Old Year - New Year

Another year draws to a close and as always it seems to have been much shorter and passed much more quickly than the preceding ones. My intention to make more of a blogging effort and show the world the delights of Ballymoney and its environs failed miserably this year! The luxury of having time to do all those things I would really like to do will have to wait a while longer as the daily working grind to pay the bills continues. Of course, if I had spent less time ‘on course’ playing golf I might have got a lot more done!

After a very enjoyable Christmas it has been a shock to return to work and do my stint at providing cover; in a very quiet office. It has been necessary to do a bit of ‘surfing’ to alleviate the tedium! As always there is some discovery to be made and at this time of year when we consider our achievements of the past and ambitions for the future it is nice to find words of comfort and inspiration.

The blessing shown below was written by John O’Donohue ( http://www.johnodonohue.com/ ) a poet and philosopher, who lived in Co Clare and sadly passed away in January 2008. His words and deeds live on however and as they seem to have spoken strongly to me, I have taken the liberty of reproducing some of them below.

Here’s to a happy and prosperous 2010…

Beannacht

("Blessing")

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.

And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(Echoes of Memory)

Snowbound.

Ballymoney is covered in lovely powdery snow at the moment. Not the horrible slushy stuff we normally get!

Summer Summary 2009

Well that was the summer that was.

Sun Relaxation and then Malaga Airport

Another relaxing week in Spain. Visit to the bird sanctuary in Benalmadena, dining in some lovely restaurants, great golf and a visit to a seniors tournament proved to be a very pleasant way to have a last week away before autumn and winters sets in.

Then we depart for the airport and home. Malaga airport has much work going on at the moment to improve the facility. This will ultimately prove beneficial for the traveller, as long as the management and staff realise that they are there to move passengers and not mess them about.

Most of the recent times we have used Malaga it has been with Easyjet. I am a big fan of the airline and accept that economy flying will be a no frills experience. However the one thing that destroys the Easyjet experience is their attitude to checking in. Enormous queues for all destinations to a limited number of desks. Then as people get agitated and start to panic they call you forward at the last minute to close each flight. recently they have been abetted by striking customs officials and on this occasion by the staff who's job it is to get the passengers and luggage from the terminal to the plane.

There is nothing like an a long tedious queue, chaos at the customs and hours wait in blinding sun for the transfer bus to destroy a weeks relaxation.....

The Forgotten Caves and Coves of the Causeway Coast

Having failed miserably to post any blogs showing the brighter side of Ballymoney and the north coast (work and golf just keep getting in the way) I was more than happy to discover the web site of a Scottish photographer (Andy McInroy) now living in NI who specialises in images the North West of the island of Ireland. His work is absolutely stunning and demonstrates just how beautiful this part of the world can be.

Have a look at his work at http://www.andymcinroy.com/main.htm (Beware: you may spend an inordinate amount of time working your way through a multitude of wonderful images!)

There is an exhibition of his work at the Riverside theatre, University of Ulster at Coleraine entitled ‘The Forgotten Caves and Coves of the Causeway Coast’ http://www.andymcinroy.com/exhib3.htm running from the 31st of August to the 3rd of October 2009.

There is also an interesting article about the photographer and subject in issue 28 (June 2009) of agendaNi magazine http://www.agendani.com/index.php reproduced on the photographer’s website at http://www.andymcinroy.com/pub15a.htm

Taylormade Burners do the business.

The aforementioned driver and 3 wood.
Worked like a treat on Saturday.













For more information than you really need about a golf club go to .....
http://www.taylormadegolf.eu/womens/burner-driver-07.html

A wee bit of colour.

Tried a few diferent plants in the garden this year and have been lucky enough to get some nice results. This fuschia has performed particularly well. The photo is a few weeks out of date but I thought it would add a bit of seasonal colour....

Turnberry Magic

Then there was the Open Championship at Turnberry. Bang went the rest of the weekend as the great Tom Watson just failed to win the claret jug for a record equalling sixth time. Instead of getting out and about trying to find something positive about Ballymoney to post on the blog I sat transfixed along with countless other golf fans hoping against hope that the legend would make the fairy tale come true and win. Unfortunately it didn’t happen and Stewart Cink clinched his first major. Having said that, Cink made the putt and deserved to win.
One of the most memorable things about the open was the constant smile and good humour displayed by Watson. As a mid handicapper who is constantly frustrated with the inconsistant results of my attempts to play golf I am beginning to believe that it is always important (if difficult) to be philosophical about what is really a game! This ability to accept the element of luck of the bounce in links golf was identified by Watson as one of the reasons he had taken so well to the original form of the game. An article by Joe Keefe at www.pga.com/2009/instruction/features/07/19/keefe_openchamp/index.html makes exactly this point. Sometimes we have to accept that today we are not going to post the winning score, so we might as well just take time to appreciate the view. Having said that, it is bloody difficult to appreciate the view when standing in the pot bunker half way down the fourth fairway!

