history – Page 3 – Slow Lane Musings

Remembrance

The grim first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine brought us to reflect on the devastation and human cost of war. We are neither military history buffs nor World War 1 enthusiasts. More like the opposite: we don’t even watch war movies. Nevertheless, we visited northern France in 2003 because we thought it was important to see the Vimy Memorial to help us understand the significance of the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge.

A taste of New Mexico

Over the years, we had visited a total of 33 of the 50 U.S. states, some of them several times, but we had never been to New Mexico (NM). We had heard that it is beautiful and unique, with a long and rich history and that it has, for many years, attracted creative types of people.

We knew we wanted to visit it and had purchased a guidebook a good fifteen years before our first short trip there in 2018 to attend a conference in Albuquerque. We returned in 2019 to explore it a bit more. If you ask us today, which is our favourite U.S. state, the unequivocal answer would be NM. If you visit once, you will want to go back. It will come as no surprise that NM has been nicknamed the “Land of Enchantment.”

Sacred Clonmacnoise

There are many holy places in Ireland and countless ancient sites and ruins. When we lived there together in the eighties, we always kept in the car a handy reference book titled Guide to the National Monuments of Ireland, by Peter Harbison. This amazing book led us to explore many wonderful locations, off the beaten track.

Due to its size and significance, all Irish people have heard about Clonmacnoise, an ancient monastic site in County Offaly, but not all have had an opportunity to visit it. We passed close to it many times on the main Dublin-Galway Road until we finally made the detour. Situated near the Shannon River to the south of Athlone, the historical site is a treasure trove of ruins: ancient churches, a castle, three stone crosses, round towers, and numerous engraved grave-slabs.