The hostess with the mostest

5-23. Last two loads of laundry. Dusting, vacuuming, flower arranging, bed making, bathroom cleaning (including disgusting shower and sink drains). I haven’t been swimming or swing dancing for the past two weeks b/c I just don’t have the energy.
5-24. Cathy and Alex Primm arrive. I haven’t met them before--they are friends of my good friend Lola. I take them around the lovely buildings at Queen’s University and Botanic Gardens and drop them at City Hall for a tour after we have lunch at the Ulster Museum. I go home and catch up on work e-mail.
5-25. I lead the Primms on a cycle to Whiterocks and back. We have lunch at Daft Eddy’s. Our cycle ride was slower than I expected so I rush to Belfast train station to collect Dara from the evening train from Dublin.
5-26. I take Dara and the Primms to a maritime festival in Ballycastle then a gorgeous hike at Fairhead, followed by the long drive home through Cushendun, Cushendall, Carnlough, Waterfoot, Glenarm, and Larne. There was a swing dance tonight with the Belfast Jazz Orchestra but I was too tired to go.
5-27. I take the Primms to a Quaker Meeting, after which they go to the Ulster Museum and St. George’s Market. Dara and I take a bike tour of the murals in East and West Belfast. Just the two of us--no narrator. It’s a grim tour.
5-28. I take the Primms to the train to Derry, where they will spend two nights, followed by three nights in Letterkenny. Dara and I hike from Dunseveric Castle to Giant’s Causeway. Dara in the distance at the causeway.

Dara treats me to a meal at Tartine in Bushmills--probably the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been in Northern Ireland.
5-29. Dara and I walk through Crawfordsburn Glen then take the coastal path to Bangor and walk back to Crawfordsburn on the road. I take Dara to George Best airport in the afternoon, from where she will fly to Madrid.
5-30. Dara spent the night in Amsterdam airport; thunderstorms canceled all flights. She got a flight back to Belfast this afternoon. I pick her up at George Best. We have a quick dinner then go to TenX9, a story telling night featuring nine 10-minute true stories on the theme of regret.
5-31. Dara spent the morning sorting out issues with travel insurance, airline tickets, and a voltage converter she ordered that wouldn’t work with her toothbrush. I sorted out mom’s flight (setting up wheelchair service at gates, making sure she didn’t have to check in online or print her ticket) and booked two nights at a hotel near Dublin after her arrival. In the afternoon, we toured Queen’s campus--Dara is a professor at SUNY Binghamton and I thought she should have a look round Queen’s. We had a lovely meal at the wonderful Woodworkers pub then visited the pubs in the Cathedral Quarter. In The Crown Bar, we ran into Conan O’Brien. Dara shook his hand and welcomed him to Belfast. As we walked by a CD store, I heard music inside. We went in and it was Snow Patrol doing a live concert. Very exciting. Dara thinks Belfast is coming down with celebrities.

6-1. I take Dara to the train station, from where she will return to Dublin and then the US. She was in Dublin to give a paper at a conference on muslim refugees; her particular focus is on LGBT refugees. I went to my golf lesson, having missed last week’s due to being worn out by the Daft Eddy’s bike ride.
6-2. I pick the Primms up at the bus station and we go to a Brian Friel play, Lovers: Winners and Losers. Like a lot of plays, it didn’t excite me in the moment, but it’s left me thinking about the things I didn’t see at first glance. The Primms did laundry then took David and I out to a very good meal at Neill’s Hill (David got back from France the other day).
6-3. David took the Primms to the train station, from where they caught the train to Dublin. They will be joining two other couples in Dublin for a 9-day trip around the south.
6-4. God forbid I get to put my feet up and enjoy life. I had promised a few months ago to edit a 70-page paper on German resettlement after the Second World War. Maybe two weeks ago I told the professor I’d have it done by end of day tomorrow. As of this morning, I had edited only 18 pages. So today I got stuck in.
6-5. Ditto today. I can read this paper for only so long, so yesterday I went up to Castlereagh Hills and played 9 holes of golf by myself. Today I did a lot of vacuuming--our cat is in shedding overdrive. Also a lot of watering--no rain in weeks. Bizarre.

Sorry for this dry recounting of my visitors’ time in Belfast. The few times I had for blog updates I couldn’t log into the site. By now, I’ve forgotten much of what happened. I know that I did my best to help Dara and the Primms see as much as possible of lovely Belfast and environs--without wearing them out. I received multiple plaudits from my visitors. They truly enjoyed themselves so all the effort was worthwhile. And they were very gracious in buying me lovely meals wherever we went, so I’ve enjoyed being spoilt in that regard.

Funding for my Preventable Surprises job ran out at the end of May, so I am well placed now for a proper rest. I sat down and made a list of everything I need to do--46 items. So I won’t be resting as much as slowly knocking things off that list.
5-23 to 6-5