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The heating is fixed, and Val has a day off, so it’s time to get out of the village for a change of scenery. We’re heading for the Three Tells pub in Matten. The bus drops us right outside.

Wherever in the world you find tourists, you’ll generally find an Irish pub not too far away. But just how Irish is it? There’s Guinness on sale, and folky Irish music in the background, but the girl who serves us is from Chester and her colleague is German. On the TV is a ski race from Austria. I order an Irish breakfast for my lunch, and Val has something called a Sloppy Joe.

My breakfast is indistinguishable from a Full English, although it’s none the worse for that. Val’s Sloppy Joe originated in the USA, according to Google.

So all in all there’s just a thin veneer of Irishness here, but we love the place nonetheless. It’s cheap, endlessly cheerful and deservedly popular, which is all you really need in a pub, whether it’s Irish or otherwise.

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Not much to report today – Val went up for work and her customers were late, which led in turn to a very late lunch. I serviced the dishwasher – lovely messy job, at least it’s only once a year. Meanwhile we’re waiting for a plumber as the heating has decided not to work. Fortunately it’s quite a bright day so that’s not the end of the world.

A double-dose of live music later, with Ruben playing the early shift in Rocks, and Steve Donnelly a little later at the Caprice.

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The old English proverb is proving correct so far. This morning was grey and windy. Val’s office.

The snow began just before lunch, and before long everything was covered. It’s all a bit of a shock after the spring weather we’ve been enjoying.