NorthDownMuse

Murder at Botanic

A man was murdered not too long ago near the Botanic train station where I catch a train several times a week. This is most unusual here. I find silver linings here even in murders. BBC Radio Ulster, my favorite station, reported that the victim had moved here from Pakistan

Move-in mugging

The moving company wanted to move us in tomorrow (Friday), after our container cleared customs. I was trying to hold off until Monday or later, while trying to learn the cost of different options. While I waited for the moving company to quote prices on storage at the quay vs.

Driving test

On my week off, I should have focused on preparing for my driver's test. I didn't and now I'm stressing over the test, getting readings done for my Queen's classes, and moving into the house. I need to get a British driver&

Semester Two

Yesterday was the first day of classes. This semester I'm to select three optional modules out of a possible 23. So many of them are interesting that it is very hard to narrow the list. The semester is divided into two six-week periods. My plan is to audit

Trashing plastic bags

Northern Ireland implemented a 5 pence per-bag levy on every plastic bag used in retail stores. Prior to the 2013 introduction of the levy, shoppers used approximately 300 million carrier bags a year, according to my Belfast newsletter. Usage of plastic bags dropped 72% after the levy began. I'

Colm's take on The Troubles

I'm trying to avoid a daily digest of my activities. So here's a wrap up: Out to lunch twice last week with the woman from whom we are renting the townhouse and with Colm, a fellow student who is returning to get his masters after several

Angst

This blog causes me angst in so many ways. I feel badly when it's like a boring diary: "Today I bought groceries ..." I fear it's become self-indulgent claptrap. I mean it takes a lot of chutzpah to think you have something interesting to say

While I'm on the topic

...of signs, here's another I snapped the other day. Helen's Bay is the next town over from Crawfordsburn. Houses here are way out of our price range. When I first walked up Helen's Bay beach and saw a sign, I made this assumption that

My favourite sign

Having shared one of Belfast's dirty secrets yesterday, I'm uploading my favourite sign. The stereotypical Belfast personality is gregarious, funny, good craic. The sign is pointing out that Belfast people are this way despite the weather. If they are so happy when it's gray

The things I haven't wanted to say

It is easy to find good things to say about Belfast and to ignore the distasteful stuff. But the bad stuff doesn't go away. David and I got lost recently and ended up on Twadell Avenue, where the Orange Order is manning a protest camp. The Orange Order

NI Railways

When we move to our house, I'll be taking the bus instead of the train to get into the city. I'll miss the trains because they are clean, punctual, warm, and they have a bathroom. You don't always need a bathroom on a 30

Catch up

The morning was spent on house-related chores. The afternoon on catching up on e-mail, laundry, etc. One of the things I enjoy here is reading The Guardian, a Manchester-based liberal newspaper. Today I read a very long piece [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/14/-sp-western-model-broken-pankaj-mishra] about the problems

Ready for the Oscars

I bought a fancy dress to wear to David's company Christmas dinner, only to discover the dinner would be casual. I will be returning the dress shortly, as closet space will not be ample at our new address. I had David take a photo of it, so I&

Burns Baby Burns

Freed from my academic duties, I was able to focus on the house today. David and I visited a warehouse in Coleraine, where we selected a granite countertop. We looked at lights at three stores and bought six lights. Two to go. We also looked at flooring options at B&

Finish line

I just filed my sixth paper with more than three hours to spare. It is such a relief to have these assignments behind me. One paper was on Ferguson--basically asking why police never learn from past experience. I don't have a short answer to the question. The most

Our house, in the middle of our street

...was our castle and our keep. A bit of Madness there. As in the band Madness sang that song. Anyway, I was at the house for a few hours today meeting with Kevin, the electrician, and Ian. Here's our water line going in to replace the lead pipe.

The bridge

When we move to Belfast, I will miss walking down to Belfast Lough through Crawfordsburn glen every morning. I get to pass under the bridge designed by Charles Lanyon, who developed my favorite building at Queen's. I haven't walked Maysie much lately, but when I do,

Good news & bad news

We met with the builder today. He said we can't move in on Jan. 31 because the house won't be livable. This isn't a surprise because there is still so much to do. We've made several decisions that have added to the

...Your tired, your hungry, your poor...

My friend, Carlos, posted an article on Facebook about four low-income students [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/opinion/the-cruel-waste-of-americas-tech-talent.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0] who made an underwater robot and won a NASA-sponsored contest. The film "Spare Parts" tells their Cinderella tale. But the movie

The house that Ian built

(This post was supposed to run before the post titled "Window on my marriage." I didn't hit publish when I was done writing, so this post is running out of sequence). We went by the house this morning. Around mid-November I posted a series called "

A window on my marriage

When we did our walk-through of the house yesterday, Barry the plumber arrived. He is the most upbeat, sunny person I've met since I've been here--and I've met a lot of sunny people. Anyway, we are replacing all the radiators, not something originally planned

Rory in all his glory

I spent the morning on fund commentaries and then met two friends from high school for lunch. On the way, I finally snapped a mural I've been meaning to upload. Another angle: I think that's my favorite building in the background. This mural is on the

Charlie & Milo

I spent from 6 a.m.-noon uploading my fourth paper to Queen's website then working on quarterly fund commentaries--my freelance gig that keeps my checking account from disappearing. Then I went to Ross Auctions to spend said money. I got a Kashmir rug and two Waterford-like decanters.

Whamogram

I went for a mammogram yesterday at a mobile unit in Newtonards. Every interaction with health care here is eye opening. Three examples. 1. I didn't fill out a single piece of paper. The receptionist asked to see my appointment letter and asked for my phone number. The

Housing update

On the way to the wedding on Friday, we stopped by the house. It is a big hot mess. Trenches dug through the dining room floor for the gas line and for water/sewage pipes. Half the kitchen floor torn up. Holes being knocked out of the brick wall dividing