Out and about in all areas of Belfast with some surprises Sunday 8th June last day

   

We woke up to sunshine.  But you never know here what the weather will be like from morning to night.
Our room in the Lodge adjoins another block of units with student rentals, and as they had been rather noisy after 11.00pm on two nights (I didn't hear them), management had asked us to phone if there was a problem, so John did, and this morning they offered us an upgrade.  For circumstances out of their control, their response and customer service was excellent.  (Apparently they have the Noise Police here).

Belfast on Sunday morning is not very lively.  In fact throughout the whole day on Sunday it is quite staid.

We followed the stops of the tour bus yesterday, and took some better photographs than was possible in the rain.

 The city is divided into Quarters, we were staying in the Queen's Quarter, close to the University

Unfortunately it faced away from the sun but is a beautiful Victorian building 

Some of the better housing on this side of town, 300,000 pounds for a flat

They have the Leaning Tower of Belfast, the Prince Albert clock, built to honour Queen Victoria's husband, and constructed on re-claimed land, hence the sinking on one side.  It is about 1 metre out.

Next stop was Shankill Road and Falls Road, where the main fighting in the troubles occurred.

We drove around this part 15 year ago and would not have dreamed of getting out of the car.  Today, thank goodness, all that is over, and the Belfast community are doing all that it can to keep peaceful.

Looking up Shankill Road

This is the pro-British part

These people fought with Britain in WWI and won 9 Victoria Cross Medals

A collage of events over the years in the area.

They support the Queen in Shankill Road side, lots of British flags fly

The map gives an indication of just how close the two areas area

This building has not been renovated as yet.

The whole area in the Falls Road side has been updated, old buildings removed and lots of new apartment blocks have been constructed.  Parkland and green space replace the fighting fields, although there is still a lot of barbed wire and high fences defining the areas.

Then we happened upon a checkpoint

Houses removed, fences remain and in the land there a heaps of pallets being built for 11th July celebrations of a bonfire

The other side of the checkpoint.

The murals on the walls told a totally different message.

Black cab tours

Rebels Pub, must be a brave person taking on this refurbishment

In May there were some recent troubles, but they were quelled quickly, without the photo you would not know where they were.

A Peace Park remembers those who were killed from this part. So many, so sad and a daily reminder.

The walls divide

  

And me, on the wrong side of the town, I guess!

The area used to house a Linen Mill, one of 32 that used to operated.  Called Conway Mill it now houses Arts and Crafts and archives from some of the prisons.  But like the rest of Belfast it was not open today, in fact the only thing that was happening in the area was some bees buzzing around.

However, I noticed some murals opposite the Conway Mill, and was disgusted to read the content.  Here is a town putting everything in its power to have peace and for religions to try to agree, (according to the locals, that will never be, as both the DUP and Sein Feinn are in an alliance in Government and they are complete opposites), and this is painted on panels.

I didn't think that membership to an Australian union was based on religious beliefs.  "Shame them" a local told me, "that's unions for you, put it on Facebook", so I did and I shamed them.  And I hope that anyone who has a link to these unions will give them a tin of paint to put to different purpose in Belfast.  On the other hand, it is nothing at all to do with them!  Rant over.

Conway Mill, where workers as young as 8 worked 100 years ago

We followed the road a little outside to the next town, hopeful of a coffee break.  But it is Sunday
  and nothing seems to be open.  One thing that we noticed is every shop has a roller door over the shopfront.  It is quite discerning.  Back into town we passed the sculpture knows as The Balls on the Falls. Signifying the beginning of the Falls Road area.  In fact even now in the "summer marching season" some of the roads might be closed.

Another of the leaning clock

Next we decided to take a Titanic Cruise on the river.  And by now it was blowing a gale!  However that didn't deter the many people who probably paid quite a bit to swing across the river!

Safe on the other side

The Lagen River used to be a trickle of water, and then a 16 million pound weir was built and over the past 20 years there has been new life in the river.  Birds not seen for 100 years are back, salmon can be found, and later for us a surprise visitor.  The factories used to be built along the river and all the run off from all the works used to just flow into the water, leaving a bit of an environmental mess.

2000 salmon last year, (don't know who counted them)

Our cruise ship

The weir

Our skipper was very informative, and it was a good trip up the river.  Today there was a cruise liner in port,  they get now, 60 per year, and it is increasing yearly, but at the present they are tied up next to the coal port.  Not the best circumstances, but a new terminal is to be built.  All the tour buses were doing extra well today, and we were sure that the Titanic Museum would be packed.