North of Ireland Championship.

Held annually at Royal Portrush Golf club http://www.royalportrushgolfclub.com/ this championship makes great demands of the top amateurs taking part. This year the weather was reasonably king for the greater part of the week with qualifying on the Monday and Tuesday and match play for the rest of the week culminating with the final on Friday afternoon. Watching the young amateurs display shot-making of a very high standard was an inspiration. This year the final was fought out between Wayne Telford (Rathmore GC) and Paul Cutler (Portstewart GC). Telford may have come into the match as the underdog but walked away the winner, four-and-two.

The Belfast Wheel and some Golf Clubs

My better half had long expressed the wish to take a trip on the Belfast Wheel www.belfastcity.gov.uk/cityhall/bigwheel.asp ; a successful tourist attraction or monstrosity perched over the Titanic memorial beside the City Hall depending on your viewpoint.

Anyway, we headed off to Belfast midweek and had a very nice Lunch at Nicks Warehouse http://www.nickswarehouse.co.uk/ before some shopping, then on to the wheel. Having been on the London eye the Belfast wheel was, if not exactly a disappointment, and whilst giving unusual viewpoint of the city, rotated too fast in my opinion to give the tourist time to properly survey the cityscape spread out below. At £6.50 for three rotations of the wheel, worth doing, but more time to savour the view might have been nice.

Having dodged the rain as we disembarked the wheel we headed off to look for a new driver for my golf fanatic wife. The cost of a driver (and three wood) was worth it just to see the expression of joy as she rattled ball after ball straight down the test range. I have high hopes for the weekend.

July week starts with a trip on the Bann

Well finally we get a week off and the weather was reasonably good... One the things we managed to do locally during the July week was a trip on the River Bann









http://www.riverbanncruises.com/

This actually turned out to be quite interesting as the trip to the mouth of the Bann was much longer than I had anticipated. The normal quick run down to the sea by road was replaced by a meandering passage between the green and peaceful banks of the lower Bann. Leaving Coleraine on the Lady Sandel, from a berth opposite the Water Margin Chinese restaurant (highly recommended) we proceeded past the old harbour area.
Once a thriving docks; it now provides the departure point for scrap metal on its way to Spain for recycling.






















The Water Margin chinese restaurant occupies the top floor of the building (pictured above). The lower floor houses Coleraine rowing club which has been using this building since it was founded in 1842.

















Coleraine Marina and a private marina further down the river had some very nice yachts and
motor driven vessels berthed.


The banks of the river had a surprising amount of wildlife with even a seal making an appearance. The views over the ‘blue course’ at Portstewart Golf Club and the sight of fishermen bobbing gently on the water made for an enjoyable afternoon.

The real joy of Spring is the colour that starts to appear and banish the gray of Winter.

Gardening need not be expensive!

As a reasonably keen gardener I cannot resist a bargain, especially at this time when the likes of B&Q are offering some nice bedding plants at excellent prices. Early in the season they are great value for money, however as time goes on there are some very sad looking plants. Anyway, last Autumn I was looking for some item of hardware and (as I am usually unable to resist) took a detour through the garden section. There, sitting on the clearance trolley were three pots, each with a withered stump claiming to be hosta (Plantain lily) and priced at twenty-five pence each.

Willing to risk the loss of seventy five pence and unable to resist, I purchased them, eventually planting them out in our small front garden. Lo and behold this April saw the appearance of three Hostas. Two are especially healthy plants (yes I do have a particular interest in this type of plant!) with nice markings, as yet to be identified and one smaller one which is slowly establishing itself. Being the proud (wife thinks ‘bonkers’) owner of quite a collection of these plants it is also gratifying to notice that at least two of the three are varieties I did not previously possess. So there you go, gardening doesn’t have to be expensive…

Spring Bank Holiday

The weather this year is shaping up to be as mixed as the last two, despite what the forecasters say. Last week the park was bathed in sun in the evenings but come the weekend.... Rain!


















However rain isn't all bad it can produce some nice effects on the plants.

