After Dublin we headed to Drogheda where we rendezvoused with our son. He’ll be 21 this year so it’s not often we get family time away with him. We had one night in a lovely hotel and did all the Boyne Valley tourist stuff, including the fascinating Newgrange monument. I didn’t go inside...... the words “narrow tunnel that gets narrower the further in you go” combined with “one way in and one way out” and “single file” on a wry hot day made my decision very easy!! Instead I wandered outside while the boys went in. After their tour I asked a lovely guide called Mary if I could just look in the front entryway but not go into the chamber. She persuaded me to go about a metre inside the passage so she could show me where the sun shines in above the entryway. It reflects down the passage and into the chamber, lighting it up at certain times of year and with the right conditions. It was fascinating but a metre was far enough for me!
After our overnight stay we headed northwards to do our Meet the Parents. Our son and his girlfriend have been seeing each other for over a year now so the time had come. We met her mum and thankfully it was all very easy and natural.
This morning I was enjoying the fact that we’d had a lovely break but it was still only Saturday! Gotta love a short break from work!! Hubby dropped me in Portstewart to get my hair cut and while I was waiting for him to collect me I decided to have a dander along past the Herring Pond and up the Harbour Hill. During rebellious teenage years this would’ve been a favoured spot to (illegally) share a few drinks with mates on a sunny evening..... away from parents’ eyes and feeling very grown up and cool! Today I found it much more pleasant just to wander, enjoying the sea breeze and watching the waves.
When I reached the top of the hill I noticed a young fella, probably in his 20s, sitting on the grass close to the edge of the cliff. I briefly wondered if he was ok but just then hubby arrived. As we drove away we both commented on the lad sitting looking out to sea. Unable to shake a nagging worry, I asked to be taken back as I felt I wouldn’t settle unless I knew he was ok. As I walked towards him I started to worry that maybe sneaking up behind him might be a bad idea...... I also worried I might say the wrong thing. I almost turned around but couldn’t bring myself to. I called over to him “Excuse me?” but he didn’t turn around..... “Hello?”....... still no reaction. Then I realised he had earbuds in. I went a little closer and called louder “Excuse me!” He turned and said “Oh, hi!” in a thick accent. I asked him if he was ok. He laughed and said he was, that he was just enjoying watching the sea and not to worry, he wasn’t planning on jumping! We laughed about my cautious approach and my fear that speaking to him might actually make him jump!! It turned out he’s from Paris and is over visiting friends. He was simply enjoying the fresh air and watching the sea. He was very pleasant and said it was lovely that I checked on him, even though he was fine. He said he didn’t think the same would happen in France.
Hubby rewarded my stupidity by taking me for lunch by the beach and then we came home and watched a daft but quite entertaining film.
Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to live in our wee country. Northern Ireland may have its issues but it’s also beautiful and full of friendly folk. I might’ve been wrong about my French friend, and I don’t really know what I’d have said if he actually had been suicidal, but I can go to bed tonight unworried. I may even see him again tomorrow morning as we were talking about the beauty of the sea and I told him about Sunday morning sea bathing! Who knows...? Either way, I’ll rest easy tonight.
Reach out to people. It doesn’t take much. I certainly didn’t save a life today, but hopefully I showed a visitor that NI is one of the friendliest places on earth!! Xx
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