In Shipbuilder, a scene in chapter 9 starts like this:
Sam had warned her the shipyard was a dangerous place, but the danger did not always come from lax employment laws. Sometimes it came from nature, like when the fetch out on the Irish Sea was strong and fast, and Belfast would experience nearly gale force winds blasting through the channel and city toward the hills. The only thing to do during these days was to wrap up and hold onto your hat. Moving from one place to another took a lot of determination.
I don’t know if we’ve been experiencing winds this bad, but Belfast has given us a good demonstration. It’s been cold, but the wind gathers the cold into wicked fairy knives that slice right through your three coats and scarf to reach your skin. I’m sure it would be worse without the coats and scarf, but still.
Today however, (our last day in Belfast), the sky is bright and there’s a pleasant warmth when you step out of the shadows into sunlight. Belfast just wanted to make sure we know what we’re leaving behind.
Weather is always tricky, but we do know we’re leaving wonderful people behind. I don’t know if we’ll ever make it back, but we’ll treasure the craic we had here, and stay in touch on Facebook. Of course!
We have a few hours of tourist wanderings to do, then on to Venice via London. The adventure continues….
Marlene Dotterer 