Dulse and Yellow Man from Ballycastle-o!

Sorry, bloggy friends it has been SO LONG since my last post – life has been hectic in a holiday-kind-of-way! We had some friends staying and I have enrolled in an on-line Digital Photography Course (I will let you know how that is going soon).

I really enjoyed the feedback I received from you following my Question and Answer post, and plan to do it again soon, so get your thinking-caps on for some more questions for me.

I do have a follow-up however, relating to my husband’s amount of annual leave. I may have given the impression he gets 4 weeks holidays a year – but he gets over 6 weeks! (happy days) – currently 32 days, PLUS Public Holidays. He did make the mistake two mistakes a few years ago – First – he did not actually TAKE all his leave (and was not able to carry it over) and MISTAKE TWO – he admitted this to me the following year, and his defense to my incredulity was “but I didn’t want to do anything else”. As a SAHM, who never really gets “days off” I pointed out the error of his ways (!) and explained that if he had taken the days off, then I could have had a few days off from being a SAHM. Needless to say, since then he has always ensured he has taken all holidays he is entitled too!

A few digital layouts to share, using photos from the last week which display our usual natural holiday habitat – the beach and the playground.

For credits, or to read the journaling, click on the images and you will reach my DST gallery.

So today is 12 July – a public holiday here in Northern Ireland. I usually avoid “Norn Iron” politics and parades, but as we were driving along towards Ballycastle today, we came across a small Orange Order Lodge and band which was marching a short distance before it headed to wherever the main “Demonstration” was being held in the area. I am including these photos out of cultural interest only, to share with my international readers!

So what about the blog title? What is dulse and Yellow Man?

They are both local delicacies from Ballycastle – famous for it’s Ould Lammas Fair, dulse and Yellow Man, and this is a well known local song which celebrates all 3.

“At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle long ago
I met a pretty colleen who set me heart a-glow
She was smiling at her daddy buying lambs from Paddy Roe
At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!
Sure I seen her home that night
When the moon was shining bright
From the ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!

Chorus

At the ould Lammas Fair boys were you ever there
Were you ever at the Fair In Ballycastle-O?
Did you treat your Mary Ann
To some Dulse and Yellow Man
At the ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!

In Flander’s fields afar while resting from the War
We drank Bon Sante to the Flemish lassies O!
But the scene that haunts my memory is kissing Mary Ann
Her pouting lips all sticky from eating Yellow Man
As we passed the silver Margy and we strolled along the strand
From the ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!

Repeat Chorus

There’s a neat little cabin on the slopes of fair Knocklayde
It’s lit by love and sunshine where the heather honey’s made
With the bees ever humming and the children’s joyous call
Resounds across the valley as the shadows fall
Sure I take my fiddle down and my Mary smiling there
Brings back a happy mem’ry of the Lammas Fair

Repeat Chorus”

Ballycastle today in the sunshine.

The Dulse is (allegedly) edible seaweed – and let me assure you, it may look like pot pourri, but it smells and tastes exactly as you would expect seaweed to taste! If you are unable to purchase this delicacy locally, you can recreate it with these simple instructions:

simply soaking a tough old boot in a bucket of sea water overnight

cut off a bit of the salty leather off

try to eat it!

(Should I submit this for WFMW?!!)

Yellow Man however, is a different thing altogether – it is a hard chewy chunks of honeycomb candy. I am sure it is a dentist’s nightmare, but lets put it this way – we started with a full bag earlier today, and I had to fend the family off so I would have enough to photograph. Surprisingly the dulse is still untouched!

So, my question for you is……… what local delicacy in your corner of the world? …… and more importantly do you like it?!!

Looking forward to some more comments (hint, hint!)

Take care.