Parliament - and Perspective

After that last 'heavy on history' post about the murals, let's take a lighthearted look at Parliament. We actually did not get to go inside, so this should be easy reading!

We continually called this the Northern Ireland Parliament, but it is really known as STORMONT

We cruised up to the entry gate. Security check...not unlike what we have in America. This is the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly and we really had no idea what to expect once we passed through the gates. Everything was green and pretty...and neatly manicured.

Woah! We were thinking...White House maybe, but old. Talk about a long driveway! I don't know if anyone else got it, but just thinking about the 'laws of perspective', I could tell how small that guard shack was and it was close to us...made me wonder how big that building in the distance actually was. MASSIVE was my guess!

It was deceiving, right? From the photo above, you thought we were going UP a hill to reach the building. This was a major DIP. Look for the statue in front of the building. That is a roundabout and we parked to the left of it. There was no entry beyond that point. Also make note of the ornamental shrubs in front of the building. (Hint...they are not shrubs)

No entry beyond this point and the drive is still almost a half mile long. This is really wonderful one point perspective. Now check out that little think at the top of the building. It looks like a triangle to you, I bet.
Does this building look familiar? Stick a dome in the center and think again. This was built in the early 1920's and was designed after our Capitol Building in DC. With the 1929 stock market crash, there was no money for a dome, so this is what they ended up with. Classical Architecture though...it still stands the test of time!

Kristin - average height young lady. This is no shrub she is hugging. (Now go back to the earlier photo and think about scale)

Lord Edward Carson, political figure and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (1910-1921). A rare example of a statue of a person being erected before his death. He also is the rare non-monarch who received a state funeral in 1935.

This is the sculpture at the top of the building. I was pretty impressed that the zoom on my camera picked it up. There is a frieze just below it. Look at the scale of the building again and imagine how tall this sculpture must be. 

JTerm 2012 - in front of the STORMONT - Northern Ireland Assembly building in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Turning around....wait until you see the view! 

There was a park and gardens to explore. And yes, it was COLD!

And statues. How did they get across the pond?

And enough green grass for running and hiking. GREEN GREEN Grass.
Look in the upper left hand corner...little red structure. Make a note.

This is a zoomed in view from Parliament. Notice the red tower. This is a tower belonging to the school where C.S.Lewis was a student. C.S.Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898 and authored more than 30 books during his life and was one of the most influential Christian writers of his day. (He died in 1963). You will recognize "The Chronicles of Narnia ~ The Screwtape Letters ~ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe ~ and Mere Christianity" as some of his most recognized works.
 In the distance is the modern city of Belfast. 

JTerm 2012 with Belfast in the distance.

Thought for the day...this is a short one, but think about it.

"You don't HAVE a soul. You ARE a soul. You HAVE a body."
C.S.Lewis

And because you are a soul, you will endure into eternity. No so much with a mere body. That is really some food for thought....so, where do you plan to spend eternity?

The perspective in these photos was pretty amazing. We can't generally see so far into the distance (or future) in our daily existence. Thank goodness God can....and He knows the plans He has for us......Rest well in that thought!

Communication is the Key- Art speaks louder than words.

Our first morning in Belfast, we took a bus tour of the city. It was practical because things are pretty spread out and Tommy, our driver, was great about making frequent stops so we could hop out and take photos. One of the first stops was to take in some of the famous murals that can be sound throughout the city. In fact, there are around 2000 murals throughout Northern Ireland. 

If you find this kind of stuff boring....skip this post, but if you want to try to understand the struggle...I will make it as short and entertaining as possible....and in that case...read on. 

Recall that "The Troubles" lasted between the 1960's and 1998...so the resolution came while the students were...toddlers....so of course it is not something that any of our students remember, even though parents should...even if vaguely. Most of the parents would have been in middle or high school when this period was coming to a close. Bill Clinton was our President at the time, so get your time frame from that period of time.

Why were they fighting anyway?

The nation...or essentially the island called Ireland...became divided between the 'Nationalist Catholics" who wanted the island to be ONE NATION and most of the people were Catholic. (Up until that time in the Belfast area, Catholics had been discriminated against with jobs...so keep that in mind)

The other group was the Unionist Protestants, and unionist had nothing to do with unions as we know them, but rather, Unionist in respect to the United Kingom..which was pretty much Protestant, or Church of England. 

