I liked Queen's University Library in Belfast. Two no non-sense twin towers of ten stories each connected by a covered bridge. It was a Tuesday, the Queen's Jubilee following the Bank Holiday on Monday. Library open. Priorities right - pursuit of learning takes precedence over the Queen's Jubilee. PRONI - closed. The Linen Hall - closed. Fisherwick Place - closed. I had a short list of books and old periodicals to check on. After a short time of fumbling for my passport and a minimal registration procedure, I crossed the floor to the well-organized bank of computers to check the catalog against my List. The Irish Genealogist, London. The Ulster Journal of Archaeology - all my numbers. Check. Over the bridge, up the elevator to the 10th floor. Nobody home except an elderly gent reading the shelves. Found a study carrel, my books and set to work. Copies - no problem. Elevator down to the basement. Copy room - at least six large state of the art copiers. Fed pound coins and others into the tally card machine. Pulled out my debit card and to copying I go. Ate lunch at the nearly empty Student Union. Grand buffet, 1st class service. Linens. Silver. Real plates. Clusters of professorial types eating and reading. Found out what the High Sherriffs of Derry did --- or one of the duties --- was to collect the hearth money tax. Across the street at the University Bookstore I stocked up on more coins. I was disappointed. The OS Survey Memoirs for Donegal were not in stock and there were so many different volumes for Derry I couldn't determine which were the ones or the one I needed. Also, the Place Name volumes ... nothing new there that I wanted, neither Donegal or Derry. Found an interesting book, the Streets of Derry. Checked it out. Historical maps of the city streets and well indexed ... found Cowan's Lane. SOLD. Another ... Dictionary of Ulster Place Names ... SOLD. Could not find the OS Survey of Derry I wanted or the Directory of Presbyterian Churches ... will have to order that one from Fisherwich Place to complete by Laggan Presbytery materials. Back then to the Twin Towers. Found Robert who had been looking up his former textile buyers downtown. Got him checked in at the Desk. Found out we couldn't copy the materials in the special collection library ... understandable. Left with a good feeling about the Library, excellent resources and holding. Helpful staff. Will plan better for it next time ... they have a special map division. Need an OS survey map for 17th century for Down, Derry and Donegal. And they can copy the hunks I want from their repository. Went back to THE AVENUE Guest House. Robert and I talked with Steven a long while. Interesting man. Found out that the Mountains of Mourn aren't what they seem, but are really just an earthern coverlet for Finn McCool, the Irish giant who is sleeping on his side. Alice is a barrister, non-practicing. We were not able to decide if she keeps Steven out of trouble or if she extracts him from the thresholds of thorns. The last time I was there I had the front large room on the third floor. This time I had the little room on the third and Robert had the small room on the 2nd. The Rates were still a reasonable 35 pounds. Great place and location for a researcher, within stumbling distance of the Bot and the Egg. As Linda remarked, even she can drink Guiness in Ireland. They draw it properly through clean lines so the pint has time to work and the pint isn't served until the head is about 3/4 of an inch of rich, smooth amber cream. No hangovers. No gas. Sacked out, looking at LIVING STONES. It's a history of each of the Church of Ireland facilities in the Laggan. Great local history source, too. You won't find it in North America. Roll over, Finn. You're snoring! Or maybe it was me I heard. jcmaclay