Day 2 In Wigan

I got a good nights sleep so I was ready for a couple visits today.  So my first stop was.

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My grandfathers return address back in 1908 was !0 5 Cambridge Street.  So I went to the street first.

This was as close as I could get to number 5.  It could very well have been torn down. 1908 was a long time ago.

Next I went to the city center and spent some time in the Wigan Life Museum.  I didn't take a picture of it but this is what things in town looked like.

Lots of red brick and ornate buildings.  There wasn't much about the time when my grandfather James lived there but it was still interesting,  I learned there was a cotton famine here as well as in Ireland. Also that there were textile mills here as well as mines.

I learned that Gandalf had spent some of his youth here.

Then I found the shopping mall and tons of people.  I had a nice break and headed to my appointment with Fr.Johnson at St. Mary's church.

This is the church where my grandparents were married back in 1910. It was built in the early 1800's. 

Fr. Johnson graciously turned on lights for me to get some pictures.  Norah I've taken lots of pictures inside that I'll send to you when I get home.

This is the book of marriages.

This is the record of their marriage.  It even lists where my grandmother was living before her marriage. It was pretty cool seeing this record in person and seeing the beautiful church they were married in. 

I know I still haven't showed the linen museum, but I will in a separate post.

Ferry Day and Other Mishaps

I took the ferry to England today.  No great pictures to share though.  This is the view from the table I sat at. The last time I took a ferry was across Lake Michigan and it was long so long ago that I thought I needed to dress warm.  This was more like a cruise ship, with restaurants and shopping and more.  I took a Dramamine before I left and I was fine.  My stomach issue was more that I was starving than anything else.  I spent the time drawing.

There were all Thes little girls who were dancers running around.  Some were getting their hair done and makeup on.

I started drawing a woman I saw but she morphed into someone else.

Then I played with some of the oil pastel.

Before I knew it I was in Wales.  So I hopped on a train and made my way through England. I had to take 3 trains and the second one was having mechanical problems.  First there was a 24 minute delay and then they had everyone ge off the train.  So I missed my connection.  It took a little longer to get to Wigan than planned.  One thing I've learned on this trip is to ask annoying questions of all the officials. Traveling is hard enough without getting on the wrong train.  So I always make sure and double check what people tell me.

This is a town where my grandfather lived in from 1908-1910 and my grandparents were married here. The cab driver told me it was a dark and gloomy place back them.  Mining was the chief industry.

When the cabbie dropped me off at my hotel I had of several things happen.  The money I got in N. Ireland was not acceptable for some reason.  I was about to give him some euros when I found I had change from a 20 that was more nglish and acceptable. Whew I don't know what they do she you can't pay your fare. After relaxing in the room a little and realizing I wasn't near the center if town I made some inquiries. The hotel person told me where a restaurant and a ATM were a half a mile down the road. So I went for a walk.

I tried the ATM and it denied my card.  Ok don't panic, just try again. There was someone in line behind me so I let them go ahead. The. I tried again denied again. My card had worked in Ireland so I didn't know what to do so instead of a full breakdown I went to eat.  

Then I called Dave thinking he could call the credit union and help. The phone didn't work, I wasn't sure how to call home for. I thought the country code for America was 011. I had nowhere to check as my guidebook was in the room.  So I texted a friend and then another to call him. So after a few phone calls we figured out the problem.  Credit cards over here have a chip in them that machines read and mine does not so Thatmis why it was denied. I just need to go to a bank or another type of machine.  Meanwhile my hotel let me get an small advance on my card, so now at least I can grab a taxi and know I can pay for it.

I saw this lovely flower on my way back to,the room.

It was like they were telling me to take the time to smell the roses.

So there you have it another exciting day of travel.  

   

Lisburn, Northern Ireland and Other Observations

When traveling in another country you can't help but make comparisons. There are the quirky signs or crazy driving or how the showers are different every where you go.  It's sometimes a challenge to figure out how to get hot water.  Then there are those hand held showers that have a push button start. I have been staying in one or two star hotels, it's all I can afford and each one has it town uniqueness

In this current hotel I found something I have never seen before.

I realize its a little blurry, I don't feel like getting up to,retake it.  This is the toilet paper.  It has a metal plate over it so you can rip the paper. Now I have managed all my life without one of these, how about you.

Other things in the big city, the drivers are crazy and the pedestrians are even worse.  No one waits for the light to change, they play Russian roulette with all the speeding buses and cabs.  When I was in N. Ireland today I really noticed the difference between there and here in Dublin. I almost saw a street fight get truly out of hand.  2 blokes were shirtless and a crowd was developing and then the cops showed up, so not much of a story to tell. 

I went to Lisburn, Northern Ireland today to see the linen museum there. I just realized how late it was and I have a very early morning tomorrow.  I am taking the ferry to England early so that means showering and packing up tonight. So I will leave the museum post till later.  

