Betwixtmas in Belfast

January 4, 2026 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

The period between Christmas Day and New Years Eve appears to have a new name (new for me, anyway): Betwixtmas. These few days at the end of December can feel like a strange little lull. Christmas Day is such a climax of social interaction, celebration, eating and drinking. Then, although we no longer stay up to see the New Year in, the advent of a New Year is another cause for celebration and new hope. The days in between often feel calm but can also feel like filler.

Until quite late in my career, I usually drifted into work or ‘worked from home’ to get peripheral tasks done without using up precious holiday allowances. Because so many colleagues were out of the office for the holiday period, I could often get a surprising amount done. Later, I tended to take time off to chill out after Christmas away from London. Now I’m retired, there are even more options to relax into Betwixtmas.

This year we were lucky enough to be able to spend Betwixtmas in Belfast with Youngest Son (YS) and his wife. For us this year, Betwixtmas was busy and bright – certainly not ‘filler’. Our Belfast trip followed our first Boxing Day for nearly 40 years without any offspring. The uniqueness of that was tempered by a sunny walk, a very good lunch at a local and recently expanded pub (The Old Fleece), a brief visit to nearby friends and then an early night.

The weather in Belfast was very good for the time of year and the logistics of travel to get there worked. Once we were in Belfast, we had a really relaxed and great time.

^{Views From The Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast}

YS and his wife are a brilliant team. They are currently setting up a new osteopathy and Pilates business called Nellie Studio. This will be on a floor of a Victorian warehouse in East Belfast that they are renovating. They have grappled with the treacle of having to obtain planning permission and building regulations control for the listed building and are now pressing the letting agent and builders to get the space ready for income generating osteopathy treatments and Pilates workouts. Observing the way they are working together to achieve all of this was inspiring.

Billie Studio's Osteopathay Treatment Room Taking Shape — Screenshot

^{Billie Studio’s Osteopathy Treatment Room Taking Shape}

In between dashing across Belfast to source curtain poles and extra wood flooring, while we babysat their dog, YS and his wife entertained us with films and sport in their cosy lounge, trips to excellent restaurants and walks in surprisingly sunny weather. For me, the only blemish to Betwixtmas was that Forest Green Rovers (the football team I support rather too obsessively) failed to win either of the televised games in the period.

*^{Dog (Reggie) Sitting With A Very Relaxed Dog}*

Belfast is a significantly smaller city than Bristol or Edinburgh where our other sons live. However, it is developing quickly as the Northern Ireland Troubles gradually recede into history. Young entrepreneurs appear to be establishing new independent businesses and there is already a busy and excellent café, restaurant and bar scene. There are far fewer of these than in, say, Edinburgh; but how many does one need? Belfast has enough and is developing further between each of our visits.

Breakfasts are particularly well done. Cultura again stood out for me as the most outstanding breakfast but we also had a great brunch at DRIP and the best coffee was at Established which has long been one of our favourite breakfast haunts.

On an outing to the south of Belfast, we visited Fodder in the Woods for a burger lunch and then wandered around the associated gift and food shops and Finnebrogue Woods. It seems that, well beyond Belfast, young businesses are starting up everywhere.

*^{Fodder In The Woods And Finnebrogue Loch}*

We also had a treat of a dinner at the new Capparelli at the Mill restaurant that has been established by one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s ex-chefs. It is in a lovely building that has been expanded imaginatively and lovingly. The service and food were outstanding and I can’t wait to go again.

Capparelli Mill — *^{The Approach To Capparelli At The Mill}*

We ate very well throughout our stay. YS, his wife and her mother all produced great home cooking for us on successive evenings. We also visited a couple of pubs that we hadn’t been to before (The Jeggy Nettle, which had a lovely open fire, and Northern Lights, which had a range of twenty craft beers of the type I like). YS also gave us the first margaritas we could recall drinking – complete with salt around the top of the glass – all very innovative and special for us!

'Archer Fam' Chicken Pie By YS's Wife - Delicious! — *^{‘Archer Fam’ Chicken Pie By YS’s Wife – Delicious!}*

We squeezed some culture and some walks into the schedule. As on previous Belfast visits we strolled through the Botanic Gardens to the Ulster Museum.

Here, the exhibition on the origin and history of The Troubles is well put together and informative. We had seen this before but there is too much to absorb in any one visit and this time I focused on the videos spelling out origins of The Troubles. We have seen the excellent, recent TV series Say Nothing, Trespasses and (most of) Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland and the Ulster Museum provided another dimension to our understanding of the issues and the way they have been, at least partially, resolved.

*_{Collection OF Ceramics By Local Artists At The Ulster Museum}*

On our last morning, we popped into the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) where there were exhibitions by William McKeown, Niamh Seana Meehan, Marie Hanlon & Rhona Clarke. Each one was diverting in their diverse ways and the building itself is interesting. I’m sure we will visit the Ulster Museum and the MAC again during future Belfast trips.

