Mysterious Mussenden

Most Saturday nights when I was growing up, we had our dinner in The Wellington House in Dromore. More commonly known as McFadden's, it was the place to get good food. (Incidentally, it's now up for sale, if you'd like to invest in Dromore). In the back lounge, there were a series of pictures of famous places in Northern Ireland - far away, exotic places I only knew through the picture in McFadden's - Carrickfergus Castle, Derry's walls, and there might have been others. The one that really stood out, though, was the Mussenden Temple.

Many's a time I looked at the picture, wondering about the strange shaped building on the cliff edge, having never seen it in the flesh. I didn't even know where it was, or how you could get to it. All I knew was what I saw in the picture.

The Mussenden Temple stands on the cliff edge of the Downhill Demesne, the palace, now ruined, built by Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol and the Bishop of Derry. The Temple itself was intended to be a library, named after his niece, Frideswide Bruce, who married Daniel Mussenden. Completed in 1783, and now in the hands of the National Trust, Mussenden Temple continues to inspire visitors - visible from all around, and also providing amazing views - it's well worth a visit.

Here are a selection of photos I've taken featuring the temple in some shape or form.

Dramatic clifftop location.

Looking out through the window onto Downhill Beach.

The train track from Coleraine to Londonderry runs beneath Mussenden Temple.

Watching over Castlerock Beach.

The door is open.

As seen from Downhill Beach.

Golden hour.

Train approaching.

Train entering the tunnel.

Push the button - forced perspective!
Mysterious Mussenden has me mesmerised!

Book Review: The Island

It seems like ages ago now, but back in the summer we were on the island of Crete. The book to read was, of course, Titus, and I've reviewed a commentary I read while there. But in the realm of fiction there was another must read book, set on and just off Crete: The Island by Victoria Hislop. It is ostensibly a ladies' book, but the local angle made it just about acceptable for me to read it too (I hope!).

Alexis is of Greek origin, but living in London with her family. And Alexis is at a crossroads. She's trying to decide whether to continue with her long-term boyfriend, whose personality seems to be very different from her own. As they head off to Crete on holiday, her mother (who has always been reticent and mysterious concerning her family history) gives her a letter for an old friend, propelling Alexis on a journey of self-discovery, prompted by the events on and around Spinalonga, an island leper colony just off Crete.

Alexis' family friend begins to share the whole back story of Alexis' granny and great-aunt, with elements of jealousy, tension, intrigue, tragedy and comedy. The whole time, as the story unfolds, the reader is left guessing as to which of the sisters is which, until the crashing conclusion.

The portrayal of the suffering of those with modern day leprosy, particularly the fear and hysteria of those surrounding them is touching. Their utter hopelessness demonstrates the sadness of living with leprosy, until a cure is found and the colony is quickly deserted.

Set within a deeply religious (Orthodox) community, there are hints and details of their religious thought and practice. The keeping of Good Friday - 'Christ's funeral procession' or the Feast of Agros Konstandinos: 'the girls of Plaka donned their finery. They had been to church, but their minds were on things other than the sacred nature of the event.' There's also the importance of infant baptism: 'Until baptised... she was exposed to the "evil eye", but once the ritual had taken place her spiritual safety would be guaranteed... as the congregation saw the waters wash away the baby's nonexistent sins.'

There was a slight issue with a little detail I noticed, which detracted from the quality of the story. Anna had arranged to see her dad on the 3rd Wednesday in September. Maria is told to get her concern checked out after that. But then Maria gets an appointment with Dr Kyritsis on Monday 17th September - which is obviously before the 3rd Wednesday! The time sequence just doesn't work in this instance.

It's a good story, flitting back and forth between the generations as stories run concurrently. The characters draw you in, with sympathy for some of them and rage at others. But it is probably more for the ladies with the romantic thrust throughout. The Island is available from Amazonand for Kindle.

Book Review: The God With Sore Legs

Adrian McCartney invites you on a journey, in more senses than one. The first journey is very impressive - as he sets off to cycle around the coast of Ireland. In the style of some of the best travel writers, Adrian vividly portrays the thought process that led to the start of the journey (with a few hours' notice!), as well as the places and people he encounters along the way. There's lots of humour, plenty of craic, and the undoubted pleasure of a bag of chips and a can of coke after a hard day's cycling.

