Spider legs on Brom's birthday

No no! Don't worry, he did not receive spider legs on his birthday. He would not have liked that at all and neither would I. The spider legs are mine. Well, not real spider legs, but the stitches in my hand. They look and feel like spider legs. However, today they will be coming out. This afternoon to be precise. 

Apart from some swelling still, the wound looks really good and well healed up. A bit sensitive to the touch, but not painful. That can not be said for my wrist. I had this pain prior to the surgery and it has continued until now, although it does not spread to the arm anymore.

Last week I tried to do some knitting and although I could do it, the pain was very much not good. So I decided that that would need to wait a while longer. I am doing the dishes every day now, even though that is quite painful too. And then on Friday I developed my first headache attack since July (!!!), which left me out of the game for a day or two.

But who cares about my hand and (lack of) use of said appendage when today it's BROM'S BIRTHDAY! Yes, he turned 48 today and is enjoying it very much. I had promised him a new pair of Christmas socks, but unfortunately I haven't been able to make them yet. He says that it's fine and it's not Christmas yet anyway. 

Miss O wanted to say Happy Birthday Brom too

I did make him some other socks prior to OotH-day though and he has been wearing them Every Single Day he likes them so much. So, hopefully he will get his proper present soon. We are all crossing our fingers.

Brom and the linen

Coocoo

On our last full day we had big plans. But even though Mara's knee did feel a bit better after the water, it was still not good. And we all thought it might be wisest if they took it a bit easy that day. So, instead of the folk museum we went to the linen museum in Lisburn.

Flax. It looks just like hair!

Linen is a natural product made from the flax plant and it was used for everything and anything as the threads were really strong. Even upholstery was sewn together using linen threads. 

First we saw how the thread was made on a simple spinning wheel. The girl doing the spinning was single and looking for a husband, at least that was what the ribbon around the thread told us. Different colours were used for single and married girls/women. 

When we went to check out the looms however, there was a problem. There was a school party that used that room and there was something special going on. So we left and visited another part of the museum.

My favourite: a skirt with long tunic.

After we had seen the rest of the museum, we tried to get back to the looms, but they had still not finished, so in the end we left to get some food. We will have to come back at some other time I think. 

Brom meets Saint Patrick

Coocoo

Back again, with the last few stories of our holiday with Gera. And do you know, it is less than six weeks until we see her again! This time she will be coming over to see us.

This church dates from 1933

But you are wondering about Saint Patrick as we already had met him. However, Mara and Gera decided to see a bit more of him and we visited several sites that were connected with him. We visited a small church in Saul. 

When he arrived back in Ireland after getting the 'call', he landed close to Saul. The landowner was not happy at first, but he did convert in the end and gifted Patrick a barn, which became the first church. 

Two bathhouses

We visited Struell Wells where Patrick is said to have blessed the wells. They were already known for their healing powers before Patrick and it was a popular pilgrimage from the 16th until about the 19th century. 

Inside the women's bathhouse.
You would have to stand underneath the water!

The earliest records of Patrick tell of him spending a night at the wells and singing psalms and praying. Mara tried some water on her gammy knee and she thought it might have helped a bit. 

We saw the grave of Saint Patrick which is located in Downpatrick itself. According to legend, he was put on a cart pulled by an ox after his death close by and the ox was set free. Where he ended up was where Patrick would be buried. He is not on his own though: Saint Brigid and Saint Columcille (or Columba) were also reportedly buried there. The slab on top was placed in the early 1900's to stop pilgrims from taking earth from the grave.

Find the mistake!

In the church we got a little tour by one of the people who worked there. He told us that the cathedral that now stands at the site is not the first church on site, there having been several before. This one is a protestant one with absolutely lovely stained glass windows. 

The man who gave us the tour thought I had the best spot that day as I was tucked into Mara's shirt (she had left her coat behind in the car) and he even took a photo of me! I am famous!!

We were still not quite there!

