Letgoloolala with Lily Anne
The day before I was out of the country, the day after I was at a film at the Cork Film festival but on that grey day in Kilkenny I returned from town, switched on the radio and listened to Gabrielle speaking with Ray D’arcy. I was all ears. I knew that this was something I could not resist. The thought of a few months in Valencia was right up my street. It was the 6th March 2019 and by 6th May I had arrived to Calle Antonio Machado in sunny Spain
Gabrielle and Vicente had met on an Erasmus year in Germany. By now the Spanish – Valencian family were a family of four including 3 yr old Mila and 1 year old Oscar. They arrived to my home on 16th April and we overlapped as agreed for a few days. I had enough time to get stair gates in place and added panels at the open plan landing banister. My friend from school had sent on a photocopy of her welcome sign Mi Casa Tu Casa . I had even managed to put up a canvas with the family of four mixed with my own assortment of family photos. It was a good feel day – and as my son’s friend Eamo said – a real Lily Anne thing to do.
The happy coincidences that only started to filter through later that week made it all the more exciting. Gabrielle’s young sister Pia remembered that she and her three sisters had all played in my house as kids and my crew remembered playing out on their family farm. Mary the eldest had started a writing course the same evening as I did with Gerry Moran in the Clubhouse Hotel Kilkenny in 2004.At the end of the course I had penned a little piece for Mary declaring that Phyllis their mother had been my first friend in Kilkenny.
Communication was good from the start but the plan to keep things formal between us went out the window rapidly. As soon I confirmed that I was looking for an adventure the deal was sealed. Gabrielle wrote on 13th March: We love you already. Talk tomorrow x
