Sometimes love is a grower. This year Connemara Blue has made some great new friends. Meet Greg, Ann and Simon from California. Their special relationship with the West of Ireland has been steadily growing over the last few years.
Greg and Ann discovered Connemara Blue about four years ago on a day trip from Cornamona in the Gaeltacht. They loved the shop and on this occasion they bought a ‘Mannin Bay’ suncatcher. Over the years, the Connemara Blue Team have all got to know these guys and this year, they actually came to stay in Connemara for five weeks.
Back at home, Ann is a pre-school Director / Owner and ex-military Greg is a key figure in the internal Revenue Service. Simon, their grandson, is a Business Studies student who has just completed an internship at Peacockes, Maam Cross. And boy have they woken us up this year!
This was the year that they decided they were going to ‘do’ glass. Having over the years also bought the iconic ‘Pine Island’ wall panel and numerous gifts for friends and colleagues, the decision was taken to produce their own original masterpieces. And what artists they turned out to be! An initial half-day workshop soon morphed into a full-day extravaganza of glass, colour, laughter and … chocolate.
During the rest of their time in Connemara they came in for numerous natters and a mooch around, and one day came in with a huge goodie bag for us from the Chocolate Garden in Tullow, County Wicklow. Goodies included whiskey truffles and bars of whiskey chocolate, and Greg showed us amazing pictures from home of his ‘Whiskey Wall’. This is quite literally a collector’s wall of said spirit in all its glory! We are now budding whiskey connoisseurs.
A couple of days before the guys left for home, they came for a last jolly and we were delighted that they were up for the photo shoot that we’d asked them to be part of. Greg even had his hair cut for the occasion and Ann was delighted, as she’d been nagging him to get this done for some time. They were photo shoot naturals, all three of them, and we are looking forward to seeing them in print in the near future in What’s On Connemara and the Spirit of Ireland magazine. We are expecting to roll out the red carpet for their return to Connemara later on this year. Cheers for the Molotov cocktail of repartee and witty banter!
On the way out of the shop, Greg could not resist the urge to buy another panel from the ‘Lighthouses of Ireland’ range – the stunning and unique Fastnet. Message from Wendy to Greg: ‘I am NOT making another one!’
On a serious note, we would like to thank Greg, Ann and Simon for becoming part of our lives and for sharing so much with us. We are delighted to have formed a new and lasting friendship with such lovely, genuine people, and can’t wait to meet you all again. This time, we will provide the chocolates!
Lots of love from Wendy, Tash, Pauline and Ben.