*^{Sea Skin By Niamh Seana Meehan At MAC}*

So, Betwixtmas was very successful for us this year. It came following a wonderful Christmas Day with Second Grandchild (SG), Middle Son (MS), his fiancée and her mother in Bristol. MS treated us to not only brunch but then a very tasty Christmas dinner of chicken, ham, pigs in blankets, stuffing and about six vegetable side dishes – my plate near overfloweth!

MS Was So Impressively In Control OF Chrismas Lunch (Ably Supported BY His Sous Chefs) That He Was Able To Take Us For a Walk Through St Werburghs, A Very Bohemian Part Of Bristol — ^{MS Was So Impressively In Control Of Christmas Lunch (Ably Supported By His Sous Chefs) That He Was Able To Take Us For a Walk Through St Werburghs, A Very Bohemian Part Of Bristol With Gaudi-esque Buildings}

Betwixtmas ends with New Year’s Eve. As we move past New Years Day and into the early days of the new year, there is a chance to think about hopes and resolutions for 2026. Maybe I’ll write about those New Year Resolutions later this month if I can sustain actually doing them for that long. Meanwhile, Happy New Year to all!

Great As It Is To Travel Away From Home, It Is Always Good To Come Back - Ruskin Mill In Winter Sun — ^{Great As It Is To Travel Away From Home, It Is Always Good To Come Back – Ruskin Mill In Winter Sun}

Belfast to Derry and Back

May 24, 2025 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

Eight months since our last visit to Belfast to attend and celebrate the wedding of Youngest Son (YS) and his wife, we visited again a couple of weekends ago. This was a very relaxed trip with few fixed plans, no real schedule other than our flight in and out, and just a desire to catch up properly with the newly wedded couple and to see a bit of Northern Ireland again. We were helped by terrific, sunny and warm weather and, as usual, great hospitality starting with a barbeque in YS and his wife’s pretty, sunny garden.

*^{Playing Molkky (A Finnish Game Akin to Petanque and Skittles) In The Garden}*

On our first full day in Northern Ireland, we took the train to Derry/Londonderry. The train journey was very comfortable and relaxing with great views of grassy fields and hills. Then, as we passed Coleraine and Castlerock, we looked out on beautiful beaches and wide inlets before approaching Loch Foyle and the city of Derry.

*^{Coastal Views Between Castlerock And Derry}*

We traversed the Peace Bridge over the River Foyle. The bridge was funded by the Northern Ireland Government and the European Union Fund for Peace and Reconciliation. It is an unusual s-shape with two main supports. We learnt later that the shape is to indicate that the path to peace is not straight and that the two pillars represent the two sides of any peace agreement and the importance of both to enduring harmony. Derry has been a fulcrum of conflict for centuries between English and Irish and Protestant and Catholic, but the bridge is a testament to the current atmosphere of relative calm, hope and peace.

We headed into the city and refuelled with coffee at The Hang Ten Brewbar. There was further, more alcoholic refuelling in the sun at Peadar O’Donnells traditional Irish pub and then we strolled through the city to meet up with a city tour guide.

Looking Up Waterloo Street, Derry (Peadar O'Donnell's Pub On The Right) — *^{Looking Up Waterloo Street, Derry (Peadar O’Donnell’s Pub On The Right)}*

He gave a brief account of the early history of Derry including its initial establishment as a monastic community by St Columba in the 6^th century and the much later takeover of the city as part of the colonisation of the area by livery companies based in London – hence the alternative name of Londonderry. These companies, loyal to the English Crown, build the city walls in 1619. These have apparently never been breached despite a myriad of sieges and attacks since – hence a third name for the city: ‘The Maiden City’.

The guided tour followed a simple route around the top of the city walls which have a roughly rectangular layout with four original gates in each side. Between the two thick sides of the wall is a mass of clay that helped to absorb the power of cannon shot. Atop this is a thoroughfare broad enough to carry large heavy wagons.

On Derry's City Walls — *^{On Derry’s City Walls}*

Of course, the walls also provide great views of the surrounding countryside, the river and some of the more significant buildings in the city itself.

St Augustine's Church, Derry — *^{St Augustine’s Church, Derry}*

These included the pretty St Augustine’s Church (The Wee Church on the Walls’) and the First Derry Presbyterian Church. The tour ended in the very centre of Derry from which we could see all four of the original gates and could show our appreciation to the tour guide for a very informative and interesting 90 minutes.

Our evening meal back in Belfast was at the very good Mourne Seafood Bar not far from Belfast City Hall where YS and his now wife were married.

