Jeremiah Watt

The day started out with a Continental breakfast of the Hostel style, there was bread that you could toast. And your choice of Tea or Coffee if you brought bags or beans….other wise you could just have water. And really I think the kids are getting into the Euro-swing when it comes to foods, so it is all working out just fine.

We headed from our Drogheda hostel, to a place known as Monasterboise, founded by St. Buite in 520AD. This is a very old site that is built around a huge Belfry of 110 feet hieght, an early form of protection of people but more importantly goods, ie: your first iron bladed shovel, maybe the villages first rubber tired wheel barrow wheel, and you best Bass fishin lures right Mike. When a village was attacked they would retreat to the tower and in event of a siege they would hide in the tower. In the eventual case that not all would fit, they fell to the Gaelic term known as “Abergalfust”, in which the last ones out side would roll into a tight ball sticking head in hinny. While in the position they would assume that old cant see you cant see me form of safety. Can’t tell you how well this form of defense really worked since there is nobody left of that race to give us a verbal account. The focal point of the site is a 7.5 meter cross erected for Abbot Murdock MacDonald in 923.

Zipppppppppppppp, and we are back on the narrow roads that will lead us to the next place of interest which is down town Belfast. We had found these famous tours offered in the traditional Belfast Black Caps. Well, we thought that the tour would take us on the usual tour of items of a tourism interest. But disappointingly so, we got a rather lop-sided political tour of the internal strife of Northen Ireland, the IRA vs Orangemen conflict. I understand that all conflicts , much like most divorces have two sides to the story……..but this turned into a little more political information than I wanted. I will say this here, and given the nature of this Blog maybe I shouldn’t but here goes. If you are easily offended , then I invite you to leave now. It is easy to see when you are in Belfast that they have a political affinity for ANY conflict in any place in the world in which Jews and Christians are hated.

So it stands to reason that groups and countries that offer up hate as a solution to all confrontation would flourish in the “anything goes” conflict mentality. Belfast has an oppressive feel to it that is palpable to even my kids as we walk and talk about town. Each stop, each person we talk to offers up a different reason to hate or at best distrust the assumed “Peace Agreement”. Sorry folks, but my worst feeling is that the folks who would make America a target get to work in this community with wreckless abandon.

Nuff said, we were supposed to stay in a Hostel in downtown Belfast. It is funny but all of us had taken on a sort of silent demeanor, and decided that we had better have some coffee and talk about the things we had all heard and seen so far. We had walked a fair bit around Belfast, and were ready for a wee break. Our discussion eventually got around to the presence of Gods work amongst this community, and or the lack of it. As is the case with most of Europe, the cities skylines are speckeled with the Spires of huge old Cathedrals, that are empty of Gods most beloved creation…………..yes Man…….sorry not the coastal Redwoods!!

Sitting in a coffee shop you do get to see some of the strangest things, and the youth here is strike us all as being rather restless. No work, no schooling, no opportunity…………to all of these we give consideration, but non of us understand just what is at the root except for the almost palpable feel of hate. We finish coffee feeling that only the Grace offered by knowing Christ would see a healing here. We hit the streets, walking west……..which is a dangerous direction in Belfast depending on your belief convictions………..and we notice this rabble of street youth with those darned black tee shirts on. Have to confess, JW thins that most youth today belongs at an amateur Taxidermy studio at best, and then give them a bad haircut, bad fitting pants and dressed in all black and JW is seething.

YES, yes, I confess. I have dress and behaviour issues to work on. Now we could sense as we walked that we are actually getting closer to the heart of a “rally” of some sort, but even this sense was rather magnetic and not repulsive………and like Bees to honey we are drawn right down to the front of the City Hall. Teaming with youth waving some sort of Flags and all dressed in Black. Expecting a wail of siren and swarm of Police at any moment, we began to ask just what was going on here………….well kick my galvanized tail if it wasn’t a Christian Youth Rally, seeking peace thru change of heart rather than peace thru exchange of gun fire.

So my friend Rob, just when we thin that the Lord has given up on all, and turned us all over to the minions of evil…………we see his face in his works. But I will tell you what was the biggest topper for all of us as we made our way to the car…………the biggest brightest double rainbow that any of us have seen bridged over the inner city area. No, sorry but I don’t believe is was purely by chance.

It was decided over afternoon coffee, that all of us wanted to hit the coast road and head towards the next days adventure rather than stay at the Hostel in Belfast. Boy howdy what an awesome God we have, what a creator we have, just a drive up this Antrim coast line would make a believer in divine creation……..this much beauty cannot be the accident of two great balls of gas colliding, nor some creature climbing out of the primordial soup so many millions of years ago. We stopped a t a fine little dining establishment that was owned by a retired Pro-Boxer, what a great meal we had. Oh, I should tell you that JW has a set of what we call “Restaurant Rules” for my kids, sit up strait, place your napkin on your lap, say yes and no Sir/Ma’am, and eat everything on you plate without complaint………period. One violation and I hand pull all the hair off your legs and make a football out of the hide that used to be your BUTT.

JW is what you may call an “Epicurian Adventurer”, and as such I am willing to try anything at least once. When we travel, we never stop at KC Chicken, MacDonalds etc……..its local food all the way. SO given that I will now attempt to tell you just how far my own kids and young Darren has come, Kim. You will be proud of him, as we have officially removed PICKY from his eating habits. Funny isn’t it, how hunger will add recipes to your favorite list. We had Steamed Clams in Coconut milk, and the rule is that ALL of have at least one…………..WOW all of us loved them. Next up, Darren sort of shied away from his Tomatoe “ Canadian Spelling here, not a Quayle moment”, like a horse spooks at flushing birds at a long trot amongst the sage. We talked him through it by putting a little salt and pepper on it for him………….I reminded him just how much HAIR he had on his legs………….we cut the prize into 3 pieces. The first piece went down…….and………..hey that was really quite good. Headway was made, and the food world just grew a little, we now had room for more adventure once we hit Haggis country.

A leisurely drive north along the eastern upper coast of Ireland, the Antrim Coast. The left side lane is begging to feel sort of alright at this time, and we head up thru an area in which it seems all towns are “Bally-something”, Ballyclana, Ballymens, and Ballyclough to name but a few. The low set, cottage style rock homes, with painted white-plaster finish, bight colored rocks that act as the sill to each window, and abnormally bright colored doors such as lemon yellow, fire-engine red or Azure Blue seem to be the most commonplace building up this way. The land is divided by nearly impenetrable hedges, and fields are tea-bag sized compared to what we have become accustomed to back home. BUT green, for a Californian, it is so green it is almost hard to take……..we roll into a tiny seaside village called Ballyclena, and Mom is wanting to get out and hit the Bar/Pub for a pint of Guiness under the guise of finding a local B&B. Well, just 5 pints later she crawled out and told there was only room for 4, so she would sleep at the Pub. She found us a tiny B7B, now remember it is still light and already 10PM, so finding one at this hour was quite unique. Up a series of tiny laneways, and after many turns we finally make it to Lillian’s fine establishment.

Our host had fine accommodations, and we had some Tea and Biscuits (cookies), then turned in so we could get up early. Every one was glad of the choice to leave Belfast behind and make our way up the Antrim Coast. We are a Blessed lot, and wish the same for all of you back home following this Blog.

Good Night and God Bless.