Yet as the pace slows along the country coastal roads of this island, Adrian brings the reader on another journey, to discover the God with sore legs - Jesus, exhausted after a long walk, sitting by the well in Samaria. Each chapter presents another look at Jesus, as encountered in John's gospel. At times, there were some details I didn't necessarily follow or agree with, but on the whole, there's lots to consider, and the book provides a compelling and helpful introduction to Jesus.

It's perhaps geared towards those who don't know Jesus, but even those who have known Jesus for a long time will be blessed as they perch on the back of Adrian's bike and listen in to his stories and the story of Jesus. Here are just a few tasters to whet your appetite:

'Let's consider grace for a few moments before considering it for the rest of our lives.'

'Not following him does not make you a bad person. You already were!LOL.'

'Faith can never just be a matter of believing. It is also about acknowledging and declaring. Nicodemus was beginning to acknowledge where his journey had brought him.'

The God With Sore Legs is available from The Good Book Shop (in paper copy) and the Kindle store.

New York, New York

So good they named it twice. On Saturday we got back from a week in New York City, glad of the break, but glad also to be back in peaceful Fermanagh! This was our second time in the Big Apple, so we did less of the obvious tourist activities, having seen the view from the Empire State Building, the Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, Bodies and various other things the last time.

That's not to say that we didn't do much! Sunday morning we went along to Times Square Church, which was founded by David Wilkerson (of the Cross and the Switchblade fame). Despite an odd policy of treating visitors, we eventually managed to get a seat (having been asked if we were staying for the whole service, and being made to wait for almost ten minutes at the back while the regulars took a seat at leisure). After an hour of singing, a few announcements and the offering, the pastor preached for half an hour, before another half hour of singing in response to the message. Not just as liturgical as we're used to, but more energetic!

Sunday evening we were in Carnegie Hall for a concert, but I'll write about that in a separate post. Monday took us down round by Ground Zero (for which tickets had to be booked weeks in advance, so we didn't get near the site) and the South Street Seaport on the bus tour, while Tuesday was spent dandering along Fifth Avenue looking at all the expensive shops.

On Wednesday we called in at the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in the Discovery Channel Center just off Times Square, resisting the chance to pretend to be CSI investigators in the other exhibition currently running. Having heard so much about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes, it was interesting to see the scrolls themselves - and also to read some of the 'spin' on the information boards. After that, we took a spin round by Chinatown, being quickly put off by the constant barrage of "Rolex watch? Handbag, lady?" and escaping to SoHo.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we had been told about the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Getting up early, we were on the parade route almost two hours before it started, yet still only managed to be in the fourth row from the barriers at the edge of the footpath sidewalk. Then other people thought they had a special right to push through everyone and get to the front row arriving after the parade had started. It was as if you were watching the parade in the middle of a scrum!

All in all, between the massive helium balloons, marching bands, cartoon characters, floats, cheerleaders, celebrities and street performers, I ended up with around 750 photographs of varying quality. If I find time (!) I might just put together a stop-motion video of the balloons going past using the photos I took.

Earlier I mentioned a scrum for the Macy's parade. That night we went along to the midnight opening of the store for the big Black Friday sale. Talk about a scrum! The queue was halfway down the block (not to mention the people gathering in Herald Square to try and push past the queue and charge the doors when they opened), but we were entertained by two separate protest marches by Occupy Wall Street and the self-styled Church of Stop Shopping with a dog-collared 'pastor' leading them. The latter at least had composed a little song to sing as they marched, but they weren't persuasive, and in we went.

It seemed as if the front escalators were going to stop working, the number of people on them, but we found the couple of things we had decided beforehand to look for, and then made a quick escape (having paid for them, obviously!).

Friday was another little dander, visiting the last few shops we had to see and try to get a few bargains, then back to the hotel to begin to long journey home, and a dose of jetlag which made Sunday morning's service interesting, I'm sure.

There are some photos of the trip on my new obsession, Blipfoto, including This rings a bell; Taxi!; Brooklyn Bridge; FDNY; Empire state of mind; What a tangled web we weave; and Macy's midnight madness. As a taster, here's the Thanksgiving parade picture:

Full Steam Ahead

On Saturday, we went on a time travelling adventure. The Bangor Belle Steam Train was back on the rails, and we were among the passengers experiencing an older form of rail travel.

While it had started in Whitehead, we joined it at Belfast Central and went to Lisburn, where it got turned around, watered, and then off to Bangor. Rather than the new faster and quieter trains, there was the noise, feeling and smoke of the old steam train as we chugged along the north Down coast and into Bangor station.

We had a couple of hours to enjoy in Bangor, where there was a Junior Orange parade and also a model railway exhibition in the Presbyterian Church, if the steam train hadn't been enough!

