NorthDownMuse

Luxury

The luxury of being fetched low by a hangover is the necessity of sitting still. Which means I finished one book (A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing--hated it) and started another (Doughnut Economics; Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist). I enjoy reading but generally I’

Swing dance

Of the three days captured here, the only highlight worth remembering was the Mystery Messaround. I take swing dance lessons once a week, if I can make it, with Swing Belfast. Once a month they have a dance at a tennis club that has a small dance floor. It’s

Whereas...

Below is an excerpt of the model resolution I drafted today aimed at utilities. The idea is to get activist investors (Catholic nuns, Sierra Club, public pensions) to file this resolution at utility companies, so it will be voted on at next year’s annual general meetings. "WHEREAS: The

Horn Head

So these are the last of my photos from our Donegal diversion. I took this at Horn Head, with views across to Doagh Peninsula. This is looking in the opposite direction: I took mom up here once and it was sheeting rain, so we saw nothing. We had lunch in

Dunes

Saturday was music in Letterkenny, a walk on Rathmullan Beach, and a drive around Fanad Peninsula. Sunday was Fanad beach and lighthouse and a cycle along Glen Lough followed by a fantastic dinner in the town of Glen. Then a concert in Letterkenny, which I believe I was too knackered

Hitchhiker’s Guide

Across Lough Swilly from the lighthouse is Dunaff Head on the Inishowen Peninsula, in the distance. Donegal is nothing but a series of headlands jutting into the Atlantic. Between and within the headlands are nestled some of the most gorgeous beaches in the world. Here’s a better look at

To the Lighthouse!

So, a great way to start the day, walking along a beach at the top of Fanad Head. I was positively giddy the whole time I was on this beach, although it doesn’t show. One of the great things about beaches here is how good they smell. In the

Donegal Dreamin'

We made a spur of the moment decision this morning to go to Donegal for the weekend. We began the afternoon shopping in Letterkenny and listening to the buskers--there was a busking festival on. Every couple of yards there would be someone on tin whistle, ukelele, concertina, fiddle, saxophone-

County Donegal

When I left Ireland for America, I dreamed of one day moving to County Donegal, buying a wee cottage, and writing a novel. Today, I worked on a summary of last month’s online dialogue--trying to make sense of 340 comments made during the dialogue and 70 more made

AirCoach

Mom & I took the AirCoach to Dublin, where we parted after I managed to get mom into the wrong line (Aer Lingus when she’s flying United). I get a bit panicky when I travel--or when I’m helping someone else travel. When I see a long line,

Wimbledon

I had to spend much of Tuesday and Wednesday working. Luckily, Wimbledon was on, which kept mom entertained. We went out for dinner Tuesday night at Daft Eddy’s. The town in the distance is Whiterock. From where we sat, there was a great view of the sailboats at Strangford

More golf

From championship golf on Friday to rank amateur efforts today. I played nine holes at Belvoir Golf Club, where I joined for the summer after taking lessons there. Mom rode along in a buggy, giving me tips. It was a lovely day. As usual, I forgot to take photos on

Belfast Bound

Today we went to mass at the Chapel Road church where we attended service when we lived in Derry. Then to Mr. Bigger’s. His wife died a few years ago and I visit him when I’m in town. Then back to Belfast, where preparations are underway for the

Saffron

Today was a 100% social day. As an introvert, these days wear me out but I’m very fond of the people I spent the day with so that certainly helps. We started on a failed quest to find an antique dealer mom used to buy from. Our hotel was

The Irish Open

Today we took the train from Derry to Coleraine and then the shuttle to Portstewart, where 165 golfers were duking it out to make it into the final. Tomorrow only something like 60 players would remain. We were able to walk across the fairways of holes 18 and 17 to

Lough Erne

Two final shots of the hotel: I’ve never seen this kind of decoration on the exterior of windows (above). I was rather taken with this barrel ceiling. So today we took the Lady of the Lake, a boat that cruises among the islands in Lough Erne--supposedly 365 islands.

Betty @ Belleek

Yesterday’s weather was not lovely, today’s is lovely. I posted some of today’s photos yesterday to spread the wealth. This is the foyer of the Manor House: Also the foyer... Today we headed for Belleek, where we took a tour of the factory. It was really interesting.

Forgotten Fourth

We pretty much forgot that today was the Fourth. We had places to go and things to do. I did chores all morning while mom slept then we hit the road for Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. First stop was Castle Coole, where we took part of the tour (the part that

Belfast City Hall

Today’s highlight was a tour of Belfast City Hall--something I’ve always wanted to do but saved until I had a visitor. We were a bit early so I took a photo of mom in front of city hall with a statue of Queen Victoria. The city hall

Afternoon Tea

We went to mass at Clonard Monastery, which is a gorgeous Cathedral-scale church in West Belfast. It looks like this: Then we checked out a few pubs in the Cathedral Quarter, named for St. Anne’s Cathedral. The Duke of York is one of the most famous pubs in

Hampstead

We had a lovely visit (tea and scones) with Ann and Rick, our former neighbours in Crawfordsburn, with whom we stayed when we were in Naples, Fla.--their half-year home. In the afternoon we saw the movie Hampstead with Diane Keaton, which I really enjoyed. I thought the dialogue

Betty comes to Belfast!

Today my mom arrived for her third visit since I moved here. I drove to Dublin and collected her. I got to Dublin and back without getting lost, which is no mean feat because the M1 becomes the A1 then the N1 then the M1. There’s an exit off

The Exxon vote

Last week I had an article published in Utility Week, a trade publication for the British utilities industry. It was about the conference we co-sponsored with PwC in May. Essentially saying that utilities and investors are further along the curve than regulators in transitioning to low carbon models. This

Photo finish

Mom arrives Friday and I work Tues-Thurs so today I tried to finish the photo gallery project. In recent months, I’ve been through two suitcases full of photos, two SD cards, five CDs, David’s iPad, and the photo files on my computer. Here’s a random photo

Orwellian Orbit

I’ve been in London two weeks out of the past three so on this last trip I took my running gear. It is so hard to get in shape at my age that I don’t want to miss two runs. Each time I went running in Kentish Town,