Moved into House
Dublin has been very kind to us, learning the bus/train system has been challenging as we couldnt get a car as they wouldnt insure anyone who has not been here 12 months. So we have been finally enjoying the bus travel. Moved into the house for the duration of our time on 1st Aug.. It is lovely albeit olde! It is an 1850 single story semi-detached tenement, which was part of the Guinness houses for people working in the factory! It has 4 Brs and is 2 stories with a lovely kitchen /sunroom.... which you need on those grey days, and to let the light come through. James Jocye apparently lived a few doors up from us, and wrote his book Ulysses in 1921. We are 10 mins walk to Dublin city centre and 5 mins from the Writers Museum which was recommended for us to see before we left Oz..
It has been heavenly to finally be able to relax and have a place to ourselves.... the guy who owns the house has also given us his car to use!!!! So during week bus travel is easier for both of us, but will travel around on weekends and use the car then. How lovely is that???? – he just put us onto his insurance policy so we are covered!
So many good things happening while we are here... I am based at Coolmine Ashleigh House for Women and kids Thereapeutic Community(TC). See https://www.coolmine.ie/
I am now running a Parenting Under pressure program (see https://www.pupprogram.net.au) for the first time in a therapeutic community group setting with 13 women mostly mums who are in recovery & writing a report to the Author of the program who is at Griffith Uni in Brisbane, as it goes along. What a tremendous privilege this is! Coolmine has 3 large facilities- one for men in recovery, one for women /children in recovery and the day programs in the city offices.....
I originally came over because Coolmine Therapeutic Community offered ‘community as therapy – and looked at the importance of family within the Alcohol/drug misusers life while in the TC... it was called the Community Reinforcement Approach.... which is the reason I chose this place. It is so much more respectful and empowering than the Australian models. The staff are very lovely too.
Well the CEO just happens to also have a daughter in Hobart uni, has played tinwhistle and bodrhin for many acoustic groups in TAS.... and lived there for 12 years... and he loves the CRA approach as well. So, he has taken a shine to me – and sent me off to the CRA Training for the last 2 days in a beautiful conference centre in Bray (Dublin coastal suburb) AGain it was challenging just to catch a train and know where I was going.. It was a very well organsied and informative practice method indeed.... met lots of lovely people who also love this field of work too! Have a read about it on https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh23-2/116-121.pdf
Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful is all I can say at present... n coming to Dublin has been one of the best things we have done in a long while.... amazing blessings on every front. So thankful for this trip!
Summer is very mild and many showers/sunshine and lots of grey days but it doesn’t bother us. Mike is a new man – no stress/no naughty Heads of Dept, AEU... and loves the pipemaking course – doing really well too.. our biggest problem is that our loved ones aren’t here!!!