No your eyes do not deceive you. There’s no travel vlog to see here, though I hope you find a nice surprise in its place. If you’re new round these parts then WELCOME and for those who’ve been with me since way back it’s lovely to have you here again. So let’s settle in, get comfy and take a trip or two back in time as I introduce you to my number one travel buddy.
One of my fondest memories of my most recent visit home is a walk my mum and I took down at the Tide Bank, not far from our house. It’s one of our favourite places to visit and if you walk right out to where the winding path comes to a halt and turn back on your heel to the car park you can cover almost 5 miles.
Last week I took a race back home to see loved ones, soak up some culture and eat some good food. The Northern Irish excel at good food and eating is a national past time. I’m pretty certain we invented the term ‘traybake’ though in crossing the Irish Sea these goodies appear to have shrunk and assume a rather paltry portion size that would almost certainly be sent back should one dare present its puny self in a coffee shop back home.
The dark horse leading the charge of the (possibly-not-so-) light brigade towards food nirvana is none other than Belfast-based chocolatier Co Couture. Discreetly tucked away down the steps of a basement on Chichester Street Co Couture has quietly been gathering an army of followers over the past few months and I for one am a devoted disciple to the church of chocolate.
Afternoon folks! I’ve been a bit quiet this past wee while but been very busy nonetheless. I am really excited to share my first ‘proper’ attempt at making a short film with you and not before time!
Belfast was in the news rather a lot over the Christmas period and sadly not always for the right reasons. I wanted to make a film that explored the importance of Christmas to the individuals featured beyond what’s going to be under the tree on Christmas Day. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas presents and parties are brilliant and something to look forward to but there’s more to the season than just that. For me, and the people I interviewed, it’s a time for family – whether that’s the family you’re born with or the one you pick up along the way – and generally looking out for one another. I hope that comes across when you are watching.
…or something along those lines. I’ve been a pretty irregular blogger up until now so I thought I would set myself a wee challenge to post every day for a week. I’ll kick it off with a video I stumbled upon about a week ago.
I mentioned in a previous post that I have family in the Faroe Islands. My grandmother was born and grew up there. During the war she met my grandfather who tempted her with his Belfast brogue to cross over the ocean and set up home in Northern Ireland. She’s lived here ever since but she’s never forgotten her home. A few years ago we discovered she has dementia and it’s slowly eaten away at her memories as time has progressed. But one place she never forgets is the Faroes.
This video features the grandmother of a man named Heiðrik á Heygum. He directed the True Love video I posted a couple of weeks ago. Following the birth of her daughter, Runa, Maria felt herself becoming very weak. I think nowadays she’d probably be diagnosed with post partum depression but back then these things didn’t exist. Or rather they did but weren’t diagnosed. Maria’s husband recommended she swim in the ocean to try and heal herself. She did and she’s been swimming in the Atlantic ocean daily ever since.
When I first saw this video I was filled with admiration for Maria but I also felt a pang of sadness. My nanny used to love the ocean. When she was still able to go out in the car her favourite thing to do was enjoy an ice cream or a bun and watch the boats sail across the Lough. I remember her telling me stories of how she used to row from Torshavn to Nolsoy as a young girl and how she loved the freedom of moving through the open water. How she and her friends were scolded by angry fishermen for rowing in rough tides. She still remembers some of those stories in her more lucid moments but those are fewer and farther between each day.
I hope you enjoy the video. It’s in Faroese but has English subtitles. It’s under ten minutes long, give it a watch. It might just uplift you like it did me. If you fancy watching more of Heiðrik’s work check out his vimeo channel. My particular favourite is a short film called Sigarett. It’s pretty brilliant. Enjoy.
Tales of adventure 