Loucks Family Holiday

Friday July 23 began as a normal day. Micah headed to the allotment. Lucy went to the Ember to help with morning routines and then it all changed. About 1:30 the Loucks family arrived in their vintage cab. After a picture with the cabbie, introductions all around, lunch was served before the Louckses were put to work building raised beds, doing dishes and helping to prepare dinner. Once done with dinner and Lucy finished her jobs around the Ember, we passed the evening chatting and unpacking the large suitcase of food and clothes that they brought to us. It was like Christmas in July.

On Saturday we slept in (mainly they slept in) and then we headed to St. Georges Market to look around at the booths and have some delicious lunch. After lunch we went had a Black Taxi Tour, which showed us some of the murals and talked about the history of the Troubles. We viewed murals on both the Protestant and Catholic sides of the peace wall, which show their version of events that happened throughout history. Our cabbie was the Louckses first splash of Belfast culture.

Ana, Cindy and Lucy in the back of the cab

Houses that back the peace wall with enclosed backyards

Ana signing the peace wall

Sunday we headed to church in the morning before a picnic in Botanic Park. The afternoon was spent in the Ulster Museum learning more about the history of Ireland and seeing some artwork. Then we had a real Irish experience...we watched Toy Story III in 3-D!!! I bet no one in any other country can do that! The evening was spent at Cafe Naz, an Indian restaurant, and playing games at the Ark.

Botanic Park

Botanic Park

Randall squatting to get the perfect picture

On Monday we all along with Maria went to Ian’s Bakery for delicious pastries before the team meeting. After the team meeting we set out to see a few more sights around Belfast such as the Big Fish, the Lady of Thanksgiving, and Albert’s Clock. Finally we made our way up to the allotment where Cindy (Micah’s mom) picked berries to her heart’s content. We stopped on the way back for some honeycomb ice cream, a true Irish treat. That night Micah and Randall (Micah’s dad) went to pick up the car for the road trip ahead. Randall got his first experience driving on the “wrong side” of the road with many more to come.

Albert clock tower

The big fish

Lady of Thanksgiving

Cindy picking berries at the allotment

Tuesday was the beginning of our road trip around the Emerald Isle. We left in the morning to head up the coastal route toward the Giant’s Causeway. Little did we know the fun would begin before we even took our first picture. Micah pulled over at on outlook point on the side of the road for some pictures and Lucy heard a strange hissing sound so she called Micah over and Micah a bit upset realized we had a flat tire about 40 miles into our trip. After changing the tire on a slight slope, we continued, slowly, on our way to the next town where we left the tire and dropped the rest of the family off at Carrick-a-rede rope bridge to do some sightseeing while we went back to pick up a new tire (and ice cream). After enjoying the ice cream we headed onto Giant’s Causeway and benefited from better weather than last time, but encountered a LOT more people! From there we made our way onto Londonderry to see the “walled city”. We walked on the wall and then saw the Bloody Sunday memorial. We found a sweet pub to eat dinner in where a steak, drink, chip and salad were £5.49. Not bad!! After all this, we tried to find out way to our hostel just outside of Londonderry, which ended up being yet another adventure. The directions were unclear, such as “head to the end of the road”. We missed signs. We ended up far away from where the hostel was! But after asking directions a few times, calling the hostel a few times, we arrived safe and sound (and tired!).

Fixing the tire.

Carrick-a-rede from afar since the two of us were heading back to town to get the tire fixed.

Randall and Cindy at the Giant's Causeway.

A bit of the "walled city" of Londonderry. A view from on top of the walls.

Wednesday was a day of driving with our final destination Doolin, an hour south of Galway. Our day was unplanned and we stopped as we saw interesting sights. Our first stop was a castle in the distance. It was a private picturesque castle positioned on a cliff along the shore. Next, we stopped at a beach in Galway where Cindy enjoyed hunting for shells and finding a ring (too bad it wasn’t an expensive one). On our way to Doolin, we drove through the Burren, which is an area of Ireland composed of limestone with little plant growth. It is quite different in appearance than the green rolling hills in much of Ireland. Finally we ended up in Doolin, a quaint little village with the Allie River Hostel and lots of pubs with music which delighted Ana (Micah’s sister) a lot!

