QUB, C.S. Lewis Square, Graham Crichton Photography
Having obtained my PhD last year amidst the pandemic, I hadn’t had a proper in-person graduation ceremony, just an online alternative. In way of compensation, Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) therefore provided the option to hire a gown (in exchange for a charitable donation) for some photo opportunities. Today, I did just that, and of course Rita had to be there too!
Our first stop was at QUB, where we took some photos outside the main Lanyon building. The campus is pretty open and accessible to tourists wishing to explore the historical buildings. Parking in the library car park is only open to those without a permit outside of term time, or after 4pm during the term. As a relatively public area, dogs are allowed and you can even enjoy a walk in the adjacent Botanic Gardens.
Collecting my “dogtorate”
Next up was lunch and a visit to the C.S.Lewis Park in East Belfast. We stopped at JACK Coffee Bar, in the East Side Visitor Centre. JACK is totally dog-friendly and Rita was able to get her paws on some doggy fro-yo. Us humans were able to choose from a selection of sandwiches, salads and tray-bakes (complete with vegan options), and we all had a filter coffee. There is outdoor and indoor seating, and a gift shop within the cafe.
Gifts for sale at JACK
“Graduation lunch”
The outdoor seating area, and Rita enjoying her fro-yo.
After lunch, we took a stroll around the C.S. Lewis Square. There is a trail you can follow, although we just took a quick scoot round. There are 7 bronze sculptures depicting characters from the Chronicles of Narnia, and information posts to learn more of the story, tying into an interactive puzzle. There are also community events and markets held here regularly. This square is part of the Connswater Greenway, so you can tag on a longer walk if you so wish!
Rita with Aslan, the one true king of Narnia
The final thing on our agenda was a graduation photoshoot at Graham Crichton Photography. Graham photographs both people and pets so it wasn’t an issue to bring Rita along. We had an hour’s shoot, with the majority of the cost depending on how many photos we chose at the end. Graham was very chatty and cheerful and had a knack for capturing Rita’s attention. He had a lot of super photos of cats and dogs dotted around the studio, and is even trained in pet first aid, so perhaps I will take Rita back for a solo shoot!
Behind the scenes at our shoot
One of the final shots!