It is no wonder that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was bombing in London and other places throughout the UK. (Those who traveled to London will remember that we could not find trash cans on the streets even two years ago....this is due to those bombings)

YEA FOR GOOD FRIDAY - It is special to Christians, but special in another way to the 'people of the island'

Bill Clinton evidently worked diligently on this time bomb issue. Remember that even though we won back in 1776....the Brits have always been our friends, and this struggle definitely involved the UK. (Great Britain)

The Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10, 1998 and pretty much settled the fact that a state called Northern Ireland would be a part of the United Kingdom and Protestant/Church of England but the entire rest of the island would become a separate nation called Ireland.

Good thing President Clinton was a good mediator here or this mess could still be going on....and the Middle East mess is enough for the world right now!

Money is important too..........this is why we used Pound Sterling in Belfast and the Euro in Dublin...and we would have in the rest of Ireland as well.

The walls of murals you have seen so far are right on the street. People pass them every day. Most of them were painted during the time of "the Troubles' and they fall into about three main categories. (1) those promoting the Nationalist-Catholic perspective (2) those promoting the Unionist-Protestant perspective and (3) those making social statements.

More than anything, people just wanted their opinions to be heard.....there goes that lack of communication thing again......

all I can say is

THANK GOODNESS FOR ARTISTS!

as they say....one picture is worth a thousand words!

I will try to explain some of the murals. We took photos of so many and I tell you, I love this stuff and was prepared for what we were to see, and I was overwhelmed. It was hard to take it all in. I can only guess that the students must have thought our tour guide was speaking Chinese....and I would be surprised if they really absorbed it all.

Also...this was pretty heavy stuff before lunch...even though we started our day with a GREAT breakfast...we even had BACON! (Canadian)

Back to the murals.....

You might guess that this was Unionist....the Union Flag might have been a clue.

Check out the barbed wire. This was painted on part of the 'Peace Wall' that divided the neighborhoods. Actually most of the murals are in the neighborhood areas rather than the business areas. 

This is one of my favorites because it is not only based upon Picasso's "Guernica" in style, but because artists from both sides of the conflict painted it.

Recognize the reference to Margaret Thatcher? Could this be from the Nationalist persuasion? Remember that Irish Catholics did not want to have a state religion (Church of England)

Social Statement.
Notice how the peace wall turns and then goes on some more. It went around neighborhoods, however they might have been laid out.

This is possibly written in Gaelic and has something to do with athletics. 

What....Talk radio?!  

Another social statement urging mutual respect for one another.

I thought it interesting that this is a much newer mural. 

This is a newer mural as well. Since their 'troubles' are past, creating murals is still a passion, but there are more social statements being posted. 

Many many of the murals are painted on the gable ends of homes and townhomes in the tennement areas.

Add caption

I thought this one was interesting as well because the main character is painted on the corner of the building, adding a different dimensional effect.  Do you see the Celtic knots in the design?

The things we can learn from the murals is that they have given a sense of identity to the residents of the different areas of town. The murals seem to give the residents a way to bond, and provide a sense of brotherhood and togetherness.

There are many murals that are just decorative and add color to the somewhat depressed areas...similar to what we see with graffiti in the big cities.  (the artists see graffiti as injecting color and belonging to an area, while the city officials see it as vandalism...certainly a place where communication is needed, right?)

If you ever go to Belfast, I hope you will check out this link first....http://www.belfast-murals.co.uk/     I would encourage you to study the map and check out the different kinds of murals. Most of our photos had reflections because we were taking them from inside the bus, so I did not get to show much variety....though I bet you saw enough! On the link, you can click on a marker and see many more of the murals....so history buffs...enjoy!

Thought for the day.....oh, just communicate. Listen more than you talk...and make an effort to understand, even if you don't. Try to walk a mile in another person's shoes.
I am talking to myself too!

Blessings!

Belfast, Northern Ireland & The Troubles

After a 'much too short' journey across the Firth of Clyde, we arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.  Remember that Northern Ireland, which includes Belfast, the largest city as well as some smaller ones, is part of the United Kingdom.

Because these students had not been born during the time of 'the struggles' and because most had not yet studied British history at all, we took some time for a bit of historical review before our city tour of Belfast.

We actually arrived in the evening, checked into our hotel, had dinner, and then took an evening walk. The light was pretty low, so nighttime photos of much quality were few and far between. It was also very cold and damp which meant that hands stayed in the pockets and not on the shutter!

