Over the years I have filmed Grey Abbey monastery at Greyabbey on the Ards Peninsula quite a number of times. This video is a compilation of these videos. In 1193 Affreca, wife of Norman knight, adventurer, John de Courcy, instructed that work was to commence on the building of a Cistercian Abbey at Greyabbey in County Down. It is believed that Affreca founded the abbey to give thanks for a safe landing after a perilous sea journey. When completed, the Abbey was known as Iugem Dei or the “Yoke of God”. It is believed the abbey and subsequently the village eventually became commonly know as Grey Abbey due to the unbleached colour of the monks’ greyish-white habits. This historic building remains one of Ireland’s most impressive examples of early gothic architecture. ‘Friends of the Abbey’ was formed in 2015 and assists the DfC to keep our historic Abbey & Physic Garden open for the public to enjoy. Our volunteers offer information and guided tours which are complemented by an interactive exhibition centre offering information on how the Abbey was built, the monks’ life and their impact on the surrounding area. The excellent Exhibition Centre is open at: February to November Monday – Thursday by appointment. Saturday – 1pm – 4pm Sunday – 1:30pm – 4pm December to January by appointment. Guided Tours Guided tours every 1st & 3rd Sunday – June, July & August at 2:30pm or by appointment. Access to the Historic grounds and Exhibition Centre is free to all.

You need to add topsoil to your garden borders but how much to buy? Here's what 1 ton of topsoil looks like to help you make a sensible decision.

Tenerife is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, off West Africa. It's dominated by Mt. Teide, a dormant volcano that is Spain's tallest peak. The island has many beaches (with sands from yellow to black) and resort areas, including Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas. This August 2017 we boarded a Jet 2 flight from Belfast International Airport to Tenerife South Airport (Reina Sofía Airport ). The flight took just over 4 hours. The airport runways had a constant stream of incoming and outging flights. I counted 20 tourist flights newly parked up. It was very very busy inside and outside. We were then bused to Costa Adeje an hours drive along the coast. Costa Adeje is part of the popular Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas strip. This southern coast of Tenerife is the main tourist region of the island and is full of Spanish, German and English hoilday makers. Everything is geared around tourism, without the sunshine Tenerife would have very little. There is no industry or agriculture to speak of. The natural lava terrain of the island is hot barren and inhospitable. Be aware that day time temperatures can rise to 32 -34 C and will normally be above 30C . It is very easy to get badly burnt. The sun is what people come for but take care. The islanders have transformed a desolate volcanic island into a sea, sand, sunbathing, hotel paradise, water sports playground, getaway for Europe. This transformation is remarkable, ongoing and massive. Millions of Euros gleaned from tourism is being reinvested back into the region in the form of infrastructure, hotels, facilities and of course beach reclaimation. Most beaches are man made and easily prone to being washed away by the heavy tides. We stayed at the 4 Star Fanabe Hotel for 10 days on half board. The hotel is located in the centre of one of the main tourist areas and a short scenic walk from a number of beaches. We were well pleased with every aspect of our hotel stay. Accommodation, food, entertainment, facilities, helpfulness of staff were all top class. The hotel has Air Con and WiFi connection throughout. This video is my, fly on the wall, walk round tour of the hotel. We would certainly recommend staying there.

-Good News of the L E Samuel Beckett I received this further information from poster LeonVincent H.K. (LV) He said. 'I know this is an old one but since then it rescued over 770 people from one wooden barge in one single encounter off the coast of Libya and surprisingly and thankfully not one person died and I think it was the single largest rescue of people in one go. There is a video showcasing the crew of the L.É Samuel Beckett rescuing people trying to make the journey form Libya to Europe, it is heart warming and endearing yet really really sad. If any of you are interested to see what it is like to see a navy do humanitarian work and not solely exist for defensive or offensive purposes you should look up Irish Navy Documentary. It is quite eye opening and enlightening. Peace.' I'm down in the Belfast Titanic docklands to see what is in for the Belfast Maritime Festival 2019. This is the Irish Navy vessel the L E Samuel Beckett. LÉ Samuel Beckett (P61) is a Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) of the Irish Naval Service. The ship was launched in November 2013. She was built by Babcock Marine, North Devon at a cost of 71 million Euro. She is named after Irish playwright and author Samuel Beckett. Like other OPVs in the Irish Naval Service, the ship's primary mission is fisheries protection, search and rescue, and maritime protection operations, including vessel boardings. Although similar to the Róisín-class OPV, Samuel Beckett is over 10 metres (33 ft) longer, intended to increase its capabilities in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. The ship is designed to carry a crew of 44 and have space for up to 10 trainees. Additionally, Samuel Beckett is designed to carry remotely operated submersibles and a decompression chamber for divers. The expanded deck area would allow the ship to deploy unmanned surveillance planes. The vessel was "twinned" with Cork city in a ceremony held on 7 June 2014. In late 2015 Samuel Beckett was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of Ireland's contribution to the humanitarian response to the European migrant crisis. During the ship's cruise, more than 1,000 migrants were rescued. In one event, 111 people were rescued in a United Nations operation off the coast of Libya. The vessel was redeployed to the area in 2016, and on 17 November 2016 rescued 50 migrants who were on a rubber boat 25 Nautical Miles North-west of Tripoli. This brought the number of migrants rescued by the Samuel Beckett to 2310 General characteristics Class and type: Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel Displacement: 2,256 tonnes Length: 90.00 m (295.28 ft) Beam: 14.00 m (45.93 ft) Draught: 3.8 m (12 ft) Installed power: 10,000 kW (13,000 hp)[9] Propulsion: 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines[9] Speed: 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) cruise 23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph) maximum[3] Range: 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) Boats & landing craft carried: 3 MST 8 m (26 ft) RHIBS[citation needed] Complement: 54 (44 crew + 10 trainees) Armament: 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm cannon 2 × 20 mm Rheinmetall Rh202 cannons 2 × 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Guns 4 × 7.62 mm FN MAG Aviation facilities: UAV capabilities only