Throughout our stay, we ate very well. It is great seeing one’s offspring mastering skills I have never possessed and YS’s control of his new barbeque was excellent. He is barista trained and has access to good Belfast bakeries so breakfast at home was very good. But even better were the breakfasts at Cultura (where I had a really exceptional Italian Hash) and Neighbourhood Cafe (where I was greedy and had both the lovely fruity, minty coconut granola followed by the excellent Scrambled Eggs Rayu). The quality was reminiscent of the great breakfasts we had on our trips to Australia some years ago when YS was based there.

*^{Murals Near The Cathedral Quarter, Belfast}*

After breakfast at Neighbourhood, Jane went with YS’s wife to her osteopathy studio for a treatment for Jane’s shoulder while YS and I wandered nearby to see The Cathedral Church of St. Anne and some of the local murals. During the several times we have visited this Cathedral Quarter I had not previously noticed the distinctive cathedral spire which was, this time, shining in the sunlight. The way the spire protrudes down into the interior of the church was an interesting bit of design.

Another highlight of our trip was an outing to Mount Stewart, a large estate on the edge of the extensive Strangford Lough and now owned by the National Trust.

We didn’t go in the house this time since the weather invited us to spend our time in the beautiful gardens and wandering around the lake.

We also ventured into the woods following signs to a red squirrel hide in the hope we might spot one. In the hide we sat quietly for five minutes peering out of a large and presumably one way window. Moments after I had I whispered to Jane that this was probably all a bit of a long shot and waste of time, a red squirrel appeared around the side of the hide. It was a very exciting moment followed by 10 minutes of watching this little, shy creature poking around the feeding boxes and scampering over fallen logs. Red squirrel numbers have collapsed in the last century due to viruses and competition with larger, invasive grey squirrels, but are now beginning to revive due to conservation efforts such as that we saw. We felt very lucky to see one.

*^{A Red Squirrel; Very Happy In Its Conservation Area At Mount Stewart}*

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Belfast and to Derry/Londonderry. Belfast seems to be thriving despite some political and governmental issues. It was nice that we had an opportunity to peek at a soon to open restaurant associated with Yotam Ottolenghi. He is certainly a famous restaurateur and his investment in Northern Ireland must be a good sign for the region.

Site Of The New Restaurant Associated With Ottolenghi — *^{Site (A Repurposed Mill) Of The New Restaurant Associated With Ottolenghi And Opening In 2025}*

It was great too to see how YS and his wife live, why they enjoy Belfast and Northern Ireland so much and how they have made their home there with their rather elegant and increasingly mature dog ‘Reggie’.

We were glad we could repay their relaxed hospitality with a bit of gardening. The centre point of our effort was the retrieval of an old zinc water cistern from a local skip and working with YS and wife to fill it, and a few other pots, with herbs. YS’s new barbeque is now surrounded by these pots and is adjacent to a bit of planting that we all felt very proud of. It was not only a very enjoyable weekend but a productive one.

*^{New Planting (Just Missing The Jasmine That YS Added Later)}*

Joy At A Belfast Wedding

October 9, 2024October 10, 2024 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

The last weekend of September was one of life’s memorable high points. I’m still humming from the pleasure of that weekend during which our Youngest Son (YS) got married to a lovely Belfast woman who he has known for almost 10 years.

The tear-jerking (for me, anyway) formal ceremony itself was in the impressive Belfast City Hall. Before and after these formalities, there were great opportunities to meet up with the bride and grooms’ friends and family and to celebrate the marriage. There were weekend events in a hipster brewery bar, in a traditional central Belfast pub, at the newly married couple’s home and at an impeccably organized and delivered reception at Waterman House. The vast majority of our close family was there – including both our grandchildren. Jane and I loved every minute. I think the bride and groom had a rather special time too!

*^{Sun Shining, A Beautiful Building And A Happy Couple}*

Life can be wonderful (if you can avoid things like climate-change-accentuated weather catastrophe’s, poverty, wars, and ill health). I have always been a ‘half-empty’ person who worries about the news and the future. However, Jane would say that we need to live in and appreciate the current moments and certainly this Belfast wedding weekend was compelling encouragement to think that way.

Jane and I know how fortunate we are to be able to have experienced grandchildren and to see our sons married to such lovely people. It is now just Middle Son (MS) to go on the marriage front but he and his fiancée have already given us the privilege of Second Grandchild. He was a little marvel throughout the Belfast trip and celebrations. He was so calm as he was passed around the revellers and I was personally chuffed by the number of instant and gorgeous smiles I got from him during the weekend.

First Grandchild (FG) was a treat too. Although he struggled with my explanations of the concept of marriage, he fell further in love with the bride – perhaps that was because she was dressed a bit like an angel – and he loved the hugs he got from her.

We, and our two elder sons and their families, stayed at the ideally located, cool and very comfortable Bullitt Hotel. Our room was large enough for us to give Eldest Son and his wife a break by playing indoor games with FG. Jane played a card pairing game and we introduced him to the idea of paper planes. He played enthusiastically with one for ages; who needs manufactured toys!?