Enjoy the quick tour of Belfast with us. Future posts will address the Murals, Belfast Cathedral, Parliament, and the Titanic.

Off to the hotel on our new touring bus. This one has no tables, but it surely is luxurious! We could also pull the drapes and block out the late afternoon sun.

Belfast had some of the most unusual sculptures, mostly very modern in style. They all have nicknames as well, so one statue can be known by many names. This one is actually the "Beacon of Hope" but is generally called "The Thing with the Ring." Made of steel and bronze, the ring is one of thanksgiving and the base is a globe which represents a universal theme of peace and harmony. (She is also called the Harmony Sculpture) She is actually a light silver color and is stunning when lit at night.

We found the people in Belfast to be quite friendly but were cautioned not to discuss religion. The tensions from the past still are like fresh wounds today, even though most of the population has 'moved on' to work in unity. "The Troubles" were not specifically about religion, but fear of discrimination if things changed seemed to be a huge factor in the strife. It was an interesting struggle, not easy to understand, but it was neat to learn that President Clinton had a lot to do with bringing the conflict to an end. Today Belfast is a calm and peaceful place and tourism is an important part of their economy.

Belfast at night. Overall it was a clean city. Most of what was old had been bombed over the years and much of the area had been replaced with new construction...new since the 1990's. Prior to that most of the building took place during the Edwardian and Victorian eras. Did I mention that the history of Belfast dates way on back to the BRONZE age....think, Vikings and such.  During the Victorian times, Belfast was a huge economic center with shipbuilding, rope manufacturing, and linen production being the main industries. 

By the time we hit our rooms in the evening, we were ready for some real sleep! Our hotel was a Premier Inn and we were so surprised to see from the internet connection that it was a 'Comfort Inn.' It was very modern, unlike the Edinburgh hotel, and had been recently refurbished. A double room turns into a quad like this! Gotta love the European way of travel!

This is the City Hall, both during the night and the day. It is the central piece of architecture in Belfast and everything seems to radiate outward around it. Donegall Square is the official name of the area. 

Add caption

This building is being protected and has a 'regeneration' plan. Belfast at one time was a huge economic powerhouse which generated great wealth, so the buildings of course represented that. During the time of "The Troubles' (1960's through the mid 1990's) so much damage was done to the buildings that they were taken down and replaced with that horrible, cheap way of building that was so famous in the 1970's and 80's. That's right...in Europe as well as in America, we had that 'throw it up fast and cheap' architecture that we still deal with today. After "The Troubles" had passed, the people began to realize how much of their great heritage had been lost and they created the Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust to handle the 'refurbishment' and 'regeneration' of many of these old buildings. 

Queen's University actually dates back to 1810 and is currently known as QUB or Queen's University Belfast. We enjoyed seeing the university students running to and from classes, not unlike we see in our own college towns. Queen's is a major research university. It was started as a way to offer higher education to Catholics and Presbyterians, and later to Anglicans. It has quite an interesting history, so click on the link if that kind of stuff interests you.

I love it when students have fun with photos. It helps me remember something about the building too! This is...you guessed it...Belfast Grand Opera House. (Do you see the Phantom?)  You just have to love the arts! The Europa Hotel is across the street (more about that later) and it was extensively bombed in during the Troubles, so of course, the residual effect from those bombings caused damage to the Opera House. It kept operating all the while, however and has now been extensively renovated. It dates back to 1895.
Our bus was parked on the corner and some of the kids received an invitation to step inside and enjoy some of the show while waiting on the bus to return. HOW SPECIAL!

Peace Lines ~ Peace Walls were some of the more interesting things we saw throughout the city. The saying goes that 'good fences make good neighbors' and I suppose that is what they were striving for. Though many of the fences still remain almost twenty years after the end of "The Troubles" there are openings in many places so that you can get in and out of all parts of Belfast. The separation barriers were placed between Catholic(mostly nationalist/Irish) and Protestant(mostly union/British) neighborhoods. This is such a hard concept for us to imagine.  As of 2012 there is now some conversation about removing walls, but it may be one of those things that will take place with 'the next generation.' All in all, it was interesting to see what can happen when people have differences and just can not seem to communicate with one another. 