The castle

Cindy searching for sea shells

The Burren

Thursday we headed to the Aran Islands more specifically to Inis Mór. After an hour and a half ferry ride (where Lucy was a bit nauseas) through gloomy weather, but with beautiful views of the Cliffs of Mohr we arrived on the island as the sun broke through. Randall, Ana, Micah and Lucy rented bikes to explore the island, while Cindy took a van tour of the island. The weather was perfect: no wind, no rain, lots of sun! The four of us on bikes ended up with quite the sun burn! We enjoyed seeing seals, some of the 7,000 miles of stone walls to fence in livestock, beautiful coasts, an old fort, and gorgeous cliffs. After an exhausting day of biking we were all ready for a hearty meal that night!

A few of the 7,000 miles of stone walls

Cliffs on Inis Mór

Cliffs of Mohr from the boat

Cliffs of Mohr

On Friday we attempted to go to the Cliffs of Mohr, but due to rain and fog, Randall was the only one to brave the weather to try to see a puffin (a type of bird) and didn’t see any or any of the cliffs. So we drove to Ennis, a town known for shopping. We walked around a bit and enjoyed their farmers market where we got delicious cheese and bread for lunch before heading onto Dingle. Dingle is a little town situated on the bay so our B&B provided beautiful views over the harbour. We did a bit more shopping in Dingle, ate dinner and enjoyed playing some games in the B&B.

Saturday was our trip around the Dingle Peninsula. It provided stunning views of the coast line, islands, and cliffs, as well as visits to bee hive huts, which date back to 2000 B.C., and the Gallarus Oratory, a Christian church believed to have been built between the 6^th and 9^th century. We stopped in a local potters shop and found beautiful pieces of artwork done locally. It was a really neat shop! After touring around, we headed to our next bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere near the Ring of Kerry. For dinner we headed to Kate Kearney’s Cottage, at the base of the Gap of Dunloe. Kate was a local legend, famous for her hospitality and distilling her rewound ‘mountain dew’. After dinner and chatting with a local to get directions to the nearest ATM we began to walk the path towards the Gap of Dunloe. The gap is known for its beautiful scenery and serene environment, due to the fact that cars are strongly discouraged from travelling up the road. The main ways to access the gap are by walking, pony-cart and bicycle. So we set out on the path. Quickly the man we had talked to in the restaurant was chasing us down offering a pony-cart ride up the 3 mile path to the top. After Micah’s dad tried his luck at bartering we agreed to take him up on his offer. His cart is only big enough for four people to sit so Ana happily agreed to ride a horse behind the cart. It turned out that Tim O’Conner (our guide) grew up along the path and farmed a good portion of the land. He provided us with a good portion of local colour! The ride up and back was filled with absolutely stunning scenery and great commentary from Tim. It was a great way to finish up the day.

Bee hive hut

Dingle Peninsula

Dingle Peninsula

Gallarus Oratory

Looking towards the gap

Gap of Dunloe

Ana with Tim

On Sunday we headed out to travel around the Ring of Kerry with our final destination Cork. The day was quite gray and rainy so we missed out on much of the Ring of Kerry had to offer, but enjoyed a walk out to cliffs that offered magnificent views as well as a visit to an old fort, which led to questioning of how many building are we building today will last thousands of years? Another highlight of the day was the fact that we used the runner up in the Ireland’s top toilet competition! Can a day get much better than that? We also stopped off of the road and found a walk down to a river which provided great views of the river with mountains in the distance as well as another shell collecting location. After the Ring of Kerry we headed to Cork where we had dinner at a jazzy pizzeria before heading to a pub for bannofi pie (a delightful combination of toffee and banana!). Another night of games was followed by an early night to bed.

The Cliffs.

Old Fort.

View from our walk down to the river.

Monday, we headed off to Waterford Crystal Factory, which recently (about one month ago) reopened in Waterford. We saw how Waterford Crystal is made and has been being made for years. It is amazing how many hours go into each piece and to hear how many years each person has to train to learn their trade. From the people who blow the glass to the people who hold the pieces to cut them by hand, it is an incredible process. It was also crazy to see the replicas of the trophies that Waterford Crystal has made over the years. To think how much money and time has gone into those trophies is simply unbelievable! After Waterford we headed onto Kilkenny to visit the Kilkenny Castle. It has been restored to the Victorian Era. It was a fun change of pace from the other nature-oriented days that we had experienced before to see the “castle” side of Ireland. We finally made our way to our hostel called Farran Farm Hostel and it was truly on the farm. It was a great experience to be out in the country or as Micah put it many times...“in rural Ireland”.

Blowing the hot crystal into shape.

Cutting the Waterford Crystal all free-hand.

Cinderella's Carriage.