Jane also took FG off during the wedding reception since he was struggling with the noise levels and needed a break. Jane only just made it back in time to deliver her speech. I found a draft version of her speech on my phone in case I needed to step in but the Master of Ceremonies – a naturally funny and larger-than-life Australian friend of the now married couple – had the situation under control. Jane returned just in time to deliver perfectly. All the speeches including those from the bride’s parents and another Australian friend of the married couple were amusing and hit their mark.

We ate extremely well and Watermans Restaurant did a tremendous job of delivering four choices of three courses of food to so many very efficiently and effectively. The drinks flowed and the music and dancing started. As the music got louder so I spent more time in the adjacent alley so I could hear conversations with my ageing ears. My ageing knees didn’t prevent a bit of Dad-dancing though. However, I saw from subsequently released video that the dancing became increasingly rumbustious after Jane and I left the youngsters to it.

In between all the wedding related events we enjoyed the sunny weather and Belfast. Breakfast each day quickly settled into a routine of meeting with grandchildren and their parents at Established, a café we seem to visit during every Belfast trip. The food is simple but just right for me and the Americano coffee is great. We also had excellent lunches there and at General Merchants in Ormeau Road. Belfast is small relative to, say Bristol, London or Edinburgh but it has become well equipped with enough excellent, modern cafes and restaurants.

^{Belfast’s Botanic Gardens And Ulster Museum}

We wandered through the Botanic Gardens and visited the Ulster Museum again. Our intention was to visit an exhibition on Belfast political murals. That was closed so we diverted to another exhibition of textiles created around the world to illustrate conflict and humanitarian issues (“Threads of Empowerment: Conflict Textiles’ International Journey”).

*^{Inside The “Threads of Empowerment” Exhibition}*

*^{A Collective Catalonian Arpillera Called ‘Hands On’ Showing Community Self Help With Over 200 Characters – One Of The More Positive Pieces On Show}*

We had seen something similar at Kettles Yard, Cambridge about a year ago. That had exhibited Palestinian embroidery. This Ulster Museum exhibition covered a wider international scope. Many of the works focused on South American conflicts and especially ‘The Disappeared’ but the most moving works for me were reflections on the Holocaust by Heidi Drahota, a German (below).

The museum has an excellent ceramics section and a very good permanent exhibition covering the Northern Irish Troubles which we saw last visit. We saved revisiting the latter for another trip so as not to risk the upbeat mood of the weekend. Not that much could have dented that.

*^{Inside Ulster Museum: The Ceramics Section}*

It was great that the wider family made the effort to come to the wedding, it was great to meet or re-meet the married couple’s friends, it was great that the sun shone and that the whole event passed off in lovely locations without a blemish. It was a perfect Belfast wedding and we are very happy that YS and his partner have (finally) ‘tied the knot’ and that we have more visits to Northern Ireland in prospect.

*^{Views Of Belfast – We’ll Be Back Soon!}*

Belfast Christmas

December 31, 2023December 31, 2023 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

Christmas in Belfast started at a furious pace. Youngest Son (YS) picked us up from George Best City Airport and whisked us off to an Asian small-plates restaurant in the centre of town called Yugo. We had an early, swift and tasty dinner there before zooming off again to traditional Irish bar in the old docklands, The American Bar. Here, we met up with YS’s future parents-in-law and had a catch-up chat while staying well out of the way of the regulars who seemed very proprietorial about their seats at the bar.

Then we crossed the road to the Dockers Club for a gig by George Houston who was an excellent warm up act for Joshua Burnside. Both artists were amusing between the enlivening music and they both had songs with interesting lyrics.

It was a great venue; apparently the gig was sold out but it wasn’t too crowded. The acoustics were great. I could make out all the words of the songs as long as I didn’t stand behind the enthusiastic woman who thought she knew them all and thought we’d benefit from bellowing them out. Plus, the Guiness was creamy and proper. Seeing a gig in such a lively, functional venue was a real treat.

It was interesting to see YS and his fiancé bumping into several acquaintances and friends. Belfast is small compared to London where meeting up at a gig would be unlikely unless planned in advance. It is clear that YS’s partner has a huge network of friendships in Belfast through living in the city through her youth and, now, through her work as an osteopath and as a Pilates and yoga teacher. It is great to see how settled – and successful – they have become in Belfast.

It was late by the time we got back to their house and Reggie, their one-year-old dog was suffering cabin fever and then overexcitement as we walked in. Let’s just say he had an unsettled night of whining and moaning…. To be fair, he was very quiet on the other nights of our stay and he has settled down a lot since we last saw him in Spring. He no longer chews the furniture and stairs – though his history of this remains evident – and he is a very gentle dog whose only anxiety seems to be worry that everyone in his ‘family’ are close by. I’m looking forward to even more maturity by the next time we visit.

