Illumination

Derry has had an Illumination Festival on for two weeks, so I decided this was a good time for an impromptu visit. I drove down Saturday afternoon after ticking off a long list of chores in Belfast. I looked around the shops in city centre, although my main destination--a group of antique vendors in one large space--was gone. That's the thing about Covid, you don't know who has made it through and who hasn't.

Back to my BnB, where I spent a few hours on a freelance editing project. Then out to Eglinton for dinner with an old friend. We talked so late into the night that I didn't make it into town for the illumination festival, which entails projecting animation onto the city walls and the guildhall.

On Sunday morning I edited for a few more hours then went into town for hot chocolate and a muffin--my reward. Here was my view:

That's Derry in the distance. Then to Sainsbury's to buy flowers, then to Julie and Ian's to drop off three chandeliers Ian is willing to sell on ebay. Had a nice chat with Ian, then on to Mary's for a nice long visit, including a trip to the cemetery for her to clean gravestones at her family graves and freshen the flowers with pots of daffodils. Back at her house, she put the flowers I brought her on the floor b/c she says they last longer.

Back to Julie and Ian's, where Julie and I went for a walk and had a general catch up. Back to Air Bnb, where I could only allow myself a 15 minute lie down. Then into town for a nice dinner. I had only 45 minutes left to see the illuminations.

What I didn't realise was that A) they were in 8 different places around the city and B) there were 15 minute intervals between projections. So I really only saw the full projection at the Guildhall, then bits at three other locations. While this was disappointing, I have to laugh at myself for the amount of things I think I can fit into a day. The Guildhall:

The Guildhall narration included a section on the factory girls in the shirt factories and another on Amelia Earhart--there was a really cool red aeroplane zooming all over the Guildhall.

Hands down the highlight of my weekend was the concert I attended at the Guildhall. First was Basork, a Derry band influenced by the music of Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries. It featured a guy on trumpet, another on trombone, a woman who played the tuba, and a guy who alternated between soprano and alto sax. There were four other musicians, so a big sound.

Second was Kila, which got the crowd up--the music was just phenomenal. Their next gigs are in Paris. In July, they'll be in Belast, so I'm putting that in the diary. They were scheduled for a US tour prior to lockdown--they have a global following.

I took a few videos but they didn't really do justice to what this band had going on. I've tried to include one but apparently I would have to upgrade, which I'm not going to do.

Monday morning I ran in St. Columb's Park, including a lap of the track where I trained as a teenager. I also ran back and forth over the Peace Bridge. Then I had 9am and 11 am meetings online for work, then I drove home.

We've had a series of storms in recent weeks and it felt really good to get out of town for a few days. A change of scenery is sometimes all you need to perk up.

26-28 Feb.