NorthDownMuse

The Grapes of Rath

Last night me & my fellow Rathlin hikers went out for dinner at the single pub on the island. A man was having his 70th birthday at the pub so the whole island (pop. 85) was invited. It was very festive--all the island’s children running around with their faces

Rathlin Island

Today I joined a MeetUp group for a trip to Rathlin Island. I drove with three other women to Ballycastle, which looks like this in the morning: And this: In the distance is Fairhead, which will show up later in a photo from the southern tip of Rathlin Island. We

Happiness is ...

... visiting an old friend. I worked with Aelish for a good part of my 15 years at Vanguard. Aelish is originally from Castlewellan, about 45 minutes from my house. She’s home visiting her family and I went to see her for a coffee. Five hours later I drove home

The Battle of the Somme

Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, in which one million soldiers were killed or wounded. It’s hard to get my head around that number. The 36th (Ulster) Division played a pivotal role in the battle. “It was made up of members

Teen Heart throb

My idol as a teenager was Bob Geldof--later Sir Bob in honour of his Live Aid fundraisers and his work in Africa. Tonight I watched a BBC documentary he did about poet W.B. Yeats, another of my favs. It was fascinating. I didn’t know much about Yeats’s

The Dark Side

I am generally annoying with visitors, listing all the things I love about Ireland and don’t miss about the U.S. I think that’s only natural when you are in an adopted homeland. Of course I get kicked in the butt when Ulster’s dark side emerges. Meade

In the footsteps of giants

So today was North Antrim Coast day. We started with an Ulster fry breakfast at a nearby restaurant then drove north to Dunluce Castle near Portrush. Here are Meade & Erin at Dunluce: While Erin looks tiny, it’s all relative: Meade is 6’7”. We enjoyed wandering through the

Brexit or Wrexit?

Yesterday UK voters cast ballots on whether to remain part of the European Union or leave the bloc of 28 countries. By a 52-48 margin, Brexiters won. Which seemed to surprise them. The Brexit leaders, including Boris Johnson, are a bunch of loud-mouthed, extremely privileged bad boys who are better

Comber Earlies

Today I went AWOL from my duties of preparing for company and searching for a job. I went to the Comber Earlies festival. Comber is a quaint little town about 20 minutes from the house and it is famous for its potatoes, the earliest harvested. The farmer I bought my

Another day in Belfast

I was sitting in my car eating lunch today, as I had an hour to kill between meetings and it seemed easiest to pack a lunch. I had the windows down and was listening to a call-in program on which tomorrow’s Brexit vote was being discussed. I was parked

Clonard

I used to try to do an entry every day and now I’m lumping things together, as my life is neither interesting nor picturesque when I’m not traveling. Yesterday’s highlight was choir practice and today’s outing was to Clonard monastery, home of the Redemptorists. Clonard hosts

Video virtuoso

As I took Ronnie to Q-Con today, he told me of the many events he attended (Whose Line is it Anyway improv; a dating game where guys answered questions as a video character and the potential date had to guess which character; video game contests; panels; films; concerts). He blew

The Glens of Antrim

Today I took David to the airport so he could fly to Sheffield to visit his sister for the weekend. Then I took my friend Julie’s son to Queen’s for Q-Con. Ronnie is staying with me for the weekend so he can join 3,000 other young people

GAWA gone gaga

Thursday found mom and I on a bus to Dublin, where I handed her off to a friendly Bulgarian woman who would escort her to her gate in a wheelchair. Mom can walk a decent amount, but airports are tough. U.S. travellers go through customs in Dublin instead of

End of the road

This entry covers the final two full days of mom’s trip. Tuesday was tea and buns with choirmate Monica, who graciously tolerated me inviting mom and myself over. She and her husband designed their home to be able to age gracefully in place, including wheelchair-adapted showers, an elevator, zero

A mere grocer

Today we met Hillary in Bangor for lunch, Hillary being the former owner of our house. We had a ladies lunch in Bangor then we went to the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, where Hillary’s a member, for a quick tour. The yacht club doesn’t serve lunch on Mondays,

Queen Betty

Mom attended church with me and, unfortunately, the choir didn’t sing in harmony today. There weren’t many of us and we sang in unison. Afterwards, we went to Hillsborough Castle, the queen’s residence in Northern Ireland. I was surprised by the access we had to the castle--sitting

Roll up

Over the past three days, our pace has slowed vis a vis the west coast trip, however we are still getting around. On Thursday we visited David Arkley, my friend from church. He has a back garden full of potted flowering plants, where we had a nice chat. Friday we

Day 6

No photos today. I ran this morning--a loop on the city walls then I crossed the Peace Bridge spanning Lough Foyle, a lap around St. Columb’s Park track, and meanderings through park trails before returning to the walled city. It was a great way to start the day. Mom

Day 5

Started the day driving through the hills of Donegal, working our way to Glenveagh Castle. One pretty church after another. These two photos were taken one right after another (same church, different angle) yet the light was completely different. We toured the grounds of Glenveagh and the castle itself, which

Day 4

Our hotel in Ballina was on the River Moy, where fly fisherman were out this morning. On through Sligo to Drumcille, home of Yeats’s grave. The epitaph, from “Under Ben Bulben,” named for the mountain in the distance: Cast a cold eye on life, on death Horseman pass by.

Day 3

I took this photo of Killary Harbour last night on the way to Leenane but got tired of elevating photos for Day 2. There were a lot of nets for farmed salmon and mussels. Ick. I went for a run this morning and had the wonderful feeling of being alone

Day 2

After two nights in Galway, we headed north and came upon this abbey, which I think is Ross Errily Abbey. The bus tour we took yesterday also offers a northbound tour, and this would have been the first stop. According to the tour company leaflet: “14th Century Franciscan friary described

Day 1

We took a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher, which took in: Dunguaire Castle Corcomroe Abbey, sacked by Cromwell’s forces. The very barren burren. Betty @ The Burren: They call these the wee cliffs, still at the Burren: I’m calling these the Cliffs of Mother: O’Brien’s

Betty’s Big Adventure

...has begun. I collected mom at the airport around noon and headed west to Galway. I’m embarrassed to say our first two stops were... not castles, not museums, not scenes of great natural beauty but ... outlet stores. We were driving along the M6 minding our own business when we