Category Archives: Travel

A Cruise Ship is Anchored Offshore

Posted in Holiday, Ireland, My thoughts, Travel by

Portaferry was a busy port many years ago when fuel and goods were transported by ships.  It has a natural, sheltered harbour and had easy access to England across the Irish Sea. There were not the road networks we enjoy today, when many goods  are transported in lorries.  Many ships would have been docked at the port waiting to unload and then restock with local wheat or potatoes.

But the big ships do not visit any more.  There are some yachts parked in the Marina. The Portaferry Strangford ferry is the biggest vehicle in these parts.

I was pleasantly surprised one evening back in July.  Brendan and I had just returned from visiting our daughter and her husband in Scotland.  I had the pleasure of seeing a luxury liner enter the waters of Strangford Lough and put down anchor in the bay in front of our home.  No it was not the Queen Mary or the Queen Elizabeth.  It was the Hebridean Princess, a small ship but never the less a luxury one.   It caters for fifty people in sheer luxury, according to its website.  Out there on the lough the customers will be settling down to fine dining.  The ship was visiting Irish waters to let their customers see our green land.

It was Gala Week on the lough.  Many yachts with their colourful sails were messing about on the water.  I looked out and saw many yachts with their sails catching the evening wind.  Red, blue, white, small and tall sails.  In the middle of the flotilla the Hebridean Princess appears.

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I wanted to find some information about this ship.  Where did it come from? Was it from Scotland, maybe the Hebrides off Scotland. To my delight I discovered the vessel was originally a ferry that traveled between the Scotland mainland and a Scottish Island.  It had been bought in 1989 and was restructured to become a cruise ship.

MV Hebridean Princess is a cruise ship operated by Hebridean Island Cruises. She started life as the MacBrayne car ferry and Royal Mail Ship, initially RMS then MV Columba, based in Oban for the first 25 years of her life, carrying up to 600 passengers, and 50 cars, between the Scottish islands.

My son in law’s father was the manager of the Caledonian Mac Brayne fleet.  He was instrumental in putting into service ferries that would connect the Scottish Islands to the mainland.  He did a great job. I appreciate the service our local ferry provides, connecting Portaferry to Strangford.

The Caledonian MacBrayne fleet is the largest fleet of car and passenger ferries in the United Kingdom. With 30 units in operation, the company provides lifeline services to 22 islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as operating routes across the River Clyde.

I was touched that I am connected to the history of the cruise ship that came to visit Strangford Lough that day.

This post is dedicated to Stuart.  Happy Birthday!

Nothing Can Separate Us From God’s Love.

Posted in Dreams, My thoughts, Nature, Travel by

Romans 8 v 38
Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Death can’t and life can’t. The angels can’t and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries for tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep Gods love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Man has always been exploring the earth.  When people thought the earth was flat, Columbus set out west on the ocean to explore.  He believed the earth not to be flat.  He reckoned if the earth was round he would end up in India.  That is why he called the natives of North America, Indians.
Captain Cook explored the south East oceans to discovery more islands, Australia and New Zealand.  These were fearless men who weren’t afraid of stormy oceans and the discomfort of sailing ships.

Scriptures tells us the earth is a circle.
God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭22‬ NLT)

In these last weeks I have been finding out from the media new discoveries that man is making.  Pluto has been photographed, men are flying around the earth in a spacecraft, “high above in the sky” and man had has gone down “to the deepest ocean” in a specially made vehicle to look for a creature not before seen by human eyes, the Giant Squid.  God’s love went with all these explorers to the farthest ocean, up in the sky or in the deepest ocean.

I was fascinated to watch a programme about a live Giant Squid being filmed for the first time in its habitat 700 metres below in the ocean.  For forty years a scientist has been searching to see a live Squid.  He was rewarded after forty years!   Sometimes a dream we have takes a long time to be fulfilled.  This man was rewarded to see his desire come true.  He didn’t give up.  There was great rejoicing among his colleagues who were working together when their discovery was made.  It was breaking news.  You can watch this footage on U Tube.  Type in Giant Squid.  This creature lives in the depths.  God created it.  He knows the depths of the ocean.

Psalm 148. Praise The Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths.

The earth is displaying all its beauty morning by morning as the sun rises till the evening when it sets. It shows us God’s power and his divine nature for us who don’t go exploring,  like others.  Gods love reaches down to us wherever we are.  “You know when I sit down and when I stand up.”  Psalm 139.

