There are two varieties of taxis here, regular ones like you find in NZ or wherever, and old black ones, which have been retired from service in London. They operate more like a bus service than a taxi service, each cab has a set route, and may take up to six people, so you never know who you'll end up sitting next to. The service started up during the worst part of the troubles, and there are separate stands for taxis serving catholic and protestant areas, so that you don't have to sit with someone of the "wrong" faith.

During the first couple of weeks here I spent more nights at the pub than at home, usually with the guys from the flat. It's a tremendous atmosphere there, everyone gets on well, there's a good mix of people/backgrounds/ages etc, and always someone to have a craic with (Irish for having a talk/laugh etc) or go out with.

The University area of Belfast is beautiful, the photos here were actually taken later on, shortly after Christmas (1998) when there had been a cold snap, and everything was covered in frost, and looking really nice. The photos are in the Botanic Gardens (on Stranmillis Road, just opposite the chemistry building; photos one, two, three, four), and from the library tower looking west towards the City Hospital (the place to go for all your knee surgery requirements) and across the main building to the students union. 

the first couple of days in the second week I had to go back to England, for an induction course at the open university (although I'm studying at Queen's, my grant and my enrolment are through the Open Uni). That was in Milton Keynes, which is one wierd place. It's a built city, and incorporates several very old villages, which have been preserved intact. It is built on a very large scale, with lots of green, trees, fields etc, which is nice-but there is no "city atmosphere", since it is completely impractical to walk around the place (too far). The people at the university were excellent though, a really good friendly group of new research students, so the couple of days passed quickly (with a couple more nights spent in the bar on campus). On the whole though, (and particularly from a social point of view) I'm glad to be here where everything is easy walking/stumbling distance.

The photos were taken during the "Men's Dinner" - the rowing club's formail event for the year. In the top photo are Graham, Paul (aka Tall Paul or TP - even taller than me!), Olly, Mike, Shane and another Graham. In the middle photo Oisin and Paul, and in the final photo Shane (novice of the year), Mike, and Dave. the night was terrific, the meal held in the beautiful Queen's main building, with a disco at another rowing club afterwards, and drinks at various other establishments throughout the night. The sport has a lot of tradition behind it, and the whole evening seemed like something you'd expect for the famous British universities like Oxford or Cambridge, which have the strongest rowing traditions of all.

We stopped at a few places along the way on the first day (including Carrickfergus castle, and Giant's Causeway), and stayed the first night near Portstewart (ok, it was actually near Bushmills). A pub meal and a few drinks, games of pool (we had the bar to ourselves) and that was it for the day. The next morning we drove into Bushmills, after a walk along the shore, but were too early for the first tour (by a few hours), so decided to drive on, rather than waiting.

We made a loop around Lough Neagh, stopping at various historic sites along the way - neolithic burial mounds at Carnanbane, and the High Cross at Ardboe were just a couple of them. there are a lot of sites like this throughout the country, and together with the narrow roads, and stone walls it makes for lovely touring. 

After dropping sean back at the airport to return to London, then home, I regretfully had to return the car. I didn't have long to wait for another trip though - that weekend I was off to donegal with the mountaineering club - the subject of the next update.