Good Bye, Waterford
- bevclyde45
- Dec 2, 2025
- 5 min read
30 - 11 -2025
On Sunday night, I attended the drone show presented by Winterval over the Suir River in Waterford. It was beautiful, captivating, and brief. However, I don’t think it should take me longer to reach an event than the event itself lasts. It took me at least 20 minutes to walk to the quay, and the show only lasted 10 minutes. I was truly surprised when I realized the show had ended, and people were beginning to head home.
Reginald’s Tower is a symbol of Waterford, and I appreciated that the drone show included
an image of it. I’m not sure how long it takes to program drones to create such an image, but it was fantastic that the production company made a special design just for Waterford.
The following day, I had an intriguing experience during my class at Trinity College, where we were studying the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The professor discussed the role of churches on both sides of the movement and noted that in Ireland, the Christian church is generally divided into Catholic and Protestant. In the United States, however, there are many types of Protestant churches, which can broadly be categorized into two groups: evangelical and mainline. When the professor asked if anyone had heard of evangelical churches, several hands went up, and they developed a brief overview of evangelical beliefs.
Then, he asked if anyone was familiar with mainline Protestant churches. My hand was the only one raised. I found myself defining the mainline Protestant church and explaining how it differs from evangelical churches. As I spoke, I offered a quick prayer to help me navigate the theological concepts. In the moment, I mentioned that mainline churches do not believe in the inerrancy of scripture. The professor was delighted with my answer—thank you, God! Since then, I've thought of other distinctions but was genuinely on the spot during class. Next week my hand will not be raised.
The pastor had designated Wednesday from 7 AM to 1 PM as a time of prayer and fasting. Coincidentally, Wednesday is also when my Women’s Bible Study meets, and this particular Wednesday was my last time to meet with my friends. I wished the pastor had chosen Tuesday or Thursday for the prayer and fasting, but I reminded myself that prayer is more important than goodbyes.
We completed our Bible study and then enjoyed a dedicated prayer time. It was all very meaningful. We finished before 1 PM, so I thought we would skip the coffee, snacks, and fellowship and head home. However, we ended up lingering until 1 o’clock, and then we went for coffee. It turned out that the ladies had decided they wanted the fellowship time and were willing to wait around until 1. I was grateful to spend this final time with my friends.
The ladies in the Bible Study surprised me with a beautiful Waterford crystal shamrock paperweight and a card filled with heartfelt notes. Several of them mentioned my sense of humor, which made me smile. I can't help but wonder if it’s wise to be known as the funny person in a Bible study. Perhaps they will have more serious discussions now that I’m gone.
I spent the rest of the week packing my clothes and cleaning the apartment. As I cleaned, I felt like I was stepping back in time. When I opened the freezer, I discovered it was full of ice and in need of defrosting. It had been decades since I had to defrost a freezer, and for a moment, I considered looking up a tutorial on YouTube to jog my memory. Instead, I relied on my instincts and managed to get it defrosted.
In my apartment, I had a washer/dryer combination machine that I needed to use to wash and dry my clothes, as well as the sheets and towels. However, the dryer part refused to work. I found myself standing outside the Tesco store, waiting for my clothes to dry. I knew there had to be a laundromat nearby, but I had spotted the washers and dryers outside Tesco, so I opted to use those instead. This meant standing in the chilly weather for over thirty minutes, watching my clothes tumble round and round. Just as it had been a long time since I had defrosted a freezer, it had been equally long since I had taken my laundry somewhere to dry.
As I stood there, I realized how fortunate I was that this was an unusual experience for me. For many people, this was a routine chore, perhaps done weekly. During this Thanksgiving week, these two experiences served as poignant reminders to be thankful for appliances that work. In fact, be thankful for appliances.
It was a curious feeling knowing that in the US, people were celebrating Thanksgiving, while in Ireland, it was just another Thursday. I had planned to cook a dinner like spaghetti that evening, but when the time came, I just couldn’t muster the energy or interest to do it. Instead, I had a bag of individual popcorn bags. I opened one, and then another, until I had finished them all. It turned out to be a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving dinner (popcorn, but no jelly beans or toast), and I have to say, it was good.
The Irish may not have adopted Thanksgiving, but they have adopted Black Friday. There are Black Friday sales everywhere. I thought if you don’t have Thanksgiving, you can’t have Black Friday. Afterall, you must give thanks for all the stuff you have before you go buy more stuff.
On Friday night, several ladies from my church took me out to dinner. I requested an Italian
restaurant because I was tired of pub food. We had a wonderful time laughing and reminiscing, and I happened to mention that I still needed to try Guinness. After we left the restaurant, a few of the ladies took me to a pub to give it a go. Oh my goodness, Guinness is bitter! I didn't think I could drink more than one or two sips. However, the Irish have a way to soften the bitterness. You can ask the pub to mix blackcurrant juice into the Guinness, which made it much more tolerable. This combination, known as a Black Velvet, was surprisingly enjoyable. We had a good laugh at my reaction to Guinness—been there, done that!
One interesting fact about Guinness is that it contains a significant amount of iron. Years ago, the brewery sent the beer to maternity hospitals to help women who had just given birth build up their blood supply. Thankfully, I think hospitals now have better ways to ensure iron intake for their patients.
Saturday morning, Fergus picked me up along with all my luggage, and we headed to Dublin. I will be spending the next week there. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends in Waterford, and I hope to see them again next summer. My time in Ireland has been a wonderful experience. While I'm sad to be leaving, I'm also looking forward to going home. I guess this is the best situation I could hope for—my heart is in both places.
Dublin Weather – Cool and partly cloudy
High 47 F (8 C) Low 46 F (8 C)
Sunrise: 8:15 Sunset: 4:14 (16:14 IST)
Hours of Sunlight: 7 hours and 55 minutes
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