Self-described ‘Birds of Play’ Nadine Reid and Taryn de Vere share the top 10 fun and cheap things they’ve done this summer.

1. THE COLOUR CRUISE

Never shy of colour, we decided to fill a ferry boat full of adventurous types for a Colour Cruise. We stipulated that everyone had to wear colourful clothes. Our boat, full of wonderfully-attired people, island hopped around the stunning coastline of south west Donegal. We visited Inishfree and heard about the cult that had lived on the island in the 70s. Then we went to Rutland Island where we were given a tour by an enthusiastic local. In between islands the party mood took over and we had some musical performances, disco dancing and an impromptu rock-the boat (which we think may have been the first rock-the boat on a boat, ever performed). Finally we stopped at Arranmore to check out the beautiful beaches and to grab a bite to eat.

2. WINE AND CHEESE ON THE BEACH

Speaking of food and drink, a favourite thing we love to do when we’re visiting somewhere is to buy a fresh baguette, some local cheese and a bottle of wine and sit on a beach or in a park to eat and drink and take in the views. Extra points if you’re on an island. We’re lucky to have a cheesemonger in our village, Des from e Blue Goat Cafe, who brings us cheesy treats as we sit on the quay in Ramelton watching local character ‘Stephen the Seal’ chase his fish dinner around the Lennon River.

3. FORAGING

Staying with food, a fun, cheap and sustainable activity that we’ve taken up this year is foraging. We started with harvesting wild garlic, which we used to make wild garlic pesto (delicious on pasta) and have since started foraging for other wild foods, including wild mustard and self heal herb. There are so many flowers and leaves growing wild that are edible - be sure to learn what you can and can’t eat from a credible source though before you start foraging and make sure you don’t pull anything up by the roots. There’s loads of foraging courses around the country and for a small initial outlay you’ll soon be gathering loads of free food for your table.

4. COW TIME

A highlight of our year so far was our visit to comb the hair of the Highland cows (or ‘coos’ as the family who own them call them). We travelled up past the most scenic airport in the world (Donegal, naturally) and were introduced to a herd of gigantic, copper-haired beauties. After being taught how to comb out their hair we were left to connect with the gentle giants. ‑ e experience was humbling, magical and bordering on the spiritual. The cows have such a calm, slow way about them that after spending an hour with them we all felt as if we’d be on a meditation retreat.

“The older gentlemen of Ramelton who look after the glorious roses on the riverbank had us try our hand at gardening. We were treated to a tractor ride from local farmer Pat.”

5. TALKING WITH LOCALS

This year we’ve been making a conscious eff ort to stop and chat to people in our county. As a result we’ve made a lot of new friends and received invitations we probably wouldn’t otherwise have received. ‑ e older gentlemen of Ramelton who look after the glorious roses on the riverbank had us try our hand at gardening. We were treated to a tractor ride from local farmer Pat, and taught how to cut turf by Arranmore local Laurence Gallagher. Unfortunately we found out that we’re not brilliant at the old turf cutting and Laurence gave us a mark of minus one out of ten for our eff orts, but we did have a lot of laughs. Being friendly is free and can lead to some interesting places, people and experiences.

6. BOARD GAMES

Now that so many of our pals are vaccinated, we’ve taken to getting together for food and board games at each other's houses. Our favourite games for craic with friends are Cranium, Pictionary and Articulate (though we do admit to only having played the children’s version of Articulate, (apparently suitable for six year olds, a fact that we dispute vigorously). Cranium is a lot of fun as it incorporates aspects of other games, like Pictionary, charades and brain teaser challenges. Whatever your favourite games are, we highly recommend making them a regular part of your life. It’s good old-fashioned fun.

7. COURAGE

Being courageous manages to be both a bit scary, and fun. In the last few months we’ve been brave by going swimming in the sea, something both of us were previously fearful about. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is a healthy activity, though you might need to do it incrementally, like Taryn slowly inching further and further out into the water.

Nadine has now built up the courage to swim regularly with the Viking dippers at Tramore Beach and even a sunrise swim at the forty foot in Dublin. We’ve been both proud of ourselves, and delighted to have faced our fears, and we’d encourage everyone to try something that scares them (just a little).

“We’ve spent a lot of the year finding the silliest and funnest ways to do things and as a result we’ve had an enjoyable and hilarious year.”

8. BEING BRAVE, LOOKING FABULOUS

One thing that helped us with being brave enough to go swimming, was looking fabulous. For Nadine it was wearing red lipstick, huge earrings and colourful turbans while in the water, for Taryn it was going swimming in a Wonder Woman costume. Don’t be afraid to get a bit of strength from adding something that builds your confidence, (and ask Nadine for recommendations on water-proof lipstick!) This is tip also works for everyday life, you don’t need to wait to try something scary. Figure out what small things build your confidence and incorporate them into your every-day routine.

9. GETTING CREATIVE WITH YOUR WARDROBE

For clarity, we mean the contents of your wardrobe (but if you think the actual wardrobe needs some sprucing up, feel free to do that too). We’ve been having fun borrowing each other’s accessories and sprucing up those we already have. Taryn has a way with scarves that she can turn them into temporary hats or bows, (with the help of a few bobby pins and the odd safety pin). So we’ve been re-fashioning scarves, headpieces and hats to create whole new looks. We also glitter-bombed some of our old, scuff ed shoes to give them a new lease of life. Ask a friend to help you with creative ideas to spruce up clothes and Trinny and Susannah each other’s wardrobes. Give each other ideas about how to style items you both already own. The extra joy of this is that it’s sustainable and environmentally friendly too.

10. BE PLAYFUL

Being playful is free, and fun. We’ve spent a lot of the year being as playful as possible, finding the silliest and funnest ways to do things and as a result we’ve had an enjoyable and hilarious year. We pretended to be Nigella Lawson with our wild garlic and acted as if we were in love with it, we danced around the streets of our village Ramelton in fabulously colourful outfits, we recorded ourselves as the hosts of a morning TV show trying out beauty products and we started a Tiktok together. It's never too late, (or too early), to have fun.