River Bank Collapse

No not another financial instiution gone to the wall. Rather, part of the retaining wall in the park in Ballymoney has given up the unequal struggle against the eroding effects of the river. The excessive rainfall of the past few years must have been the final straw and the wall and walkway on top have ended up in the river. Luckily no one was on the path at the time; it is a well used path.

Where did April go?

This month has just flown by. All the good intentions to get out and about, record it and do some blogging have gone by the wayside.

The apparent onset of ‘mid life crisis’ seems to have taken away any ability to concentrate and get on with things. The realisation that one is too old to be ambitious but too young to give up, grind it out and wait for the gold watch, pipe and slippers causes a significant amount of cognitive dissonance. My brain is convinced that I’m still twenty-something and all is still possible, whereas the vicious, heartless mirror in the bathroom taunts me on a daily basis with the irrefutable evidence of the inexorable passage of time.

Anyway, now that that’s off my chest, what has happened this month? The only major event happened mid month when a letter informing me of my elevation to full membership of the golf club dropped through the letterbox. My joy at being able to get out and play weekends and in the monthly competitions was tempered somewhat by the accompanying bill for additional green fees and the extra charge in addition to the joining fee already paid. Seems a lot to pay out but when counted against the amount of time spent on course, maybe it’s not such a bad deal. It can do no harm to body or spirit to get out in the fresh air and lose some of the negative effects of sitting in the car or office for the majority of the week. Needless to say I am praying for great weather this summer.

Walking the dog and trying to encourage the better half to keep to her ‘training schedule’ for the Belfast marathon (Team relay for charity) on May 4^th and starting to get the garden sorted has been the sum total for the month.

Apart from that, not a lot else happened. Really must try harder in May.

Brawn, Button, Barrichello, Brisbane... Brilliant

Congratulations to Jenson Button. After what must have been the worst winter of his sporting life JB came good and demonstrated his class by winning the first Grand Prix of the year with style. As a lifelong Formula One fan it is great to see the new team getting one over on the big boys. If Brawn, Williams, Red Bull etc can keep this up we are in for a vintage championship. Here’s hoping.

http://www.jensonbutton.com

Summer Time, The Vardon Grip and Wanderlust.

Longer evenings, better weather….. great. I shouldn’t wish my life away but the change in time is like throwing off the yoke of a long cold winter. I really feel the effects of the cold and the lack of light (SAD Syndrome) and get a real surge of optimism as the evenings stretch out.

A colleague has left a golf club propped against his desk in the office and given my addiction to that sport the driving range will have to be visited tonight to start practising in earnest, for the coming season! It’s the same every year. Despite my annual new year’s resolution to practice long and hard at the floodlit range during the winter months I still arrive in April checking my stance, re-learning the Vardon grip and trying to swing through the ball instead of hitting at it.

I’m sitting here looking down Belfast lough this morning, and whilst the sun is not ‘splitting the trees’ it is glinting off the hull of the Seacat (fast ferry from Scotland) as it makes it way up the channel to its berth in Belfast docks. A very pleasant morning all things considered.

My lifelong urge to travel comes a close second to my golfing affliction in the amount of time I spend day dreaming. A much more pleasant use of my valuable time than concentrating on boring old work related subjects! The In-tray is pretty much up to date so, roll on lunch time and lets see if BA, Aer Lingus, Easyjet etc have any deals. With the credit crunch biting, actually going to all those places may have to wait, but since planning is almost as much fun as the actual travelling I think I’ll put a dollop of icing on this rather fine day and surf the travel sites for a while.

St Patrick's Day

A day off, good weather, walk the dog and play a bit of golf.... perfect.



Took the dog for a walk in the park on Tuesday and enjoyed the feeling that spring is well on it's way with trees and flowers starting to bud. The work on putting in the new pathways is coming along nicely. No wonder people in Ballymoney were found (in a survey last year) to have the longest life expectancy in NI. With the Sustrans initiative and the new paths / cycleways etc there is no excuse not to be able to get out and enjoy our environment.

What a weekend.

