The Shan clan were supposed to have flown abroad for sun holidays a couple of times this summer, but Covid-19 put an end to those plans, so last week we headed off for a short staycation in a nice hotel in County Carlow. We had a very enjoyable time -- so much so that Dante was crying at the end when we had to come home! I normally only post family photos on a Sunday, but we took quite a lot of snaps, so I'm going to drop them in at random on a few other days too, or else I'll still be sharing them in the run-up to Christmas!

To break up the drive east, we decided to stop at the Rock of Dunamase on our way. I've passed it often over the years, but never stopped to check it out. I'm delighted I finally did -- lovely old ruins, with some stunning views. The kids had a whale of a time, and Mrs Shan and I did too.

A sad coda to these photos -- a day after they were taken, three counties in Ireland had to go back into lockdown, and Laois (where the Rock of Dunamase sits) was one of them. If our holiday had been a day later, we wouldn't have been able to come this way. As it was, we were some of the last visitors to get to enjoy the Rock before lockdown started. Hopefully tourists will be able to go back there again soon. It's definitely a site worth checking out if you're ever in the area.