americans are very good at planning well ahead of time. This helps a lot as i can only cope with a certain amount of customers and i hate to have to disappoint anybody. When somebody shows a respectable level of interest in using my services i always put a hold on the dates of their visit and will not let them go without giving them a final shot at booking them. I have people booked as far ahead as next October and in some cases the final draft of their plan is not finalised until a few weeks before they come over. There is a lot of work put into planning and i give people as much time as they feel they need once they have booked the dates and a reasonable deposit paid. There is an excitement in the development of ideas as time goes on and a rapport develops as through communicating you get to know each other better and better. By the time we finally meet up it is like getting together with friends and it works very well. I also allow people to communicate with past clients in the USA who usually give me good reference (i hope). Seriously though, i have many friends in the USA who are always willing to share their experience of traveling with me with anybody who wishes to check me out. I am lucky to have friends like this and i know that they know just how much i appreciate that.
If you are thinking about coming over this year then feel free to contact me and i will help in any way that i can.
As a driver and guide i always do my best to make your holiday special. I do want you to come back to me again. When that happens there is a different level of excitement for me and to be waiting there at the airport to greet old friends is another thing that makes my job really special. I hope to make many new friends this year and already i am looking forward to some old friends who are coming back once again to spend time with me. You are all more than welcome.
Comments always welcome. many seem to prefer to e-mail me and i am not sure why they are reluctant to comment. Maybe someone can explain?

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

God's Children Calling

God's Children Calling
By
David J Hogan

Sitting by a comforting fire,
well fed and trouble free,
I idly turned my TV on,
what i saw still lives with me.

A little girl sat so forlorn
her arm around her brother,
her dying father in his bed
already gone, her mother.

Hungry, lost, no one to care,
no hope now for her Dad,
soon this tiny girl would be
all that this brother had.

Balled fists at the ends of skinny arms
he rubbed against his eyes,
that tiny body shook with sobs
racked by his piteous cries.

Dropping his head against her breast,
his little heart was breaking,
desperation on her face,
her wasted body shaking.

This was South Africa today,
aids raging through the land,
millions dying every year,
as we fail to lend a hand.

How many children just like these,
how many parents dying,
how many babies born to die,
how many mothers crying.

How many people just like me,
well heeled without a care,
how many people strong and free
with more than a little to spare.

How many people talk of God
and fail to hear that cry,
how many of us raise our eyes
as quietly we pass by.

A man lay by the roadside
unseen by men like me,
a Samaritan stopped and saved that soul
so that all of us might see.

The memory of those children
i never will erase,
I hope i may have done some good
when i meet God face to face.

Will i have helped His children
will i have seen their plight,
will i have stood on guard for them
through their dark and lonely night.

Will they have seen someone who cares,
someone to share their pain,
someone to wrap them in their arms
that they may love again.

And always there will be that cry
a call to you and me,
"When you're doing it to one of them,
You're doing it to me"

Ireland rallies to aid of Haiti.