After that exciting first evening, the pace slowed and became very relaxing. YS loves a bit of technology and he has a huge telly with surround-sound in one room and a (pretty awesome) projector in another. That meant that while YS and I could watch football in one room, his partner and Jane could watch a stream of Christmas holiday movies in the other. The latter included Bernard and the Genie which we all watched. I hadn’t seen it since our sons were very young and was surprised that, amid the hilarity, some bits are amusingly inappropriate for the young.

We played games. YS won at HeckMeck as usual but Jane and I were dominant during my first exposure to Articulate! We had a hoot with that! I was less good at Jenga 😊

^{Ormeau’s Bread and Banjo Bakery – ExcellentAnd The Best We Have Found In Belfast So Far}

We ventured out to the independent shops in the local Ormeau area primarily to get some very good bread and bagels. Then, for the first time, we visited Lisburn Road, which also has an attractive range of shops, and picked up sherry and some interesting wine.

*^{Maven – A Cool Home Decoration Shop In Lisburn Road}*

I dipped out of some of the perusal of shops to walk through pleasant but wintery Ormeau Park. That enabled me to get exercise sufficient to enable conscience-free consumption later

*^{Carved In A Tree Stump With A Chainsaw By Hazy In Ormeau Park}*

On Christmas Eve we had a lovely walk along the Lagan River and into the woods near the Stanmillis Sluice Gates.

*^{Stranmillis Sluice Gate On The River Lagan}*

On Christmas Day we strolled through the Botanical Gardens and past the Queens University Sports Hall. There is a surprisingly large amount of interesting green space near to the dense but attractive residential housing of Ormeau – much needed with a dog as big and energetic as Reggie.

On Boxing Day, the weather was excellent in the morning and YS insisted that we fulfil what is becoming a tradition when we visit him in Belfast: a sunrise walk on a beach. Fortunately, its winter so the need to see the sunrise was less demanding on our sleep patterns than in the past.

*^{Just Before Sunrise – Helens Bay, Belfast}*

We went to Helen’s Bay and Crawfordsburn Country Park and it was empty and gorgeous.

*^{Helens Bay With Reggie At Full Pelt}*

Fortunately, especially early in our walk, there were few other dogwalkers. Reggie the dog is gradually becoming more manageable with other dogs but he is over-enthusiastic and provokes fuss and bother. Amusingly, when he gets into a tangle with another dog, YS and his fiancé’s strategy is to run away as fast as possible – not to ignore the problem, but to lure Reggie away promptly. It sort-of works and some other dog owners found it funny.

YS’s Partner’s Pictures Of Reggie At Helens Bay

Finally, it being Christmas and all, we ate and drank well. YS had bought a selection of excellent beers with strange names from Boundary Brewing.

On the food front, a highlight, of course, was the Christmas dinner itself which included YS’s terrific pigs-in-blankets. We also feasted on a huge selection of local cheese that had been provided by YS’s next door neighbours in gratitude for tolerance in the last 6 months while they built a very substantial extension on the back of their house. (Hopefully, one day, YS and his fiancé will be able to build an extension too!). Then, on our last night, YS’s fiancé made a delicious prawn and orzo dish that I will try out at home.

^{A Full Plate Of Christmas Dinner – Lucky Us!}

It was a lovely Christmas. Three years ago, Covid broke the mould of the succession of Christmas get-togethers with all of Jane’s family at our house. Then, two years ago, we decamped to the Isle of Skye for a small family Christmas with those sons and partners without a baby. Last year was a relatively small affair at our house with sons and partners that focused on First Grandchild as much as Christmas. And now we have done Belfast Christmas.

Next year the plan is to host at our house all three sons and their wives, partners and fiancés plus what will be two grandchildren by then. It’s only a plan but it is clear that the time for extended 15 to 20-strong family Christmas lunch has, passed for us and, now I have retired and have no work constraints, I can envisage that we may be even more innovative in Christmas location and composition in the future. Long may that continue. Lucky us. Happy New Year!

Breaking the Routine – To Visit and Be Visited

June 11, 2023October 7, 2024 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

After Jane’s Mother’s funeral early last month, we had visits from my Dad and my sister and then my Best Man (BM). A quiet week followed before we headed off to Belfast to see Youngest Son (YS) and his partner. I’ve written a lot about my retirement settling me into a new structure of daily routine but these visits were a nice break from that and forced changes to our settled pattern of everyday life – a beneficial shake up.

It had been quite a while since my Dad and sister had visited us. Whilst there have been no structural changes to the house or garden since their last visit, the garden has matured. The weather was largely fine and the garden was approaching its best in terms of colour and variety. This, despite the loss of several small shrubs and many of the ornamental grasses during the cold and wet of late Winter and early Spring.

