Derry

We had a light lunch of soup and bread before returning to Derry for the walking tour of the city with our guide Ronan. He has an Irish father and a Chinese mother. She is Buddhist, so neither she nor her so have any vested interest in the Protestant-Catholic controversy. He led us on a tour of the city which dealt honestly with the troubles that lasted from the late 1960's until the late 1990's. While there is an uneasy peace now, at least there is no violence. He ended with a moving presentation about how we can disagree without resorting to violence. He contends that at least a generation must pass before the grievances of both sides can be forgiven. He also brought a moving statement about how it is possible that fights can continue long after the reasons for them have been forgotten. We spent an extra hour looking around the city and enjoying coffee and scones. I returned to the Everglades Hotel to a dinner of wonderful beef stew, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and Guinness Stout.Read more