NorthDownMuse

Trainspotting

I had a great time with Laura and Phil talking about families. Laura’s, Phil’s, mine. Because of my own experiences, I’m really interested in how families function, or don’t, given the endless possible combinations of personalities. They sent me on my way this morning to Suburban

Family time

When you have only one sibling, and you aren’t on speaking terms with said sibling, it’s great to compensate with quality time with your cousins. Last night, I had dinner with the DC cousins, Joanne Casey, her sister Candy, and her brothers Tom and Riley. Interesting folk all.

Grey hair

This afternoon I had to take a Greyhound bus from the Port Authority to Atlantic City. I spent the morning on things like who will get me from A to B, and from B to C, and C to D while I’m in Paoli. Lucky for me I have

5 & Dime

Today started with Carlos and I walking through Prospect Park, which is on their doorstep in Brooklyn. This arch is dedicated to the defenders of the Union. It reminds me of something you’d see in Russia or Paris. Here’s a picture from the park. It’s odd to

Norwegian

Norwegian Air is the new discount carrier with cheap flights from Belfast to Stewart, NY. As I board, I see this sticker on the stairway: It was a good reminder of the hypocrisy of being a climate activist and flying to the US twice in two months. I paid a

Sweating the details

I am trying to nail down the logistics for the trip to the US, which begins tomorrow. This is work that will continue while I’m in the US. I’m flying in and out of Stewart, NY. Job one is getting to my friend’s apartment in Brooklyn (shuttle

Diary Dilemma

I had a long chat today with my friend Jenny, retired Queen’s professor (urban planning) and Green Party organiser. She was telling me about visiting her mother in a care home in England and how little space her mother has. This prompted her to reconsider the two cardboard boxes

Belfast Bound

Today is Easter Sunday. I spent the first two hours editing the final report, then took a train to Luton Airport and flew home. A lot easier than dealing with two buses to Stansted. David collected me at the airport, and it was nice to get home and relax. I

Lemonade

I spent part of the morning finishing chapters one and two of the dialogue report. Then I headed to the West End to find a play. I tried Phantom but the line was so long I figured there wouldn’t be a return ticket left by the time I got

London Marble Arch

My day started by editing a 13-page summary of the online dialogue. My hostess, Carolyn, went through the 168 posts from 31 participants and organised the commentary into four chapters. Today I edited the first two. Her opening paragraph was too internal, IMHO, focussing on the number of comments and

Les Mis

I bought my ticket for the Ferryman online and found that being in the nosebleeds hampered my enjoyment--I found it hard to hear. When I was at the play, I asked a gay couple next to me what the best way is to get discounted last minute tickets. There are

The Ferryman and the Narrowboat People

I took tonight off, after working three late nights, and went to see The Ferryman, a very interesting play about how the IRA got its hooks into people, usually young men of a certain age, and used those hooks to manipulate them well past their fighting days. The title refers

The Dogs of St. Pancras

Apparently dog handlers were once employed to keep the rat population down. Here are the terriers who once kept the rats at bay at St. Pancras (and their catch). As it happened, there was an exhibit of fanciful dog kennels. Here are just three. A Leggo castle: I wasn’t

St. Pancras International

Monday and Tuesday were pretty intense online dialogue days. But I got out for a long walk on one day, resulting in lots of photos. These are from St. Pancras train station. To my right: To my left: Yeah, it’s big. Top floor: Statue of poet John Betjeman, poet

Logistics

Today I worked on the logistics for tomorrow (flight to Stansted, bus to Golders Green, Underground to Kentish Town). And on the logistics for an April 4-10 trip back to the US for Uncle Bill’s funeral. I fly into Stewart NY and I take a bus from there to

Les Amis

When I was in the US, I had long catch-up conversations with maybe eight or nine friends. Since I’ve been home, I’ve done the same with maybe four or five friends in Belfast. I think one of the best things about my life is the wonderful people who

Bad Boy McDonagh

Today was my last Global Literature class and it featured class members reading scenes from McDonagh’s play A Behanding in Spokane. McDonagh is better known and the writer/director behind In Bruges and Three Billboards. In Ireland he’s better known for the Leenane Trilogy. I tried and failed

Winter bouquet

Props to David. I came home on March 18 to a clean house and flowers. He said the winter has been so dreary that he thought a little colour would make the house more welcoming. He is typically not a flower buyer so the combination of being alone and the

Air Canada Swag

My trip home on March 17-18 meant leaving Parkersburg around 1:45 pm on St. Paddy’s day, driving 2 hours to Columbus Ohio, waiting 2 hours in the airport, flying 2 hours to Toronto, waiting 3 hours in the airport, flying 7 hours to Dublin, taking a bus for

Agnotology

At Queen’s I met a retired planner who is doing his PhD on planning and environmental issues. Every time I’ve seen him over the past few years he was struggling to get the job done. He kept finding new angles to explore. Planning in N.Ireland is a

Travel Tales

I stayed on in the U.S. two extra weeks hoping to be able to attend my uncle’s funeral. However he made it until March 16, by which time I had already booked a ticket home, departing the next day. As it turns out, his funeral won’t be

Oscar Should be Ophelia

Way back on March 4 we watched the Oscars. I recall two thoughts about it. I was dreading it a bit because--while I understand the passion around various political movements highlighted during the Oscars--people are tuning in more to be entertained than lectured. There is a way to highlight a

Handy Man

Had I spent only two weeks with mom, one of which was in Florida, I would not have had time to do chores around the house. The two extra weeks have allowed me to: • Restack her empty firewood rack in the garage after finding a guy who sells aged wood.

Three Shootings in Small Town USA

Mom’s neighbor Nancy was visiting her mom in Canton, Ohio, while I was in WV. The talk of the town was the 12-year-old who took a rifle hidden in his trousers to the local school, near Nancy’s childhood home. The gun went off and shot him in the

Olympic Feats

Before we went to Florida, we watched quite a lot of the winter Olympics. Two things struck me about it. First, there are a lot of events I didn’t know existed. I don’t think I’ve watched the winter Olympics in many years. I knew about the half