Set of photographs #13

Commentary from Participant

1,2. ‘I am nervous as the first photograph pops up.

So, the comparison was the wall. There are lots of walls in Holland. But, in Northern Ireland, the walls are different. They are not cemented together. I live in Bangor and took it there.

3,4. This is the view of the harbour, as compared to Holland which is mostly flat land, here there is a hill round every corner. Sometimes nature is really surprising.

The first wall, what we call as demesne wall. It really means estates and walls around them to protect them from the locals. We have these walls in ancient Dutch cities.

5,6. This is a beach where my best friend went swimming. It is a sad story. My friend was an artist. She was the first person here to invite me to her home when I knew no one. It was so heart-warming. We went for a swim in the sea, she died while swimming, I couldn’t do anything. It was an area of a riptide and she got into the pool of waves.

She was hospitable and she was quite a feminist and had discussions about the Plantation of Ireland by the English. She was such a dear friend. It was a skipping

She mainly painted landscapes and had exhibitions and only 55. It also showed me that life can be finished in a second. I felt sorry for and for her family. Like the image of going round a corner – life and death. I think we just need to become aware that life is quite fickle.

7,8. The next ones are happy. I have a friend, she is Hindu and she believes in the purity of swans. I took of picture of swans and I sent it to her and she asked if they were real.

This is a pickie park, probably built in the 1980s. it was used as a gathering place, to swim or canoe.

My grandparents were British and my mother is British and my father is Dutch. And I used to live in a street, and it was not well off, money-wise. My father had a cardboard suitcase full of eggs and lettuce to take with him to England. At the border, we were not allowed to tell what was in the suitcase as it also contained Dutch gin.

9, 10. The next is of a beach, it is my favourite beach because of the granite rocks. The granite rocks stabilise me. The radiation from the rocks and the peace around them. In Pagan rituals, granite rocks have magnetism in them. You can feel it if you put your hand on the rock. It has cooling energy. It was a volcanic area and it looks like a crater.’

Participant #6, ‘There is natural radiation in the rocks’.

Tess, ‘You are teaching me so much about my own country.’

Participant #14, ‘Like you are teaching me all the other adult things.

It is very relaxing. You don’t need a spa. When the winds are crashing, you internalise the force of the crash and you are elevated. Our bodies are water and when it resonates with water it gives energy to the body.

I used to live in Victoria in Zimbabwe. There was a waterfall and when the water fell, it was very powerful and made a sound and I used to visit while going to the office and would connect with the water. It is so magnetising that you have to hold yourself back.

11, 12. The next picture is a picket fence. It goes around the coastal path and reminds me of my grandfather’s vegetable garden. You don’t see this kind of fence normally here and are replaced by plastic or other things.

13,14. The next picture is of a boathouse. It was for industrialists who would keep their boats and canoes there. The lovely stonework gives a feeling of safety.

15,16. The next one shows windows. I like real estate in Bangor, it is so un-Dutch. The plants are almost tropical, and they can grow here. The palm trees can grow here. It is extraordinary and you see such plants in Zimbabwe.

17, 18 This is the Long Haul. It was the very first small harbour and in the very old part of the harbour. Scary to walk there, as there are no railings.

19, 20. This is the mermaid statue on a little rock. In Northern Ireland there are many stories of elves, sea and the woods. I am in a group where they tell old stories and I sometimes go there to listen to such stories; it is ingrained in the culture, it is so actual here. But there are no such stories in Holland. People in Holland may have forgotten such stories.

People incorporate you into the society and I feel that I am part of this culture.

Tess, ‘There are still spells and charms here that go across the religious divides and go back to Pagan times, probably. Rural people have a strong link with their parents even after they die. They are gone and they are not gone.’

My grandmother used to use mint in the potatoes. Her aliveness for me is still in the mint.

21, 22. The ‘I’ is for information. I took it because I want to talk about information. It has become overpowering. It is going at such a rate that either, you cannot hide from it but elderly people might be left behind. I feel pity for youngsters that they are so engrossed in the technology that they don’t notice nature. Maybe I don’t know how to use it much so maybe I am a bit jealous.

23, 24. This is Donegan’s pub. I like it because it has a sign that Guinness every day is good for you. These pubs have such an atmosphere. It is typical to Northern Ireland. Some people are distinctive and particular about naming Northern and South. Maybe it has influenced people. Who to trust or confide in? Some people have this mentality and I understand that. It is hard for people to lose this cautiousness.

25, 26. This is my bike, the hills are a bit difficult. And there is a coalbag in the picture. You would not see that in Holland because the mines are closed. You are not allowed to use coal fires or wood fires in Holland.

27, 28. Next, you have a red post box, the initials are George Rex [ie King George V1 who died in 1952 and was succeeded byt the present Queen, Elizabeth 11]. It is 70, 80 years old and still very good, still, icons are in place in mint condition but are replaced in Holland. Sadly, nobody writes letters these days. I also like the fact when my mother writes the letters, it is her handwriting, and I can feel her more. It is the beauty of physical writing. It is less cold when we use paper. Older people say that old things are better, using nice paper or a card.

29, 30. Next is a place for observation, an observation Point. It is on the coast. It was a sewage pumping station.. It is quite old. Probably from the 50s. They are restoring these and keeping some stuff from the old days. The entrance is a rock and is strategically placed.

31, 32. Next is symbolic to remind us that Covid is here. It is symbolic of decay because of the closure of buildings, I was working at the care home and I am a nurse. And people have felt abandoned by their families. One old lady sang ‘Amazing Grace’. She made everybody happy. I enjoyed working with but I also find it difficult. I am retired now.

33, 34. This a police station. There are given hours and the police station is open only for these hours. There is no time limit on police work in Holland. What happens when the station is not open?

35, 36. Next is about the bank.it is being sold and it was the Ulster Bank. The buildings are so beautiful.

37, 38. Next is a clock tower. The time is shown by the clock and people are here time aware and every village has a clock tower. When I was in Africa there was always a clock tower in the towns, built in Colonial times. And it is an icon of the village, and everyone meets at the tower. There is a Ferris Wheel here too, sumbolising fun.

39, 40. Mural of the angel man, with his Covid mask on for protection. You are an angel with wings. I think it is the essence of everything. You can be anything.

41 42, ‘Show some love’ The person in the figure is a punk icon in the 70s. Maybe it means you better do your stuff on earth, I like the murals, and some are striking.

43, 4. Next is a walled garden, a rose garden is part of an Estate [established during the Plntations of Ireland, mostly in the 1700s]. There are lovely flowers and every season is differently presented. And the produce from the vegetable garden is given to the food bank and serves the community.

45. A pooch stop. This is a very British thing, this love for pets. All these pet foods and racks and racks of pet foods.

46, 47. This is the 12^th July arch celebrating the victory of William of Orange. I was invited to the Orange Hall because somebody was getting engaged. I was impressed by the history of the Orange prince. My husband told me not to say anything as someone might find it offensive. We have the same in Holland. North and the south of Holland, Catholic and Protestants. It is all changed in the past 50 years, the churches are all empty.