I was surprised to see Betty Boop out on display at the restaurant where I had lunch.  They had pretty great sandwiches here.

I was on the train for a total of four hours today so I have some art to share.

I have been seeing so many castle like buildings I made some turrets for fun.

I am calling her my little deformed lady, instead of trying to fix her I decided to I've on.

So then I just played with the pastels a little.

I drew her on the train coming home.

But she looked a little too plain.  

That's it for tonight.

The archeology museum

Today I moved to another hotel, so that took some time.  Then I headed to the archeology museum.

When  I saw some of these I thought, are they beads or spindle whorls.

I thought this little boat was really cute.

There were a lot of stone artifacts.

These were used to close a cloak for men and women.  They looked pretty deadly though.

These looked like torq's but there were small and used like a bracelet.

These were more the size I had expected to see.

I couldn't get a good picture of this dress.  It was found in a bog. The shirt is almost one piece but the skirt had some huge number of panels sewn together .  The fabric looked like a twill.  I took other pics of some of the textiles but they seem to have disappeared. I hate when that happens.

I,liked these tiles I saw too.  I think I could carve a stamp with the pattern..

My new cousin Mae came up to Dublin and took me out to dinner, wasn't that sweet of her.  We had a nice time talking about our ancestors.  It's great to have this new connection.

While we were eating we were treated to a performance by a couple of Irish Dancers,that was pretty awesome. I asked Mae if she learned that when she was a kid, she said she had but she was never that good.

What a fun day. Tomorrow I am venturing up to Northern Ireland. 

The Book of Kells

Argh almost done with my post and I lost it all..  

I bought one of those CitySightseeing bus passes today so I could see the city easily.  First stop for me was Trinity College and the Book of Kells.  It's that ancient illuminated manuscript of the four gospels. You may have heard of it.  This was the queue to get in.  As I waited in line amidst multiple tour groups I hoped I was in the right line.  Luckily I was.  You can't really take pictures but it was interesting.  I was a little disappointed that you only got to see 2 pages of the book. I figured it had been taken apart but it has only been split into 4 and only 2 are on display at any given time.  As an artist I was intrigues by the small tiny work,it was quite incredible.  They had a movie on display that showed the making of a similar book.  The cleaning if the vellum and the stitching and binding of the book.  Very fascinating to watch.  I've made my own books but have never done the fancy spines that make those indentations you see in old books.

We came out to this library, it was massive and amazing too.

Stacks of books and busts of old men who were important I their time.

All those books, I had an image of someone climbing those ladders to get just the right book for a scholar.

I think this is the oldest harp in Ireland.

I went to the next National Library. MIT had a display on William Butler Yeats the well known poet. 

All the old archeticture is so fascinating to me.

Sometimes you have to look up.  Why there are rats on this building isn't quite clear to me.

Then I saw this little guy. 

I have been missing my art.  Even though I bought a journal with me and have drawn in it a little I haven't been that satisfied.  I had a guy on the train from Carrick seem really impressed with my work.  Told me I should submit some designs to a tattoo shop.  I have been limited to watercolor which is not my favorite medium.

Here I drew some ferns from a photo on my phone.

Added some color.

Of course I have pencil to work with too.

 

And Pitt pens to make this mandala, but apparently that is not enough for me.

I found that Kennedy's art supply is a half a block from my hotel. I couldn't resist any longer.  Picked up some oil pastels so I could play. I got basic colors and some neutrals for faces.  That should broaden what I can do in my little book.

Meeting the Padden's

Me and my cousin Tommie Padden.

This is Sean, Mae and Josephine.  They are sisters as you can probably tell and Sean is Mae' s husband.

Noelin and her son I think it was Jimmy, she is Tommie's daughter. He was a real cutie.

After dinner Sean and Mae took me to see where the Farrell's and Padden's lived.  It was pretty cool to see the house my great grandfather had lived in. 

Here I am standing in front of the house.

This is where Rose Anne Padden lived.  She would have been a great Aunt.  She is mentioned a lot 

in my grandmothers letters.

This is the church my grandfather would have gone to.

Mae wasn't quite sure if this was the house or not but it's right about where the Farrels lived so I took a picture just in case. 

But the land around here was definitely where the Farrels had lived.  She seemed certain of that. To be shown all of this was so exciting to me. To walk where my grandparents had walked was so incredible. Such a gift I've been given. Mae and Sean also told me tales of what it was like back then.  I heard about cutting turf. And how they milked the cows in the morning and carried the milk out to the end of the lane where it was picked up.  At the end of the day what they got back was skim milk to feed the calves.  Those calves got the worst of the deal. It's little stories like that which borough life to the surroundings I was seeing.