Iceland Travel, New Northern Ireland Chapters

Hello subscribers!

In the heatwave that has gripped much of Europe (as well as the southern USA and other parts of the world) I thought I’d look north to the Arctic Circle. And so I made this new blog post about Iceland.

It’s mostly nostalgic, based on my first trip to that outstandingly scenic country back in 2004. That was long before I even knew about ‘dark tourism’, yet it already included a few places that qualify as DT, and are featured on my main website’s chapters about Iceland. But I also created the post with a view to my upcoming return visit to Iceland in just under week’s time. The post has some musings about culinary aspects too, which in Iceland also include darkish aspects! (Read the post to find out which!) But mostly it’s just a photo essay (with images taken back in 2004, so please be lenient as regards the image quality) – do go and take a look. The photo above shows Kverkfjöll, where geothermal activity meets the county’s largest glacier Vatnajökull.
  

Those of you who have picked up on my more or less covert remarks about my ongoing health issues will deduce that I feel fit enough to travel. Yet it remains a little precarious. But I’ve learned from my Northern Ireland trip in April and will go better prepared and with emergency meds in my luggage. It’s only for ten days anyway, so hopefully it’ll all work out.

Obviously I’ll report back when I’m home in a blog post or three, and needless to say the very outdated Iceland chapters on my website will also need some serious attention then.
  

Some readers will remember my recent promises of writing a Blog post about “Belfast and the Troubles”. Yet, the trouble for me at the moment is that I’ve been too distracted (not just by countless doctors’ appointments), so I have to break that promise. Sorry. But right now, preparing for Iceland has to take priority.
  

That does not mean that I’ve been idle with my work on my Northern Ireland material. No, there are two all-new chapters on my main website’s Northern Ireland section, namely one about the HMS “Caroline”, a light cruiser from WW1 that took part in the largest naval battle in modern times and is now a museum ship in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. That’s also where the SS “Nomadic” is located, a former tender for the legendary White Star Line and the last of its vessels still in existence today. The dark link here is that this tender ferried 274 passengers (including some of the rich and famous) to the “Titanic” from the port of Cherbourg in April 2012, as that ill-fated ship embarked on its tragic maiden voyage. My website’s base chapter for Northern Ireland has seen some amendments and expansions too. Do take a look.
  

Finally, the other day I had the unfamiliar experience of a follower of my website (and reader of my book) wanting to, no: insisting on taking a ‘fan selfie’ with me. That was a first for me! Apart from those who are also friends of mine in real life, most of my followers (or even “fans”) I only know through the internet (as “e-friends”), if at all. So having a total stranger who I had never met before in the flesh (although I had just been introduced to her through a friend) asking for a selfie with me was quite a surprise. I’m not a selfie-taker myself and I have often criticized selfie-taking at DT sites, but this was OK … and I admit I was actually a teeny-weeny bit flattered ;-)
  

So much for this time.

Have a good week!

Best wishes,

Peter