🎃Little Piece Of Halloween

Hey Everyone 🎃🎃🎃

I can't believe it but It's that time of the year again, only one more day until it's my favourite month of the year OCTOBER!!! Which means only one more day until I re-launch my Halloween blog 'Little Piece Of Halloween' 🎃🎃

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone since I started Little Piece Of Halloween but now that it's in it's second year I've so much up my sleeve for what I hope... will be the best month ever. I can promise you loads of spooky stories, things to do, decorations, days out and my own personal encounters with the paranormal within such a spooky month.

So, if you're looking for me anytime from now until November 1st you know where to find me and don't fear because LPL will be back very shortly. Please check out Little Piece Of Halloween  and feel free to share with the Halloween lover in your life.

Until then,

Lynda 🎃xx

The Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience

I think one of the first times I ever visited the Dunbrody was when I was about 10/11 in primary school, when our big yearly school trip was to New Ross. My second trip to the Dunbrody was when I was probably around the same age and had convinced my parents to take me back and well my 101 trip (possible slight exaggeration) happened just the other day at the age of 22 and for me it was still as special as it was all those years ago. 

At the risk of sounding 'uncool' history is one of my biggest passions in life hence why The Dunbrody has always been one of my favourite attractions in the sunny south east so when my friend Karen told me she had never been it was pedal to the floor as we headed for one of my all time favourite places on earth.

For those of you like Karen and living under a rock, The Dunbrody was a ship built way

back in 1845 for the merchant family the  'Graves' of New Ross, Co.Wexford, built as a cargo ship it happened to launch the same year the Famine struck Ireland. With the potato crop failing and food prices soaring it drove millions of starving Irish across the Atlantic in search of a better life in America. With so many people leaving and demand high 'William Graves & Son' used their entrepreneurial skills and decided to deck the ship out with bunks to meet the demand of passengers and for six years between 1845 - 1851 she carried thousands of emigrants to a better life in America.
  Life on board the ship was treacherous, with up to 300 people on board disease was rampant and death wasn't unlikely it wasn't long before the Dunbrody became known as a 'coffin ship'.

The Great Famine or An gorta mor, in Irish was one of the most tragic and traumatic events to ever happen in Irish history and if you can walk onto that ship, hear the stories, meet the people and not get shivers... then you've a heart of coal.

Now onto the actual tour and experience, I travelled up from Waterford so it's literally a straight road and took about half an hour. Traffic can be mental coming from Waterford to New Ross so make sure to give yourself plenty of time and it can be even worse coming from New Ross to Waterford so brace yourself.We arrived for the 3.45 tour but tours run from 9.45am to 5pm daily. Admission is €10 for an adult and €6 for a child/student which is a great price and well worth it.One of my favourite things about the Dunbrody experience is the ticket you get on arrival, it's an actual replica of the ticket passengers would have received when they booked their one way ticket to America. The attention to detail is outstanding and it gets you thinking about what it must have been like holding that ticket ready to leave your family and home behind.  The first part of the tour is self guided as you pass through a museum of history, reading actual letters written by passengers, seeing what they had to eat just stepping back in time before we watched a little video, it almost transports you back to 1845 and as the shutters are opened and you're facing the Dunbrody it's almost impossible not to get a little lump at the back of your throat. 

 Our tour guide was a man named Mark and from the word go I couldn't fault him, one of the most informative tours I've ever been on, it was a pleasure to listen to him and straight away you felt comfortable and relaxed, able to ask any question you want without a bother. Big props to him!!

The next part of the tour is actually boarding the replica ship and being showed around the deck. It's pure madness!!! I couldn't explain it to you but seeing how small the area is and hearing the stories of what went on on board..CRAZY!!
Then you move downstairs into the cabin area, you get to see where Steerage and first class stayed and believe you and me it was anything but glamorous. When you think of what those poor people went through it would break your heart. The next, and probably best part of the tour is when you get to go back in time and meet two passengers who are still on board the Dunbrody. One steerage and one first class, you get to hear their stories and see their life and the actors who play these women are incredible. It was a different lady playing Ann White this time around but I loved it.
 The last and final part of the tour is when you're left alone to explore and take pictures on the ship, you can see which passenger slept where, go into the first class quarters and just really see how these people lived, it's a mystery how any survived!!

And so there you have it, my review on The Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience. I've loved this ship since I was a child and I guarantee you will love it too. Irish History is something I feel should be celebrated so much more and where better to start than with the Famine.
 Whilst down in this part of the country there's so much more you can do especially if you're like me and love being a tourist for the day. If you're heading back towards Waterford then take a tour of the Waterford Crystal factory and then head out for a walk on Tramore beach. However if you're heading the other way then head down to one of my favourite parts of the country, the Hook Peninsula. There you can visit Hook Head lighthouse or my personal favourite Loftus Hall, which you can read my experience about here..
 I really hope you enjoyed this post and let me know what you think too.