Last evening when we were out for a drive we saw a double rainbow and a beautiful sunset.  There were signs in the sky.   How great is the love of God for us indeed.  It reaches down to man whether he is at home or in the highest heights or the deepest ocean.

Daily Prompt. Always something there to remind me.

Posted in Canada, Family Friday, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations, Travel by

I was reminded of the pain many Irish Families have suffered and still suffer as a result of one of them leaving home to live abroad when I listened to a lady sing to her great grandchild.

The Irish people are known for their storytelling, music, dance and songs.  River dance and the band U2 are know throughout the world.  There are many people of Irish descent that live far away from their homeland, in Australia, Canada or United States.  They keep their heritage alive by singing songs they knew before they left home.

I was watching a recording of a Canadian great-grandmother sing to her great-grandson an old Irish Ballad, called The Star of the County Down on the internet.  Here are some of the words.

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
One morning in July
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two white feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, I’d to shake myself
To make sure I was standing there.
Chorus
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.

I live near Banbridge in Co Down Ireland. I am touched that somewhere in Canada is a lady who stills remembers her homeland she left as a young woman. She is keeping alive her identity. She is now telling her great grandson about Ireland in song. She is sharing with her great grandson something about her past in song. Perhaps she identifies with that young strong lassie from Banbridge in the Co Down with the nut brown hair.  Now her hair is grey and her body is frail.  Outwardly she is wasting away but inwardly she is that young “Star of the Co Down.”  Some day that little child will ask his mummy “Where is Co Down that my Nanna used to sing about.”
She will tell the story of how Nanna left Ireland to live in a new country and all the adventures that followed, good and bad. When he grows up he will want to visit that place, about which his Nanna sang.

I have met many young people who have come to Ireland to return to the town or district where their forefathers lived. It is a holy moment for them. All sorts of emotions arise. They try to imagine the relative leaving home and family never to return.
Were their hearts breaking?
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/always-something-there-to-remind-me/

A Place of Space, Peace and Quiet.

Posted in Dreams, Holiday, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature, Restoration, Travel by

I was reading from 1 Chronicles this morning.

The men listed above by name were leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly, and they went to the outskirts of Gedor to the east of the valley in search of pasture for their flocks. They found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful and quiet. (‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭4‬:‭38-40‬ NIV)

This passage reminded me of the South West of Ireland where The Lord led us to go on holiday for the first time thirty years ago with our “flock.”   Brendan had bought our first car and we were thinking of going on holiday together.  Brendan asked me, “Where would you like to go on holiday?”  I immediately thought of Kerry, in the south west of Ireland.  The best way to accommodate  our growing family was to rent a holiday home.

We felt the Holy Spirit was telling us to get in touch with someone in Kerry, who was in the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship.  This turned out to be George Mc Auliffe.  Brendan rang him and asked him if he would locate a house to rent suitable to our needs.  He had never heard tell of us before,  but he kindly responded and found us a holiday home.  The two weeks it was available was at the beginning of August when my eighth child was due.  I wasn’t afraid of travelling there, because my children never arrived on the date the doctors suggested.

i believe holidays are not a luxury they are a necessity.  Family life, being together, can get neglected when work and other pressures put demands on the dad and mum.  Being together on holiday helps everyone unwind.

The day to travel arrived.  We were so excited to be setting out on an adventure that would take us 600 miles away.  The Peugot 505 was filled with children and provisions for our stay for two weeks.  We invited another family to stay in our home when we were away.  We believed in sharing with others.

As we got nearer Kerry we’d looked at the colourful houses with gardens full of roses.  Would that be the one we will be staying in, or that one?  I would like that one.  We dreamed on.  The one we finally arrived at was beyond our expectations.  There were five bedrooms and two big living rooms.   Mary even had a room of her own!  It seemed like heaven for the children.  Plenty of space inside and outside the house.

Our children poured out of the car, stretched their legs and arms like cattle released from the stall.  There was plenty of space to run and chase each other.  There were cows in the green fields over the fence.  Good pasture lands.  There were rainbows in the sky.  It was near the beach.  The journey was worth it.

Back then there was war in Northern Ireland.  There was pressure in the atmosphere.  Everyone was under a cloud.  Kerry was so different.  There was no oppression, people welcomed us with their soft arms, hearts and voices.  George introduced us to other families who welcomed us into their homes, even though we had a big family.  Thus began our visits to the Kerry and Limerick area.  From that year on we went for two weeks holiday there during the troubles in the north.  We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome wherever we travelled.  We always returned refreshed.

