Ireno Day 2: A Day of Stories

OK, so most days are really just a string of short stories. These seem to be a bit more interesting than usual.

Reporters: Contact before using resources here, please.
Happy to give fresh interviews.
Readers: The Intro to this series if needed. Enjoy!

First, one from yesterday. We had to go to the ship to get “stuff” before Kit and Ric could leave — including Kit’s jacket. Ric booked a taxi and we went out front to wait. (No irony in using a taxi: you don’t start a long walk by walking several miles in the wrong direction. You get to your designated starting point and then start walking!) When we got outside we could all hear a loud alarm sounding. Sounded like a fire alarm. No sight or smell of smoke, or anything else out of place.

We got to the street and it was even louder. There’s a pensioner’s “club” across the street, so Kit went over to ensure there wasn’t anything wrong there. Satisfied, she turned and headed back toward us, and stopped suddenly. She was walking by a construction dumpster — a contractor is remodeling a nearby flat. She peered in, reached inside …and pulled out …a smoke alarm!

She pushed the button on it. The shrill alarm stopped. We all laughed as she put it back in the trash, the taxi picked us up, and we left for the ship.

I took another taxi back …and the alarm was screaming. I had seen where Kit had put it, so I reached in and grabbed it. I pushed the button: blissful silence! As I was about to put it back in the dumpster, it went off again. I tried to open it to remove the battery, but couldn’t get it open. There was no one else on the street so I threw it to the pavement, and it smashed into pieces — the battery flying.

I picked up the pieces and tossed them into the dumpster. The screaming stopped, Clarice!

The Media

The Belfast Telegraph was the first to cover this story, assigning their video reporter and a news reporter. Both efforts were very positive. The text story has the video embedded, but it didn’t work for me. If you can’t see it either, it has its own page:

• Text — Cruise passengers docked in Belfast take on 70-mile trek across NI: ‘We’re having an adventure while we wait’
• Video — Watch: Passengers from stranded Odyssey ship embark on 70 mile walk from Belfast to Londonderry.

I went to the nearby Tesco (neighborhood market) to get a copy of the newspaper. The only local paper out of stock was that one. Take note, newshounds! This is a hot story!

So much so that …well, I messaged Kit: “Just did a wee interview with another reporter. About our time here, not specifically the walk.” (“That’s cool,” she replied.) “Yep. I attribute it to your effort, though: you’ve triggered a change in the narrative to a big positive.” (“Well, you triggered it by telling me to get out of town. I mean you suggested I go on an Ireno. 🙂 All I’ve done is walk.”) “We’re a good team, baby.” (“Yes we are.”)

Yes we are.

The Supervisors

“Quite cool this morning, and grey all day, but just a little rain,” Kit said. Being a long-time trekker in places where there are few facilities, and being someone who drinks plenty of water, Kit has to get to business even if there isn’t a toilet for miles. She turned down a narrow farm road.

Ric is surely well used to this already, having walked with her for the full day yesterday — so no, he’s not the supervisor. There was a fence ahead, but that was no problem. Kit noticed cows on the other side, and they noticed her, too.

“They probably thought I had a bale of hay behind my back,” she said, because they all ran to the fence to see what she had for them. “Practically skipping!” she said. “They were so delighted to see me, I had to take their picture” …as she squatted to pee. And here it is.

Her Majesty!?

The highlight today: the ruins and grounds of Antrim Castle, “a fortified mansion,” Wikipedia summarizes, “on the banks of the Sixmilewater River. It was built in stages between 1613 and 1662. It was destroyed by fire in 1922 and finally demolished in the 1970s. All that remains are a slightly raised grassed platform as well as a freestanding Italian stair tower built in 1887…. The gardens are a popular tourist attraction on Randalstown Road, Antrim.”

The funny thing is, as I was doing story research this week for This is True, one of the stories I clipped is based there. It deals with a new bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (“and two corgis!” a friend will want me to note), unveiled last week in the castle’s garden.

Well, they say it’s the late monarch and her even later husband, yet critics say it doesn’t particularly look like her, but rather like Mrs. Doubtfire, the cross-dressing Robin Williams character from the 1993 film of the same name. I had showed Kit a photo of the statue, and here it was, right in front of her.

She of course took her own photos, including one up close and personal of the bronzy queenly face. I have to agree with Kit: looks more like the queen’s face than Robin Williams’.

There was another statue that caught Kit’s eye. “CARVED CIRCA 1612” says the base plaque. “This hound saved the life of Lady Marion Clotworthy when she was attacked by Wolves on the shore of Antrim Bay. The Hound also saved the castle from attack by warning the defenders. Sir Hugh Clotworthy had this statue carved and placed on the battlements of the castle where it stayed until the end of the 18th Century.”

No other statues were seen or, if she did spot any, they weren’t worthy of a photo or mention. But she did get that freestanding Italian stair tower built in 1887. The Italians seem to know how to build stair towers to last.

On the Road

The path was mostly along the highway today, but surprisingly there were sidewalks for most of it once they got to Antrim, which was good because there was quite a bit of traffic. “Miserable,” Kit said.

Much better, she continued, was running into local residents. They still know who the “ship people” are, so Kit is wondering how far they’ll have to go before locals don’t know what that means.

Today’s Stop: The Black Bull Inn. “Established 1747,” the sign says. Beds presumably much newer. Nice clean rooms, Kit thought, but “little or no hospitality.”

Total Mileage Today: 13.2. Previous subtotal: 11.0. Running Total: 24.2

Last Updated September 14, 2024
Originally Published September 14, 2024