The march was great. As an Lasair Dhearg were setting up I caught sight of Dixie Elliot, in large thanks to his black bushy eyebrows. I figured I may not get the chance to speak to him again for some time so I approached him and introduced myself. He shook my hand and greeted me with delight. He introduced me to everybody, and they were all so welcoming.
A couple of minutes later Danny Bean joined our conversation and took to me so kindly. We had a great talk and he was so sound. Dixie offered me the chance to march alongside him and it wasn't something I was going to say no to. There were clear blue skies all afternoon, which made for a great first visit to Derry. I really liked the layout of the city, well, the parts we marched. Everything looked so compact and close together, giving a homely, tight-knit community feeling. My father warned beforehand of a hilly terrain, however I quite liked that aspect as I felt it gave a bit more character to the area. Something Dixie expanded on as we turned each corner with his insights, helping to create an image in my mind of the city and its story, past and present.
Upon reaching the Free Derry mural and the end of the march, Chopper was looking for my whereabouts, so I left Dixie and co. to a warm goodbye. Unfortunately I didn't get to listen to the orations. However, that just gives me more reason to return next time around.
After I got word of where an Lasair Dhearg crew were I took on down to Jack's bar. We stuck in for just a pint as I had to leave early in order to catch the last train to Drogheda. We grabbed a bite of food in Andy's takeaway before we set out for Belfast. A guy called Reds was driving Chopper and I home. We had a good talk in the car journey and I made it with less than an hour before my train. Moments before leaving the car Chopper had mentioned the word jobsworth - essentially someone who values their job over human morals. Little did I know I was about to encounter one. Generally when I travel to Belfast I book my ticket online, where you can set a leave and return date on your ticket, however I left it too late to pay online - they normally stop online payments an hour or so before the train. This meant that my return ticket had the same date on it. When I had got through to the ticket check before going on the train, the worker took note of this and called it out. I explained my situation but they insisted that I should have known this before coming up here, which I concede is in part a fair assessment. As to not cause a scene, I took it on the chin and made my way over to the ticket box. I told the lad working it my situation and he asked where I was headed. I said 'Drogheda' and asked for a child ticket. he asked my age and I told him. Apparently this doesn't qualify as a child in the 6 counties. He ordered me an adult single and it ran me up for 21 pound, with exchange equalling to 27 euro. My face turned raw red. I hadn't spent a single penny on the trip other than food in Derry and a Subway in Belfast, making for somewhere around 15 pound. My trip now runs to nearly 50 euro in the space of only a couple of minutes. After an outburst of dissent to the worker, I quickly calmed down and composed myself. He had a big screen preventing my fist from reaching his face! I decided I would stick up to the price and keep a receipt as to remember to always book online with Irish Rail from now on, no matter what.
Besides that moment at the end, that trip was fantastic, and I won't allow it to cast a shadow over it. Again, it was lovely to speak and I'll let you know when I'm coming up next.