In more recent years,  Brendan and I have been on a holiday to Greece in May to recharge our batteries after winter and work schedules, take in the sun and good food.  Our children have left home.  We had not planned anything this year.  There was no time free in May.    My body was weary and needing some attention.  I dreamed of travelling west in Ireland to be refreshed seeing the mountains and green valleys.  I decided to help Brendan continue prepare for people who were coming to stay with us.

June was busy with guests from Alabama and India.  The day before guests arrived another friend called to offer us his home in Adare at the end of June.  When Brendan told me I was delighted.  God is faithful.  He knew my need of rest and he provided.   As we shared our home with others, God inspired another person to share his home with us.  He had let us and our family stay in his home many times over the last years.  Not everyone wants to let a big family have the run of their home.

A man reaps what he sows.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7, 9‬ NIV)

On our holiday in Adare, we slept, worked in the garden, ate and slept again, a bit like hobbits.  One of the evenings we ventured out to visit a friend.  We travelled along the coast of the Shannon estuary through Ballybunion and on to Tralee.  I remember stopping at a viewing point overlooking Tralee sometime before when our children were with us.  The blue of the river and ocean framed the hills of Clare to our right and the stronger mountains of the Dingle peninsula to our left. Tralee was nestled in the green valley below.  The big sky had plenty of room for darks clouds carrying rain in the midst of clear parts where the sun shone through. There was always a cloud dropping rain somewhere.  I could spend hours on that spot letting this beauty wash over my soul.  I drank in the beauty again that evening.

The glory of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.

I now realise why we came on summer holidays with our children to this part of the world so many times down through the years.  It was a place of quiet, peace and space, with lush pastures to restore our souls.

Refreshment in a Land flowing with Milk and Honey.

Posted in Family Friday, Ireland, My thoughts, Provision, Restoration, Travel by

I believe holidays are not a luxury, they are a necessity.
In this busy world, work and other activities demand our time and energy until one is worn out. I thought it important for us as a family, even though a big family, to get away for a summer break. We had valuable time together creating memories.

Brendan and I are staying in Limerick.  It is a little bit different this year.  We are on our own, instead of eight, nine or twelve of us.  A friend offered us the use of his home while he and his family are on their holidays.  We usually take a holiday at the beginning of May to recharge our batteries after winter and work schedules.  There was no time free in May this year.  My body was weary and needing some attention.  I dreamed of travelling west in Ireland to be refreshed seeing the mountains and green valleys.  I decided to help Brendan continue prepare for people who were coming to stay with us. I continued to dream.

June was busy with guests from Alabama and India.  The day before guests arrived our friend called to offer us his home in Adare at the end of June.  When Brendan told me I was delighted.  God is faithful.  He knew my need of rest and he provided.   As we shared our home with others, God inspired another person to share his home with us.

A man reaps what he sows.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7, 9‬ NIV)

Thirty years ago, our friend offered us the use of his home.  We had eight children at the time.  It was a generous gesture.  Not everyone wants to let a big family have the run of their home.  We were able to visit the local tourist scenes and go to the beach when the sun shone.  The children played about in the fields nearby or at the beach like young calves released from the stall.  We have stayed in his home many times down through the years.  He is a blessing.

Kerry and Limerick are famous for the production of milk. Lush, thick grass grows all the year round to support the herds of Friesien cows. There are plenty of green pastures. It is a land flowing with milk like the Promised Land.

Back then people were in conflict in Nothern Ireland.  There was pressure in the atmosphere.  Everyone was under a cloud.  From that year on we went for two weeks in July for holidays to Limerick, Donegal or Kerry.  We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome wherever we travelled.  We always returned to the  North of  Ireland refreshed.

Family Friday. Grandchildren are the Crown and Glory of the Aged.

