You never know what simple adventure may lie round the next corner.
But first, last night I saw a brilliant staging of 'Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer' at the INEC Theatre Killarney.
Slightly updated from the version I'd previously seen, which in turn had developed from the first performance I ever saw, in the tiny lecture theatre of the Scott Polar Museum in Cambridge, about eight years ago.
Research into the Scott and Shackleton era of Antarctic exploration continues to unearth new aspects and information. - For instance, the photos that Scott himself took on his fateful journey to the South Pole (with Tom Crean as far as the final supply depot) were completely lost until a few years ago when they were found in a New York sale room. The great-nephew of Scott's right-hand man retrieved the prints for posterity and published them for the first time just last month, but the negatives still appear to be lost forever.
(Right now is the 100th anniversary of when many of those photos were taken).

Likewise, the story of Crean's life slowly becomes more complete through ongoing research.
So it was that last night I learnt that on retiring to Anascaul in 1920, things were a bit tricky (read - very dangerous) for someone who had spent over twenty years in the British Royal Navy. So he disappeared to Dublin for a year or so to shake off all notion of his naval and Antarctic history. He didn't return to Anascaul until all knowledge of his past had truly been lost in time.
And he never murmured a word about it.

And the name of the pub that he ran for the rest of his life was just that - nothing more than just a name.
Well, not any more it's not.
- For anyone interested in more about Tom Crean, the wikipedia page is petty good.

Anyway, I nipped into a back-alley pub in Killarney to get out of the rain (almost but not quite non-stop since Wednesday). And as I ordered "a Guinness with fish and chips please," a local customer seated at the bar immediately piped up, "Hey begorra! You must be from the Elephant and Castle. What did you do there?"
Well, when I got back up off the floor, I replied, "Yes, I was born in that very area, near the Imperial War Museum. Always worked in London including a couple of years in the 60s just off Borough High Street."
"I could tell straight away!" he said, and continued to relate how he'd managed many of the pubs in and around Lambeth between 1960 and the late 80s.
"I returned back here to Killarney afterwards but I still visit a few times a year - my children's families all live over there."
So, like most things in Ireland, that conversation took many a wandering twist and turn, helped by the gravity of the Guinness.

Outside once again, and around the next corner, I bumped into a wonderful method of adventure travel, yet to be introduced into this blog.
It was in the final stages of preparation, about to set off.
So here it is.
And about time too:

Waiting to gallop aboard the carousel, ready to turn and run rings around the moon. What an adventure!

Around 40 horsepower and no paperwork needed.

Now, these Two Campaigners have successfully completed their five-day adventure all around Great Britain, with more than a few stories to tell.
So congratulations to them - and give 'em yer money....