The English Countryside and Irish Coast

Hello friends and family,

Today’s story is split between England and Ireland, because England has been too beautiful recently not to talk about!

We have had unbelievable weather in England over the past week – beautifully sunny skies, the temperature just warm enough for short sleeves if there is no breeze. Sunrise is before 6:00am this time of the year, so for the whole week I’ve been waking up with the bright morning sunlight streaming into my window, beckoning me to ‘rise and shine.’

So after Conversation Class this morning (the ESL class we run), a handful of us drove out to the Peaks to a Carvery/Pub for a roast dinner. Feeling particularly adventurous after our meal, Stuart & Suzanne, Tom & Olesya, and I set out on foot to explore a corner of Burbage Moor, near Lady Canning’s Plantation.

We wandered around the countryside for a couple of hours, over rolling hills, across cow pastures, down old country roads, and through even older forests. We had no map and no real destination. Whenever anyone fancied a rest, we just plopped down in the grass, soaked up the sun, and studied the clouds for a few minutes before continuing our exploration.


It was bliss, but I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

"Morning sun and morning glories, pouring down the hill,
Through my window, I can feel the ocean breeze.

"Noisy sparrows fill the oak trees, swallows can't stay still,
And in the glad commotion, Lord, You speak to me.

"If the rain clouds come, or the cold winds blow;
You're the one who goes before me, and in my heart I know,

"This good day, it is a gift from You.
The world is turning in its place because You made it to.
I lift my voice to sing a song of praise, on this good day!
..."

This Good Day - Fernando Ortega

Well, back to Northern Ireland...

Like I said last time, there is much more to Northern Ireland than Belfast and the Troubles, and that’s what I wanted to talk about this time.





Belfast has long been dominated by four important industries: ship-building, Irish Linen, rope-making, and tobacco. You can imagine the effect that the Industrial Revolution had on the city with this combination of industry – both good and bad. In fact, you might have heard of one of the “Big Smoke’s” more famous (or... infamous) creation, one that sailed out from the shipyards of Harland and Wolff in 1912—the Titanic. The locals like to say, “She was fine when she left Belfast...” In the picture below, you can see some of the yellow cranes of the still-in-business H&W shipyards.



The picture below is the Arms of Queen’s University, Belfast. You’ll notice a bright red hand on the shield – if you paid attention, that same red hand was also on some of the wall murals that I posted last week.



Long before the English came to Ireland, Northern Ireland was part of an ancient Celtic kingdom called Ulster, and the Red Hand of Ulster was their symbol. According to the legends, two brothers sailing in the Irish Sea were racing to see who could reach the land of Ulster first. The race was close, but as the boys’ boats neared the shore, one of them sailed ahead and was clearly in the lead. The other brother, consumed with the desire to win, cut off his own hand and threw it ahead of him onto the beach, making him the first to touch the land and thereby the winner of the race. Ever since, the bloody-red hand has been used as the patriotic symbol of the region.

Northern Ireland is also home to the Giant’s Causeway, a bizarre rock formation that juts from the North Coast into the cold Irish Sea. It’s named the Giant’s Causeway after an old Irish legend about Finn MacCool. The first thing you need to know about Finn MacCool is that he had a very cool name (almost as cool as Erik Bloodaxe the Viking, but I digress). Secondly, Finn MacCool was a giant. Now, Finn knew about another giant, Benandonner, who lived on Staffa, an island off the coast of Scotland (which you can see from Ireland on a clear day). Feeling belligerent, like giants often do, Finn decided to build a bridge to this island, so he could fight Benandonner. He laid a huge stone bridge and crossed the sea, but when he got to the other side he saw that Benandonner was an even bigger giant that he was. Finn got scared and ran back, but the other giant followed him in hot pursuit.

With no place to hide, Finn quickly hatched an ingenious plan. He went to his wife, Oonagh, and had her disguise him as a baby and laid him in bed. When Benandonner got to Finn’s house, he saw the ‘baby.’ Seeing a baby the size of a full grown giant, Benandonner began to wonder what size the baby’s father must be. He took fright and ran back to Scotland so fast that he tore up the bridge on the way back, leaving the wreckage of the Giant’s Causeway.


These are the rocks that make up the Giant’s Causeway. The other place where these pillars of hexagonal rocks are known to exist is on the island of Staffa, hence the legend that it was once a bridge.

In this picture you can see the boot that Benandonner left behind in his rush to get home.

Here, you can see the vague outline of Finn MacCool’s petrified giant camel, Humphrey.

Now I know what C.S. Lewis was picturing when he described his early fascination with ‘Northern-ness’ – the gods of Norse legend, cold water, grey skies, grim horizons. There is something strangely beautiful about the bleakness of the scenery.



Tea time at the local inn.

Ok, that’s all for now folks. Next stop, London-Derry, Enniskillen, and the Belleek Pottery Factory! Stay tuned, folks...

Enjoy!
Will
P.S. Happy, happy birthday, Meghan!