Thank goodness for a day off. Last weekend was spent in Belfast and didn’t quite go as planned. After a nice afternoon on Friday we went to see ‘The Troubles according to my Da’ at the Grand Opera House. This play is an absolute scream and despite being based on a difficult time in our history manages to bring out the humour as well as the lunacy of our past. All three actors were excellent with the character ‘Fireball’ being a total hoot. Anybody who has lived in Belfast has met a Fireball; someone who knows everyones business and how the system works, or at least thinks he does!
After the theatre we had a nice stroll (the weather was very mild) and dined at a local restaurant. Unfortunately the weekend went pear shaped just as we were enjoying our coffees and planning what to do and see over the weekend. The wife went a very strange shade of green and became incapacitated with agonising stomach pains. Medical consultation and a sleepless night later things were a little better, but not much. As the theatre tickets and weekend break was part of a present for my recent birthday the wife gamely tried to make Saturday happen with a short stroll along the towpath; but to no avail (we had to abandon the walk at the Lagan weir just after looking at the big fish sculpture and the flowers netxt to it). The only silver lining to the whole situation was that we had no option but to watch the Six Nations matches! Ireland got their act together in the second half and got the right result. We can only hope that next weekend in Wales the grand slam nerves don’t get the better of them. The Welsh will be hard to beat if they are allowed to get the same sort of start as the Scots were last weekend.
Luckily things were looking up on Monday so we were able to go and see Lionel Richie in concert at the Odyssey arena. Admittedly, when the tickets were bought I went along because the wife is a fan. However, the show was excellent and well worth the effort. I’m not sure what age Lionel is but he can still put on a great show.

A complimentary pint awaits ...

Having mentioned that I was going to try and put a bit more Ballymoney into the blog I received a kind comment from Silverback (ex Ballymoney man currently enjoying the warmer climes of Florida; also the producer of a very swish blog retirement-rocks complete with video etc).

He mentioned his family's preference for Olpherts Butchers and wondered if they were still in business. As a newcomer to Ballymoney I didn't know but decided to check.

Therefore on Saturday I located Olphert butchers who it turns out are still operating in Victoria Street and had a good chat with the very pleasant and helpful staff as they sorted out my meat order for the weekend. (The meat turned out to be excellent)

When I mentioned the fact that I was in their shop primarily due to a comment from Florida via the internet by the above mentioned Silverback, the owner was 'tickled pink' as they say and stated that the next time Silverback was back in Ballymoney he should pop in and they would buy him a pint!

On a related theme I also checked out the Peppercorn restaurant and whilst unable to test the quality of their soda farls took a snap to prove it exists. In contrast to the other coffee shops in the town with large windows to entice the customer in, the Peppercorn has a rather discreet doorway and stairway to a first floor restaurant.

Ballymoney's many attractions!

As a follow on from our rapid circumnavigation of Ballymoney yesterday we (being relative newcomers to the town) noticed that the main street (no longer than the length of a good shot with a three wood) is home to no less than five butchers. Add to this another couple or possibly three and we have eight butchers serving a small market town. This does not include the temple to Mammon (aka Tesco) lurking at the bottom of the town.

We in Ballymoney may not have a lot of variety but what we do have; we have a lot of them! This also appears true of coffee shops, churches etc. I cannot in all honesty say that the town is a great destination for someone looking to enjoy haute cuisine in the evening but should you fancy a decent cup of coffee on the way to the butchers, you will be spoilt for choice!

Therefore in an attempt to get blogging on something that actually reflects the title of the blog I will endeavour to bring to the world of Blog, ‘Mortimer Recommends…’, a short series on the delights of Ballymoney. I’m not sure whether to start with something frothy and do coffee shops or try for something more meaty and do an expose on butchers or aim to be a little more uplifting and show you the religious options in the borough. After traipsing around the town researching these options I suppose the best course of action will be to do a tour of the hostelries… or maybe the best place to start?

Spring has Sprung!

Finally, after interminable months of winter weather and dark miserable days, life is returning to Norn Iron. The lighter evenings are a joy to behold. As someone who suffers from SAD Syndrome, especially during the two months after Christmas, the return of light and the first hint of warmth; is sheer joy. This last weekend the sight of the narcissi coming into bloom in the front garden and the very mild weather encouraged me to get into the garden to start the early spring tidy up.

A bonus was found in the garden shed where my stack of pots filled with tulip bulbs are starting to come to life. About half of the pots have shoots appearing above the compost and even just setting them around the patio and garden was a wonderful tonic.

After the daily drag down and back up the M2 it is great to get out and breathe the spring air. Speaking of which, the wife has agreed to join a team taking part in the relay race at the Belfast marathon to raise money for cancer charities in memory of a friend who died of the disease at the end of last year. As a somewhat reluctant fitness fanatic, I (in a moment of weakness) offered to help her get up to speed (literally) in time for May. This involved the normally relaxed Sunday afternoon lap of Ballymoney assuming a whole new character. More like a forced march, than a dander, if you know what I mean. Forty minutes to the Portrush roundabout seemed good progress to me only to be followed by a burst of speed up to the old Coleraine road and then down through the town and back across the park to give the dog one last good run. I have to admit that as I sank into the armchair the sense of wellbeing almost cancelled out the sore feet!

