So the protesters made their point and the three men pontificating before and after the race didn’t. Mick, Ruby and A.P McCoy insisted that all sport is dangerous, apparently even waking in the park is dangerous but they missed the point that people who take part, including the jockeys at race meetings, make the choice, the horses don’t have any say in the matter. `Of course they are loved by their owners and minders and that’s not what the protest was about. The fact is the Grand `National is a dangerous race and it’s the animals that come off worst of all. Protests have worked in the past and the course has been modified. But there are so many horses bunched together, travelling at such a pace, riderless horses getting in the way.
FACT: Last year four horses died and this year one the course of the three day festival another four. Yesterday one poor animal didn’t come home.
Wonder what will happen now.
POTUS FLIES IN ….. AND OUT
He came, he saw and he conquered in the gentle approach of a grandfather figure; he praised success, encouraged youth and above all championed peace. Joe Biden’s visit won’t add up to much on the great pages of history but even at £7000 a minute during his time in Belfast, it was rather nice. He didn’t scold, he didn’t advise, he didn’t do anything much. However, what he did do is charm the Irish back home in USA, great if he decides to run for President again. I’m sure a genuine man who really felt the love and warmth coming ‘home’ to Mayo but I can’t help thinking of the meticulous planning behind the visit and those speeches so carefully crafted.
LOOKING UP
Last year was a good one for nature. Many of our bird population are on the increase, `Manx Shearwaters for example, and in RSPB nature reserves 30 pairs of stone curlews are nesting equalling the highest number recorded.
My hope is that skylarks will make a return to Donegal, sadly they are now on a red list indicating their decline is serious. It was always a pleasure to take your breakfast out into the early morning sunshine and sit and listen to the sounds of the sea and glory of the sky but over the last few years these birds are missing, what a change from a time when you were almost deafened by their trills and warbles as they climbed high into the blue. And more good news, a tractor powered with cow dung has been unveiled showing a sustainable future for farming. When it comes to saving nature although there is the good news but it’s a pity that invasive non-native rhododendrons are being removed from ancient woodlands in Wales. I hope this doesn’t happen in and around Donegal where the high land is covered with purple in late spring and it’s a wonderful sight. However, worrying news is that with climate change rain is falling in the Artic instead of snow.
How do I know all this. Reading the excellent spring edition of Wingbeat from the RSPB.
THE MAN IN THE HAT
2022 was a topsy turvy year for Rory O’Kane. It began with a phone call inviting him to consider being a meeter and greeter for the BBC programme B&B By The Sea, and no better man. From April until May, wearing his dad’s distinctive hat, he ferried celebrities down the Coast Road in his white electric car to a 19 century Victorian villa which was the film set for fifteen programmes designed to show off all that is best in Northern Ireland. That was the brief and it worked. The house, which is an actual B&B during the summer, was taken over, remodelled to allow filming, new kitchen, outdoor areas constructed for brunch and a green house for herbs and fresh vegetables; the one constant, apart from Ian McElhinney whose commentary guided us through, was the view, each room looked out over the North Atlantic and Downhill beach overlooked by the famous Mussenden Temple. The drone photography is mesmerising, the pattern of the waves and the formation of the foam.
Every Angle Covered
“Even the car was fitted out with cameras so you could see us chatting as we drove to the house. It was so interesting to meet the guests, Larry Lamb was great and entered into the swing, Gloria was delighted to be home and Deborah Meaden of Dragon’s Den ended up riding a horse the length of the strand and cooking a vegan meal. I went fishing with Hairy Biker Si King and we’d a great chat as his roots are in Ireland and my home is Ballycastle and we’d fishing in common.”
There’s not a lot Rory doesn’t know about the area. His dad James O’Kane was town clark of Ballycastle in the 60s and he christened the area the Causeway Coast and it’s claimed that he did more for tourism in that part of the world than anyone else, and his son is carrying on the tradition. “I love telling the guests stories and folk legends and pointing out the features of the land, it fascinates me and it fascinates visitors.” However, it wasn’t all touring and chatting, all fifteen visited local businesses from distilleries to working out with a group on the beach, from sausage making to Shirley Ballas turning her back on Strictly Come Dancing to work on a pig farm!
And then it was into the kitchen to create sumptuous dishes using local produce all conducted by guest Michelin star chef Alex Greene and under the watchful eye of house host Sharon McIlveen.
So not only did we get to know these visitors through intimate conversations in the kitchen but also the basic recipes and a demonstration of cooking some really delicious looking meals.
But there was sadness to come for Rory. Even as he was working on the programme he was concerned about his mother’s health and, at the age of 92, she died before the programmes were transmitted. “She knew all about what I was doing but didn’t live to see the results of filming so I am grateful to the crew who put together a compilation for her to enjoy before she passed away. It was a very difficult time, she was very special. Her last words to me were ‘Go and shine.’”
Take A Trip With Rory
And shine he does, his smiling face, his wealth of knowledge, his gentle manner brings people from all over the world to join in his walking and coach tours. An expert on the North Coast and equally expert on his walking tours of Belfast – Up the Shankill and Down the Falls, and Ballynafeigh with stories of the Suffragettes, James Young and Henry Cooke. He knows what interests people thanks to six years on the visitor services desk at Titanic Belfast; but his heart lies along the Causeway Coast and I have a fellow feeling.
On Easter Monday when I was growing up, the family got together and we drove to Torr Head, parked and got out the Primus stove and shivered! You can see from the photo how well we dressed and how we fitted into the wagon is a mystery! Soft hats, fur coats and binoculars plus sandwiches and cake. That’s me on the roof with my brother, cousins, aunts and uncles and my granny tucked up safely inside and not a mobile phone in sight! How times have changed, tackling the coast road on Easter Monday is often a slow progress and finding somewhere to park neigh impossible, however, just think of queueing at Dover for up to 24 hours when going on holiday. How lucky are we to have such an area of natural beauty as the B&B guests discovered on their trip and most promised to return and explore more.
During the summer the coast road beckons, children will enjoy the sandy beach at White Park Bay, older kids will be mesmerised by the Giant’s Causeway and the story of Finn McCool, young lovers can sit on the Wishing Chair but you must remember to wiggle four times before sitting down and then rub the stone on the left with your left hand. And who dares tackle the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. It’s always a pleasure to show off this exceptional island. The adventure is literally on our door step, take advantage and don’t forget the Primas!
If you miss the repeats, B&B By The Sea is available at BBC catchup and Rory can be contacted at www.rorystoursni.com.