The last thing we did that day was a climb that was hard. Very hard. It was steep and it was long, but it did pay off with a fantastic view of Saint Patrick. Well, a statue anyway. We couldn't read what it said on the base, as none of us can read Gaelic.

The path leading up was lined with crosses and there were several spots for contemplation and/or prayer. It even had a sort of platform where services could be held on special days. You can see it in the next photo.

And if you are wondering why March 17th is Saint Patrick's Day, it is because it is on that day that he passed away. The green is most likely nothing to do with him, but something that was invented centuries after his death. 

In the church in Saul

Brom becomes King of the Castle

Coocoo

Here I am again. And this time I am going to tell you all about the day we went and saw the castle. You may remember I love seeing castles and there was one quite close to where we were staying. And it was free as well!

First though we went to Newcastle. Mara and Gera tried to find as many Newcastles in the world and realised there wasn't even one in the Netherlands. There is one in Northern Ireland though, and that's where we stopped first for a reason. When Mara had packed her suitcase, she had forgotten to take some knitting with her, so she needed something to do in the evenings. Mara and Gera knew there was a nice wool shop in town, so that was where they were headed.

After browsing and eventually buying lots of yarn and a crochet needle, they made their way back to the car so we could go see the castle. They had brought lunch with them and of course they stopped on the way to eat their sandwiches. In the mean time I was hopping up and down! Come on!!!

Anybody home?

Eventually we made it to the castle in Dundrum. Well, I say castle, it was more of a ruin. There was nothing left. But we did go on a walk around it, which was quite funny. First there was a steep hill down and at the end there was a steep hill up again. I think that it would have been very hard to attack back in the olden days. 

Finally we made it to the castle ruins themselves. I could see why they had built it there, as the view was fantastic all around. Mara took me up some steep stairs so I could see for myself. You could still see where the fire place had been and the garderobe (the toilet for regular bears). 

When we had seen everything and used the toilet for ourselves (no, not that one, a proper one), we made our way back to the car and back home. But we didn't go home, we took a detour and drove through the Mourne Mountains to see a bit more.

View towards the Mourne Mountains from the castle

Mara even recognised some bits, as she had driven a coach there. I thought she had been mad and she quite agreed, but that was her job. She was glad she was a passenger in a car now though and could take photos when she wanted or when Gera was able to stop the car in a safe place anyway.

You can see the Mourne Wall in the photo as well.

She managed to find a small parking spot from where we had a really lovely view all around. We got out and took some great photos of the area. Even of the burnt trees in the next field. That happened a few years ago when it was really hot and there were a few fires in the area. 

We drove home after that. It had been a lovely day again.

Brom goes cultural

Coocoo

On the day of the fish, we went somewhere else in the afternoon. Mara had seen signs for a Saint Patrick Trail and thought: why not follow that? There would probably not be enough time in one afternoon though, so first we went to Downpatrick to see the Saint Patrick Experience.

I knew Saint Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland, but didn't know much else about him. Well, apart from Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th, when the world goes green. But Mara said that didn't really happen when he was alive. She thought. 

And she was right. I learned that Patrick was living in a nice home in England somewhere when he was captured and sold as a slave to Ireland. He possibly already knew about Jesus and God and when he was herding his sheep and pigs while freezing his behind off (bears have it easy), he started praying more and more. 

He eventually escaped back to his family. From there he went to France and trained as a priest or something similar and then he wanted to return to the country where he had had such a bad time. He was not the first missionary to arrive, but he made the most impact. He landed in the area where we were as well and that's why the trail was there. 

We also saw a film that made me a bit seasick, but was very interesting as it showed his life and travels even better. He really made an impact with all the monasteries he helped found. He wasn't the only one though, there were others who were there at the same time or just a bit later. 

Through time his story became a bit of a legend and things that never happened, suddenly happened. Like the snakes that he supposedly cast out of Ireland. There were never any snakes to begin with, but Mara said it was most likely something that was more a metaphore (whatever that is) than anything else. 