Nuff said

The tour was stared some 20 years ago and based itself on the fact that the Belfast shipyards built the Titanic.  And I love their logo, "It was alright when it left here", and it was.  As the skipper told us, the ship was never meant to be doing 23 knots at all, least of all amongst icebergs.  Apparently the ship builder was blamed in the beginning, on the rivets, but the Belfast folk who built the ship disagreed.

They worked extremely hard jamming all the rivets in for poor wages, high death tolls to themselves as we experienced yesterday.  They continued to build supersize ships none of which sank, why, cause they didn't go at that speed!  When the wreckage was discovered, the panels were tested and it was agreed that the construction had nothing to do with the ship sinking, but speed did.

Check out the fellow on the rigging

Their stadium on the waterfront, we missed Cliff Richards!

The next series of photos is all about the construction and launching of the Titanic.

Dry dock where she was built

The poles represent the length of the ship and the path she followed when launched it took 62 seconds

Some other residents today, the old war ship facing a 100 year celebration next year.

And the Ruby Princess, maybe 3000 guests on board, all out and about

But the next photos were a very pleasant surprise!

A family of seals!  They love to lie on the algae on the river banks!

So after a great little river cruise, I couldn't not post these photos:

 

Around every corner is something different in Belfast.  It might have been well known in the past for all the wrong reasons, but the atmosphere now is certainly different.  Their take on some of the statues is unique.

We have no idea what these represent, and in the background is the Peace Spire on St Ann's Church

We then decided to check out the ferry terminal so that we would not get lost in the busy rush hour tomorrow, and as you do, we found this rather interesting bird taking a rest stop by the side of the road.

Well not really but he was being shipped to UK to control the vermin in a farmer's field and he was trained by a Scottish Game Keeper, who enlightened us with some interesting stories.  Oh the falcon is from the US.

Our lunch/dinner stop was the Crown Pub, in Greater Victoria Street, and owned by the National Trust.

It was a Gin house, and is very famous, it was not hard to see why!

All old tiles

Now if that isn't a fancy loo

Separate booths to drink in private

A few wooden barrels get used here! 

Back to our updated room, which is a bit larger than we had, and has a bigger bed.

On reflection, after 12 days in Ireland, it has been a rewarding and interesting time.  We have found a new interest in learning of the difficulties of the Potato Famine and the Workhouses, and in particular how it would have affected my ancestors.  

The Republic of Ireland, especially Dublin is especially more lively than here in Belfast and Northern Ireland.

Limerick doesn't have books on Limericks suitable for children, and in fact while it is a very busy shopping centre on a Saturday morning, the hop on hop off tour is really not worth it, although having said that, I was able to find the site of where my ancestor started a church.  The upside is that Bunratty Castle and the folk museum and Irish night was a great experience.

The Connemarra Peninsula is very stunning, and a visit to Galway without going and doing the peninsula or to drive through the Burren, or to visit the Cliffs of Mohar, would be wasted.  

Galway we found, was the most expensive place to eat, especially in our Salthill area. 

The people of the south and the people of the north are different.  Here there are no posters for Jimmy's Hall, and probably never will be.  Here the whole place seems less vibrant.  And it is Sunday and there are hardly any restaurants open, and not one pub offering Sunday roast!

In Armagh, the place almost seemed deserted after 6.00 bit like Hervey Bay I guess, it was very hard to find an eating pub, rather than a more formal restaurant.  We were taken back by all the shuttered shops, now we know why.  On the upside, our accommodation had a micro wave, and we did Marks and Spencer meals for two nights, balanced the food budget a bit!

Londonderry was a surprise, and they have embraced the peace process in my view, better than they have here in Belfast.  Our hop on hop off bus tour was excellent, and we finally got to take photos.  My ancestors lived in Derry, or it could be Londonderry the town, the union, or the state!

Our accommodation in both parts remained the high standards that we have found, the hospitality has been excellent.  The country relies on tourism, and as we learnt on our tour yesterday, the 1 million who emigrated, to Canada,  Australia and  America, for the most part have now some 100,000 million descendants, and the one thing that is certain, is that they all want to return to Ireland at some point in their lives.  So that makes tourism a huge part of the Irish economy, north or south.

For me there is one Ireland, it shouldn't matter that some thought that religion should be the means to political power, but I guess that is a common thread throughout the world in areas and times of unrest.  And I will leave Ireland on that note.

Very much looking forward to the rest of the week.  I am coming home to Scotland.  Now it means even more to me, as I am able to call myself Scots/Irish as well.

Pity I cannot trace John's family any further back than to Shropshire and UK, and it's all Robert Jillett's fault.