September 18, 2012

IN BALLYMONEY (Mathew left here to go to America)

A rainy, blustery, rainy day which began in the night and continued all morning. What a day! Liz's friend, Fern, gave me a ride to Ballymena, where I was able (through blustery and blowing rain) to find the bus to Ballymoney, which was only a five minute wait. The drive took about 40 minutes and wound mostly along farmland. Upon arrival in Ballymoney at the bus stop, I stopped in a shop and used their phone to call the hostess at my B&B, Mattie McAllister, who came to town to give me a lift to her house, which is about a 10 minute walk from the town center, and we arrived back at her house mid-morning.

Mattie made me some great organic porridge with honey, tea and toast. I am stressed out from coffee and decided then and there to give it up totally for awhile. It will take a few days. In the afternoon, I rested awhile and checked email, after which I decided to take a walk to the town as the sun had come out and it had briefly stopped raining. With umbrella in hand and my rain jacket and scarf, off I went. I didn't get very far when  a gale force wind and rain attacked me and blew my umbrella inside out; it also blew my little map I was carrying to another planet. Small hailstones were raining down at me. The Gods must have been angry.

Back at Mattie's, I took off all the wet clothes and rested for awhile, and tried to get my conference notes together. She graciously invited me to share her dinner of shepherd's pie, potato cakes and my favorite, root vegetables (I am totally addicted to parsnips and back at the hostel we had carrot and coriander soup, so I now love anything with root vegetables.) Later in the evening, Janice from Florida arrived, and will also attend the conference. I totally jinxed the shower and the TV in my room as the shower would not turn off and the TV screen faded into oblivion. Mattie spent a long time trying to figure out the TV but she finally decided she might call someone in the morning; however, she was able to get the shower turned off. I had been cold all day on this very raw day and she put an electric blanket on my bed, which was absolutely yummy to crawl into and read for a few minutes. I can't believe I am in a place I have thought one day I might come for about twelve years. Tomorrow the research and networking with other genaeologists will begin.

I wonder if it rained so much when Mathew and his family lived here. Maybe the people here invented the umbrella.

Ballymoney means "Time of the Moss" or "Time of the Strawberry"