Kerry: Sneem Village

Couple of shots from quickly visiting the village of Sneem on the Ring of Kerry.  As can be seen above, the fast-moving river Sneem runs through the village.

The church below also caught my eye:

Have just read that this is the (Anglican) church of the Transfiguration which was built in 1810.  The weathervane on this church is particularly interesting as it is salmon-shaped in honour of the many salmon caught in this part of Kerry.

We'd just stopped off in Sneem to eat delicious steak pie in a pie shop where the owner had once lived in Lancashire (hence, she knew how to make such good pies).

Bury (Lancashire): Passing Elton School

Here, I'm still on my way back from Affetside having passed through Walshaw.

I took this picture of the old Elton school building as it was in the early stages of being demolished.  Another familiar building being erased from the Bury lanscape, this kind of thing is always sad.

Dorchester: Roman Town House Mosaics

While in Dorchester looking at Thomas Hardy memorabilia, I saw this old Roman town house and its wonderful mosaics:

Last time I saw similar mosaics was in Sicily over 10 years ago now.  Just read that this place in Dorchester was discovered in the 1930s during excavation work.

Have also just read that it probably dates back to about the 4th century AD.

Was really nice to be able to just walk round and have a look at the place.

Bantry: Vegetarian Food

Delicious and healthy vegetarian food from The Stuffed Olive in Bantry, Cork.  Think this was something like beetroot falafel with lentils, carrot, and other cold vegetables/salad.

Just one thing, at The Stuffed Olive, a few of the salads have fish/seafood in.  For me, this is important as I mainly eat vegetarian food, occasionally eat red meat, but can't stand fish.

Bantry: The Strand at Sundown

One of my favourite places anywhere to be honest, Bantry Strand at sundown:

Just like seeing the waves coming in against the rocks as the sun goes down:

Looks like the locals were all set up for work the next morning:

Love the atmosphere at The Strand at sundown:

Kerry: Back on the Beach

Seem to be in my element here, in Kerry, back on the beach. 

Bury (Lancashire): St. James' Anglican Church, Woolfold

On the way back from Affetside, I walked through the Woolfold area of Bury, and passed this beautiful building, St. James' Anglican church:

I'm now 50, and lived the first 30 years of my life in Bury, but can't remember if I've ever walked through Woolfold before.  Anyway, I can't remember ever having seen St. James church before.

Kerry: Going up Conor Pass a Crazy Way

Goodness knows why we decided to follow some sort of old goat/sheep path up Conor Pass from the Dingle end, but we did:

From start to finish of this ascent up half of Conor Pass, it was a trudging walk through thick grass in heavy Irish drizzle (or 'mizzle'), so we inevitably got wet through:

Still, some parts of this mad escapade were worth a picture:

And along the way, there were distant remnants of human habitat:

Thankfully, we did meet the road but still had to descend down the other side of Conor Pass in a creepy fog:

Hardy's Wessex: William Barnes Statue

Couple of shots of the statue of the Dorset dialect poet, William Barnes (1801-1886), outside St. Peter's church in Dorchester:

At the time of visiting Dorchester and a few other places in Thomas Hardy's Wessex this summer, I didn't really know anything about William Barnes.

Since then, I've read a bit about Barnes' friendship with Thomas Hardy.  In particular, from towards the end of Margaret Marande's wonderful 'The Hardy Way:  A 19th-Century Piligrimage', I've found out that Hardy used to visit Barnes at the latter's Winterborne Came rectory both before and after Hardy moved into Max Gate in 1885.  These meetings must've been fascinating with Barnes being an Anglican clergyman and Hardy an agnostic with some kind of deep nostalgia for Anglicanism (especially in rural settings).

Just read a tribute to William Barnes with his poems being described as being characterised by a 'singular sweetness and tenderness of feeling, deep insight into humble country life and character, and an exquisite feeling for local scenery'.  As soon as I read this, I, of course, thought of Thomas Hardy having the same quality in his writing, both fiction and poetry.

Must have a look at William Barnes' poetry and look into his friendship with Thomas Hardy more (just wish I had time).

