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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2010-06 > 1277159491


From:
Subject: Re: [S-I] New CD Rom Londonderry databases
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:31:31 +0000 (UTC)
In-Reply-To: <COL114-W2702889CCD7184310C5FA9D5C30@phx.gbl>


Hi Robert (again),

It's always been very difficult for us to get materials here outside of Northern Ireland. It's extremely frustrating. I am not sure why, though I have personally studied the matter (having worked in marketing <grin>) and discussed it with people like Martin McCausland when meeting with him (He was running the Ulster Scots Agency at the time.). It had produced some wonderful Christmas cards with Ulster Scots greetings. Very nice, very tasteful...I wanted to steal a few boxes from him! I adored them. Making them globally available was somewhere on his to do list, but far down. Of course he like everyone else complained about how isolated they were and 'ignored' and so on...well, gee....yeh! Still no cards, that I've seen. And usually I hear about these things fast. If I haven't, there's no marketing being done.

I know the Ulster Historical Foundation regularly sends people over to speak at various genealogy groups on their services, but frankly, they still got no visibility. And there is no easy way to get their books, unlike Eneclann.

I once tried to hire them to do some work for me for a client. They didn't respond to my email for 2 months (I had hired someone else who sent results). The response, from a clerk, consisted of an email of their webpage. I was furious. They can't hire people who can respond effectively to email queries. I gave up on them.

However, getting back to my original rant, I don't know what the problem exactly is but it has proven to be very difficult to get money back to the Homeland for goods. Apparently all the Ferengii left in 1777..... A world market awaits you for about anything. I recall with delight some portraits of goats and chickens executed on shovels that I saw in Ballymoney....reminded me of my grandfather. Much nicer than the shamrock jewelry you can get anywhere (including here in Pittsburgh at the Irish export shop).

I think someone asked what it was we wanted to buy during one of the trips and I said "everything." It seemed to my jaundiced eyes that about anything you liked I'd like. Our tastes are very very similar. You could make a fortune off of us. This is not something our Irish cuzzins can do. they've been trying forever, but much of the Irish trinkets are foreign -- they are not us. It's a different culture, but you, my boy, you are us.

And we want the CD but not for close to twice the price after a long long wait....

Northern Ireland is such a strange place. I recall the ranting from a B&B owner in Ballymena. The local tourist agency didn't even have a phone number. It was impossible to book a room through them. It had been this way for years. No one seemed to be able to make it work. Kind of like the tourist agency in total -- foisted off due to politics on the South, which ignored it for years and didn't book tours there at all.

Once I was flying over and thought I'd see if Aer Lingus had a flight. Of course they never flew to Northern Ireland and tried to talk me into landing at Shannon and taking a BUS to Belfast. I gotta tell you, after a trans oceanic flight, I do not feel like getting on a bus and rolling through the hills of Ireland (or anywhere else). With hourly flights from Heathrow to Belfast, that's how I go, and not on Aer Lingus. Now this is turning into a long rant, so I better stop....... Avoiding Shannon airport is important....I recall a flight to France (ex husband is French) via Aer Lingus (ex husband booked it ....maybe one reason he's an ex <grin>) ....5 stops. 5 breakfasts (all bad that day) before we got to Paris.....Boston, Shannon, Dublin, London, Paris. Arrrg!!! Every one serving a bad breakfast. I should try it now: probably get no food at all......Then I've have something to complain about.....

Cheers!

Linda Merle



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