~ ANNE! ~

ahhhh, Belfast... it's pretty much exactly as I remember. Except that John has gained a tv and lost the postcards that used to plaster his door. I got in last night at close to 11:30 (my plane was late as I picked the day that all the air traffic control in Britain was disrupted to travel).

However, this worked out okay as John (having a tv) can now stay up all night to watch the NHL playoffs! Due to the time difference they're shown starting at 1 am here. So we stayed up to watch the Calgary Flames kick some butt. Still can't quite believe they even made it to the playoffs, let alone are very close to the Cup! Feels very surreal. The game went into overtime, so we went to bed at 4:30 am. However, I did manage to get John to pummel the knots out of my neck last night, and am therefore feeling better than I have in a very long time.

Went to the Ulster Museum today. They have a very good display about warfare in Ireland. Lots of stuff to do with the Troubles, of course (although they had info on the stone age, Normans, Vikings, World Wars etc. as well). I find it all very depressing and it goes a long way towards explaining why Belfast is like it is. So many families have been touched by all that violence in recent memory.

They also had a very good collection of Inuit stuff (go figure!) and also - an actual mummy. Not just the case, not just the sheet-wrapped figure, but some dead woman's blackened head and arm sticking out of her shroud. Still not sure how I feel about that but it was fascinating (in a very creepy and morbid way). John was pretty grossed out. She would have been about as tall as me, I think, though her hands were tiny (although they didn't really have any flesh left so maybe that's why). Her hair looked really light, almost blond. Very weird.

I get to stay till Monday, when I leave from Belfast City airport at 5 pm. I only brought a small bag (borrowed from Tom, thanks Tom!) so I can take it as carry-on, which makes things much quicker. It's nice to have three days (almost four) to stay instead of just the weekend. Think I will try to go somewhere on Sunday, as you can take a bus anywhere in N. Ireland on Sundays for six quid.