And so Patrick died, but his words flow on
from Ireland to Dark Age Europe and Beyond

When we had finished, we asked about the trail and were given a map which showed a very long trail, taking us from Armagh (close to where Gera lives) via Downpatrick to Bangor. We decided it was a bit too long to do and we would only do a few things in and around Downpatrick. But that was for another day, as we were heading home to enjoy our cottage.

Brom gets fishy

Coocoo

I told Mara to help me write these posts about our holiday, but she had to work again and didn't have that much time. Not even to make a Photo on Sunday! But here I am again and I will tell you all about the rest of our holiday in Northern Ireland. 

Guess where I am? NOT IN THIS PICTURE!!!

Because of Mara's gammy knee, we had to take it easy a bit, but Gera had found the perfect outing: the Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry. I thought it would be really close to where we were, but it was a long drive. And a short ferry ride as well. But then we had arrived and we went to see the fish.

As you know I am a bear and I think bears and all other animals should live their life in their natural habitat (mine is with Mara). Sometimes that is not possible and in that case a zoo or aquarium might be a solution. 

The Exploris aquarium did not only have a lot of beautiful fish, it also was a baby seal sanctuary, where hurt and wounded seals would be cared for until they could be returned to the wild. We saw how two of them got fed (and a whole load of opportunistic gulls as well).

The keeper had to use this big stick to keep the birds in check,
so they wouldn't eat all the fish meant for the seals.

There was an otter family that was part of the repopulation program. The two adults were in one pen and the four girls in another as they were already old enough and that was what would happen in the wild as well. The girls would be moving on to other zoos to mix the bloodlines.

The otters were fed mice this time.

And then there was a large crocodile that was rescued from someone when it was only a few hands long! The person who had wanted to sell it, was perhaps not too sure about how big it would get! It was massive, as you can see from the photo at the top! And don't worry, there was glass between us, I would never ever ever stick my head in a crocodile's mouth.

It was a great day out and it hadn't even finished yet, but I will tell you more about that on Wednesday.

Brom sees red

Coocoo

The day after we had arrived in the cottage, we went for a hike in the Mourne Mountains which were just behind our cottage. We drove for a few minutes and parked in the Silent Valley car park. Now, Mara would normally have been okay with the longer hike, but as she has a gammy knee right now... a short walk it was.

Which was still quite tough, as we were in the mountains. The Mourne Mountains may not be as high as the Alps or the Pyrenees, but they do go up and down. The area we were in was called Silent Valley and just have a look at the video and you will hear nearly nothing! So nice. 

The Silent Valley Reservoir provides the water for most of county Down and the city of Belfast and was created in the twenties and thirties of the 20th century. We saw the houses they would have lived in and the one in the photo was actually a home to somebody until 2006. Not in the park itself, because after the reservoir was completed the houses were sold to people in the area. When the lady who lived in this house had passed away, it was bought and brought back to the park.

This was a home for a family with three children!

There was also a school for the children of the workers and several other large buildings still on site. There was one larger corrugated iron structure that was now used as a tea room, but was probably for some overseer or perhaps a workshop.

Mara's squirrel

We did want to get some hot chocolate, but while Mara was waiting for Gera and me to come back with a face mask (mandatory, yet forgotten), she spotted a red squirrel. She took some photos from afar. Once we had come back she told us about the squirrel and even saw another one pass behind Gera. 

Our squirrel!

Then as Mara went to the toilet, we saw one ourselves. Sitting right on the next table! Gera took a few photos before it shot off again. Bad luck Mara!!

There was one other thing that was really interesting and that was the Wall of Mourne. It was created during the depression to make sure people wouldn't go idle and they recently have renovated large parts of it. You still can't see it from the moon though or so Gera said.

Mara conquered the steps up to the top of the wall!

You can actually do a hike following this wall and it is really challenging. Perhaps when the gammy knee is sorted?