off to that other isle

Back in London, I had to told Katie that I'd been unable to get in touch with Patrick all this time, so she offered to call him for us. As it turned out, he was visiting some family in New Castle (next to Sunderland!) and called Helen, so we met at the New Castle Metro Center for lunch. We gave him the fifth degree about not calling Helen before knowing I was coming, and not giving me means to get in touch with him… but what a nice surprise! Heather and I then took a local flight to George Best- Belfast City airport. We got to walk out on the runway and board the plane on a little ladder and everything, which we were pretty excited about but I guess the airport employee wasn't. Andy Brownlee was there and waiting for us! We walked around Belfast a little bit and are staying in his sister’s flat in the south of the city (a mixed Protestant- Catholic area) for the night.