NorthDownMuse

A Juxtaposition

I went to city hall today for the launch of a guide for refugees and asylum seekers. I was invited because I edited the guide at one stage. It was great to see Justin Kouame, whose brainchild it was, be thanked and celebrated by so many people. Like many of

Mince pies

I should first note that I haven’t been very successful as a vegan. It’s easy not to buy milk, cheese, eggs, butter. Much harder not to buy a cheese pizza, or tortellini with cheese, or a piece of cake. When you want a sandwich on the fly, as

Nolan

Tonight I attended a BBC taping of the Stephen Nolan show. Nolan has a daily call-in programme on BBC Radio Ulster, a weekly panel show on BBC TV (the one I attended) and he does a show called 5 Alive that I’ve never heard, but which promises: "Fierce

Time to Read

Not sure if I’ve mentioned my two new students in Time to Read. Lilly and Liam. Lilly is a wiggle worm who reads well but retains nothing. Liam also is a good reader but I don’t think enjoys it. They both have dyslexia. Their teacher says it shows

The Royal Mail, Iran, and the Holocaust

When you go to the post office here, it takes forever. There’s always a long line and people do a lot of business there. I’m not sure why, but I see people bring envelopes full of money. Maybe the Royal Post handles bank transfers or something. Or it’

Swing Gals

Maria and I went to St. George’s Market, where the Swing Gals were singing some swinging tunes. A few other Swing Belfast dancers were there and I had a few dances with David McAllister, one of the dancers. Here we are doing our thing. I ran into Preeti, a

Sophie

I went to a dinner party tonight at my friend, Sophie’s. I met Sophie on a hike and have enjoyed getting to know her and, tonight, her friends. A really interesting group of people. It’s such a treat to be at a party with 10 interesting women, particularly

Flight dismay

My main goal today was to book a trip to London the week after next for work and book a trip from West Virginia to Florida in February during my visit to my mom. I think I spent over an hour on this and got only one flight booked. When

Finis

Today I wrote the conclusion for the proxy voting report I’ve been working on for about two months. My Preventable Surprises team agreed to spend 900 pounds today getting it designed and printed, very generous of them. Hopefully we can distribute it to the media at the end of

Longley’s love of language

Today’s global lit class was Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell. Our tutor for the day was taken with the colourful turns of phrase: grated Parmesan is “sprinkle cheese,” given names are “front names” and sanity is described as a condition in which one’s “parts are gathered.” Not

Ulster Architectural Heritage awards

The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society is 50 years old but it has never had an awards program. Until tonight, when it made up for lost time (thanks to funding from Andrew Lloyd Weber!). It was the most fantastic night I’ve had in a long time. I could pinch myself

New boots

Can you tell we are getting near Giant’s Causeway? This image is looking back toward Ballycastle. I didn’t take any photos of Giant’s Causeway itself because I figured the sun would be higher on the way back and I’d get a better photo then. However, after

Dunseverick to the Giant's

As many times as I’ve been up the North Antrim Coast, taking visitors along the coastal drive to Giant’s Causeway, there is much I’ve missed. Such as the hike from Dunseverick Castle to Giant’s Causeway. The pile of rocks on the left is what remans of

McHugh's

Today David & I did house chores then went for tea & scones at a friend’s fundraiser, then hit golf balls for a while at a driving range. Tonight I went to a swing dance organised by one of our swing dance members. It was at a community club,

Chris Evans, my hero

So Chris is the morning DJ on BBC Radio 2. One of his pearls this morning: He encouraged people to Google what’s on nearby and text in telling him what they found out. One woman discovered a felting workshop that she wants to attend. Several people found out about

State Street

Today I interviewed Rakhi Kumar, Head of ESG Investments and Asset Stewardship at State Street Global Advisors. SSGA is more progressive on environmental issues than BlackRock and Vanguard by a long shot. But it still falls far short of the level of fiduciary duty that is fit for purpose on

Do Not Say We Have Nothing

By Madeleine Thien was today’s subject in Global Literature. It sounds like a fantastic read. At some point, I really need to start reading the books for the class as I’m getting further and further behind. I’ve been working intently on a report on proxy voting, which

Halloween

We got 12 trick or treaters. My mom got 100. I was glad it was over early because tonight was the final of the Great British Bake-off. I don’t enjoy cooking, I don’t enjoy excess and waste and indulgence, yet every week I sit and watch the bakers

Brexit

We spent all day yesterday, 9:30-5:30, at Queen’s University at a conference on what Brexit means for progressive politics. Here’s the description: "What are the implications and imapcts of Brexit for the green transformation of Europe? Are there progressive political potentials in the wake of

Hughie O'Donoghue

After Marco’s burial yesterday, we went to an exhibit I had heard about Friday night. It was closing yesterday so we saw it right before the carpenter came to take down the scaffolding. It was in an old church that has been vacant for many years and is now

Marco

When I got home last night, I learned that my cat Marco had died. David said Marco jumped down from the dining room table, landed badly, cried loudly, limped into the kitchen, laid down and died. Poor little critter. I hate to think of him suffering at all, but it

Why the First World War Failed to End

I went to a panel discussion tonight featuring three history professors. One, Robert Gerwarth, was so handsome as to be distracting. Gerwarth authored a book called The Vanquished, which looks at the civil wars and revolutions that followed the end of the Great War in 1918. The war saw the

BBC Radio 2

I’ve been listening to Radio 2 in the mornings while I stretch--trying to re-enter life without injury. I adore the morning commentator, Chris Evans--funny, smart, quick witted, unfailingly positive, although he can get annoyed, as do we all. This morning he was commenting on the American coverage of some

Children of the Revolution

Today was my literature class at Queen’s. I haven’t read any of the books beforehand so far. I figure if the class makes an impression, I’ll read the book later. I plan to read today’s book, Children of the Revolution by Dinaw Mengestu (it had a

Short stories

After four weeks of dealing with shingles, I am now, finally, out of the woods. I have very faint symptoms but I’m going for brisk walks and trying to carefully ease back into a more active lifestyle. During my convalescence, I finished a collection of 20 of the “Best