Kilkenny Castle.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning at Powerscourt Gardens, south of Dublin. We were able to see a variety of gardens from Japanese to Italian to more wooded areas. After the gardens we went onto Dublin to visit the Guinness Storehouse, but upon arrival decided that it was not what we wanted to do so we used the toilet there and continued onto Newgrange to check-in to the lodge. In the evening we walked on the famous battle sight of Battle of the Boyne fought in 1690, where Protestant King Williams conquered Catholic King James. This is one of the reasons the 12^th of July is celebrated by Protestants. In the evening we had a delicious and unique meal. We went to a restaurant where we had the option to cook our meal on a hot lava stone so the food cook in front of you and stayed really warm the whole meal.

Powerscourt Gardens

Powerscourt Estate in background

Lovely gardens!

Wednesday was the last day of the road trip. We began the day with a tour of the Newgrange burial site. It is a passage tomb built around 3,000 B.C. The materials were gathered from miles away and it took three generations to build. The inside is constructed in the form of a cross on winter solstice the chamber is lit by the sunrise. Amazing how in touch with the Earth’s changes the builders were! After Newgrange we drove toward Belfast and stopped at Monasterboice, the sight of two early Christian churches as well as two amazing stone-carved crosses that tell the story of the Bible. Our tour guide explained that the crosses were used to tell the stories when the majority of the population could not read. We finally made our way back to Belfast and had a traditional meal at a chippie aka fish and chips. Micah and Randall took back the car, perhaps a little worse for wear, and Cindy packed their suitcases up to prepare for the EARLY morning departure.

Newgrange Tomb

Entrance to Newgrange Tomb.

Monasterboice. The tallest stone cross in Ireland.

The clan was left at the bus station at 6 in the morning on Thursday to catch a bus back to Dublin in order to catch their flight home. We heard they arrived safe and sound, one bag missing, but that should have arrived soon after them. We saw so much of Ireland in the past week that it is hard to realize how much we did experience. It will take awhile for it all to soak in. Highlights for us were the trip to the Aran Islands, Dingle Peninsula and Gap of Dunloe. It was such a blessing to have the Loucks family here in Belfast and Ireland with us!

One Year Together!

Tuesday, July 13 we slept in after the eventful holidays. The morning was spent reading and painting before heading to work in the office for a wee bit. We didn't last too long. Most people were still off work so the most of Northern Ireland was shut down except for the 2 of us so not much was accomplished. About mid-afternoon we decided it was enough for the day and did some much needed grocery shopping for the evening meal with Thomas and Cami. A delicious American delicacy of tater-tot casserole was made.

Wednesday was our rest day. We ran some errands in the morning and then headed into city center to find some much needed maps for when Micah’s family arrives. The evening was spent cleaning the Ark in preparation for hosting Cami's sister, nephew and friends.

Thursday we spent the day in the office: Micah worked on grant applications; Lucy worked on continuing to find a volunteer for October since one backed out when his mother became ill. In the evening we headed over to the Ember for a James’ specialty: beer-butt chicken. James cooks a full chicken with a bunch of spices rubbed on it and a can a beer up the rear end. It may sound a bit odd, but turns into a quite tender meat! The evening was spent around the table chatting and having a good craic in typical Ember form.

Friday we had an allotment party since the lads were off work. Micah, Scott, Lucy, Thomas and Larry all headed up in the morning. We spent the morning picking strawberries and raspberries, mowing and weeding. Makiko, Noah and Matthew joined us at lunch time for a barbecue and more weeding, picking of broad beans, peas, garlic and kale. It was a full and tiring day, but also a great day of fun up in the beautiful and quiet allotment. When we got back to the Ember, we used some of the veggies from the allotment to make a soup for dinner before heading back to the Ark to crash after a hard day’s work.

Thomas.

BARBECUE!!

Larry inspecting the old broken down Volvo at the allotment.

On Saturday we were present in the Ember. It was a hard day! Jillian was in bad form. She woke up in bad form and stayed that way most of the day. No matter what we were doing she was not a happy camper until we went to Rose Week at Lady Dixon Park. She then enjoyed interacting with Thomas and seeing the beautiful roses as well as hearing the harp music.

Sunday was our one year anniversary!! So we headed to church at City Church then we took the train to Bangor to celebrate. Bangor is a village about a 30 minute train from Belfast situated on the Belfast Lough and the Irish Sea. We were able to spend Sunday and Monday in a bed and breakfast in Bangor to relax and realize that it has already been one year since we got married!! Once we arrived, we walked around a bit and then checked into our B&B. After making a plan for dinner, we sat out by the water before heading for tapas. The evening was spent with backgammon and Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang (which Micah fell asleep during!!).

