Selective Ten Commandments

The theft of part of the Mannamán Mac Lir statue (pictured right) that overlooks Lough Foyle near Limavady appears to be a case of selective ten commandments following by religious zealots.

The body of the Celtic sea god was removed with a wooden cross put in its place on which were inscribed the words "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" along with the Greek letters alpha and omega (one of the biblical names for God "the beginning and the end"). Now this is the first commandment as listed in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but no body is making this statue an idol that would defile the second commandment. Of course locally people will refer to Mannamán's anger when Lough Foyle is rough and call seahorses that form on the lough Mannamán's but this is not idolatry but merely placing a representation of a myth in an area that they are associated with.

But this statue was commissioned by Limavady Borough Council at a cost of £10,000 plus was drawing tourists away from the other tourist attractions in the Foyle area such as the City of Derry/Londonderry bringing tourist money into the area for more than just Benone beach down below. Therefore not only have the perpetrators cost local taxpayers £10,000 and whatever the replacement cost might be they are also stealing money from tourism that local businesses may have relied upon. So they have actually broken the 8th commandment.

However, I do have a question for however carried out this theft. From their thinking how to they refer to the days of the week?

• Monday after all is named for the North Germanic moon god Mani.
• Tuesday after the Norse one handed god Tyr the god of one handed combat.
• Wednesday for Norse Wodan or his North Germanic counterpart Odin who was a guide for souls after death.
• Thursday of course is called for Thor the god of Thunder
• Friday is after the Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess Frige 
• Saturday is the only day to retain it Roman god as it origin Saturn the god of wealth, agriculture, liberation and time
• Even Sunday is named like Monday for the body in the sky. The Sun goddess Sunna in Germanic and Norse mythology

Therefore taking this action to the logical conclusion these poor thieves must have a tough time referring to the days of the week.

Banbridge Oktoberfest denied beer

Someone in Banbridge came up with the good idea of holding an Oktoberfest in Solitude Park. It would have brought people to the County Down town to sample beers and hospitality in a controlled way before the winter rolls in.

However, the puritans (AKA the Democratic and Ulster Unionist Parties) have stepped in to keep the temperance movement alive and well in the 21st Century and banned any temporary license to serve alcohol in the park for the weekend festival. Initially the DUP were against the whole event but Alliance, Sinn Féin the SDLP and two of the UUP group voted down the objections to holding the event. However, an Oktoberfest without any amber nectar defeats one of the cultural points of the festival.

DUP Councillor Junior McCrum said:

"We spent £1.5m on Solitude to turn it into a space for people to walk and enjoy the park without being subjected to verbal abuse.

"Does everything have to revolve around drink?"

Not according to  event organiser Neil Loy, who said that along with the beer tents there would be yodelling competitions, German singalongs, traditional Oompah-pah bands, a visiting performance from one of BBC's The Voice contestants and traditional German food such as bratwurst sausages from an open charcoal swing grill.

Maybe Mr McCrum should visit some places where there are temporary licensed outdoor premises, like the Christmas and Continental market in Belfast, Belfast Pride or similar. People still are able to enjoy themselves and the drinkers are disrespectful to others using the area. Indeed such events, as they often charge a premium for their alcohol are actually usually a better behaved crowd than you would see weekend in, weekend out in most of our town centres.

Earlier I'd called those unionist councillors opposed to this temporary alcohol license puritans. You'd almost expect them to stop dancing, Christmas or kids playing in parks on a Sunday. Of course there is one thing that the modern day Northern Irish puritan differs from his English forebears, unlike Cromwell et al, they don't want to get rid of the monarchy as well as jollity, enjoyment and fun.

Next to the ruins of Dunluce the forgotten town

Archaeology teams from the University of Ulster and Queen's University have been up on the north coast unearthing Dunluce Town.

The town  which would have been associated with the dramatic cliff top ruined castle was founded at the time of the Ulster Plantation in the early 1600s but was raised to the ground in 1641 in the Irish Uprising. Therefore it had a very short lived existance.

Evidence of wooden houses, stone walls of more substantial dweelings, a cobbled street and other remains have been unearthed as the history of this remote area of the north coast just along from the Giant's Causeway becomes known.

Hopefully the finds and possibly part of the excavation can be made into an exhibit at the National Trust site expanding our knowledge of the area, from Plantation to Rebellion. It would make a welcome addition to the Tourism trade of the Causeway Coast as this town has a very small footprint on the march of time it is very precise into just what period artefacts exist there.

Great Views: The Guardian Says So I Agree

The doing a series of top 10 UK walks today's is one I have done and can thoroughly recommend, and it is an excuse for you all to come over and see me. The reason being that the best walk for cliff-top views is the North Antrim coast at the Giant's Causeway.

It is a majestic walk from the top looking down on the basalt columns below, or up at those rising above or around you. It is quite a sight of a different fiery past in that part of the world when the lava flowed up to the surface and then solidified to make such majestic shapes.

Or was that just the carving out of the rocks done by Finn McCool, to create his seat, organ etc.

Afterwards you aren't too far away from my favourite Irish Whiskey distillery at Bushmills so you could take the tour and sample some of the wares.