Ambrose the Pig, International Cricketers, Champagne lunch & Maggie May!

WARNING: Not a foodie item!!  Here's what I got up to this past weekend...

To say I had an eventful weekend certainly wouldn't over-exaggerate my experiences in Strabane, Co. Tyrone.
My cousin married into the Gillespie family late last year and it has taken me a full year to recover from our ‘bridemaids’ trip last summer. So it was time again to visit this part of Ireland that is probably best known as a great place to stop and visit Asda on your way to Donegal! Which is such a shame, as it, like every other town in Ireland deserves to thrive.

An old market town, Strabane was famous for its pork market in the 50’s. Pigs were walked from Donegal through the streets and gave much needed income to local people. In fact, the humourous Brian O’Nolan, better known to some under his pseudonyms of Flann O’Brien or indeed as Myles na gCopaleen, under which he wrote for the Irish Times, was a Strabane man, having been born there in 1911. Some say his novel An Béal Bocht (The Poor Mouth) meaning to ‘put on the poor mouth’ which spoke of the propensity of Irish peasants to exaggerate the direness of a situation to provoke sympathy, was based on what he witnessed in the countryside growing up. Was this a theme he saw lived out in his surroundings? His fathers untimely death saw him supporting his 11 siblings with his Civil Servant wage, so maybe it was closer to home than we realise. We happened upon the above stunning sculpture 'Ambrose The Pig' which has pride of place beside the Alley Theatre, paying homage to his literary mate in Flann O’Brien’s novel.
Strabane town centre, like many towns across our land has suffered greatly through this latest recession. A stroll through the centre on Saturday were testament to this with shuttered windows and ‘To Let’ signs. But there are still businesses open and vying for customers. In fact what was supposed to be an aerobic walk turned into a shopping stroll, as shoe shops vied with jewellery shops for our attention. We popped into Lovely Little Somethings, Castle Street, as their window display caught our attention, and browsed their fabulous wares. From coloured chalk paint, to vintage plates and the cutest kiddies aprons we loved this shop. It turns out they offer for hire items for vintage style weddings which is handy to know! https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lovely-Little-Somethings/225272967499278
When we came out we were admiring the beautiful Pagoda Gift Shop at the road intersection, when we spied Kendras Kandy across the road and, well, being a sucker for any variety of chocolate we headed over. But we got side tracked on the way as right beside it was a shop called Crafty Articles. https://www.facebook.com/#!/CraftyArticles

Although our first impression was that it was a charity shop the heading under the name stated, Wide Range of Local Handmade Products which changed our perception of what lay inside. We couldn’t help but take a look. What greeted us was an eclectic mix of beautifully crafted products from across the North West. A fabulously friendly lady called Pauline noticed we were intrigued by adorable wax animals and came over to explain what was behind their production. A very talented and innovative mum of five, Sharon, came up with a range of soap products that went into production out of necessity. Her now 7 year old had terrible eczema and she was never able to find anything that wouldn’t irritate his skin, so she created her own soap which she uses as washing powder (she dries the soap flakes) as well as soap and shampoo. Ingenious! I purchased the honey, oat and goats milk soap to try on my son, who has sensitive skin. Verdict to follow! But back to the teddies. What had originally caught our eye were a range of childrens’ teddies, from Winnie the Pooh to an adorable elephant. But even though you could see they were once furry they were in fact waxy to the touch.

Pauline explained that Sharon dips them in essential oils and pure soy based, non toxic wax which makes them safe for childrens’ rooms. They emit a lovely scent that I imagine would help to bring calmness to a child's room, handy for sleep time!
Pauline is one of the crafters and we ended up having a great chat with her about what was behind this initiative. It was Sharon who started Crafty Articles. It came into being this past May as a way of giving artists an outlet to sell their produce without the need for mark up that other outlets need to charge. Because the crafters themselves volunteer their time to the shop and there are over 30 of them at present with a waiting list, the rent and rates can be shared between them all. It means that the crafters have access to a customer base they wouldn’t necessarily have had before, they get the full selling price of their items and the customer gets amazing value for money as there isn’t an exorbitant mark up. That’s a win/win situation in my book. Pauline’s work is 3D art under the name Pollyanna. I was particularly taken with a wonderful carousel print she has created. Beautiful work. From the wonderful signs from Katie, a fabric designer, to the elegant woodwork of the Clanabogan Community Group, part of the Camphill Community, we really hope that Crafty Articles becomes a successful showcase for these talented local crafters and artists. We wish them every success and look forward to a return visit soon.

Our visit to Kendras Kandy revealed a treasure trove of confectionery. More candy than chocolate, but we did happen upon the great Wonka Bar which had to make a trip home to my little man. No golden ticket unfortunately but the fun in the anticipation was enough!
We were starting to get peckish and with the sun shining and the knowledge there was a bottle of something pink and bubbly cooling in the fridge we decided our best course of action was a smorgasbord of nibbles, from mozzarella and vine ripened tomatoes to prosciutto and onion bread. We threw in some red wine and chicken liver pate, chorizo and a smoked applewood cheddar for good measure too! We were good to go and eagerly high-tailed it back home. Our late lunch had to wait however as we arrived home to find a teeny tiny kitten, eyes still closed, probably not even a day old yet, lying dying beside the house. We brought her in and tried to give her drops of water while calling vets and rescue centres. We managed to get some kitten milk from the vets and they kindly cleaned her up, Maggie May, as we had named her, was fighting to stay alive and we did everything we could to help her.
When we returned home I snuggled her against my chest while she rested and I ate, so she could feel my heart beat, we thought it might give her some comfort. We fed her bottles of milk and wrapped her up, passing her between us all. As soon as you tried to put her down she wriggled unhappily until she was in someones’ arms again and then she would dutifully curl up, head tucked in, and sleep. Our leisurely lunch table had been taken over but we happily succumbed and managed to still enjoy our selection and the bubbles! Now anyone that knows me will testify that I am categorically ‘not a cat person’- dogs I can do, cats, no. But for some reason Maggie May and I bonded and when she passed away on Sunday morning at 8.37am I had to wipe a tear for a life that wasn’t to be. She was a little fighter alright but I guess she wasn’t meant for this world.
After a night dancing and even more bubbles our weekend was topped off by my first international Cricket match. I got to watch some fine sportsmen in the Ireland v South Africa match show their skill in Strabane Cricket Club. I must admit the lithe bodies of the players were probably a bigger draw than the fact that I was going to see a cricket match! But I got a very quick lesson in the rules of the game courtesy of Mark Gillespie and I’m pleased to say I now know more than I did last week!
So as you can see there wasn’t much food time taken at the weekend. With so much else going on we found it hard to fit everything in, but with the Northern Ireland 2012 initiative in full swing I do plan on making a more culinary trip north of the border soon.

Before I headed North on Friday I made a quick batch of my coconut & oat bites which came with me as a little gift and I’ve included the recipe in my next post!

Thanks to all the crew in Strabane for a fabulous weekend. We won’t leave it as long next time. I didn’t manage more than a fleeting peep into Kerrys Cafe, so a visit is on the cards there too. I did however manage to sample her Galliano and Lime cheesecake...Mmmm, creamy, zingy, fresh and delicious! Thanks Kerry!