We ventured out on a few short local walks together while my Dad and sister were with us. Unfortunately, the bluebells in the woods on the way into town were well past their best but there was enough to see and the strolls were pleasant and largely sunlit.

We also had an excellent dinner at The Woolpack Inn in Slad near Stroud (thanks Dad!). This pub was made famous by the poet, Laurie Lee and it’s a great venue to go to with visitors to Gloucestershire. On one hand it looks like what people typically envisage an old rural pub to be (the toilets are still outside!) and the atmosphere is intimate and cosy. On the other hand, it offers modern, excellent food, and smiling but unoppressive service. In addition, I had a really well-kept pint of India Pale Ale.

*^{Double Rainbow From Our Dinner Table Window At The Woolpack}*

Later in the week, the arrival of my BM, an old friend from university, was dominated by his exciting news that he is getting married. We met his fiancé, a lovely Chinese woman, in 2020 just before the Covid lockdown. After a lockdown apart, they are now together in Kenya and planning their wedding. It’s a lovely story of late life (for him, anyway) romance and we enjoyed catching up with that and the other developments in BM’s life during good food and long walks.

Our trip to Belfast was long awaited. YS and his partner bought a house there at the end of last year and we have been keen to visit it and them since then. YS wanted to settle into the house – and get the spare bedroom renovated – before inviting us. Then that invitation was postponed by YS and his partner taking on the responsibility for a large and lively puppy. We finally arrived to meet ‘Reggie’! He is a disruptive handful but they love him despite his chewing of the furniture and the digging up of the lawn.

The house is already great and has a lot of potential. I liked the local area, Ormeau, very much; it is a much larger residential area than I remembered with several roads with pretty Victorian terraces and later rows of larger, well-built houses. There are a smattering of attractive independent businesses on the main road and river walks and the Belfast Botanic Gardens and Ulster Museum are nearby.

*^{Inside The Belfast Botanic Gardens Palm House}*

We visited the Botanical Garden Palm House briefly but spent far longer in the Ulster Museum. This has a very diverse set of exhibits and attractions set in an airy combination of old and new buildings. Since YS moved to Belfast, I have focused more than before on articles and television programmes about Ireland but my understanding of its history remains thin; the museum provided a lot of reminders and filled in a lot of gaps.

*^{Inside The Ulster Museum With Porcelain Works By Frances Lambe And Nuala O’Donovan}*

As well as displays about Ulster and Northern Ireland history there was some beautiful craftmanship on show. Overall, it is well worth a (free!) visit and I’m sure we will go again.

The weather in Belfast was noticeably cooler than back in England but it was mainly sunny and clear; perfect for walks along the coast to the east of Belfast and around the green enclaves of Belfast along the Lagan River – both with and without Reggie.

*^{Walking With Reggie in Belvoir Park Forest, Belfast}*

*^{The Path On The South Side Of The Lagan Estuary}*

We were also able to leave Reggie so we could visit YS’s place of work in a renovated set of warehouses and factories in East Belfast. His offices weren’t open but we were able to sample a beer (and a few games of Bananagrams – YS loves games!) in the Boundary Brewing Taproom next door.

YS’s partner’s business (Restore Osteopathy) is more centrally located in the Cathedral Quarter. Here she practices not only osteopathy in a very attractive treatment room but also leads yoga and Pilates classes in two large, ideally suited rooms. It’s a wonderful space for what she does. Both YS and his partner have more than found their feet in Belfast.

*^{YS’s Partner’s Yoga Spaces And Treatment Room}*

Belfast itself is very lively and seems to have so much potential if only the politics would calm down and business could invest with even more certainty. It is a small city compared to London. But, like Edinburgh (which is about 50% bigger) it is a capital city, has some impressive things to see and is attracting increasing numbers of young people setting up new businesses.

Great coffee houses and interesting and enjoyable restaurants are popping up across the city. On this trip we ate at EDŌ where we had a welcome chance to catch up with YS’s partner’s parents (thanks for dinner guys!) and Waterman House. We breakfasted on trendy bread from an bakery (Bakari) apparently using Icelandic recipes.

*^{Waterman House Restaurant With A Large Painting Of Belfast By Colin Davidson}*

Being visited and visiting others disrupts our well-worn micro-routines. This is a good thing. Having YS ask us whether we want a beer at 4.30pm instead of waiting till our traditional 6pm drinking time is a good challenge. Not finding time to do the Quick Crossword at 5pm is actually ok for a day or two. Having to scrabble around in the depths of a cupboard for our sugar bowl for a visitor that takes sugar in their coffee isn’t much trouble really. Dealing with the issues of a new puppy is unsettling but helps to keep us on our toes. Seeing new places and finding out about them is always interesting. We should, and will, do more and I should avoid getting stuck in my ways.

