26.1.26 - 33 - This land

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Brent geese in Belfast Harbour estate





Islandmagee




The Gobbins



This magical faraway place - it reminded me of Myst.
Complete with its own waterfall


























Oisín is spending much time now with me. As Síuban said, when the boys are in their 20s they will understand what has happened. We laugh about everything. At everything. Morning started off at General Merchants. Oisín had huavoes rotos and I had espresso. I had already eaten. Then I collected Ghin and dropped both off so that I could do the Forest School shop. It is gonna be a wet Forest School.

Then I headed back to get Oisín. I said I wanted to do a long drive for the car to give its legs a stretch and we drove to Islandmagee. 

I love Islandmagee. Its a mix of the North Coast and Donegal in miniature. We walked down to the shoreline and to the start of the 'walk'. This is one of the few instances where time has managed to weather down the new fixtures which are now ten years old... and it looks amazing. The jet basalt and the crushing sea and lifting foam - it was pure Ireland. Peak Ireland. 

I am now getting better at Irish. Also I completed the Brigid story and the Pachamama story. The Pachamama story was of the dystopian collection.

I can see now that the stories are dystopian, hopeful and encounters. They are shades in between. of course. But they are cautionary tales and also little snippets of stories.

Oisín and I were recalling things about the past. Now that these pains are so far behind us, we are able to laugh at them. The fence will never come down - and I have protected myself against the madness. But it was funny to recall all the silly things, undermining, exploitative things which took place all the time. All the unforced errors, all the own goals. The why did that happen? And then just laugh. The boys will see when they are in their 20s. Síuban was right.

OK. Life goes on then. Time for the week to start. The day ended with us in a terrible pub restaurant in Carrickfergus. It reminded me of a very poor version of the kind of places which had come up when I just arrived 30 years ago. 30 years... 30 years in Ireland... unbelieveable. Doheictre... think that's how it's spelt anyway. I am so glad I started learning Gaelige before it got all popular. I remember more than three years ago saying to myself, I think I have been here long enough, I should learn the fucking language.

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