Norn Iron ambling

As the weather was rather unseasonable (an example):

we were in no rush to depart Bangor although the normally very organised and friendly marina folks here seemed intent on it. The crew had called them before we left Scotland, arranged a berth for a week or so (long term forecast was not great!) and was given H pontoon hammerhead as the bigger finger berths were all busy.

After we arrived, we popped into the office to say "we have arrived" and a new rather grumpier then the normal staff person processed rather than served us. His offering was "you are small for that big hammerhead and might have to move if you want a week here". We said that we were of course happy to do so, tell us where we need to go but that we just berthed where we had been allocated (and we had told the man on the phone how long we planned to stay!) That afternoon a young berthing master tapped on the boat. "How long are you staying, because you are small for this berth". We ran the now familiar story again. "Well, I will have to check with the harbourmaster and see if you can stay there". How to make folks feel welcome when spending a reasonable sum on visitor berthing indeed. So unlike the normal friendly and organised Bangor setup.

The good news is that catching up with local folks made up for this. Quite a social whirl indeed. George (probably know to blog readers as "Stornoway George") kindly took us to Greyabbey where an excellent lunch was enjoyed in Lekker - a dutch themed bistro:

The theme suited the half-Dutch crew member perfectly. The pancake with bacon, apple and stroop suited the captain pretty well too.

Continuing the gastronomic theme, it was curry time with David and Caroline, followed the next day by a lovely dinner at the beautiful Royal Ulster Yacht Club with Ken, Debbie and Annika. Coffee and cake and a nice locally baked fruit loaf were enjoyed with most of the above too:

The size of the bite indicates how good it was. Oh, and the odd gin was partaken with Keith when he stayed overnight on his yacht in the marina. For those of you with good memories, there was no horses head mask involved this time.

We took the train into Belfast and revisited the City Hall. A good exhibition on the history of the city, partition, the Troubles etc and a free guided tour of the stunning building:

with lots of historical significance - not to mention some new stained glass windows commemorating local folk, struggles etc:

The council chamber is most grand, being fitted out by the craftsmen from Harland and Wolf who were used to completing liners like the Titanic. Even the microphones have ornate decoration on them:

and the Lord Mayor has an imposing seat:

which the crew managed to make look almost regal:

even if her robes of office were a little understated.

Having seen a poor long term forecast towards the end of our first week here, we decided to rent a car for a few days. At around £39 for 5 days the little Aygo was a bargain indeed.

A small diversion to the local post office was needed when ex Captain Rae (yes, the now retired flyboy who might have cross-dressed in the past) reported a nasty complaint. Oil in his coolant. Well, not "his" - in the main engine on his Nordhavn 47. We had the spare O rings and gasket needed to stop his gearbox oil cooler leaking so we parcelled them up and shipped them to Dartmouth for him:

Colin has a fun day ahead. Wonder if he preferred the 747 / 787 Captain world where you just called in a ground crew member and said "fix it please"?

The Aygo was pressed into service to visit Castle Ward, a quite amazing country house near Strangford. It was built with two styles, one half of the house being classical, the other Gothic (a his and hers requirement from Lord and Lady Bangor). You walk between rooms and change environment totally. Guess which side of the house this one is:

The entrance hall had plenty of intricate plaster decorations, some on the ceiling by imported Italian experts and some by local folks. The last area of the room that the local artisans completed was to a tight timescale:

When the National Trust folks were doing some conservation / cleaning work they found that the violin was actually a real violin with a plaster covering. The same applies to the other objects as the craftsmen cut corners to complete in time.

The Gothic ladies boudoir had a slightly overdone ceiling arrangement:

which has been described in all sorts of unflattering ways by many famous guests. Cow's udders is an unflattering example.

The view across Strangford Lough from the grounds was lovely:

despite the windy conditions (see the forecast above!) In the Lough was this strange contraption:

which is reported to be part of the tidal generation tests carried out there. The tide really rips through the narrow entrance - at up to 8 knots. The ferry from Portaferry to Strangford tends to go much faster one way than the other!

We aso walked the Laggan meadows area, enjoying a peaceful wander along the riverside but very close to the centre of Belfast.  Stopping for lunch at the Locks Inn didn't help our scone overload either. When in Norn Iron you just have to partake.

The final excursion was to Stormont, the home of the Northern Ireland assembly and another beautiful building:

The history is tied with the partitioning of Ireland and all that brought with it right up to the present day and the Brexit debates. We had a guide who was more Norn Iron than the stereotypes. He loved telling stories about the building, Irish history, anecdotes, himself, life in general and the normal tour time was well and truly over-run. So sad that the local politicians cling on to the past divisions and refuse to work together. Have a read of Wikipedia entry for more on the building.

Finally, to round off  our time in Northern Ireland and for the animal lovers, here is Shadow, the rather cute spaniel:

together with the rather cute crew and Debbie. We should not call Debbie "rather cute" or "very beautiful"  in public in case we upset Ken, her husband.