My Netflix List

Believe it or not when things come into fashion I tend to turn my nose up at it which is exactly what I did all those years ago when 'Netflix' came about. You'd be mad if you thought I was going to pay an extra €8 a month just to watch some television that I'd already getting be getting for free downstairs, what did I want with Netflix anyway? I had my Hawaii Five- O box set and my portable DVD player up in my room shur I was happy out what would else would I need?!! I need!?

 I now know how completely and utterly sad that makes me but that was my opinion up until about three months ago before I followed the crowd and downloaded my first free month of Netflix.

Let's get this straight, I had no intention of keeping Netflix but my desire to watch 90210 was just getting too much. The withdrawal of not seeing Naomi and Dixon was ridiculous and I needed some 90210 in my life and seeing as though Netflix has 'ALL THE PROGRAMMES' I presumed they would have that TV gold (long story short they don't) anyway my friend told me you get a 30 day free trial and then you can just cancel your account, perfect plan that's what I was going to do, get my 90210 fix and then get out....basically I couldn't get out. 

 Seeing as though everyone is always asking about new series to watch I decided to write a little post on what I like to watch and what I think you should watch too. That being said however I have a very specific/odd choice in television so it may not be for everyone but anyhow, here goes...

1. The Keepers - 

This was the first series I watched on Netflix and it's the one I'd recommend the most. I had heard so much hype about The Keepers that I thought there was no way it could live up to expectations but it did, I admit it isn't one for the faint hearted and it can be upsetting but it's a fascinating true story that I'd defiantly recommend. 

2. Girl Boss - 

Let me put this out there, if you're all for quirky, sassy, inspiring women in business then this is the perfect series for you. I had never heard of 'Girl Boss' before so had nothing to compare it too but when it came up on my recommendations list I knew it was something I was going to love. 

It follows the story of a young 23 year old called Sophia who decides to start her own E-bay fashion business called 'Nasty Gal' it follows her journey from enmployment to empowerment and everything in between and if that's not good enough I recently just found out it's based on the real life Sophia Amoruso... who's without a doubt been added to my list of most influential people, I would really suggest you give this a watch. 

3. Drugs Inc - 

This might sound crazy but I'm fascinated about the world of drugs and drug cart tells so this was the perfect series for me and the one I thoroughly enjoyed the most. It didn't just give you the facts about drugs but it showed you every aspect from the dealers to the users to the police across the world. If you have any interest in finding out how this whole billion euro industry works it's a must watch. 

4. Lock Up Maximum Security - 

I'm not being funny when I say I was fixated on this series it's brilliant, I would genuinely watch an episode when I woke up, when I was getting ready, when I came home and before I went to bed I couldn't get enough and with so many episodes thankfully it kept me going for a few weeks. I fell head over heels in love with about four prisoners but if you're like me and love all this jail stuff then give this a watch.

5. Orange Is The New Black - 

I know I'm about five years late but I love OITNB!!! I'm currently on series 3 and it def lives up to the hype....God I really am obsessed with prisons aren't I?!! 

6. HEROIN (E) -  

Heroin(e) is brand new to Netflix and the most recent thing I've watched,it came up in my recommendations and seeing as though it was only the one episode that lasted about 40 minutes I decided to watch it there and then and I wasn't disappointed!!

Like it says in the title it's all about the drug heroin and the amazing people who help save the lives of users day in and day out. It's not often my faith in humanity is restored but this touched my heart and guaranteed to touch yours too.

7. Interview With A Serial Killer - 

On the complete other end of the spectrum this is one of the most interesting things I've ever watched in my life and still creeps the hell out of me. It's such a bonkers thing to have a man who killed 11 women sit there and speak about killing people with such little remorse, honestly it makes me sick but if you're like me and love getting inside people's minds then this is one programme you should watch. 

8. Conspiracy Theory- Did We Land On The Moon -  

I am the biggest fan of Conspiracies and this one is without a doubt my favourite. I'm so 50/50 when it comes to this debate but take a look and see what you think yourself...

 9 . Inside Russia's Toughest Prisons - 

After sitting awkwardly at pre drinks one night whilst my friends discussed this series I knew I'd have to get on it and it amazed me. It's very intense but I've nothing but respect for those prison wardens, I know for a fact if I had a prison that's how I'd run it...

10. Inside The World's Toughest Prisons - 

Saving the best for last....Mr Paul Connolly!!!! I mean, Inside the world's toughest prisons...Paul Connolly is an Irish Investigative journalist who I've looked up to all my life and when I found this series on Netflix I nearly cried with happiness. Paul steps into the life of a prisoner and shows us what a life in jail is really like.

 My only complaint with this is that there's only one season!! And it does help that I think Paul Connolly is without a doubt the best looking man in Ireland!! I could write a blog post on him alone....

And there you have it, ten series that are on my Netflix list. I know they all kind of have a similar trend but and it's not for everyone but who says you can't be girly and have a complete odd side ey?! If you do watch any of these please let me know what you think and of course if you have any suggestions then let me know :)