12th - 21st December. Christmas lights in Enniskillen and Bridge dinners.

Christmas decorations are now up in Enniskillen. This artificial tree looks better at night.

Here we are looking down the High Street in Enniskillen.

These trees are along the river beyond the library.

The most impressive sight is Enniskillen Castle at night, reflected in the River Erne.

In this view from the bridge, Enniskillen Castle is to the left, with a small cottage on the island. The Waterways Ireland building can be seen behind the island.

However at night the cottage becomes much more visible, with a sailing boat on the right of the island.

Bowling continues, with Andy winning first prize at The Forum on Monday.

A week before Christmas, we headed off upstream, passing the Ardhowen Theatre on the way.

We were making for the Killyhevlin Hotel mooring. The Ardhowen Theatre can be seen in the distance, above the stern of The Puzzler.

Reflections today are wonderful.

Looking upstream from the Killyhevlin shows just what a lovely river The Erne is.
We are here for the St Michael's Bridge Club Christmas dinner.

The meal last night was excellent, followed by a good evening of bridge, with prizes for all. Tuesday morning did not dawn bright and clear! The mist was so thick that it was difficult to see anything. However we had to return to Enniskillen, so with all lights on, we slowly cruised back downstream, using the horn at regular intervals, just in case anyone else was silly enough to be on the river in these conditions!

The mist was clear by Wednesday, but there is still a lot of water in the river.

Wednesday night was our second Bridge dinner with the Devenish Bridge Club at Mahon's Hotel in Irvinestown. Another excellent meal, in excellent company.

We mustn't forget the rest of the club.

Everyone was there.

And a good time was had by all.

After the meal it was down to the serious game of bridge, with prizes for all again. We could get used to this!

The Puzzler did not want to be left out, so has some new lights.

14th November - 4th December 2011. At the Round O in Enniskillen.

We are still here on The Puzzler at the Round O in Enniskillen, safely settled in for the winter. As we are on the outside of the outer jetty we have a good view across the River Erne. There has been a lot of rain recently, with very few dry days, and the river is flowing quite fast. However we are out of the main stream of the river here, but can watch the rowing crews every weekend as they pass us by. There is very little other boat movement now.

Today we saw two kayaks with a man overboard but he did not seem too upset about it! No panic here! They made their way back to the slipway quite easily, but he must have been extremely cold.

On walking along there do not seem to be very many ducks. However it all changes when the bread comes out!

They all appear very quickly, as do the pigeons, gulls and a few swans!

This large cygnet crept up behind Andy and bit his hand.

I think it realised that it had not been a good idea! The adult swan soon arrived to save it!

At night the sleeping ducks can be a hazard to any late night traffic on the road past the jetty.

Even walking along the jetty can be hazardous too, although Catkin can clear them pretty quickly!






We are enjoying our stay in Enniskillen very much. It is a lovely town, with a lot going on. Everyone we meet is extremely friendly and we have been made to feel very welcome. We have joined St Michael's Bridge Club in Enniskillen, and also Devenish Bridge Club, which meets at Irvinestown, twelve miles north of here. Friends in Enniskillen give us a lift to this, so we have been lucky. The standard at both clubs is very high, which is good for our game!
We play bowls twice a week too, at different clubs in Enniskillen. It is short mat bowling, which is very strong in Northern Ireland in the winter months.