Artichoke project: Derry~Londonderry temple

It all started out on Kickstarter and this art project was funded globally and is truly for the people, by the people. It took 2 years of careful planning and when they completed building it, it stood 72ft high overlooking the beautiful city of Derry~Londonderry.

The intention was that people could leave behind a memory, to let go of the past and look to the future. And it was a success, over 60,000 people visited the temple and I was one of them.

I left very early on the 20th of March, the day before the burning. The weather wasn't spectacular but it is always a treat taking the train from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry.

From my window

Road trip tune ~ Riviera Life

The directions on the website on how to get there were pretty straight forward and I found myself at the temple within 30 minutes. 

No blue sky but still stunning

Little nerd moment: Triforce!

Shrine chair

When I started to read the messages that people have left, it got emotional for me. The feeling I got when standing amongst so many messages of love and hope was very overwhelming. It is best just to show you.

It fills my heart with joy and hope to see so many people share the same feelings and message. In a world that seems divided and torn by hate and conflict there is always a hope that it will get better when we show that we had enough of the misery.

This was a huge project that involved the community of Derry~Londonderry:

• 25 young people aged 18-24 completed a week long, full time training programme leading to a qualification in OCN Digital Fabrication at the Nerve Centre's Fablab.  Participants designed their own ornate panels, inspired by David Best's work.  Each panel was then cut and added to a dedicated freize that ran the entire perimeter of Temple.
• 25 young people joined the Temple build team for 6 weeks to assist with the construction.
• Workshops took place in 20 local schools where school children produced paper designs for panels which were then cut in the Fablab and added to the freize.
• Workshops took place with local community groups at Hillcrest House, Irish Street and City Centre: Bogside, Brandywell, Fountain to design and cut wooden lanterns to be used on the night of the burn.
• 20 project participants, ranging from Californian members of the Temple Crew to local carpenters and volunteers were given camcorders to document their experiences on the build and during Temple's public exhibition, under the direction of award winning filmmaker Margo Harkin and her team.

The next day the temple went up in flames, flames of hope. 15,000 spectators had gathered to watch the ending of a wonderful project they had helped to build. 

You can find the photos of the burning here: http://templederry-londonderry.com/blog/the-burn-in-photos

St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh

After being stuck packing boxes for weeks and moving my stuff between flats I wanted to go out on a road trip again while my mother was visiting me. So I decided to visit the St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh. I've seen this beautiful cathedral on aerial photos but I wanted to see it from the inside too. Mind you I am not a person of faith but I appreciate great architecture. And this cathedral did deliver on being stunningly beautiful.

Parish Office

Perched on a green hill

They started work on the cathedral in 1840 and it was finished in 1904 and the style used was Gothic Revival, also known as Neo-Gothic, Victorian Gothic. This architectural movement started around 1740 and was very popular in early 19th century. Some other well-known buildings in this style are the Palace of Westminster in London and the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Ostend.

Compared to the St. John's Cathedral in my home town 's-Hertogenbosch it is much brighter inside of the St. Patrick's giving the cathedral a warm feeling. Mind you St. John's was finished in 1530 so it is a much older cathedral and there is difference in the material used. St. Patrick's is made out of granite while St. John's is made out of stone. Years of traffic and industry has not done good on St. John's either that is why it has been restored to its former glory in 2010. 

Did I mention that I really love stained glass?

Best thing about the stained glass is that during bright weather like on this day you see a spectacle of colour inside. Free light show. :)

First female Bishop :P 

A hero of mine died yesterday.

I wished my return blog post could have been on a happier note but yesterday a big hero of mine passed away.

Sir Terry Pratchett

In 2007 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer and yesterday he lost the fight against it. 

I grew up with his books, some of them I've reread over 20 times already. When I was younger I was just mesmerized by the fantasy world he had created. But when I was older I noticed the second meaning hidden in his stories. It was a way for him to voice out what bugged him in the real world all wrapped in a fantasy package. Some issues were so recognisable even if it was about dragons, trolls or dwarves. His books always made me smile.

I had the honour to meet him a few years back at the Elf Fantasy Fair when he signed my all time favourite Discworld novel 'The Truth'. Me, clumsily showing him my school ID because of the hard spelling of my name, him joking about that it was quite hard to pronounce it properly. I really enjoyed his lecture about his experiences with the world of live roleplaying. I still recall it clearly: 'Football hooligans are better accepted than fantasy fans and live roleplayers. When you see those hooligan groups travelling to another town to throw rocks at the opposing hooligan group, they are seen as a bunch of great chaps who just like a bit of rough fun in the weekend, but when you tell your co-workers that you spent your weekend in the forest fighting imaginary monsters with foam swords and macaroni spells, you were a complete nut case.'

It made me think about the reason why I was hiding my geeky nature, my love for sci-fi and fantasy. His words made me embrace my true nature, my love and passion. I am a geek, so what.

I am sad that no new Discworld novels will appear written by this witty man but I am glad he doesn't have to fight against that terrible disease Alzheimer any more. I followed his battle against the law so he and other sufferers of this disease could chose to end their lives in a humane way instead of waiting for end, while your mind fades away. 

When I saw the documentary he made with the BBC, Choosing to Die, about assisted suicide it touched my heart. It received a lot of criticism by Christian organisations and pro-life supports, but when people make this choice that they want to end their life because they do not want to suffer any more because of their illness we should respect their choice and not shove an book about an imaginary man or your misguided beliefs in their faces. It is their choice. 

Some of the things he said will always stay with me and sometimes makes me chuckle.

'Knowledge is dangerous, which is why governments often clamp down on people who can think thoughts above a certain calibre'  

'The world is made up of four elements: Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. There is a fifth element, and generally it's called Surprise.'

'Cats will amusingly tolerate humans only until someone comes up with a tin opener that can be operated with a paw.'

'The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.'

Rest well Sir Terry, your words will always be in my heart.