All in all, it was a nice day out, with lots more adventures being run by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland including jazz nights and the Portrush Flyer.

Home, Home on the Range

It's been a slow start on the blog in May, but with very good reason. With the first part of my Easter break being spent in Fermanagh, exploring the county that will soon be my home, we then set off for Scotland, having first celebrated a 'big' birthday.



It was nice to see Bryan, Louise, Elizabeth and the 'bump' over in Dundee, getting some quality time with them to catch up on things and to explore some familiar parts of Scotland. We had a visit to Logie's, and a big barbecue on the Sunday; a trip to St Andrew's on the Monday (where Royal Wedding fever was in full strength, even the week after it); Anstruther on Tuesday, Glamis on Wednesday and I had a quick look around Broughty Ferry before heading for the Troon ferry home.


This highland cow was quite content on the Glamis estate.


Glamis Castle is the childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.


This royal wedding portrait was made of jelly beans - see the closer picture for proof!

While we were in St Andrew's we also visited the aquarium - watch out for the update in a day or two!

Book Review: Penguins Stopped Play

Alongside plenty of theological reading, I have a particular fondness for humorous travel writing. Travel writers take you to places you can only ever visit through their pen, and if they're a good guide with plenty of wit and humour, so much the better. Penguins Stopped Play is such a book, only instead of just travelling, you're invited to go on tour with a village cricket team playing on every continent of the world.

Harry Thompson is a brilliant guide - the stories are hilarious as he relates his very amateur cricketing career over a quarter of a century; the pen portraits of his friends, colleagues and opposition are great, so with an economy of words you feel as if you've known his friends all your life; and the situations he finds himself in are unbelievably funny.

There were very definitely laugh out loud moments - to the extent that I had to stop reading it at points because I couldn't even see the words on the page! You'll be entertained as you read, and the three hundred pages seem to go far too quickly.

Along the way, there were a couple of interesting asides and stories which touched on religion, and Christianity in particular. The one I want to focus on for a moment or two concerned his visiting a Hindu temple with its vibrant colours and ornate decor:

Christianity, of course, presents a much more visually austere face to the world, but the faded murals of the early Church, and the scraps of faint terracotta plaster that adhere to the base of crumbling columns, would suggest that the West, too, began its spiritual life in a riot of kindergarten colours. our austerity, perhaps, is cyclical, feeding on a faded image of itself; maybe the Indians remain truer to the original concept of a place of worship as a dazzling, enticing entertainment for impressionable eyes.

Within that short paragraph there seems to be a number of assertions and assumptions that simply aren't true - that all religions (including Christianity) are basically the same, and all started out the same, as a visual riot of colour and entertainment; that the church is crumbling because it has turned away from its roots; and indeed that the church is crumbling.

For a start, we don't have places of worship - our temple is in heaven, where the Lord Jesus reigns; our meeting houses and 'churches' are places to gather together to hear the word - faith comes from hearing; plus, to devote attention to images and such life sails dangerously close to inviting idolatry.

The theological aside, this is a riot of a book, well worth reading - and don't worry if you don't understand cricket, you'll pick up enough to get by and enjoy the funny stories along the way!

Home, Home on the Range

Our summer holidays are over! Slightly later than most, we had a lovely week in Lanzarote. The weather was good (albeit with a few raindrops falling on our heads occasionally), the atmosphere nice, and a relaxing holiday completed. Nothing much on the agenda for a week except some relaxation, some food, some smoothies and lots of reading. Eight books completed over the week, so my yearly total got a nice boost. The reviews will follow, staggered into next month.

Playa Blanca was nice, and rather than eating in the hotel, we sampled some dining on the town. Seafood paella is a new favourite! One night though, we had the weirdest supper soundtrack. A real mix, including Britney Spears, Green Day, random Spanish tunes, lots of gangsta rap (full of expletives), and the Bible books song by Psalty!

The taxi driver taking us back to the airport must have known we're used to driving on the lefthand side of the road, as he proceeded to spend an awful lot of his time there, overtaking cars, jeeps and anything else in his way, whether there was a space or not!

A great holiday, but it turned into a bit of a nightmare when we got to the airport. Due to the French air traffic control being on strike, the plane was delayed. But then ops and the airline couldn't agree on a route home for our plane. Needing to avoid French airspace would take us further over the Atlantic, and a greater distance to fly. Longer distance needs more fuel, but more fuel on the plane would overload it and prevent takeoff from Arrecife airport. Ops insisted on the extra fuel, balanced by removing 60% of the hold luggage. We watched as the bags were removed and shunted into the airport - they'll arrive some time in the next five days. Very handy.