Monday we were treated to a deluxe breakfast! We both started out with delicious fresh fruit and a hearty portion of porridge before Micah enjoyed an Irish Fry and Lucy tried duck eggs. Way too much food but way good! After breakfast when we thought the weather had cleared up, we began a walk on the beach. We had fun climbing on rocks and enjoying the view across the Lough until the rain began. The mile walk back to the B&B in the rain and wind along the beach was not as much fun especially when we only had brought along one pair of trousers. The lesson we learned: it can always rain no matter what the weather forecast says so always pack 2 pairs of trousers. Luckily our B&B hosts were gracious enough to dry our trousers for us AND there were robes in our room so they didn’t even have to see us trouser-less. Once our trousers were dry it was time for dinner (now we were especially thankful for a big breakfast since we had missed lunch), we decided to eat at a place called Papa Joes New Orleans. The Cajun food was a nice change of pace from our typical plate here even though we doubt it was too authentic. We took a nice walk back from the restaurant along the water and then enjoyed a sit by the water outside the B&B.

The B&B

Beautiful!

The harbor.

Our adventure on the beach in the rain.

Tuesday we were up early. We needed to be back in Belfast for a meeting at 10 so that meant breakfast at 7:30. No fear we still got a delicious and big breakfast. The beginning was the same and then Micah tried a salmon omelette and Lucy had the Irish Fry. After race walking (at least as well as we could after that breakfast!) to the train station we slid through the doors just before the train pulled out. After an express commuter train back to Belfast we walked the 1.2 miles back to the Ark just in time to get trained in how to give medicine. Up to this point, only support staff have been able to administer medicine to core members, but as of Tuesday, the volunteers are also allowed to give medicine! We are not allowed to punch the pills out of the pack!! Woot woot! It was a long and tedious training, but we passed the quiz! Then it was off to the office to try to recruit volunteers and get money through grants!

Today has been a crazy day. We were present in the Ember in the morning. Then have been trying to set up a bank account (again). After 3 months ours that we did set up is closing because we cannot prove our residence here since we are not paying any utilities. So, we have to open another one, and use the bank statement from the previous bank to prove our residency. Seem a little silly? AND we didn’t even have exactly the right paperwork so we will have to go back, but it will have to wait till after holidays! So we have been to city centre twice today which would be a hassle for most people, but with no car it is a big hassle to walk/bike in especially when one of the bikes breaks part way in!!! This evening has been a quiet evening in the Ember, Jillian is at her dad’s for the night, Thomas is at work at Common Grounds and Larry is at dinner at a friend’s house. May just has returned from Hong Kong with her family so she is unpacking and cleaning her room. Not much activity is happening in the Ember tonight!

Tomorrow we are back in the office plugging away at volunteer coordination and grant writing THEN the Loucks family arrives on Friday! We are anticipating their arrival in Belfast!! Pray for their safe travels and our safe travels around the island.

The 12th of July

Yesterday was a day of celebration for about half of Northern Ireland. Wikipedia has a good explanation of the reasoning behind the celebration and why only part of the community celebrates. So we will include that information below.

Edited from Wikipedia:

The Twelfth (also called Orangemen's Day or, in Belfast, Orangefest) is an annual Protestant celebration on 12 July. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690). Members of the Orange Order stage parades throughout Northern Ireland and to a lesser extent in several other parts of the world. While it is a Protestant celebration, not all Irish Protestants celebrate it, whether due to political or cultural reasons or indifference. More recently, attempts have been made to play down explicitly political aspects of the parades (as well as any violent history) and present the Twelfth as a "cultural" event, at which tourists are welcome.

History
The Twelfth itself originated as a celebration of the Battle of Aughrim, which took place on 12 July 1691 in the Julian calendar. Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite war, in which the predominantly Irish Catholic Jacobite army was destroyed and the remainder capitulated at Limerick, thereafter being exiled to France to fight in the wars of Louis XIV, the Sun King. The Twelfth in the early 18th century was a popular commemoration of this battle, featuring bonfires and parades. The Battle of the Boyne (fought on 1 July 1690) was commemorated with smaller parades on 1 July. However, two events were combined in the late 18th century to switch the Twelfth commemorations to the Boyne.

The Twelfth parades of the early 19th century often led to riots and public disorder, so much so that the Orange Order and the Twelfth were suppressed in the 1830s and 40s.

