Oct 12 - 14

A few more film recommendations:

The Wind that Shakes the Barley – Cillian (Doe Eyes) Murphy in a political drama about the troubles in Ireland.

Dead Man’s Shoes – a brilliant little indie flick starring Paddy Consadine and set in Matlock, next door to where I was in England.

Withnail and I – the anniversary edition. The extras are crap, but the copy of the film is so much clearer, it’s like you’re seeing it for the first time. Uncle Monte’s lapel pin is a radish! If reading that fills you with joy, get a hold of this new release. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, well… “throw yourself in to the road, darling, you haven’t got a chance!” Or, rent the film. It is awesomeness.

Dave introduced me to the first two, and to the basic rules of “football” (soccer). I’ll just wait for a minute for the scoffing to die down on the other side of the Atlantic… We also made a trip to Ireland, where we drove across a checkpointless border. Where once there were fairly hostile check-points, you can now only tell you’ve crossed into a new country by the change in the road signs to metric. Here’s hoping things continue to settle into peace.

I’d been so sad to think of leaving, but need not have worried: my flight back was canceled. Not delayed, just “there will be no flight”, and it was due to weather, so I was also told there would be no free hotel. (GAH!!) I went back to the B&B in Belfast, where I’d stayed the night before in prep for an early trip to the airport. The airline had gotten me onto the same flight the following day, so I had a day on my own to walk around Belfast and explore. I found some great views of city streets…

Queen’s University…

And the Botanic Gardens