Remarkably, my bag arrived in Belfast, but most of the rest didn't make it. Hence the exhausted passengers arriving bleary eyed at 5.15am this morning off the Thomson flight (when the new day's flights were beginning an passengers were setting off), four hours late, watching the baggage carousel in luggage lottery. Would your bag make it? If not, the Servisair worker was standing by with claim forms asking for details of the bags, ironically (and slightly frustrating) the form they normally use for lost luggage. No, my bag wasn't lost - you removed it from the plane!!!

The pilot and air stewards did well in a difficult situation, and we can't blame them. Still, the whole experience somewhat marred the end of the holiday. Instead of being home by 2, we pulled up to the house at 6.30 and straight into bed. And that's our holidays for another while. Where to next? Preferably nowhere near French airspace!

Fast or Still?

This is one of my New York photos. A night time long exposure in which some people are standing still, but other people are moving! An interesting effect, and to be honest, turned out a lot better than I expected! My best photography work is still the accidental or not-fully-intended shot!

Bodies and More Bodies

The fuss over Robbie Williams' new song continues unabated. It seems to me like a bizarre mishmash of bible words, phrases and concepts thrown together without any understanding or coherence. For further thoughts on the song, you would do well to see David Keen's writings, and also the summary of other discussions he has compiled.

The song Bodies as reminded me that I intended to write about one of the most fascinating parts of our recent trip to New York: The aptly named Bodies Exhibition. Reading about it in the guide book on the flight over, I wasn't overly fussed on going to see it. I'm not great with blood, guts and gore in actual real life (despite enjoying a good horror film or two). Casualty or Holby City aren't on my must-see TV list. All rather amusing, given that I'm married to a real life doctor!

We went to see the exhibition, and it made a pleasant change from both churches and shops. Ever wondered what happens when people donate their bodies to medical science? Wonder no longer. Some are used for medical research, some are used for dentist and doctor training in medical schools for dissection, and some appear in the Bodies Exhibition in New York.

The displays are all former people, amazingly preserved using chemicals, and carefully dissected to show the various systems of the body- skeleton, muscles, skin, nervous system, blood system, reproductive, digestive, and anything else you can think of. In some cases, the dissection is of a particular organ, or joint, or structure, but in some, it's a full body striking a pose to highlight a particular body function - stretching, throwing, holding. One display is worth mentioning: it looks like two people holding hands and leaning backwards, balancing away from the other - but on closer inspection, it is the skeleton on one side and the muscle structure on the other, expertly dissected from each other, to show how muscles and bones need each other to function properly.

I've told some people about the exhibition already, and while it sounded interesting, there were a few moral questions raised, concerning the use of remains in this way. I think it's fine, though, as it's not sensationalist, but rather educational and informative. It's very tasteful, and throughout was a cause of wonder, at the strength, purpose, and wisdom of the Creator who knits us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139). Nowhere was this more evident than in the section with preserved stillborn foetuses - with human features and distinguishable hands, feet and more long before the 'legal' cutting-off point for abortions in the UK. How anyone could continue to favour abortions having seen these infants, and deny that they are people like us is incredible.

So from Robbie Williams and his bodies to the New York Bodies, one is just confusing, while the other is illuminating!

09/09/09

New York is waking up to the 9th September 2009, or 09/09/09. President Obama will shortly arrive in town for the Memorial Service for Walter Cronkite, the veteran US TV news presenter. So our last full day could be quite busy if there's a presidential motorcade towards the Lincoln Centre.

We've had a good week with some sightseeing, some shopping and lots of things to talk about on the blog in the days to come. Watch this space for thoughts from Redeemer Church, the Bodies exhibition, the Natural History Museum, and other Big Apple wonders.

For now though, it's enough to say that we saw the filming of Sex and the City 2 taking place yesterday, just opposite the Apple Store on Fifth. Sarah Jessica Parker and the others were repeatedly walking into one of the expensive designer shops, causing traffic congestion and big crowds of people trying to catch a glimpse of the actors. Don't think you'll see me when the movie is released, not that you would watch that rubbish anyway!

Happy Holidays

Despite the published updates last week, I wasn't near a computer the whole time. The advance publication took on blogger really is great - write up your posts, publish with a future time, and the post is held until that time is reached. Voila!

