VALHALLA BOUND- Part 2

 

Stimulus

What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, when we are so far from our own country … we are seized by a vague fear, and an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. At that moment we are feverish but also porous, so the slightest touch makes us quiver to the depths of our being. There is no pleasure in traveling, and I look upon it more as an occasion for spiritual testing …  Travel, which is like a greater and a graver science, brings us back to ourselves.

Albert Camus, 1963

Northern Ireland

I found Derry to be one of the most interesting places that we visited. The delineation between town and country was stark. Kerry and I could see rural fields near the horizon as we walked around the city walls that originally protected the old town and yet we were in the middle of the settlement. The troubles are touted as a thing of the past but there was a feel that business was unfinished. Looking over the Bogside at the Catholic quarter from on top of that wall, you could imagine the conflict and strife being magnified by the ‘geography’ of the built environment. The rows of tenements- acting like contour markers up the hill- only added to an uneasiness which can’t quite be tagged.

The Bogside

My diary entry during our stay reflected this vibe- The younger punters look lean, mean and ready to pounce. I reckon that you can sense a tension. The image highlights the tyke quarter and it’s in strong contrast to the Protestant bunker on the other side of town. Recent decades may have led to less frequent headlines but there is a grit here that you can touch.

Advancing age does disengage the brain and I had forgotten the close association between the republican struggles in Northern Ireland and the civil rights movements in America. Walking around Derry and viewing the murals in the quarter were enough to reactivate the memory lobe(s).

A Derry mural

The Museum of Free Derry was an essential part of our visit. It chronicled both the historic and contemporary perspectives of the movement. They had a display of the weaponry from the 60s/ 70s/ 80s that were a part of those conflicts. I can’t adequately paint a picture of the size of the rubber bullets employed in attacks and counter-attacks. Featured images in the corridors were chilling and even familiar ones took on significantly more meaning as Kerry’s and my data banks quickly increased in ‘capital’. And the boost was intense.

After Derry, the Giant’s Causeway was a cracker but it looked like an army had overrun the joint. Serious interlocking basalt columns’ action was happening but punters were crawling all over the site. The National Trust runs the show and I reckon that a few designated walking areas might be the go. Kerry and I completed the circuit but the last ‘climb’ really sorted me out.

Cushendun Caves

The Northern Irish fuckin' love monster tractors. They're a menace.

Belfast was terrific. Huge cranes, large public buildings- especially its City Hall- and great beer. We went on an organised pub crawl one evening and took a particular liking to some gin that was served up at one of the joints…and I hate spirits. Of course, there were also strong reminders of The troubles here and a cab tour of the wall and associated landmarks/ shrines as well as a visit to the Crumlin Road Gaol only underlined the not too distant past.

To conclude Part 2-

I’m not sure that I totally agree with Camus’ coupling of travel with science. But a certain amount of empiricism can- and does- confront.

Scotland’s next.

-To be continued-