Begorrah Girl's Blog

It is Friday evening almost 8PM. Ronan and I are on the grounds of the Staten Island mental hospital. No smart comments please. I think this is the only trailer on all of Staten Island. The festival is on beautiful grounds across from water, not sure if it is ocean or a sound between Brooklyn and Staten Island. I will be lulled to sleep by the sound of generators tonight because there is no electricity here.

The weather was perfect today a little coolish, no dreadful humidity and a nice breeze. Setup was wonderful but as usual long.

You should all be very happy I am even here today. It was a tough week starting yesterday with both a computer fatal crash and a propane leak in Ronan that had been leaking for at least three days. Good thing Dennis and I do not smoke and we totally would be crispie fried by now. OF COURSE the RV fixit place 20 miles each way out of my way today said those tanks NEVER leak, hahahahahah I am proof they indeed do.
After an hour of ready trashy magazines in the waiting area of the fixit place I was off to Staten Island. It only took me two hours to travel 62 miles on very treachous roads of good old NJ. Nothing like traveling pass the airport for the turnpike on roads that are defined by jersey barriers. The travel words that terrify me are “”road narrows”, when pulling Ronan that gives me maybe an inch left on each side. I was a white knuckle ride as I crossed two bridges and if I hadn’t properly turned off, I could have added a thrid into Brooklyn!!

I am all set up, I have a guest sales person tomorrow. Darren my wonderful son in law is working for me. We have Jen’s twin baby shower tomorrow and all the family is helping out so we can have this wonderful shower.

Darren only had one question for me..how close was the beer and the bathrooms…well they redid the festival a bit and I am happy to report the beer is literally 10 feet away and the bathrooms 15 feet away. He will be a happy person.

As I sit here typing away a very cool breeze is blowing, as I look across the field I see tons of Canada Geese and even more wild turkeys, huge ones, they keep spreading their feathers. There is a horse farm on the far side of the field. I also see in the distance the Verrazanno Bridge. I amazes me that you can be in a city yet be in such a beautiful place.

Well my friends, I promise a few photos next week. I have had trouble getting my ducks in a row…camera with me, computer charged and usb cord for downloading. I will try to take a photo of the turkeys.

For my friends in MA, if you go to the Wooster Festival this weekend, say hi to my friends from Celtic Crests, Janet and John, and Cheryl from Tinkers Cart! Take care and see you down the road. sbb

Here it is almost 11 PM. I am in Phoenixville, Pa at a festival sponsored by the AOH. It is being held at the lovely St. Michael’s Picnic Grove. It is beautiful here, but just a tad quirky. The first thing is, I will be locked inside the gates tonight, I hope I do not have any emergencies. I am on the shady edge of the grove along a canal and on the other side of the canal is a major freight rail line, with major trains going by twice an hour. I remember the first year I was here, I woke up and thought the train was coming right for me.

They have just finished the nights entertainment. It was a dance session with lots of set dancing, a button accordion (thinking of you Joan), and people just really enjoying themselves dancing.

At the other end of the pavilion there is a radio blasting the Flyers game and they are winning, so a bunch of people are sitting around watching that, drinking beer and cheering loudly. To my right in the canal I am being serenaded by bull frogs, which I do not mind since I hear that at home every night.

There are only four venders here, 3 selling kids stuff, two of which have embroidery. Should be a long weekend. I really don’t mind, except for the heat. At the moment I feel like I am wrapped in a hot blanket.

I hope we get thru the night without the strong storms predicted. I am as secure as I can be, but there is always a risk when you do a show outside. This is my last one outside. From now on I will always be in a big building or tent to protect.

Well it is late, time to hit the sack. I have a great ceiling fan, I am going to crank that baby up and go to bed. Take care. sbb

The car is packed to the gills. I planned to add a photo today, however we are in the middle of a wicked storm and although I love you all, I am not willing to risk getting crispie fried to go out and take a photo. I am so excited, I fear I will be unable to sleep. I scare myself sometimes that I would allow myself to get so excited to work my a%$ off at a festival. I am off at 7AM, up there mid morning with stop at grocery store to get food, then drop Ronan off at venue and go on in and set up.
I set up in three sections…unload, rest, setup, eat lunch rest, make it pretty. I can do it in under two hours or it can take 8 hours to set up depending on the festival. It is a huge amount of work and I am grateful Dennis is with me. When we do a festival together, usually once a year but he is scheduled for three this year, subject to how this weekend goes, hahahaha, we each have our own sections to get ready. Dennis does hats, keychains and pins, I do everything else. He does the jobs I loath more than life itself.
I want to go on record now that I am sorry for the way I might work with Dennis tomorrow. You all have to understand I do 19 – 23 Festivals a year ALONE, drive, set up, sell, cleanup, all the time..not in a plush walk in hotel, but rather CAMPING. Sometimes I might not be to agreeable to share with someone else and I tend to think the only way to set up is my way, hence my apology to Dennis before we even start on the trip. I’m sure you ladies know what I mean.
I have packed the scabble board and the deal breaker scrabble dictionary. What Dennis does not know is…I have been purusing the words for a few days, memorizing odd words to use. I have only beaten Dennis twice in all the years we have played and I think then, he was really being kind to me.

Make sure to check my web site www.faithandbegorra.com for my festival list for the 2010 season. See you down the road. sbb

I spent the day getting the Festival goods ready for the season. Lots of fun as I try to estimate what the Summer will bring. Going to East Durham is risky, I have been there in terrible heat and I have camped there wishing for heat. We’ll see if Ronan is up to the challenge as we find our way up the NY Thruway over Memerial Day weekend.
We leave 7AM Friday with a stop along the way at the 3rd Rest Area to pick up some homemade cheese spread from a local NY farm. I will report exact name after we purchase our cheddar spread, It is delish on pretzel crackers. Goodnews is they do ship!!! sbb

Cead Mile Failte, welcome to the Faith and Begorra Blog! As most of you know I travel all Summer, mostly to Irish Festivals, but a little fun in between. This is my 19th Summer of fun and I am happy to introduce you to my new traveling partner… Ronan my NEW RV!! Ronan and I will be spending over 70 nights out. We will be sharing our RV adventures, along with our Festival updates, music, activities, food, friends and more. I hope to see you all during my travels. First up is the 30th Anniversary East Durham Irish Festival, East Durham, NY. Ronan, Dennis (my husband) and I leave next Friday for three days of jigs, sodabread, Guinness and more. Time to go start packing up…til next time. Sbb