Posted in Canada, Family Friday, Holiday, Ireland, Motherhood, My thoughts, Restoration, Travel by

Last Saturday I attended a family event.  About one hundred and fifty people gathered together to celebrate being children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of my mother and father.  My parents are both dead, but we met to honor their memory and their sacrifice to rear us, their ten children.
It was because of their example I had endurance to have fourteen children of my own.  My father was a farmer.  The land produced crops and fed animals.  I remember my father walking across a field scattering corn seed with a fiddle.  He did not have the modern machinery that ploughs up the ground, prepares it for the seed and then sows the seed all in a few days.
He arose early every morning to milk cows, “twenty four seven”.  My mother and father imageshared the work.  Mummy supplemented the income by rearing hens and selling the eggs.  As we their children grew up we helped with the work.  My parents educated all their ten children.
The event last week was a focus for some of my own children to return from far away to join the celebrations.  My son David called me two weeks before to tell me he was thinking of coming over from Canada to be there.  It would be an occasion when he and Jacquelyn could introduce their baby daughter Ava, now eight months to his brothers and sisters and extended family.  I was delighted and encouraged him to come.
God blessed his plans.  He was able to book flights that were affordable even at short notice and within the time frame of days he could get off work.  I met them at Dublin airport.  One year ago exactly Brendan and I stood in Dublin airport and waved goodbye to David and Jacquelyn as they left Ireland to settle in Canada.  They returned to these shores of Ireland last Thursday!  It was a day of joy!  They were with us for five full days.

Baby Ava met and played with her cousins, got nursed and shared around to willing arms to hold her.  David hung out with his brothers and sisters.  Jacquelyn met up with friends.

David and Jacquelyn are adjusting well to being young parents.  They lovingly care for Ava.  .  Last evening I found one of Ava’s bottles.  I shed a few tears.  I was missing David and his family.  I miss Jacquelyn up early in the kitchen preparing bottles of milk for Ava.  I miss my grandchild playing around on the floor.  I miss my son David.
But I have joy in knowing he is starting out in life to look after his own family.
Like my father and my husband he will be an excellent provider and protector for Jacquelyn and Ava.  Brendan and I got to see our grandchild Ava.
Grandchildren are the crown and glory of the aged.  Proverbs 17 v 6
We will see her again.

Tableau Thursday. The Season of Singing of Birds has Come

Posted in Canada, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations, Nature, Provision, Travel by

“The season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. (‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬ NIV)

It is the 29 th April today in Co Down, Ireland.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a swallow swoop towards my window this morning.  Hooray the swallows have arrived. It is a new season. There is a different song outside.  Robins thrill, doves coo, chaffinches chirrup as they call to their mates in the warm mornings.  It will be safe to start building nests to prepare for having their young.

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The migrant birds are on the move.  The Brent Geese that had visited with us since September left the shore below while I was away in Scotland.  When they arrive in September they look like ducks.  They have shed weight while rearing their young in the Tundra in Northern Canada and have used up energy flying thousands of miles to our shores.  The Brent Geese come to the shores of Strangford Lough to feed on Eel grass. By April they have grown and fattened up.  They look like geese.  When the new season comes they fly away.  I miss  them.  Some geese came to feed and drink each morning below at a spring of water that joins the sea water lough.  I would hear their throaty calls from my room.

Jesus tells us to take the birds as our example and not to worry but seek first his kingdom.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body.  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25-27‬ NIV)

I was shaken from my melancholy when I noticed the swallow this morning.  I went to share with my husband , “The swallows have arrived”.  It was an unexpected visitor.  He has flown here thousands of miles from South Africa.  He has made it as his family before him did.  What a feat.  Such a small bird can fly such a long way.

He had no luggage with him.  No belongings.  No passport. He has no purse.  He is free to fly over borders and nations.  He is no threat to anyone.  God had prepared a place for him in the barn behind our house. He will eat the food and drink the water here. He is welcome. He has brought joy to me. The singing has come to our land.

I watched a nature program about the flights of migrant birds.  On the swallows’ journey up North they stop off at different points to feed and rest for the next stage.  One stopover is by a lake.  The swallows arrive there just when millions of flies hatch out.  The air is dark with the flies.  The swallows swoop in and out of the cloud of flies and have a feast.  This is another example of God providing for the birds of the air.  I rejoice to see God’s timing and provision for the birds of the air.  Our Creator and Father looks after all his Creation.  I marvel in his Glory. I see his Glory in Creation.

The swallows song will join with the resident birds in the dawn chorus.  They will build their nests and rear their young in the barns behind where we live.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. (‭Psalm‬ ‭84‬:‭3‬ NIV)

I will hear a different sound in the morning.  Instead of the Brent Geese’s call, there will be the chirping of the swallows on the wire.

Testimony Tuesday. Difficulty to Get to the Airport for a Trip Abroad.

Posted in My thoughts, Nations, Testimony Tuesday, Travel by

Brendan’s work to help people in other countries know the love of God meant he had to travel often. The devil often tries to stop us getting to do what God has called us to do. He will try any way to stop us. Brendan was flying on a trip to Ethiopia.  I had a small car and I offered to drive Brendan to the airport to save him the stress of driving.  He had everything packed, and made sure he had all items covered.

