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9/11 Remembering them
What a piece of work is man
How noble in reason
How infinite in faculties
In form and moving
How express and admirable
In action how like an angel
In apprehension how like a god
The beauty of the world
The paragon of animals
What a piece of work is man
How noble in reason...
William Shakespeare
Dancer Simon Murphy
Photographer soulMerlin
Following on from my previous post on Depression, one of the ways I climb out of the mire, is to go and meet nature head-on. It was therefore natural I would say “Yes”, when Emily, one of our dancers and the ‘cover’ Narrator, got her act together and organised a trip to the Giant’s Causeway.
We usually have two late shows on a Friday (5pm and 8pm) and so it was the ideal day to go on an adventure...
So we all met at 9am, (a very unusual hour for theatre people) and set off in the coach Emily had arranged for all of us. I say “All” as only a brave nine thespians, out of a cast of thirty, arrived outside the stage-door. When the coach eventually arrived at 9.20, we were getting a tad anxious, as we had to be back at the theatre by 3.00pm in order to get ready for the first show – as it would take from 1 to 2hrs each way, there was no time to waste.
As it turned out, the driver had been parked outside the front of the theatre (well it was Ireland) so we all piled in...
Our first stop was at the Bushmills Whisky distillery, near to the Causeway. I was quite looking forward to the visit, but I went ‘off’ the whole idea, after I was told rather loudly and with imperative urgency, that I couldn’t smoke outside the entrance - (I was around 12 feet away from the glass doors) - but in the car-park some thirty feet away.…so I went back to the coach instead and shared a cigarette and a chat with the driver. I was at this stage, totally unaware of what the Giant’s Causeway was and I asked in all innocence, if there were any stone circles, thinking of Stonehenge-like, Druid creations. The driver’s affirmative reply left me none the wiser for the revelations that lay ahead…When the others arrived back from viewing the ‘approved’ drug, as opposed to the ‘outlawed’ one, we continued on our way.
...Remember prohibition? (well, not you personally - unless you're even older than me) I predict that one day there will remain a solitary Pacific Island, where it will be still possible to smoke. Planeloads of the rich and famous will jet to the outrageously priced, island “smokeasy”…! (every law is an opportunity for profit)
As you can see, the sky was overcast as we all walked down toward the Causeway. I find landscape photography difficult in dull light, so I thought I’d try some panoramic shots. I’m glad I did because I don’t think I could give you an idea of the expanse of the scene otherwise.
After around half a mile, we arrived at the stones, it took me a while to realise that they weren’t limestone or granite, but Volcanic rock. Not only was that a surprise to me, but also the shape of each stone. It was as if they had been machined into tall columns by craftsmen of a by-gone era.
I later found out that people for many years had thought that it had all been the work of ancient labour, however it seems more likely that the lava flow from an ancient volcanic eruption had solidified, and then contracted, to crack into perfect hexagonal-pentagonal columns.
In order to get a photograph of all of us together, I became the rather demanding director of a friendly tourist.
I only saw later on that Naomi had gone missing (as usual.) Heigh Ho.
The ‘smokeasy’ conversation with the coach driver had begun to make sense. When I asked about the stones, he replied:
“Do you know about Finn?”
To be continued in a few days…
Many thanks to Dave of www.littlebookcreative.com for letting me use some of his photos - he is an excellent web-designer (and boyfriend of Emily) So drop him an email if you need anything done.
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