The good news here at the moment is that it looks like our cold weather spell is coming to an end. The bad news is that now we are faced with water supply problems due to all the pipes that are bursting as the thaw sets in. Our reservoirs are nearly empty as, along with all the bursting of pipes, many people have been leaving taps running to keep their systems flowing and from freezing up. We are also now faced with more flooding problems due to the snow melting. It seems crazy that we are short of water and suffering from flooding at the same time. God only knows what kind of repair costs we are facing when the real work starts. Our main water supply pipelines in many areas are forty years old, and more, and they are the old iron type piping. They literally rot with time and the whole system will have to be replaced sooner or later. Our reservoirs are inadequate as we rarely have these kind of weather problems. In Ireland you never imagine yourself being short of water.If this type of weather becomes the norm here then we will have to make drastic changes. Now i am beginning to sound like i think we have real problems in Ireland. The problems we are faced with here would appear to be luxuries to the people of Haiti right now. What a terrible situation they are in at this time. Even listening to it on the news or reading about it in the papers must be a million light years from experiencing what it is really like to actually be there . I hope that the world responds immediately and that everybody does all that they can to help. I think many of us are only becoming aware of just how bad things were there before this happened. These people were trying to exist on less than $2:00 a day. Is that not an emergency? How come so little was being done prior to this? Was it front page news on any newspaper? If it was i did not see it. If any good is going to come out of this maybe it will be that world attention has been brought to their plight. Haiti is one of the poorest and most deprived nations on earth. Their suffering did not start yesterday. Just try to imagine what it would be like to have never had a single moment of real happiness in your whole life, never having had a decent meal, not even one, never having had a proper bed to lie in or a decent roof over your head. Never having had proper medical attention no matter what your problem was. Imagine what it must be like to know that you will never ever have a car or a house or a job or a holiday. We complain because we have to work so hard. People now think that a 36 hour week is hard work. Not only do we have holidays ....we have holiday pay. It is our divine right to own a home.....a car we take for granted. We complain because we have to queue in hospitals before we get top class treatment. We are bussed to school.....subsidised when we reach a particular age or have particular problems. We get childrens allowances, old age pensions, rent allowances, food and fuel vouches.In Ireland we get free TV licences when we reach a certain age. We get free travel. I could go on. If the people of Haiti knew that there were places where this was the norm they would think that that was where you go when you die....heaven.
I watched a program a few years ago about aids in Africa and i will never forget the family portrayed in that program. There was a dying father, the mother was already gone. There was a little girl no more than about eight years of age and her little brother who might have been about six. Soon she was going to be the mother of the family....when Dad passed on. It was heartbreaking. I wrote a poem about it and i will post it separately when i finish this Blog.
I have no doubt that the people of Ireland will respond as they always do to this terrible tragedy in Haiti. Our country is in a grave financial state but already our government has responded with over 20 million of support. Irish relief organizations are already moving in and many more will follow. Donations from people at large will be flooding in. We know what hardship and suffering are. The memory of what our forefathers had to endure is still fresh in our minds and we can empathise with these people. It is in our nature to want to help. Before this happened Irish people have been out there building homes for these people voluntarily. They are doing the same in South Africa. I know that we are not the only nation with a conscience but we do not stand back and wait to be asked. Not only is it good to help...it also feels good. The immediate help that is needed will be for food and clothing and medical assistance, and assistance with restoring the services. The long term help has to be continued now. This country needs to be pulled out of the dark ages. They need the investment necessary to create jobs that will allow them to enjoy even a basic standard of living. It can be done. Lets hope that we do not forget about them as soon as it stops making the front pages of the newspapers. Good people everywhere will want to help. they just need leadership. I am sure that you are as aware as i am. I know that we will do our best.

Travelling to Ireland with Chauffeur Drive Ireland

As a tour operator and private driver/guide i often find that i have to advise my touring companions to beware of the many simple things that they should not do. People seem to think that because they are on holidays they are immune to the normal dangers that they would face at home. Common sense still applies and you are just as likely to get robbed or mugged or taken advantage of here as you are anywhere else. I tell people that if they do what their mothers would have told them to do they will be ok. The danger of being injured physically has to be top of the list. First of all if you are hiring a private driver or chauffeur then you should make sure that you employ a reputable one who carries the proper insurances. If you have an accident or if your property is stolen from a parked vehicle then you need to know that the insurance covers that. You can hurt yourself getting in or out of a car also and it is too late if you discover afterwards that your driver is not insured against all risks. If you are out late at night in a pub or at a show do not wander around the streets and expect to be safe. We have our thieves and robbers here also and with the rising drug problems there are many people out there who will mug you and just take a chance on you having money or credit cards on you. Get a taxi home or else get home at a reasonable hour. Stay clear of dark lonely streets and keep to the main thoroughfares. Do not try to intervene if there is a fight going on. Just mind your own business and when you get back to your hotel you can report it then.
Credit card abuse is just the same here as anywhere else and there is a lot of it going on. Do not let your card out of your hand. I see people all the time handing their card to waiters and waitresses and letting them take it away from their table where they have the freedom to scan them in copying machines. Then they are free to use your card and empty your account. Always stand over them and if you are using a pin number make sure that you cover it with your hand when you enter your number. Make sure that your purse or wallet is in a secure pocket. The best and safest way to carry personal belongings is in a money belt strapped around your waist and under a jumper or vest. Handbags are deadly as they will snatch it and just run, and they will knock you flat if you try to resist. If you are using a cash machine or "hole in the wall" machine to draw money out have a good look at the surrounds of the machine and make sure that there is no little camera hidden anywhere. They will film your action as you make your entry. They will get your card by either robbing you or else by retaining your card in the machine with a gadget that they insert in the slot which will not allow your card to come out again. When you give up trying to get it back and walk away they will come along and withdraw it with a special tool thay have for doing this. Then your money will be quickly withdrawn. If you are touring in a hire-out car beware of leaving luggage in the car unattended. Never leave any hand-bags or cameras or anything of value on show in your car.
All of these tips are about common sense so do not get carried away with the notion that Ireland is the "Land of Saints and Scholars. We have a few sinners here too. It is a beautiful country and we have many beautiful and decent people here but we have the other types too. Follow the simple rules and you will enjoy the holiday of a lifetime.
Comments welcome.

