Down Down Deeper in Down
369 ViewsFrom the workdesk of Oink Oink on a slow day:
Being so far from home I sometimes think you Irish people take things for granted that seem very interesting to me… I get a copy of the Sunday Life given to me every so often and this week three articles caught my attention (and imagination).
1. The DUP is setting up an initiative to protect the Saint Patrick’s centre in Downpatrick from protestant vandals. Thousands of pounds worth of damage has been done to the centre in attacks over three successive weekends. Now DUP councillor William Walker wants to call a public meeting and invite local Unionist teenagers to attend in order to put a stop to the mindless vandalism.
2. Forget Google, Belfast has its own internet search engine called ‘GASTA‘ and also included from next month will be an English/Irish translation service.
3. and almost finally, down in the village of Strangford, Caroline has been keeping very quiet about her local, The CUAN. It’s relaxed and mellow, traditional bands can lift the mood on certain days, and the food is said to be great with extra large portions.. and a pint of Guinness is only £2.40 … what more could you ask for….
4. Have fun with the Vikings at the fifth annual Magnus Barelegs Viking Festival in Downpatrick, Delamont Country Park and Killyleagh. Organised by Down District Council, this unique festival will once again celebrate the life and reign of the infamous Viking king and warrior, Magnus Barelegs.
Firstly, let me remind you that I no longer live in the hole that’s known as Downpatrick, nor have I for almost a year now. The Saint Patrick centre was just around the corner from where my last house was in English Street and was indeed plagued by thugs and vandals as was most of the town. I have no idea what their religious or political allegience was, just that they should have been rounded up and shipped out to Tasmania or the modern day equivalent. Perhaps they should make those islands that are now sinking due to global warming the latest penal colony. While living in Downpatrick I was no stranger to their vandalism, having had my car vandalised, then stolen and burnt out and a window in the house smashed just because the smasher was ‘bored’. English street is where Down cathedral is (and supposedly the grave of Saint Patrick) the old gaol and the courthouse for those unfamiliar with the area. It’s buildings are mostly historic dating back a few centuries.
Never been to the Viking Festival even though I lived in that area for 5 years. From the annual photos in the Down Recorder, it looks like a fancy dress with the added excuse for big men to shout a lot and flash their swords! Delamont is a nice place to spend an afternoon normally.
The Cuan was my local when I lived in the sleepy hamlet of Ballyculter which is next door to Castleward but I left there two years ago. Your database needs updated Porky I’m on the Ards Peninsula now! Hello?
I hope GASTA is going to include Ulster Scots or else there’ll be a kick up from the unrepresented.
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well well .. You could have tidied up the text a bit before using the ‘copy’ n ‘paste’ function. You make me look like a blethering idiot.
Obviously your ‘contact’ and ‘blog’ formats are slightly different, making the transition from one to the other somewhat chaotic, gramatically speaking. I sincerly look forward to you correcting this malfunction in future postings.
What on earth are you talking about now??
How far exactly (as the crow flies) are you from Downpatrick these days, You move about so much its hard to keep track of where you live these days. I’ve come to the conclusion you must be some sort of international spy, or was it the smell of your dirty laundry (pre new washing machine) that kept you trying to stay one step ahead of your nose…
On the subject of king Magnus Bandylegs, I didnt realise that Strangford Loch used to be called Loch Cuan… end of todays history lesson.
I have no idea… maybe about 30 miles… I’ll have to do the piece of string on the map later on although Strangford Lough is now in between me and Downpatrick so to get there as close to the flying crow route you have to take the ferry from Portaferry to Strangford village. I believe the name Strangford came from the Viking invaders or something like that. Since you obviously have no work to do today you can google it.
sorry sorry sorry.. must have been a glitch on my computer, there were spare words all over the place from the original post.. but it seems to have corrected itself.. please accept my humble apologies and slobbery wet kesses…
So…what’s the fare for a crow these days to get across the lough by ferry?
and talking about crows flies… how do they pull the zipper up ?
I think that question from Idlewild is for you Caroline…. (reading between the lines) .. I think he wants you to get on the ferry and ask for a single… Then report back how much they charge ‘old crows’… cofff
Ha ha heh! Naw.
Most of the real crows around here walk, or hop mostly, everywhere until sundown. Can’t imagine a crow flying more than a few hundred feet.