The people I live with

WWOOFERS

WWOOF is the organization along with Workaway where I go online to find people and places all over the world who want help in exchange for room and board.  No money ever changes hands.

Right now there are 4 WWOOFers here including myself.

LARS (19) is from Germany and has been here, his first assignment, now for 6 weeks and does not know when he will leave and has not decided to look for his next farm to work at.

KIM (25) is from Barcelona.  He is always working on his English.  I think he speaks very well.  He does not think so.  He too does not know how long he will stay or if he will go on from here to another assignment. 

COLLEEN (45) is originally from Zimbabwe where she lived for 20 years.  She then moved to London and lived there for 20+ years.  Because the housing market went absolutely crazy after she bought a modest flat in London, she was able to sell it at a much higher cost than what she bought it for.   She has now decided to buy a place here in the Ring of Kerry, the next peninsula down from here in Dingle, close to her long-time friend Dan whom she has been best friends with for about 20 years.  They met in London.  While she is waiting for her purchase of her house to carry on, she's decided to come here and work for a week or so.  Colleen bought a car just last week, a Renault Clio (?) so we have wheels.  While in London she didn't drive at all and now she's driving, on the left, a 5 speed stick shift on some roads that are just wide enough for 1 car to pass.  She's still waiting for the papers to come through so she can get insurance on it.  There's a reason I'm saying this (about the insurance).  You'll see in the next blog.

BILLY....Lorna's 2nd husband.  Together they have 2 sons.  Kyle(25) and Kim(19).  Now Billy is by far probably the most laid back person in the world.  I've never seen him get flustered or upset and even have a harsh word to say about anything.  He loves his dog, Rufus who he picked out of a litter of puppies at the market one day.  Totally unplanned.  Rufus got hit by a car about 2 1/2 years ago and only suffered a broken leg.  But with this broken leg there was apparently nerve damage which after the bone healed the leg remains useless.  Now every morning I see Billy tenderly caring for Rufus' leg and Rufus just lies there not bothered at all that someone is wrapping his still open-wounded leg.  Somehow the wound never healed and it remains open and kind of nasty to look at.  Rufus licks it a lot.  So does Ellie, Rufus' best friend in the dog world.  Now Billy is trying to wrap it in a Himalayan salt soaked cloth to facilitate some healing if possible.  Billy has made a sort of cast out of duct tape that can be removed and put on quite easily to help poor Rufus to run and get around in a normal way. There is a large basket full of these casts from previous wraps.  So Billy is very much a kind-hearted animal lover and never refuses any of his 3 cats to lay on his lap for some lovin'.  Billy, when speaking has a very similar sounding voice of John Lennon.  In fact with his full head of hair kind of randomly chopped and with round spectacles would even look like him.  That is when John was in his 50's.

LORNA....Lorna of course is my host.  After learning of my disappointment in Rosemont, my previous assignment, she graciously asked me to come here and help out for as long as I wish.  Lorna is a world traveler, leaving home in England at the age of 18 to find work and experience all she could with an adventurous spirit.  She learned belly dancing and gave lessons to make some money along the way. According to her she was very well known in the belly dancing world.  She continues her belly dancing now at the age of 58.  In fact we discovered she is 11 days older than myself.  She was born on Sept. 26th 1955.  She worked on many organic farms in exchange for food and lodging where she met Pierre her first husband.  Then started having babies at the young age of 19.
Lorna and Billy bought the property here in Castlemaine approx. 20 years ago and have been working on it with its' additions and its' gardens ever since.  They lived for 1 year in a travel trailer with their children while working on this then abandoned property of 20 years until it was within living condition.  The cafe' opened 18 years ago and has always offered vegetarian menu items and also caters to vegan and gluten-free clients.  She wrote a cookbook and proudly displays it throughout the cafe' and sells signed copies for 20 Euro.  She has now sold over 2,000 copies.
Having lived in Switzerland for many years, 3 of Lorna's children remain there and Lorna travels to see them all as often as possible.  She is there right now (last minute decision) and feels confident in leaving her cafe' in the trusting hands of the WWOOFers.

Lorna has asked me to give up my next assignment with Sally Baker near Dunmanway and stay here.  Quite a compliment considering I've only been here one week today.  She has a lot of confidence in me to be able to work independently in the cafe as well as contribute to the never ending job with the gardening.  Overnight it seems the plants and flowers and trees grow a couple of inches.  That includes the weeds though.  We have 2 poly tunnels where we grow all types of vegetables and herbs.  That work is saved for rainy days of which there have been a few.
I will not be changing my plans to leave here on May 6th.  I will be traveling again on the bus to Macroom which is a close bus stop from Sally's place.  Sally has a lot of sheep and other animals of which I look forward to help take care of.