Speaker for 22nd January 2019

President Des Moore greets Kenneth Woods with club Secretary Graham MacDonald (L) and club member Ian Murray (R).

Coleraine Probus goes on a Photo and Folklore tour of the coast

When Club President Des Moore introduced Ken Woods to the members and said the topic of his talk would be 'Photography and Folklore of the Causeway Coast', folks thought it would be 'Finn McColl and some holiday snaps' - how wrong could they have been!

The starting point for Ken's talk was the Gortmore viewpoint on the Binevenagh mountain and the Manannán MacLir Statue. Ken told the members about the statue of the sea God, who is said to originate from this area and then showed a stunning night shot of a myriad stars and evening clouds silhouetting the statue. The scene then changed to the Bishops Palace at Downhill and the Mussenden Temple, another spectacular night shot and a special Autumn Equinox photo with the late evening setting sun, shining though the Temple window.

Ken took the members down to Castlerock and the Barmouth. Here we had a splendid photo of 'Lawson's Jetty', which wasn't a Jetty, but an old railway track from before the rail bridge was added across the Bann, and the arms of the Barmouth were being created. Members were also treated to some spectacular see shots as waves crashed over the walls at the entrance to the Bann.

The next stop was along the coast to Whiterocks, where Ken took us inside the 'Smugglers Cave' and then along headland the hear 'Long Gilbert's Tale'. As steward to the Earl of Antrim, Gilbert McLoughlin must have been quite an imposing fellow, standing at around seven feet tall. Gilbert's long legs made him a fast runner. The story goes that one evening while out hunting, the Earl wanted a message delivered quickly. Long Gilbert, accompanied by some of the Earl's hounds, set off at a terrific pace, and running along the headland above the Whiterocks, fell to his death, along with the hounds as well.

And so the stories, each with a magnificent photograph to illustrate the tale continued. The Priest's Hole; The Rock of Bunbols; The Honourable Florence; The Hermit, MacGilladhu; The Brenther and on and on, into the Causeway - with hardly a mention of Finn. By the end of Ken's talk, the members were engrossed with the stories, hearing tales they had long forgotten, and at the same time were making a mental note, not to ever show anyone their holiday snaps again! Well, how could anyone compete with a shot of an aurora borealis at Ballintoy Harbour?

For another look at Ken's presentation and think about just how good a photographer Ken is, 'Click' the little camera (it's NOT Ken's) below.

VintageCamera-400s
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