Borgen!

For all you fans of Borgen out there, here's me on the steps of Christiansborg Palce in Copenhagen, doing my best to channel Birgitte Nyborg (should I have gone for the crinkled-nose smile?)

The Two Faces of Boa Island

A brief detour from Arranmore Island to Boa Island, from offshore to inland.  Boa Island is on Lough Erne and no ferry is required to get there: it's connected by bridge to the mainland and, if you weren't paying attention, you might not even know you were on an island.  We made a detour in search of some very special inhabitants.

These are pre-Christian stone figures.  Nobody knows exactly what they represent or why they have two faces or why they appear to be clutching their nether regions like small children in need of a toilet.  Of course there are plenty of theories … but I'm less interested in the theories and more interested in the fact that they're still there, thousands of years later, nestled in the corner of a tiny graveyard on Boa Island.

Estonian Open Air

Snapshot: The Estonian Open Air Museum, May 2014

The Estonian Open Air Museum is charming.  Like a breath of pine-scented fresh air,

laced with a little wood smoke rising through the thatched roofs.

Glimpses of sun through the trees,

and unexpected dwellings under them.

Vivid colours inside,

and the sound of sea and sails outside ...

… with a counterpoint of women's voices singing.