Newgrange – awordfromjapan

We went flying today, and Yuko brought her camera.

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very good (for flying or for photography) but Yuko got some good photos nonetheless.

Here we are on the take-off roll, just on the point of leaving the ground.

Cows don’t pay any attention to aeroplanes.

Here’s our flight path:

I decided to fly one circuit to a touch-and-go before flying east towards the coast. A touch-and-go means that you land and then take off again without stopping. This was partly for me to practise landing and partly to get a view of the surrounding area from circuit height (1000 feet) before deciding whether to continue the flight.

This was the (very unpromising) view towards the coastline to the east. The cloud base was around 1500 to 2000 feet, but visibility was generally poor.

A short distance to the north, conditions were even more murky, which caused me some anxiety later in the flight on the way back to the field, as I considered the possibility that we may have to divert to another airfield if weather conditions at Navan deteriorated.

Flying east along the Boyne, we made a loop around Newgrange, a 5,000-year-old prehistoric tomb, older than the Pyramids.

This is the town of Drogheda, looking east towards the mouth of the River Boyne. The railway crosses the river on the Boyne Viaduct, whose monumental stone arches and iron truss central span date from the 1850s.

The little fishing harbour of Clogherhead.

Waves racing towards the beach….

…and breaking on the rocky coastline.

Some rays of sunshine broke through the cloud layer.

My intention was to fly down the coast as far as the Skerries Islands and Rockabill. These islands are just outside the Dublin control area. As long as you remain outside controlled airspace (in Class G airspace), you are not legally required to talk to anyone on the radio (or even to have a radio). However it is good practice to talk to ATC and let them know where you are and what you are doing.

In the end we didn’t go that far. The weather was a bit rough and there were showers of rain, so the prudent choice was to turn back to land and head for home. Coasting in near Balbriggan, you can see the mouth of the River Delvin, marking the boundary between Dublin and Meath:

On the way back to Navan, Yuko took some beautiful pictures of Stackallen House, one of Ireland’s finest 18th-century houses. Check out the formal gardens!

All in all, flying in these conditions isn’t a wholely enjoyable experience, and there were a few anxious moments, but we arrived back on the ground safely and home in time for lunch!

There was a big flower Expo in Osaka in 1990. The site of the Expo is now a beautiful park, which I wrote about in an earlier post.

In the park you can see the pavilions that were created by different countries for the expo. For example, this one from Korea.

It’s fascinating to tour this collection of architectural and landscaping features from all over the world, and to see how each country chose to represent itself. For example, Canada created this mini-Niagara:

Somehow on my last visit, I had been unable to find Ireland’s pavilion, and I was determined to track it down today, curious to see what Ireland had chosen to do with its little patch of Japan. Well, we found it, and I was not disappointed!

In the Ireland pavilion was a miniature version of Newgrange.

Noticing the gap over the lintel, we wondered if it “works” (i.e. is it aligned with the winter solstice sunrise, so that the first rays of sun illuminate the passage?) Reading the plaque, it seems the answer is “yes”!

At 8:58 a.m. on the morning of the solstice, the sun shines in 19 metres along the passage. I think we should try to go there on that date and experience it for ourselves!

In addition to the model of Newgrange, they had built a beehive hut, of the kind that hermit monks used to live in, and a central water feature with stepping stones, intended to evoke the story of the Children of Lir. Dry-stone walls were used for the boundary.

Of course, the various countries’ pavilions have stood for 22 years and will gradually deteriorate over time. In the case of the Irish pavilion, the stone structures have weathered well.

At this time of year, the park features a display of cosmos flowers.

In Spring, this little hill is planted with tulips, and the effect is topped off by a full-size Dutch-style windmill.

Tsurumi Park is a very popular place for photo-shoots. As you walk around, you see lots of people dressed up like manga characters, accompanied by a serious looking photographer, on their way to the photo-shoot location.

On our way to see the cosmos, we met a man cycling with a parakeet. The parakeet sat contentedly on Yuko’s shoulder while we chatted.

At one point, the bird started nibbling on her earring, but she was able to distract it with some sunflower seeds. Apparently the parakeet is over 20 years old. By the way, this Orla Kiely top is now available in Japan.

There was also a “kids’ festival” with children playing drums. They had a pretty good rhythm going, for such young kids.

Today, we saw the first sign of autumn colours. This maple is just starting to turn from green to red.

In the next couple of weeks, we will be able to experience the full glory of the Japanese 紅葉　kouyou—autumn leaves.

Over to the west of the park, we spotted a temple with this fabulous pagoda.

Note on the word of the day:

The character 花　hana meaning “flower” is also found in the word 花火　hanabi—fireworks (literally “flower fire”).

花　is a good example of how Japanese characters typically encode both sound and meaning. The top part艹 (it’s called the “grass crown”) tells you that it’s a kind of plant or herb, and is also seen in 茶　cha—tea and 草　kusa—grass, among many others. The bottom part is 化　which has the Chinese reading ka. So the character represents a plant with the Chinese reading ka, namely a “flower”.

Tag: Newgrange

Flying around Co. Meath

花　hana—flower