The Longest Day

We drove down to Roundstone for the sunset on Tuesday evening. Even at 10pm, when this picture was taken, the sky was still bright, it felt warm, and it actually seemed like summer.
Yesterday was the longest day of the year – the summer solstice greeted in Galway by heavy rain, as usual. There are two ways of looking at this event. The first one is that it is all downhill from here – the days are getting shorter and the waited-for summer will continue to be waited-for until we all give up hope in October. But I am not so pessimistic. The summer is only just beginning (as long as you don’t count sunshine). Next week marks the start of the Volvo Ocean Race festival. Two years ago, the stopover in Galway was a triumph (the sun did shine every day, mind) and, weather gods willing, this year should be even better. The Galway Arts Festival takes place soon afterwards and July ends with Race Week. Add in the various other festivals around the country, a few other boat races and maybe even an Irish medal in the Olympics – who knows, it might be a glorious summer after all.