AFA - Corfe Castle (April 2009)

Corfe Castle is one of the most impressive castles in all of Europe - except we arrived 400 years late to see it. Sadly it is in ruins. Over and over we've seen these incredible strongholds, placed in perfect defensive positions, castles that withstood many attacks, always, always were betrayed by someone inside. The picture above is taken from the train station in the town below the castle. The town is served by a restored steam locomotive that we rode to Swanage beach.

But nearby in the village, a craftsman painstakingly recreated the castle and surrounding village as it would have looked 400 years ago. So you get a sense of how amazing this thing would have been. An outrageous modeling job. The little church has bells that ring and a choir that sings - or at least that is the way it sounds. The houses have people in their courtyards, and sheep and cattle in their fields. And notice the little trees - they appear (without exhaustive scientific testing) to be real. They must be groomed like bonzai trees.



The center shot is cool because you see the kids in front of the model, and behind the model in the distance on the left you can see some of the actual remaining castle walls. We are probably a mile from the ruins, so you get a sense of how huge the thing was.


Amanda and I played a game of giant checkers. I kicked her butt - however, impartial observers might say that it was a draw because we gave up the game before I actually kicked her butt. (now I will find out if she reads the blog)

AFA - Brownsea Island (the beginning of BSA)

Back during the first week of August 1907 Lord Baden-Powell was looking for a place to try out his experimental program for young boys. He settled on Brownsea Island, an island owned by a friend of his. There he brought 22 boys and did activities to train them in skills such as camping, woodcraft and lifesaving. The program was a massive success. A year later Scouting For Boys (a re-write of his military manual on outdoor skills) was published and the international Scouting movement took off. A few years later Lady Baden-Powell created the girl version of the organization, and it has been growing since - in 2007, the anniversary year, it was estimated that there are 38 million Scouts world wide.

The island has gone through several owners eventually owned by the British National Trust. In 1963 49 acres - including the original Scout area - were given to the Scouts and was dedicated by Lady Baden-Powell. In August 2007 (one month before we got to the UK - rats!) they celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scouting on the island.

A bust of, and poster about, Lord Baden-Powell on the walk to the Scout center.


John and I standing on the very site of the first Scout Camp.

The Scout Stone - monument commemorating the founding of Scouts

A life sized (?) statue of Lord Baden-Powell on the dock where you catch the ferry to the island. He is actually wearing a pocket knife and Wood Badge beads.

An interesting sight from the ferry. The Haven Hotel is where Marconi lived when he perfected the wireless telegraph and transmitted over water the first time - from this hotel to a receiving point across the harbor.

The Best Looking, Most Wonderful Kids In The World

I love you guys!!!!

AFA - St Patrick's Day Weekend in Dublin (aka Baile Átha Cliath)

Dublin is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, not to be confused with that other country, Northern Ireland, which remains a part of the United Kingdom. The name Dublin comes from the combining of the old Irish words "dubh" (meaning black) and "linn" (meaning pool) because the river Liffey and another smaller one met there forming a black pool. Those that didn't know the language combined the two dropping the 'h' and extra 'n' to make the name Dublin. The preferred name in modern Irish is 'Baile Atha Cliath' ('The Settlement of the Ford of the Reed Hurdles') (there's a song title for you) - no clue how one might go about pronouncing it, but that is the name on some of the publc buildings and their license plates as you can see below.

The city is a very successful, modern, commercial centre, and one of the fastest growing areas in Europe. It is a very youth oriented, social, and expensive. It was the 2007 Friendliest City in the World. I'm told it is a destination of choice for a weekend of partying for college age kids.We certainly saw a ton of them there this weekend.
You can see evidence of some of that partying in this picture ... look closely

Touring the city is a stroll through a turbulent history, and unlike most of the rest of the places we have visited, this is very recent. There are statues all over town of Irish revolutionaries, most of whom died there in the last 100 years. One of the most popular tourist attractions is the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) where the leaders were imprisoned. We took that tour, and the cells still have their names on the doors. Interestingly, the very last prisoner there before they closed it was the man that became the first president of the Republic of Ireland in the 1920s, Eamon de Valera.

