Stopover in Belfast

I'm staying in the Botanic area of Belfast tonight.  Tomorrow will be my first day on Rathlin Island working for the RSPB.

I'm not sure how I'll fit, what it'll be like, if I'm still suited for this kind of thing, but it'll be new and interesting.  Working for this organisation is a chance to contribute something.

I've just stocked up on Porridge and tea bags as I'm not sure what the islands one tiny shop will sell.  If I had more space in my backpack, I'd be taking a whole lot more in the way of food stuffs; pasta, tins of tuna, etc.  I did search for garlic paste around Belfast but as it's Sunday, the central supermarkets had shut early.  By my reckoning, garlic paste is an easy way to fix a terrible pasta dish when you're stuck for ingredients, but alas, it was not to be, I hope to stumble across an opportunity to buy some tubes tomorrow..

Somehow, I've managed to buy more biscuits and chocolate than anything else.  One of the more important items, and something I have not tasted in over 6 months, due to being over on the American continent, is: Marmite!  I may have to place 24 hr guard on the jar.


Tomorrow, I take a morning train to Ballymena, then change to a bus for Ballycastle, then catch a ferry to the island, where, hopefully, I'll be met by someone who can drive my bag the remaining 4 miles to the digs.

The cottage, where I'll be sharing a room with persons unknown, is 3.5 miles from the harbour where the only pub, restaurant and shop are all located.  As there's no TV at the property, I am imagining visits to the pub will become more regular than usual, especially as the Champions League, Europa and FA Cup Finals are all taking place in the next few weeks.

Why not watch via the internet?  There's no internet!  And mobile signal isn't that great either.  It doesn't seem to be readily available at the house anyway.  The blurb I received from the organisation mentioned there being a signal available 50 metres from the front door, so it seems likely they're be a huddle of young people, (and me), trying to connect to mobile data under a windblown tree on a daily basis.