FOLK ACT RACHEL UNTHANK & THE WINTERSET PERFORM IN BALLYMONEY

I went to see Rachel Unthank and her band in the town hall on Wednesday last. Their music is dark and moody and perhaps not to everyones taste. They are however excellent musicians and produced a wonderfully atmospheric performance; even including some Northumbrian clog dancing to finish the first half of the evening.  As the wife was unable to go due to other commitments I attended on my own; something I quite like. Musical taste is such an individual thing that it is sometimes difficult to enjoy a gig when it becomes apparent that the other half doesn’t share your opinion. As a singleton you have the luxury to enjoy or leave early as appropriate. On this occasion leaving early would have been a mistake as the second half contained some if the best music of the night. The four girls in the band, singing unaccompanied in harmony, produced some wonderful tunes. During the interval I met Robbie Burns (not the original admittedly) a photographer and new resident in Snowdonia, finding out what the band sounded like, whilst on a visit back home. A very interesting chat during the interval included such things as the benefit of living abroad. One of my ‘soapbox’ rants when provoked, involves my theory that all Northern Irish should be sent abroad at the age of 18 and not allowed back for a couple of years. It was agreed that some exposure to the wider world would enable the local population to get their issues into perspective. As someone who loves travel I am somewhat biased in this respect but will continue to bang on about until told to shut up!

A band well worth seeing and should you want to find out more try the hyperlinks below. The following is extracted from the blurb on the leaflet advertising the event. Forging links between folk worlds old, new and other, Rachel Unthank & The Winterset have blown a bracing north easterly gale through traditional English song, casting it in an endlessly inventive and playful new mould. The geordie quartet brought their unique blend of folk to North West audiences when they stopped off in Ballymoney Town Hall on Wednesday 4 February. Subverting folk music with love and authority, Rachel Unthank & The Winterset have been heralded for their unique ability to communicate traditional music to unforgiving mainstream audiences.  Singing in their own lilting Geordie accents, they have been described by poet Ian MacMillan as the "inheritors, curators and gleeful distorters" of Tyneside's traditions and since first emerging in 2004 have gained a disparate legion of fans including Robert Wyatt, Kate Rusby, Paul Morley, Tracey Thorn, Nic Jones, Phill Jupitus and Joan As Policewoman. A modern-day girl band with an antiquated twist, The Winterset is led by Rachel Unthank on vocals and cello and features her sister Becky Unthank on additional vocals, Niopha Keegan on violin, accordion and voice and Stef Conner on piano.  Using discreetly provocative arrangements this intriguing quartet’s take on folk music is peerless, fearless and wholeheartedly brave as they fuse elements of blues, jazz, burlesque cabaret, classical and leftfield contemporary styles of music together and deliver songs inspired by old, new and imaginatively borrowed tales of booze, brawls, abuse, loss, fear, infantile death, depravity and sorrow.

For full tour information and booking details, please log onto www.movingonmusic.co.uk. For further information on Rachel Unthank and the Winterset visit www.rachelunthank.com

 

Farewell John Martyn

Just noticed on the BBC website that legendary musician John Martyn passed away this morning. Discovering his seminal album 'Solid Air' was an important moment in my own musical education. The title track was dedicated to Nick Drake and is a sublime piece of music. A lifestyle that must have put great strain on his health was also attributed with helping him produce exciting innovative music. With songs such as 'May you never' and 'Sweet Little Mystery' he has left a wonderful legacy.

Check out YouTube for clips of him in action. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LOi_wxypeGc

Have a look on Amazon for a copy. http://www.amazon.co.uk/

EMC 250 Motocross Memories

A new year and a bit of reminiscing with a work colleague about motorbikes led to memories of an old motocross racing bike I once owned. It was an EMC and was designed and built by a brilliant engineer call Mike Eatough. It had the longest suspension travel of any ‘twin shock’ bike of its generation. (assuming my memory is correct!) After some legal issues, subsequent bikes were produced under the Cotton EMX name.
A bit of googling produced a YouTube clip showing some examples of the bike being built. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gQbZiiGGTi4 Just the same as my one, well, apart from being nice and new. The earlier frame was chromed and a real work of art. Unfortunately this stiffened the frame and it tended to crack due to the forces exerted by competition. The later ones were painted and worked extremely well.
It’s nice to see engineers hand making exhausts etc, although the factory looks more ‘traditional’ than the gleaming production facilities of the big manufactures nowadays.