"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." RLS
To be honest, Australia cannot boast many literary greats and the average Aussie is more at home on the beach, at the footie, or having a beer at a barby than he or she is pouring over the classics or attending the Opera.
This is not to say that Australia lacks culture or class. Continue reading “An Australian Literary Great”
While equestrian statues were popular additions in many cities around the world in the early 20th century, few were erected in Sydney. This one of King Edward VII, successor to the long reigning Queen Victoria, is a rare example of such statutory in Sydney though the original intent was to construct this tribute to the King, and equally importantly to Empire, in the then newly established National Capital of Australia, Canberra. Continue reading “Flamboyant Edward VII”
Affixed to the City Walls in Guildhall Square, I came across the plaques in the attached photograph.
The circular plaque, clearly associated with the centre one, brings together two symbols of Derry – the famous 17th century City Walls which are among the best preserved and most complete city walls in Europe and the oak leaf, a much older symbol of Derry, recalling the oak grove that was here when the city was first established and indeed the origin of half the official name of the city. Continue reading “Raytheon and Derry”
When the Siege of Derry began on 18 April 1689 James II had a boom built across the River Foyle to stop food and other necessities being brought into the City. Continue reading “Browning Memorial – Relief of Derry Commemorations”
This very beautiful neo-gothic red sandstone building, renovations of which precluded my entry in 2013, is the City Hall and seat of the Derry City Council. It is very much worth a look. Continue reading “The Guildhall”
I was very much of two minds as to whether or not to do a review of this courtyard which forms part of the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall. My picture above will suggest why a review is perhaps unwarranted. Not only has the Good Reverend George Walker disappeared from his plinth on the City Walls but he also seems to have disappeared from the Walker Memorial Courtyard! Let me explain. Continue reading “Walker Memorial Courtyard”
For the uninformed this is indeed a very peculiar sight – a well preserved (in fact, totally refurbished in 2013) fenced in statue-less plinth. Continue reading “The Walker Memorial Plinth – Royal Bastion”
In Northern Ireland there currently exist three Protestant Orders having their roots in the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1690 when the Protestant King William III defeated the deposed Catholic James II and secured his and the Protestant ascendancy to the British Throne. While things moved on in Britain, Irish Protestants immediately started celebrating this victory and have been celebrating it ever since. Continue reading “The Apprentice Boys – Memorial Hall and Museum”
To the rear of First Derry Presbyterian Church is a refurbished Blue Coat School, now home to the The Blue Coat School Visitor Centre. This centre is a small museum on the history of Church, the history of Presbyterians in the city (and beyond) and the role Presbyterians played in the 1689 Siege of Derry. Continue reading “Blue Coat School Visitor Centre”
Presbyterians have resided in the City since around 1642 having arrived during the Plantation of Ulster which began in the early 1600s. By the time of the Siege of Derry there was a significant number of Presbyterians in the city but still they didn’t have a place of worship within the City Walls. During the Siege, like many others in the region, the Presbyterians had moved in behind the city walls either to assist in the defence of the City or to seek safety from Jacobite forces. Within the Walls they worshipped in St Columb’s Cathedral and at some time they actually had St Augustine’s Church“on loan”. Continue reading “First Derry Presbyterian Church”
The Rambling Wombat 