We called into the garage to get some fuel.  Brendan offered to put it in the vehicle.  He put twenty pounds of unleaded into the car and went off to pay for it.  Oh no, my car took diesel, and not unleaded fuel.  Brendan was used to filling his own car with unleaded fuel.  It is an easy mistake to make.   I said to Brendan, “My car takes diesel.”

“What shall we do?”.  It was too late to call someone to take us to a garage.  We called a friend but there was no response.  We remained level headed.  We didn’t get into an argument or blame one another.

I suggested that we fill up the tank with diesel and drive on to the airport.  We had to hope the engine would not be damaged by the unleaded fuel.  It would be diluted by more diesel.  Brendan said “Let’s try it”.  We don’t have any other option.  

I drove the vehicle to the airport and the engine was still working fine.  Brendan got his flight and was able to get to his destination.  Praise God.  God is faithful to care for Brendan when he goes on trips.  We may have different difficulties but God always helps us out.  If we are working for the Father he will be faithful to look after us.  

The enemy was thwarted from his plans to stop Brendan getting on that plane. You may think I am out of my mind mentioning the devil and that he stops us going places. I know his work is to rob, steal and destroy and I want to expose his works. So you need not be afraid. Jesus defeated him and we can overcome all evil if we trust in Jesus.

Family Friday. Confusion with Airports and Flights

Posted in Family Friday, Holiday, My thoughts, Travel by

Brendan and I were visiting our daughter in Edinburgh in July of 2012.   She and her husband had just returned to live in Scotland from Switzerland.  We had flown with Easyjet to Edinburgh from Belfast International Airport.  We were happy to see Ruth and Stuart again after she had settled into her new accomodation.  It was nice to relax and catch up with them.  Brendan needed a longer break so I suggested he stay on for a few days.  

I arranged to pick him up on his return.  I headed off to Belfast International Airport in good time.  In Belfast the traffic was held up.  It was the Twelfth of July and there were Orange Band parades through Belfast.  I had to wait while all the parade passed.  I got anxious that I would be late getting to the airport.  After an impatient delay I eventually was able to be on my way.  I reckoned I would get there on time.

When I arrived in the airport carpark I got a call from Brendan.  He was outside the front entrance waiting for me.  I told him okay,  I was just parking and would meet without further delay.  I walked over to the entrance but Brendan was nowhere to be seen.  I called him on my mobile phone.  He kept explaining he was at the entrance to the airport.  I was perplexed.  He was nowhere to be seen.  I got more exasperated.  He got more annoyed at the other end of the phone.  

Then it dawned on both of us.  I went to the wrong airport to pick him up.  He had arrived into Belfast City Airport on Flybe.  He had changed from  Easyjet to Flybe to get home.  We were both upset with each other.  He suggested he would get the bus home.  I said ” Go ahead. You may get home before I do.”  

I drove off in the car still upset.  After a short time I settled down and called Brendan and said I would pick him up on the way through Belfast.  We decided to forget about the misunderstanding of not going to the right airport.  From then on I make sure I check which airport I am to go to if I have to pick someone up.  Once bitten, twice shy.

We were returning from Canada recently.  We had to get an inland flight from Vancouver to Toronto.  We arrived at the airport in good time to get checked in.  We stood in line at the Westjet desk waiting to check in our baggage.  There were quite a few passengers ahead of us.  When we gave the attendant our tickets she said “I am sorry sir you are flying with Air Canada and pointed us in the direction of the check in desk.”  We had wasted precious time at the wrong desk.  

I asked an attendant could we skip the queue because our flight was leaving soon.  She said,”I’m sorry Madam, the desk is closed.  You are too late to check in.”   We are going to miss this flight and the next connection to Ireland from Toronto!  I ran up to the desk and asked could someone help me.  Thank God a lady helped us.  She opened her desk again and checked our luggage through.  She even gave us a ticket to fast track the security gate.   Phew.  That was a close call.  

We had a very pleasant flight with Air Canada to Toronto.  I was so stressed, I hadn’t realised we had taken off and were airborne.  I was so thankful to God we did not miss the flight home.  God promises me I am under his daily care so I don’t need to fear.

Psalm 71:15. I cannot count the times when you have faithfully rescued me from danger. I will tell everyone how good you are, and of your constant, daily care.