Hope and Resolve in 2021

January 22, 2021 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Yesterday, Storm Christoph, which has been battering and flooding many parts of the UK, brought us a dramatic combination of rain, wind, thunder, lightning, snow, bright sunshine and then a great sunset. I suspect that we might see a similar drama in events and a variety of ups and downs in 2021 as we wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of Brexit and the normal hurly-burly of life.

*Sunset Over The Garden After The Storm*

Currently, the rather boring but necessary lockdown continues and Winter life revolves around meals at home, shopping for them, walking the local lanes and fields, reading books, listening to the (voluminous and ever changing) news, watching TV dramas in front of the woodburner, and sleep. But the delivery of vaccines is providing some hope that, in a few months, we will be able to resume adventures around the UK and meet people normally again.

Yes, there are new variants of the virus and, yes, the death rate will rise yet further before it subsides, but there is expectation now that the current pandemic will pass (or, at least, become a lot less disruptive) during 2021. Of course, I am dearly hoping that is the case. However, I also hope that the Government does not hide behind an effective roll-out of the vaccines (assuming they manage that). We must learn, and make transparent, the lessons learnt from doing almost everything too little and too late to combat the virus. After all, this is hardly likely to be the last pandemic we need to deal with and we need to do far better next time.

Against the uncertain backdrop of pandemic and Brexit, it is hard to set concrete personal resolutions for the New Year. The lockdown has induced a gentle lethargy in me (I’m one of the lucky ones). I think it is going to take the fine Spring weather and an end of the lockdown to generate some proper enthusiasm to break that ennui. So my resolution process this year is really to just continue on the path set over the last couple of years.

For example, I will maintain my target of walking an average of over 15,000 steps a day. Apart from a bit of garden pottering, that is really my only substantive exercise these days. So, it’s good that I exceeded that target again in 2020 and I plan to do so once more in 2021. That should be achievable, and be thoroughly enjoyable to achieve in our lovely countryside, provided I stay healthy. Hopefully, many of those steps will be taken a little further afield than was possible in 2020.

The 2020 resolution achievements I proudest of in 2020 were those relating to increasing alcohol-free days and reducing average alcohol units per day. I beat my target of 40% alcohol free days by more than 10% – well over half or 2020 was alcohol free! I also thrashed my 10% reduction target of decreasing my alcohol unit intake. My tracking on the Drinkaware app has shown that I managed a 35% reduction in alcohol compared to 2019 and I now average 22 units/week.

That still leaves me well above the recommended limit of alcohol intake (14 units a week); so there is more to do. However, there is a balance to be struck here. Until I really can’t drink whiskey, wine or beer for precipitate health reasons, I need to weigh the benefit to my feelings and mental health with the physical risks of exceeding the rigour of what is recommended. So many pleasures have been curtailed during this pandemic, reducing further the pleasure I get from what is now a relatively occasional drink is not in my set of 2021 targets. I will just aim to at least repeat what I achieved in 2020 – that will involve will power sufficient to be challenging enough.

That, plus the continuation of walking, should help with my perennial objective of getting my weight below 11 stone. By the week before Christmas, I had managed that. However, for the second year in a row, the combination of mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, brandy butter and a major Christmas dinner – lovely as that all was – tipped me over the edge of the 11 stone marker just before year end and just as it did in 2019. My resolution this year is to reduce my weight to such a degree by mid-December that I can enjoy those Christmas excesses without jeopardising target achievement.

Other resolutions from last year have been a bit of a washout. I failed to listen to the news on the radio less and listen to music more. There was just so much news from the pandemic, to Trump, to Brexit, that I just couldn’t stop taking it in. Plus I failed to reach my target of reading 20 books (I managed only 13, a poor show given how much discretionary time I now have and how much I enjoy good fiction). I resolve to do better in 2021.

Long-Suffering Wife and I failed, for obvious reasons, to achieve our resolution to get out together around the UK more. We made it to Belfast for the first time but other holidays to Cornwall and Wales were planned then cancelled. This year, when the virus allows, we will revisit Belfast where Youngest Son is establishing himself, and visit Eldest Son in his new home in Edinburgh. We also have booked, rather ambitiously, a family Christmas on the west coast of Skye; if that comes off, the world really will have returned to something like normality.

*Memories Of Exploring The UK In 2020; Belfast Lough*

This time last year I said in these blogs: “I think that 2020 is going to be a far better year than 2019”. In some ways it was in that we had no sons in near fatal accidents. Now, I really do think 2021 will be far better than last year but who knows what it will throw at us. Good job my resolutions are not critical work targets that must be met; I can relax, be flexible, go with the flow and just be content with pushing myself just a tiny bit.