Anyway, the reason I wasn't near a computer was that Lyns and myself were off on holiday, to the volcanic island of Lanzarote. Some winter/spring sun and a much-needed break. Great stuff.

Temperatures were about 21 - 25 degrees Celsius / Centigrade, which is hot enough for me! Lots of relaxing by the pool, reading, sightseeing, and taking things easy. By Tuesday I had finished all my books, and in the end had to buy one for the journey home, having read all of Lynsey's too! Reviews to come in the near future. Lesson for next holiday - take more books!

One of the highlights was a camel ride near Timanfaya National Park - I'll have some photos of that, and also the sights of the island on Flickr some time soon.

For now, though, it's back to work, with the Easter Vestry on Thursday night, and Holy Week looming next week. There's also a stack of emails, and 575 new blog entries to read on Google Reader at some point. I'm refreshed and ready to go!

As With Gladness

Have you ever wondered about the wise men, this Epiphany? Were there really three of them, or did they chip in together to buy the presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh? How wise were they to go travelling during the holiday season?

Those things may not make them wise, but there was one thing that showed their wisdom. They were looking for Christ, so that they might worship him. In this, they were wiser than most people.

They caused quite a stir when they arrived in Jerusalem, guided by the star. The magi were expecting to find the newborn king of the Jews in the palace at Jerusalem. After all, that was the capital city. Yet Herod and the residents of Jerusalem were in confusion by the talk of a new king. Herod was quite comfortable on the throne and didn't want any pretenders or rivals. So when he asked for word of the child so that he also might go and worship, he had no notion of worshipping!

But even sadder, and more foolish, were the scribes. When Herod wanted to find where the king might have been born, they were the ones who found the answer. They knew their Scriptures, and knew where the Messiah would be born - Bethlehem, as Micah 5:2 had prophecied. With the magi arriving, they must have known this was the time, this was the day of Messiah. Yet they don't go with the magi. They just ignore the entire event and go merrily on their way.

Even today, people can know their Bibles, and yet ignore the Christ contained within. They can score top marks in a Bible trivia quiz, yet not know the Lord Jesus.

Jesus - wise men still worship him.

The Green Grassy Slopes

I paid a visit to the new Battle of the Boyne visitor centre today. I have to say it was very good, and well worth the visit. The house itself, Oldbridge House, contains some audio-visual information, displays and maps, which are good at describing and explaining the events on 1st July 1690 on the green grassy slopes of the Boyne.

The best display was the model of the battle site with running commentary and a coloured light display showing the movement of troops and the main points of activity. But the highlights of the trip had to be the outdoor exhibits. At 3pm there was a display of cavalry, where a lady dressed in Williamite garb demonstrated cavalry movements and associated warfare; then at 4pm two appropriately dressed men demonstrated musket fire.

All in all, a good new museum which will positively contribute to a better understanding of our shared past. Plan your visit today!

Introductions

Hello, my name is Gary, and I'm a Christian.

Introductions was the theme of the weekend just past for me. On Friday, I headed off to Donegal, to the village of Ardara to be precise, for the service of Introduction of the new Bishop's Curate for the parishes of Ardara, Glenties, Glencolumbcille, Lettermacaward, and Inniskeel. John Deane, a Donegal man himself is heading to that part of the world again in his first full-time incumbency.

To show our support, some of the Theological Students were in attendance, and robed. The robing room was a flurry of activity and chatter before the service, as we were meeting the clergy of Derry and Raphoe and other visiting clergy. As the rare breed of Ordinands, they all wanted to know who we were and where we were from. Lots of introductions - and I even found a man of a similar background to myself - a minister originally from Dromore, born and bred!

Then on Saturday, we moved over to county Cavan, where there were more introductions as I met the Trenier family; and then later on at the WWW youth event in Kilmore Cathedral Hall, which (as far as I know) is out in the sticks somewhere near Cavan town. Linking into my weekend theme of Introductions, the speaker was talking about Identity, and how we see ourselves.

So how do you introduce yourself? What are the things you highlight about yourself? What are the things you promote?

Italia here I come...

I'm sitting all packed up and ready to hit the road. Heading off to Pisa and Florence with some friends. So there'll probably be no coverage until I return on Saturday night. You can also expect plenty of photos as my memory card is ready and the three batteries are fully charged! Ciao!