http://www.chauffeurdrive.com

Chauffeurdrive Ireland says no let up in weather.

Our hard spell of freezing weather is still with us and there is no sign of a let-up for at least another week. My area of the country has been blessed as we can still get around without any great difficulty but many roads within twenty miles of me are impassable. The unexpected length of this crisis has caught the authorities compeletly unprepared and at this point in time we are set to run out of salt within a couple of days. Just where they will be able to get more from is anybody's guess as Great Britain has the same problem. If you were to try to find a car and driver in Ireland right now you could have a real problem.The main roads are being looked after but that could change very soon if we do run out of salt and grit. The only comfort right now is that some experts are predicting a really good Summer for Ireland this year. Lets hope that they get that right. Despite the cold today i spent a lot of time outside and it was really bright and sunny and the air was so fresh. I had to break the ice in my pony's water tank and he was in a real playful mood pushing me around the place. He loves his carrots and bananas and i do tease him a little. He tries to root in my pockets and he is very funny. He really is a lovable little fellow and he loves attention. Don't we all. He is a Welsh pony.....very like a Shetland but completely black. His mane and beard were completely white with frost and he looked like he was made up for Christmas. He has a nice warm stable but he likes to be out in the fresh air. Of course he has his coat on this weather and that keeps him extra warm but i do not think that these little guys mind the cold at all. The wind is what bothers them... and you will always notice how they turn their backs to the wind. We call him Taffy and he is roughly fourteen years of age now. They can live up to forty years so he is still a young pony. We also have a cat but we feed about ten of them as our neighbour has about fourteen cats. She also has chickens and they spend half of their time wandering around in Taffy's field. He seems to like them and never bothers them. We have plenty of birds and feed them all the time. We have finches and robins and thrushes and sparrows and wrens and collar doves and pigeons. We have plenty of crows and some magpies but i chase them away as they kill a lot of small birds. The wren is the smallest bird we have and they are cute. You can see that i have a full time job....and they do cost money to feed them all.
Tomorrow i have to entertain our local senior citizens at their annual dinner. I do play keyboard and sing so i am never really idle. I look forward to this function as you can never find nicer people than your seniors. I will let you know how i get on.
Talk to you soon.

Dave

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Touring with Private Driver

What a wonderful day we had today as we set sail in the glorious sunshine for the Burren of County Clare and the wonderful Cliffs of Moher. The overnight weather conditions in our area of south-west Galway and west Clare were possibly the best weather conditions to be found anywhere in Ireland today. "The sun always shines on the righteous", they say, and in that case i think i have to thank the two lovely ladies who toured with me today. Ann and Kathryn, a mother and daughter, are from Washington DC and they were really lovely company. I collected them at their hotel in Galway city this morning and we began our journey together in a lovely friendly atmosphere which remained with us all day. Our drive took us through the quaint town of Kinvara, which is located directly across Galway Bay from Galway city.We took the coastal route all the way along the bay around Black head and the views of the Aran Islands offshore in the mouth of the bay were as clear as you could ask for. The houses on the islands were clearly visible and the sky and ocean were different shades of blue. The roads were reasonably good but we did drive carefully and arrived at the cliffs around lunch-time. As we climbed the Liscannor stone slabbed steps to the top of the cliffs the ladies were captivated by the views and it was easy to see that they were stunned by the scene. The ocean below was calm and waveless and once again the views of the Aran islands in the ocean below us were just awesome. The air was cool but so fresh and clean and for not the first time in my touring career i was proud to be the one to show off my country. Ireland has a beauty and magic all of its own and i never get bored visiting these same places no matter how many times a year i find myself coming back to them. Our journey from the Cliffs to the hotel at Shannon airport was once again through the burren region and my fellow travellers were full of praise for our lovely country and full of gratitude to me for taking them touring today. I must thank them also for bringing me there today as i believe nobody enjoyed it more than i did. The company was also special and i believe that Ann may be returning to tour with me again later in the year with some members of her family.I would love to think that that may happen. Thank you ladies for a lovely day and i wish you a safe journey home.You were special.