The famous Europa Hotel does not look like a bombed out mess, but only the lower part of the facade remains today. It is known as the 'most bombed hotel in the world' for having survived 28 bombings during "The Troubles."  Short history for those who are interested... it opened in 1971 on the site of the old Great Northern Railway station. Reporters, dignitaries, etc stayed here when reporting on the trouble in Belfast, so it was a great target for bombings, mostly by the IRA. President Clinton stayed here in 1993. Later that year it was bombed so badly that it was closed and sold for around 4 million pounds (not much money at that time)....the hotel was purchased by the Hastings Hotels Group who spent 8 million pounds on the restoration and reopened it in 1994. In late 1995, President Clinton (and entourage) stayed in 110 rooms and today the suite used by the Clintons is called the Clinton Suite. I am ok with that because he had a lot to do with settling things down over there. :)
In 2008 they updated again and added that 12 story tower and many renovations, keeping only the original facade. I love that they found the old buildings wonderful enough to save...and maybe it can serve to take the people back to a time before The Troubles. 

The kids are helping me to remember the story of this hotel. There were not really any bombs, but I LOVE their improvisations!

Recognize this, anyone? And we thought this was only going on in America. NO....worldwide.

The positive is that they do have freedom of expression - whether you agree with their approach or not.  The kids had different views, but I am not certain that they really have a full understanding of what is going on and why. You kind of have to reach a point where you are paying all of your own bills to totally understand the economics of it all. But....that is another story for another day.
For now
Something lighthearted after all of this heavy thinking

SHOPPING

This will likely not make any sense to anyone except Matt and his friends! I think it was a shop or a business of some sort. I saw several photos but never saw the real thing. 

This looks vaguely like Marks and Spencer which is also called M&S...a store I came to love when in London. We had some serious shoppers on this trip. Thank goodness our numbers were small, or we could never have handled all of the very large suitcases! Though I never promise shopping on these adventures, we always have ladies who make the most of the little free time we give them!

Cheers for POUNDWORLD which is the UK version of Dollar Tree. Everything is ONE POUND! It was a GREAT find!  (Now, that pound was actually $1.60 USDollars)

Yes they invested will in the Northern Ireland economy!

Disney is worldwide too! Disney Store Belfast has fun online ads too!
The kids played dress up in this store.

Government Health Care. Need I say more?

This was fun. Look way into the background and you will see a movie crew. This young man was the 'guard' who was keeping people from walking down the street in front of the cameras. Of course I thought of TMA Alum, Hans Hernke when we saw this action, but I also love it when the kids interact with the locals, and they generally do because they love the accents. (Though no one things they have one, they think WE have one)
I think the movie short was called "About A Man' and it might have been about homelessness. 

Incredible Irish Linens could be found in this store. Lovely!

These are our GPS Girls. They were the youngest in the group, yet they never got lost, always showed up on time, and could go on a short adventure and get back without causing us worry or stress. Your attention to detail, girls, even made 'darts' tolerable !

I am not sure who shot this but my guess is that it was somewhere in the area where we spotted the Occupy tents. Celtic Cross...the Christian Cross with the Circle. I will explain that later. 

Thanks again ladies for the improv! I mean, this is a school trip, so this is quite an appropriate photo....and the end of our brief tour of Belfast. Though the driving tour with the guide was so informational, I think we would all agree that the best way to see any city is to get out and walk it. For future tours, I will include a lot more walking. I recall walking all over London, in the freezing snow and ice, and though I will never forget how frozen feet feel, I could go back to London today and find my way around.
Maybe it is the muscle memory at work!

Today's thought should probably be to communicate clearly. Most people don't mind if you have a different point of view as long as you are willing to listen to their point of view if you want to be heard. I have to remember this with politics all the time! It is easy to truly believe what you believe, but often hard to have somebody bombarding you with 'the other side'....when in reality....they can't see your way any more than you can see theirs. In times like that...just agree to disagree and don't let it ruin a friendship.
This old lady has learned that their are relatively few things in life that are worth the loss of a friendship. While it is true that some friendships might not be the best thing for you if poor life choices are being made, it is also a wise thing to help your brother but be sure that you are working from a firm foundation in your own life.  (Otherwise, like a lot of the buildings we saw, you can be seriously damaged, even if you are not totally destroyed...but total destruction can happen too without a strong foundation.)

Jesus is that kind of friend.
Closer than a brother.
There through thick and thin.
Loves you even if you have trouble loving yourself.
He really has it all....and He gave his own life so that we can live with him eternally.
The Northern Ireland Troubles lasted about two decades.....but eternity.........
.just think about it...eternity with no troubles.
Thank you, Jesus!
John 3:16