But the lasting impression of Ireland will be their jolly disposition. Maybe it is the drinking, but they certainly are witty. Some examples ...

This 360 foot tower called "The Millennium Spire", built in 2003, is the world's tallest sculpture. The locals call it either "the Nail in the Pale" or the "Stiletto in the Ghetto." ("pale" refers to when the UK governed the northern part of Ireland down to Dublin, and called it 'the Pale') (plus it rhymed)
Interesting note: They built it in the exact spot where once stood a 100+ foot statue of the British war hero Admiral Nelson, very similar to the one in Trafalgar Square in London. The IRA blew it up in the 60's.

In a town known for drinking, it is hilarious that there would be a "Liver Assurance" company - which happened to be right beside a pub. Dublin is the home of Guinness, a very popular beer brand worldwide and the #1 most popular in Ireland. At one time Guinness was the leading employer in town - the founder, Arthur Guinness, is a local hero, donated much to the city, and his stature is in the garden at St Patrick's cathedral. Tours of the brewery are very popular and include samples, somehow we missed that one. There are about 1,000,000 people in Dublin, and they consume an average of 2,000,000 pints of beer per day. (Hence the need for Liver Assurance.)


I don't know what Oscar Wilde looked like, but I do know what Hugh Grant looks like. They think this is a statue of Oscar Wilde. Dublin has some wonderful statues of people all over town, but this was the coolest.

This skinny doorway leads to the smallest pub in Ireland, it will hold 20 - standing.

This is a statue of Molly McGuire. Also known locally as, 'The Dish with the Fish', or the 'Tart with the Cart.' Molly sold fish during the day and was said to be a 'sparkling conversationalist' at night.


This is the Bank of Ireland When they built the building there was a tax on window glass, so as you can see, they didn't use any. The Irish say when you put your money in the Bank of Ireland, it never sees the light of day again. (get it??)

The Dublin band U2 is one of the most popular bands in the world. The lead singer Bono and guitar player Edge co-own this hotel. The green top floor is a luxury penthouse where they stay when in town. The story goes that Larry Mullen, the drummer, decided to start a band in middle school right here in Dublin, and posted a notice at school for guys to join him. The other three guys showed up and the rest is history.


You'll only appreciate this if you have been to the Vatican Museum, but this is a smaller, but otherwise exact replica, of a statue in the courtyard of the Vatican Museum. Very cool sculpture.

St Patrick
St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is revered for bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was Welsh and sent to Ireland as a missionary. Unlike other missionaries of his time, he didn't accept support from the rich royalty but lived the life of the common man and was accepted because of it. Not a lot is known about him, not even exactly when he lived, but they estimate it as about the 5th century. The two legends that persist about him are that he taught about the Father, Son and Holy Ghost by using the three leaf clover, or shamrock, to make his point - and that he 'drove the snakes out of Ireland'. Scientists suggest that there were never any snakes in Ireland. Historians suggest that when they said 'snakes', they might have meant 'Druids'. (you can see how they might have been confused, they sound so much alike) Actually, the Druids used the serpent as a symbol in their rituals - so maybe that really was it. This is a picture of the St Patrick's cathedral, and the fountain in the garden marking the spot where St Patrick did baptisms. We never got inside to look around, both times we came by they were using it for religious services. Imagine that!

Happily, the teacher's workday at ACS coincided with St Patrick's Day weekend, so we were actually there for the celebration. They say the 4-day celebration in Dublin is the SECOND largest St Paddy's Day celebration in the world - behind only New York City. (more Irish here, more thirsty Irish pretenders there) They had parades, carnivals, fire works, shamrocks everywhere, people wearing green paraphernalia, McDonald's sold green milkshakes (but were sold out when we went), and live music in the streets - if I can get it to upload on our lame internet connection, I have video of one of the bands. I loved getting to hear the band, and seeing the Irish dancing. (look ma, no hands!)