Dave

The Cliffs of Moher with chauffeurdrive Ireland

I hate going on about the weather but unfortunately it is causing so much trouble, not only here in Ireland but in many areas of Europe, that everybody is talking about it. Let me say first of all that we here in my local area have been very lucky so far. We have had no snow and our roads are passable. The greatest danger for us is black ice in the morning or late evening. Many roads in other parts of the country are impassable. The major roads are being gritted and salted but the secondary and minor roads are deadly. Tomorrow i have a request to bring a couple, a mother and daughter, to the Cliffs of Moher and i am going to give it a shot if things stay the way they are this evening. This couple are from the USA and they have to fly out on Friday morning and they really wanted to see the cliffs before they go back. I will try to make it happen but only if i think it is safe.
Today was bitterly cold...but what a beautiful bright and sunny day it was. We had a cloudless sky all day, crisp and fresh, and as i drove along the road beneath the mountains on the southern shores of Galway Bay i could feel nothing but gratitude for being alive. It was that that made me feel that i had to try to bring these ladies to see the Cliffs tomorrow. If the weather is the same it will be a real treat for them.
The cliffs are one of Ireland's major attractions and i never get tired of going there. To walk up along the mountainside, with the Aran islands offshore in the mighty Atlantic below, is always special. The sea-birds circling hundreds of feet below look like tiny dots and the waves turning to a white froth on the rocks look so clean and fresh. O Brien's tower at the top of the cliffs stands guard as it has for centuries and the whole area is a credit to those who have transformed this place in recent years from what was in many ways a dangerous place to visit into what is now a very safe place indeed. The new visitor centre is a great facility with a very good restaurant with good food, a shop with a good selection of Irish goods, nice clean toilet facilities, and a great little coffee bar where you can have soup and sandwiches and many more snacks. You will still see the occasional idiot climbing over the barriers and demonstrating what it is like to have been born without a brain but when they do fall over the edge, as does happen on occasion, they discover too late that they cannot fly after all. I do not think i need to stress the importance of staying on the right side of the barriers as it was erosion that helped to create these cliffs in the first place and that erosion continues with chunks of the cliffs dropping into the ocean far below.
I look forward to getting there tomorrow if the weather permits and i will let you all know how i get on. I am sure that some of my readers will already be replaying their visit to the Cliffs and wishing that they could be going there with me tomorrow. Maybe we can do it again someday. You will be more than welcome.

Travelling to Ireland in 2010

We do not have to look back very far to recall what it was like heading into a New Year full of optimism and excitement. This year i cannot say that many of us are doing that. There is no doubt that things are not going to be as good as they were but i for one am not going to be too down about what lies ahead. This is the time when taking life one day at a time certainly is the best policy. Who knows what lies around the corner one way or another. Over the next couple of months i will get a good idea of how busy i might be this coming year but even then i do get a lot of people who can decide on the spur of the moment to take a holiday and this has a big affect on my overall turnover. Nothing much happens in the early part of the year in my line of work but from Easter on it gets under way. May and June can be lovely months in Ireland and of course June, July, and August are peak months. September and October sees a reduction in the number of tourists and therefore these months can be ideal for touring and the weather can also be really nice. I am dealing with early enquiries already and these mostly apply to April and May. If you are planning on coming over, now is a good time to start making your enquiries. For those looking for a car and driver i advise making sure that whoever you get can be checked out by someone trustworthy. I always provide my prospective clients with reliable contacts in the USA who have traveled with me in the past and who will vouch for me.I think that there is no better reference than someone who has the experience.
Today was special for me as my wife and i spent the day with both of our daughters and their families. Having missed the Christmas here in Ireland with them, this was really nice and we had a really lovely home cooked meal. At this time of the year home is the place to be.
I want to wish all of you the best of everything in the year ahead and hope to see at least some of you sometime in the not too distant future.

Your pal

Dave

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com