Sandy Toes, Sweet Kisses, Stunning Sunsets

Benone Beach, Northern Ireland

HISTORY LESSON

This past  weekend and into this week, some very exciting history making events have taken place here in the United Kingdom.  Just a short explanation in where we live.  A lot of  people think that when we moved that we were coming to Ireland and to most Americans  Ireland is just Ireland but that is not quite the whole story. There is actually two countries on this island. We have the Republic of Ireland and  Northern Ireland.  We live in Northern Ireland, where it predominately protestant and under the Government of the Queen Elisabeth II. Our money is the British pound. The Republic of Ireland is the southern part of the island is under the European Union and use the Euro as the currency . There is a vast difference between the people  and beliefs, attitudes, and religion between the North and South.  We are learning a lot about the culture differences and how it effects how our church is named and growth!  Very interesting!  In saying that,  the first event was the Diamond Jubilee which was the Queen's 60th yr on the throne! The only 2nd monarch to reach this milestone(Queen Victoria was the first)  So there was a lot of  celebrations going on in the town with a parade of marching bands( i think that there were about 50 bands) and lost of decorations and  flags flying over the village.

Good to see "Old Glory"

The second event was the Olympic torch coming through our town! Very exciting to watch it run through and again the people  turned out in a big way to cheer the torch on its way.

A glimpse into our new adventure living in Northern Ireland :)