Bumpings

Have you ever had one of those days when no matter where you turn, you bump into someone you know? Today was one of those days for me. This afternoon I was down in Hillsborough Forest Park, having a walk around the lake and the fort, trying out my new camera (Canon EOS 400D SLR). And every few minutes, I saw someone else. First up was Nigel Parker, then Dan and Primrose Avila (nee Leahy) - who I hadn't seen in aaaaages; then David McCarthy's mum. Nice accidental bumpings...

2007: The Year In My Pictures

I had intended doing this at the end of last year, but didn't get around to it. Being in bed because of the snow means that I have the excuse to do it today! According to my Flickr stats, I took 2587 photos in 2007. I've now sifted through them, to bring you the best, and my favourite images from the year - one from each month. I was going to include honourable mentions, or pictures I couldn't decide between, but that would have been far too many! Pick your favourite at the bottom!

So here, for you, is my year in pictures:

The Spike, Dublin was taken on 30th January. I liked this one because of the intense winter sun and the shadow of the Spire on Dublin's O'Connell Street.

The view from my breakfast table was February's favourite. It was taken in a cafe in Edinburgh, when I was on my way to see Lynsey in Dundee! The view of Edinburgh Castle was amazing!

In March, I was exploring the Legacy of the Past: Belfast Shipyard. The black and white rendering added to the sense of dereliction.

This photo of the Spelga Dam was taken in April when I was out for a photography drive. I loved the blue of the water against the surroundings, and it received a few comments on the lead in using the big rock in the foreground.

Downshire Sundown was my favourite capture in May. The silhouette of the monument and the trees against the backdrop of the setting sun made this a special one.

Scotland makes another appearance in June's selection. The Ladybird was wandering about on a leaf in St Andrews when I was there.

If you have been following my blog at all over the past while, you'll probably know this image well. Craigmore and Beyond was taken in July, from the top of the village of Bessbrook, looking towards the Mournes. The Craigmore in the title is Craigmore viaduct, on the Belfast - Dublin railway line. This image was used in an exhibition in Glasgow's 'The Lighthouse.'
In August, I got this photo of a Grasshopper in Milltown Cemetery in Belfast. An ugly brute, if I may say so!

In September, just before I started back to college, I went off on a roadtrip with Stewart to Sligo. On the way home, we stopped at Glencar Waterfall.

October was the month of Hallowe'en, and some of us from college went down into Dublin to see fireworks. This amazing photo of a wee man spinning in a fireball caught my eye.

For Lynsey's birthday weekend I was flying over to Scotland on the dawn flight from Dublin. One of the shots I took was the Plane Sunrise. Thought the colours were magnificent!

My final image of the year is from Belfast, and is titled It's Wheely, Wheely Big By Night. The lights in the trees, the Belfast Wheel lit up, the City Hall lit up, it's all looking very festive.

So now it's over to you. Out of my choice of the twelve, which is your favourite image of the year? Answers in a comment.

Plane Sunrise

Plane Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Gary McMurray.

I'm over in Scotland again for the weekend. Nice spending time in the same country, indeed, the same town as Lynsey for a few days... roll on the wedding (just 8 months and 8 days to go...)

Got the shockingly early flight out of Dublin yesterday morning, and this was the view out of my window. What an amazing sunrise. Good enough for an album cover or some such thing... Slightly annoying thing was that the seatbelt light didn't go off soon enough, as there were amazing views of the lights of Dublin on the ground and the sunrise on the horizon, but I couldn't get them!

So I had my usual walk about Edinburgh yesterday - some more photos to be uploaded at some point, then up on the train to Dundee. Today we were just down in Dundee, having a wander about the shops. Really busy!

Tomorrow night sadly it's back to Dublin again and into a fresh week of work, with the four essays to do before the Christmas holidays... Might as well relax now while I can!

Sligo and the Marble Arches

Went off on the final fling of the summer - an overnight road trip to Sligo with Stewart. A really enjoyable couple of days of exploring, getting lost with the poor road signs, and talking theology. Among the places we visited was the grave of WB Yeats at Drumcliffe, the Spanish Armada memorial, and Parkes Castle on the shores of Lough Gill.

The highlight for me, though, was when we crossed the border again. It was my first time visiting the Marble Arch Caves in County Fermanagh, and I definitely want to go back some time. Sadly the boat trip part of the tour was off, due to the rising flood water, but the walking bit of the tour was still impressive. What an amazing sight, especially the bits where you could see the reflection of the stalactites in the calm water of the river.

Photos will shortly be available on Flickr - I'm slowly getting them up onto the site. In the meantime, it's just four days until my return to Dublin. Here we go for final year!