Sunday in Newtownards

We were meeting in Newtownards for lunch with my cousins Rosie and Jenny, along with their husbands and two of their adult children and my Aunt Dinah.

Mount Stewart House and Gardens were within easy driving distance from Millisle, we had a free morning so how could we not visit. The house was very interesting but we couldn't enter by the main entrance because a wedding was booked, but we were still able to see a good amount of this beautiful and very historic house. The estate was owned by the Marquesses of Londonderry, the construction of the house begun in 1820 and took 19 years to complete. In 1977 the house and estate was given to the National Trust with a family member still living in the house. The Trust opened the house and gardens to the paying public therefore helping fund the restorations of the house and gardens.

This was a beautiful collection of dessert crockery.

In the old days it wasn't deemed appropriate to have your crockery on show so this is a relatively new display. It was considered poor form to have your table covered by a table cloth as this would hide the beauty of the polished table and people might think you had fallen on hard times!

Once we finished the house tour the garden was rushed through but we did managed to appreciate beautiful roses,

grand vistas

and the big surprise, a little piece of Australia; gum trees.

Perhaps a little reminder that we aren't far off heading home...

Our way to Rosie's house was blocked by road works and our google maps couldn't cope, so we enjoyed a quiet wait by the duck pond

until Colin rescued us. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone. We so appreciated our time together, especially as Rosie, Colin and Nicky are leaving for Portugal in the morning. They have decided to chase the sun as there's not much here in Ireland. Our time in Belfast has been very busy.

One of the great advantages of the long evenings, with the lingering light, is lots of time to explore, so we took a drive around some of the coast before returning to our resting place. We found Ava Terrace, a street filled with patriotic flags and British bunting strung across the street. A sight only found in the North of Ireland and particularly now, in readiness for the 12 July celebrations.

Here is the beginnings of a bonfire on the wharf at Millisle.

These bonfires are mostly made from pallets, this one had a few old mattresses on it. Jenny told us a story of when she was still living at home. She said that her mum mentioned that their mattress was old and needed replacing. Jenny asked her did she want to get rid of it. Aunt Dinah absentmindedly answered yes. Jenny got a few friends together and took the mattress down to the local bonfire. When her mum came home she asked where was the mattress. When Jenny told her that she and her friends took it to the bonfire her mum wasn't impressed!

These bonfires are traditionally built in strong Protestant areas in Ulster, to commenorate the victory at the battle of the Boyne between the Protestant King William II and the Catholic King James in 1690. They are viewed by some as provocative and by others as part of their culture.

Donaghadee is a village sitting by the water, a lovely dash of colour along the coast, just a short drive from Millisle.

A nice end to a wonderful weekend.

At the Stormont

We said our farewells to my family in Cavan, the farm

and the beautiful horses (much nicer than the pigs)

and headed for our BnB for the next two nights. We were staying at Pinecroft Country House

in Millisle, on the Ard Peninsula, a really lovely part of County Down. Right next door is the Ballycopeland Windmill, the only working windmill in Ireland.

After unpacking our car we drove to Belfast to meet another cousin who had contacted us, wanting to meet us.

The Reverend Fred Greenfield was the host of a concert we were invited to by Michelle McIlveen, a local MP. I'm not sure how we got such an important invite, my newfound cousin, Sylvia, organised it. She thought we might enjoy visiting Stormont Estate.

The concert was held in The Great Hall at Stormont (Parliament Buildings, Belfast), a most beautiful setting.

The hall has a beautiful ceiling.

It's also great that the concert was held here because nothing else has been happening in parliament in Northern Ireland for over two years. Now, how can a country function without parliament sitting you ask, good question! Most in the North are asking the same thing. Anyway, back to The Reverend.

He is a retired Free Presbyterian minister with a loud voice, a piano accordion, nine singing grandchildren, a large repertoire of jokes and a passion for all things to do with salvation. I thought we had seen the Reverend Ian Paisley reincarnated! (Look him up if you are curious).

Our concert began with The Kingdom Heirs, not the main act! Followed by The Reverend leading us in a medley of hymns, piano accordion front and centre, followed by the singing grandchildren and The Rev, followed by some jokes, the MP, the Air Ambulance's spokesperson, more hymns and then....The Bellbrae Boys from Monaghan, senior singers of country gospel. I was ready for the whole thing to end right then but it didn't!

I think Sylvia was feeling awkward with her newfound cousins by interval, asking if we were tired. We lied! And resisted the urge to buy a CD.. and continued to endure more of The Rev and The Bellbrae Boys. The Rev preached a short, sharp salvation message and took up an offering and the event was finished off with another singer singing the final hymn, now he could sing beautifully. I was wishing he'd done the whole concert, and then we were released...

Michelle, the MP, took us on a personal guided tour of part of the building, including the old Senate room.

That's Sylvia with us in the old Senate which isn't used anymore for governing but many committees meet here. The inquiry into the controversy which is stopping the parliament from functioning met in this room. Michelle had lots of interesting stories about the building, the ceiling, a fire and the chandeliers. This one was a gift to King George V from Kaiser Wilhelm 11 and had been hung in Windsor castle until the beginning of WW1. It was considered inappropriate to stay in the royal residence, considering the war, so was given to Stormont.

An enjoyable tour of an impressive building.

Dinner was shared in one of the local haunts with Tom and Sylvia. Tom is another joke machine! There seems to be something familiar about Irish men and jokes.