The day after yesterday.....

Today we had a lie in. We then pondered what life in Ireland could be like without the responsibility of planning events. This was due to the fact that we no longer need to plan anything and are free to enjoy the hospitality of those taking care of us. I should note that this is a bit more traumatic for me as I am presently on trial for what I feel to be the justified murder of a dangerous bee in our host house. Any way back to the day.  We spent the latter part of the morning meeting with a former member of parliament. He told us about his experiences within the Catholic civil rights movement. Being a political science major made this an incredibly engaging moment for me. Others may not have understood quite as much but still enjoyed hearing about his long and storied political career. After this we moved on to see The 'Saul Church' which is apparently built upon the spot where St. Patrick started his ministry. This is at least the history that I took in and may not be totally accurate.  I confess I was too impressed by the immense beauty of both the inside and outside of the little church to fully appreciate the lecture that we were given on its history.

After a quick lunch we participated in a skype call to the Eden spiritual life department. This seemed to go well and will be shown in chapel next week. Everyone spoke clearly and concisely and we enjoyed seeing familiar Canadian faces. The late afternoon led to a trip to a Downpatrick afterschool program. This is much the same as Sandy Row except the children are slightly better behaved. We participated in a program in which Canadian themed picture frames were made. This was lots of fun as we did not need to plan it and yet could still relate to the kids. Upon returning home we had a large dinner. During which Isaak amazed us by noting that you could kill a shark by shoving a surf board down its throat. I have no idea how it related to dinner but it does seem in a way plausible, and was immensely amusing. The rest of the evening has been low key. This had lead to quiet time for most of the team and intense research on my part.

I 'discovered' this article online and have used it as my defense against Jenny's pro insect agenda. Also, I suppose I should say that we are all well and appreciate your prayers immensely. There, now the ones of you who do not want to read the bee article can rest assured in that there will be nothing else at the end.

Bees The Downfall of Civilization

British honey bee, known colloquially as "The Widowmaker", is a subspecies of the bee. This subspecies is a hybrid variety generated by a man-made breeding of an African honeybee subspecie, A. m. scutellata, with some others subspecies of honeybee (Apis mellifera), mostly various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and Iberian peninsula honeybee A. m. iberiensis. The British honey bee varieties are far more aggressive than the European subspecies due to a reversion of behaviour similar to non-domesticated species. Small swarms of Africanized bees are capable of taking over Presbyterian homes by invading the home and establishing their own queen after killing the local deaconess.^[1]

Defensiveness

British honey bees are characterized by greater defensiveness in established hives than European honey bees. They are more likely to attack a perceived threat (especially deaconesses) and, when they do so, attack relentlessly in larger numbers. Also, they have been known to pursue their threat for over a mile. This aggressively protective behavior has been termed by scientists as hyper-defensive behavior. This defensiveness has earned them the nickname "killer bees," the aptness of which is debated. Over the decades, several deaths in Ireland have been attributed to British honey bees. The venom of a Widowmaker bee is no more potent than that of a European honey bee, but since the former tends to sting in greater numbers, the number of deaths from them are greater than from the European honey bee.^{[citation needed]} However, allergic reaction to bee venom from any bee can kill a person, and it is difficult to estimate how many more people have died due to the presence of Widowmakers.
Most human incidents with Widowmaker bees occur within two or three years of the bees' arrival and then subside. Beekeepers can greatly reduce this problem by culling the queens of aggressive strains and breeding gentler stock. Beekeepers keep A. m. scutellata in South Africa using common beekeeping practices without excessive problems.
Rumors about the Widowmaker being a ‘keystone’ to civilization are greatly exaggerated. The rumors are thought to have originated in Co, Down and cannot be substantiated. What is known is that the bee will stop at nothing to maim deaconesses beyond recognition. Anyone who spots a deaconess and bee in the same region should kill the bee immediately. In the past medals of honor have been distributed for this act!

We can't beelieve we will bee home in a week,
Salutations from Downpatrick!