*Early Snowdrops – A Sign Of A Brighter Future?*

Belfast

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 / fgrtommo / 4 Comments

After long consideration of the relative risks during the Coronavirus pandemic, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I finally swallowed feelings of unease and flew to Belfast to see Youngest Son (YS) and his Northern Irish girlfriend in their new home. We had a packed four full days there – so packed that I will use two blog posts to cover my thoughts on our trip. Here is the first.

Travel to Belfast by car and ferry was going to take a day and the fastest route involved travelling through the Irish Republic. We were concerned about possible quarantine restrictions being imposed there during our trip but the ferry direct to Belfast from Birkenhead took nine hours and we couldn’t face that. So we plumped for a short flight from Bristol, our closest airport, and a payment to Solar Aid to offset the carbon emission and to help people in Africa.

The ‘Beacon Of Hope’, Belfast (Also Known As: ‘Nuala With The Hula’ and ‘The Thing With The Ring’)

We had a wonderful time in and around a surprisingly sunny Belfast. Fundamentally, it was good to be able to see how YS now lives. Also, having shared a number of misgivings about his move to Northern Ireland while he had been staying with us during the Covid-19 lockdown, the visit indicated our validation of his move. Beyond that, we ate and drank well, got a good feel for Belfast, and managed a day on the north Antrim coast and a day in the Mourne Mountains. I’ll write more on those two trips another time.

LSW had the wise suggestion of starting our stay with a bus tour of Belfast. With our best face masks firmly fastened again, we rode around centre and immediate suburbs of Belfast. Much of the journey was through and past places that we recalled vividly from news reports of sectarian strife in the latter part of the last century: the Europa Hotel, Shankhill Road, Falls Road, Crumlin Road Gaol. The Peace Wall separating communities in the west of the city is now repurposed for genuine messages of peace but it was still shocking. The murals and the flags in many of the streets indicated the recent rawness of The Troubles. Coupled with the helpful bus tour commentary, we got a very good introduction to the city.

Two Of The Very Many Street Murals Reflecting The Troubles Of The Past

Early highlights of the tour were the famous Belfast shipyards and new Titanic Experience museum which we visited on the following day. My expectations of the visit weren’t very high – I thought that the exhibition would major on the sinking and the romance of the likes of Winslet and de Caprio in the award winning film; I was wrong.

The Titanic Experience Building

The material on the Titanic’s fatal maiden voyage and a cross-section of the people who travelled and survived was well presented. The exhibition also provided a lot of fascinating context such as the history of Belfast and, especially, the way industry built up around linen manufacture and then shipbuilding. The exhibits included interactive displays and a splendidly unexpected and well operated automated ride through part of the building. This was laced with audio and video that allowed us to get a better feel for the working conditions in the dry docks and the scale of undertaking to build the Titanic.

Our fortune with the weather made wandering the streets of Belfast pleasant. There are few pre-Victorian buildings and many central streets are a strange mix of run down warehouses and old office buildings, late-Victorian civic and religious buildings (such as the Customs House, City Hall, and St Annes Cathedral) and the usual modern mish-mash of shops and offices.

Albert Memorial Clock (Yes, It Really Is Leaning Over), St Annes Cathedral And Belfast City Hall

One of the most impressive buildings is Stormont which is now the home of Northern Ireland’s Parliamentary assembly. It was built in the 1930s next to the late Victorian Stormont Castle and sits in wide open grass and wooded grounds. It is surprisingly accessible and views of it and from it are impressive.

Stormont

Apart from Stormont and the City Hall, the city did not appear elegant but there is huge potential and an emerging vibrancy. We saw the rumbustiousness of that vibrancy on Saturday night in the bar-laden Cathedral Quarter (not much social distancing there!) and in the presence of new hip coffee shops, cafes and restaurants. Of these we particularly liked Freight, Established, General Merchants and OX Cave (sister wine bar to OX restaurant which we look forward to trying next time we are in Belfast). Our centrally located hotel, The Flint, was also cool and comfortable. We felt safe from Covid-19 and everything else wherever we went and the people we met were very friendly.

Belfast 3-D Street Art

Other highlights in the City were a mini picnic and coastal walk along the river Langan estuary to Helens Bay and visit to Belfast’s rather weary but endearing Botanic Gardens. The Palm House there is a scaled down, but rather more beautiful, version of the Palm House in Kew Gardens. LSW and I used to live in Kew and so it brought back some old memories.

Palm House, Belfast Botanic Gardens

On our final evening in Belfast, we went to dinner at the house of YS’s girlfriend’s parents. We had a lovely evening enjoying their hospitality and catching up with them for the first time since they visited Gloucestershire several years ago. It was an excellent finale to an excellent few days in Belfast.

Sunset Across Langan River Estuary

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I've Retired! What Next?

Belfast

Betwixtmas in Belfast

Belfast to Derry and Back

Joy At A Belfast Wedding

Belfast Christmas

Breaking the Routine – To Visit and Be Visited

Hope and Resolve in 2021

Belfast