The Mission Live at Warsaw Klub Progresja 23rd October 2016

First saw The Mission at Reading Festival in 1987 when they were fantastic, and they were every bit as good in Warsaw a couple of days ago:
  

Really loved listening to a contant stream of old classics starting off quickfire with 'Beyond the Pale'; 'Serpent's Kiss', and (the Neil Young classic) 'Like a Hurricane'.
  

Occasionally, the classics were nicely broken up with tunes from the new album of which 'Tyranny of Secrets' is my favourite.

But the old classics just kept on coming:  'Tower of Strength'; 'Garden of Delight'; 'Wasteland'; Butterfly on a Wheel'; and the best tune of the night for me, 'Like a Child Again'.
 

Great backing vocals by Evi Vine especially on 'Severina' and a slow accoustic version of  'Love Me To Death':

And of course, the band were always going to do 'Deliverance'.

Back in the day, I saw The Mission four times between 1987 and about 1990, twice at Reading Festival, and twice at Manchester Apollo.

So it was fantastic to catch up with the band a couple of days ago in Warsaw.  Think that after some time, Wayne Hussey could see that people in the crowd weren't shouting out between songs, because they were so absorbed in the music, it was mesmerising.

First came across The Mission on the Old Grey Whistle Test in the mid-1980s when Julianne Regan (one of the greatest female voices ever) was doing the backing vocals to 'Severina'. 

The Awakening Live at Warsaw Klub Progresja 23rd October 2016

Absolutely fantastic, that's how I viewed The Awakening at Warsaw Klub Progresja last night.

Checked The Awakening out a few months ago when I saw they'd be opening for The Mission, and immediately liked them (kind of view them as a cross between something like Sisters of Mercy and an early INXS).

Glad the band did some of the tunes I'm familiar with, not only 'The Sound of Silence', but also 'Fault'; 'Upon the Water'; 'The Dark Romantics' etc.

Will have to check out vocalist Ashton Nyte's solo stuff:

And the bands/projects bassist Chela Rhea Harper was involved with before The Awakening:
 

Was an honour to see The Awakening last night, would love to see them do a full live set some time in the future.

Bury (Lancashire): Passing through Walshaw

On my way back from Affetside, I passed through Walshaw and saw the 1st World War Memorial above.  Have just read that the memorial was erected in 1925, with a memorial inscription honouring the dead from the 2nd World War being added after the latter.

I also caught sight of one of the most stunning buildings in Bury, Christ Church in Walshaw:

Of course, I'm not in the least surprised to find out that Christ Church is a listed building, as it's absolutely stunning:

Have just read that this Gothic revival church was built in the late 19th century:

All I can say is that the people who designed and built this building definitely knew what they were doing.  I'm not Anglican but the building gives me some kind of enchantment, it's just incredibly beautiful and an honour to look at.

Hardy's Wessex: St. Michael's Church, Stinsford.

Through camping up at Higher Bockhampton, I was able to visit Stinsford church every day, usually on my way down into Dorchester and then further afield.

Each time I entered the church grounds, I had to have some moments of silence at the grave where Hardy's heart is buried:

Found myself reflecting on the tragic fates of Tess; Jude; Michael Henchard; Eustacia Vye; Giles Winterbourne etc.
 

I never knew that the former Poet Laureate (1968-1972), Cecil Day Lewis was buried near to the Hardy family graves (have just read that he arranged this to be done through being a massive admirer of Hardy):

Have just found out that the actor Daniel Day-Lewis is the son of Cecil Day Lewis.

Each time I passed through St. Michael's, I, of course, went inside the church:

Had a wonderful conversation with the gentleman in the picture below about whether Hardy really lost his Anglican faith or not:

And we agreed that Hardy may've remained an Anglican subconsciously or 'at heart' despite his criticism of institutionalised Christianity in 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and 'Jude the Obscure'.

The picture below was my parting shot from St. Michael's:

Through going inside this church each day, I got to have some great conversations about Thomas Hardy and all kinds of other subjects (including of all things, eating black pudding on Bury market) with some of the other visitors there.