WHEN TIME STANDS STILL
In many ways my visit back to my hometown was a bit sad. It was like time had stood still in many ways
as the town had not progressed in 17 years.
Actually in many ways it has regressed with boarded up buildings and
many of the old places of character that I remembered growing up here now
closed up. What used to be a thriving
town is now a deserted shamble of its former self. Even market day on Friday was a poor
reflection of the current state of the local economy. The sheep sales on the patch of green on the
Fair Hill at the top of the town used to be alive with sheep pens and throngs
of people crowding around the auctioneer as the sheep were auctioned
outdoors. Cattle sales were horded into
the tiny shambles area behind Regan’s butchers where my younger brother Michael
used to gather the calves and pen them into the auctioneer ring when he was
just 13.
All
gone now, no sales on the fair hill which now just resembles a vacant patch of
overgrown weeds with the cattle sales now relocated out of town along with the
many farmers and visitors taking with it the trade that the town badly needed to survive
I took Sharon to the top of Sleive Gallion which
is the local mountain where you can view the entire parish of
Ballinascreen. We traversed the small
narrow roads and I pointed out the little turf banks where people used to cut
the peat many years ago. We visited my
old school and drove all around my old haunts from a previous life
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Ballinascreen |
|
Glenshane Pass |
|
The Sperrins |
|
Cousins niece and nephews |
|
Regans butchers |
|
St Patriicks Street Draperstown |
|
The Market Bar |
Mum has a birthday coming up and we will not be there to celebrate with her. I took her for a hair appointment and Sharon slipped off and organised some presents for her and we presented with a small cake in her tiny kitchen. She was thrilled and we had some great moments when she later produced some old photo albums and we relived some of our childhood years growing up in Draperstown
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Early BirthdayCake |
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Out for dinner |
On our last night we took mum to Regan’s Bar to
meet up with my old mate Tony Budjowi and his wife Anne. It was interesting to see how people age over
the years. Another childhood neighbour Mary McGeehan turned up as well. I have to admit that Tony has
weathered much better than I.
On the way home from the pub Sharon got a marvellous photo of Mum & I with the moon hanging low over our Little home in the
background
It was sad to leave the next morning.
Mum got up to bid farewell and we hugged and left making our way to
George Best airport in Belfast. The
third leg of our journey was about to begin in Scotland
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