Hi there!

I am incredibly behind on my posts but I might as well post what I have finished.

   Today (Friday 14th), we were able to sleep in a bit. Maynard picked Kelly Jo, Caroline, Matt, and I up at our cottage around eleven and drove us into Belfast. We had originally planned on attending the Titanic Memorial museum, but Dr. Tim had informed us this morning that he has planned to take the entire group tomorrow. Instead, we spent the day touring around Belfast, learning more about its historic past, rich traditions, and charming pubs, such as Ally Cat's, Voodoo, and Kelly's.

    We were also able to squeeze a bit of shopping in and even finally located a tourist shop where we were able to shop for gifts for our family and friends. Afterwards, we met back up at the Crown Pub and headed to the Moneyrea Community Centre for the "Moneyrea 783 Social Committee An Ulster Scots Evening" to watch Maynard speak. When I had asked him what he was speaking about on the way over, he told us that he was going to speak about choices made one hundred years ago and how the choices of 1913 affect 2013.
    
     Over the past few days, I have learned what an amazing orator Maynard is; he can come up with speeches off the top of his head and always has a multitude of stories in his back pocket to pull out at the drop of a hat. Because of this, I have learned the importance of storytelling to the Ulster culture. My background of Theatre always has emphasized the importance of storytelling and I feel that my time here with Maynard has further strengthened my belief in the importance of storytelling. The cultural evening was absolutely lovely.

     There was a performance on Lambeg Drums, ornately and symbolically painted drums beat by two long sticks that are Dutch in origin but had come to Northern Ireland around the 1690s, were enlarged and produced in Lambeg, and now seen as a Ulster Scots instrument of pride. The performance also included a traditional fife. The music was loud and exciting and left my ears ringing and my heart beating fast! Their technique was precise, exact, and riveting without any sort of (what the lovely Mary Moriarty would call) "fluff". I pity the backache those drummers must get, though! The enormous drums are held against the performer's front with a simple neck strap, no padding or belts. They also played other instruments, including the accordion, the tin whistle, and other traditional drums.

     There were also Scottish highland dancers, led by Michelle Johnson, a young lady employed by the Ulster Scots who Kelli Jo and I will be shadowing as she teaches her classes on Monday. The Michelle Johnson School of Highland Dance performed various National dances, a pre-battle sword dance, and celebratory dances. The children dancing were wonderful and they looked so lovely in their various plaids.

       Maynard then began his speech, using a line from a letter written by a previous ambassador from Arizona. Although my own viewpoints do differ from this point of view, it is inspiring to see someone who fiercely believes in and loves his country and what it stands for.  He spoke of many valiant Scotsmen who helped to settle Ulster and have been part of their rich history. He read "The Raiders" By Robert Burns and he also quoted Reverend WF Marshall's "Hi Uncle Sam" which was written to present to American soldiers arriving in World War II to show what those from Ulster have done.

     I had a lovely chat afterwards with some very nice people as we ate some refreshments and had some tea. I spoke to David, one of the drum players, who told me about the drum sticks, which were made of bent cane. I also briefly met Nelson McCausland, DUP minister of the Department of Social Development, Jimmy Spratt MLA for Castlereigh, Mike Nesbit, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, his wife Linda Bryans, a news journalist, Jim Allister, leader of TUV, Traditional Unionist Voice, and the mayor of Castlereagh, Alderman Michael Henderson.

    The overall evening was lovely and We all had a wonderful time learning more about the culture of the Scots in Ulster. I know we have even more exciting things planned for us so I'll sign off for now!
Much love,
Kelsey