Fairly frequently we go on a Boys Big Day Out, that's me and our two boys (2 and 4). They're always good: the Transport Museum is a favourite; W5 is another; Various parks, forests or beaches suit the purpose perfectly when the sun's shining (actually this is Northern Ireland so the best we can hope for is that it's not raining).
Last Saturday we went to the Ulster Folk Museum and had a brilliant time. Unfortunately my camera was being seriously flaky but managed to snap quite a bit of stuff nevertheless.
It's an excellent museum, beautiful even. There's a reconstructed town complete with period bank, post office, sweet shop (2oz of mint humbugs please sir), hardware store, drapers, pub and appropriately for NI, loads of churches. There are various workers cottages, a great school house where Seth (aged 2) had to stand in the corner and not come out until he was sorry for what he'd done, a police station and bicycle repair shop; even a picture house that shows Chaplin films, the boys loved that. There's a fully working print shop, how exciting is that? I have secret plans to infiltrate and exploit (but shhh! Don't tell no one?).
Then you can go off down country lanes and find mills, orchards and a scattering of psuedo-poor people wandering about (usually on their mobile phones). All it needs is some period brigands for that authentic bygone-days mugging experience.
Lunched on sausage rolls eaten in this standing room only stone watch tower. Don't ask me why.
Back into the town we sat for a while in a thatched weavers cottage, warmed ourselves by the fire and chatted to the old guy, who was just brewing up, about weaving etc.
Hope to go back next week for the Hallowe'en events; bobbing for apple, burning virgins in wicker men, that kind of thing. There are more pics here.
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