Ireland

In Dublin, TSH and Diva went to the excellent EPIC (Every person is connected) exhibition about the history of Ireland and the achievements of its people around the world. There were separate exhibitions for sport, music, politics etc and the scale of the influence is both huge and impressive.  We all know about Terry Wogan and Bono but Rihanna, whose real name is Fenty, was something of a surprise. The one where they were claiming influence on Israel because a politician there was related to a former Chief Rabbi of Eire was maybe a bit more tenuous.

Eire, like everywhere else, is struggling with the volume of traffic in its cities. In Cork, Diva and TSH walked around the city and found that the pedestrian crossings only allowed a short time to cross and then it was a long wait for the next chance. In Dublin, by contrast , it felt as if the pedestrians were given priority, as the coach seemed to spend as much time at crossings as touring the city.

In Belfast, the excursion was to the impressive World Heritage site at the Giant’s Causeway. The visitor centre explains the geology, natural history and mythology very effectively. This was a really good excursion, with a drive along the very scenic coast road. The weather was mostly clear, but the mist came down just at the right time to prevent viewing of the fisherman’s rope bridge. After preparing for the cooler weather (as forecast) for the Giant’s Causeway it actually turned out to be quite warm and outer clothing had to be removed. Diva & TSH were surprised that people were allowed to walk on the Giants Causeway and one individual was even flying a drone over it to take photographs.

Leaving Belfast lough, TSH and Diva waved to friends in Port Patrick (Scotland). They couldn’t see the friends but the friends reported that they saw the Silver Spirit.

It was very evident in the three Irish ports that people are united in not wanting a border between north and south and that they are very concerned about what might happen after Brexit. They were also anxious to remain neutral about Irish history and succeeded to a much greater extent than did the  journalist on board who claims to be neutral about the Trump presidency. TSH and Diva are picking up his anti-Trump bias loud and clear and they agree with what he is saying, so the Trump supporters must be furious. There was one difference in the narrative between Northern Ireland and Eire and that was in the account of the nineteenth century Irish potato famine. The extent to which the Westminster government did or did not help was told differently. Both accounts were probably accurate but there was a difference in emphasis.

A very scenic morning cruise through the Scottish islands followed.

Overheard in dining room: ‘Can I have the meat without the marinade?’

Overheard when looking out to sea at Northern Ireland small islands and off-shore rocky outcrops: ‘Which one is Iceland?’