Events on the Twelfth

Lead-up to the Twelfth
The 'marching season' begins around Easter, and from this point until the Twelfth the Orange Order stages numerous small parades. The most common of these are lodge parades, in which one lodge walks with a single band. Others, such as the 'mini-Twelfth' at the start of July, feature several lodges.
At the start of July, some unionist areas will be decorated in a 'loyal' style. In most such areas this will include the flying of flags (primarily the Union Jack and Ulster Banner but also the Flag of Scotland) from lamp posts and houses, and sometimes the erection of bunting over the streets. In especially Loyalist areas such as the Shankill Road and Sandy Row in Belfast many householders will also decorate their houses with large quantities of bunting and flags, murals will be touched up, small banners will be attached to lamp posts, and arches will be erected.

Eleventh night
The night before the Twelfth sees enormous bonfires lit in some Unionist districts. These are alternately seen as friendly community get-togethers, depending on time, place and personal viewpoint. A recent criticism of the bonfires is that much of what is burnt (especially tyres) causes serious environmental pollution. In the past the fires were lit on intersections but damage to nearby houses and to the street itself meant that most areas now have an area of waste ground set aside for this purpose.

Official events
The main official way in which the Twelfth is celebrated in Northern Ireland is through parades, which are held all over Northern Ireland. Within Northern Ireland each District Lodge usually organises its own parade. In rural districts the parade will rotate around various towns, sometimes favouring those in which there is less likely to be trouble but in other years choosing those in which it is felt the 'right to march' needs to be defended. The Belfast parade has taken more or less the same route for the last few decades, although in the 1980s the destination changed when the Order purchased a new field to end the parade in. In most areas the parade begins at an Orange Hall and proceeds through the town to a field where members of the Order, their friends and family, and the general public gather to eat, drink and listen to speeches by clergymen, politicians and senior members of the Order. In the past the Twelfth has been a major venue for discussion of the political issues of the day. A church service will also be conducted and sometimes band prizes will be awarded.

Lodges march together, and will generally alternate with marching bands of various kinds. Band members are often not formally associated with the Order but are hired for the day, although most are clearly of a similar political hue to the lodges, and have similar names. The bands, especially flute bands, have a reputation as being less respectable than the lodges, although they are seen by many as serving the useful purpose of keeping young men from working class areas out of trouble.

Controversy
Parades on the Twelfth are often controversial due to the nature of the Orange Order, and the Twelfth is a tense occasion in many parts of Northern Ireland, with riot police on duty at flashpoint parades to prevent clashes between the nationalist community and unionist community. Many in the nationalist community view the parades as triumphalist and a sign of Unionist Protestant dominance in Northern Ireland. Marchers insist that they have the right to walk on public streets, particularly along their 'traditional routes', even if these routes take them through or past what are predominantly nationalist areas. Nationalists see this as a deliberate territorial affront. Over the last few years the number of these flashpoints has appeared to decrease, as the paraders have been told to desist from, or moderate them by the Parades Commission, and nationalists have adopted a more relaxed attitude.

Every Twelfth between 1970 and 2005, British Army soldiers were deployed in Belfast to help police the parades. In 2006, for the first time in more than three decades, soldiers were not deployed on the streets of Belfast during the Twelfth, in what was seen as a benefit of the reduced tensions under the peace process. Due to improved policing and the Northern Ireland peace process, recent parades have been more peaceful. Any complaints about parades may be referred to the Parades Commission, who can set restrictions or even ban a parade if it is seen to be too contentious.

Not our picture: But shows an example of what we saw and a common size of a bonfire.

Our Experience:
On the night of the 11th we were watching the football game at James’ apartment in West Belfast and were able to see a 3-story bonfire waiting to be lit with the Irish flag on top. This would be common throughout the communities.
On the 12th we headed to Lisburn Road to watch one of the many parades that occur throughout the day. Some of the parades are more political charged and heated than the one we attended. In our experience the parade was lots of flute bands consisting mainly of males ranging in age from very young to very old. Each band represented an Orange Order, which is a Protestant political group from a neighbourhood. There were Orange Orders from all over Northern Ireland and a few from Scotland and England. There were well over 100 bands in the parade. The strangest part of the parade for us was part way through when everyone stopped for a beer and water break. Not something we had experienced before when watching a parade! As we walked the route of the parade we were amazed to see the number of people watching the parade. There were thousands of people watching this one parade. The rest of the day was really calm in our neighbourhood because it was a holiday. Most shops were closed; many people were out of the city, especially Catholics. In other parts of the city it was not as calm as this is a tense time in Northern Ireland. If you are interested, there are a few links to BBC which explain other happenings in the city.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/10612779.stm
This news shows some rioting on our road about 3/4 mile from our house on a bridge we cross frequently when going to city centre.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/10612369.stm




Orange Order Banner


The parade and all the people!!


A typical flute band