Last week I was in Belfast for the first time in 20 years. The city centre was flooded with tourists, adding a cosmopolitan flavour. It’s clean and without litter or graffiti. I also didn’t see a single football top on the street in two days, which has to be exceptional for any European city. It was a proper tourist destination.
The whole city is small and just a few minutes’ walk from the centre are demarcation zones where normal rules of law and order, or even planning permission, do not apply. There are places where inappropriate bravado would be punished without appropriate limit.
Many people live in besieged areas. Bombay St is pretty and well-kept, but the residents, are not even protected by a roof-high peace line (below). Their gardens are now completely caged in, a necessary step to protect life and property.
One phrase you will have heard all your life about Belfast in July is “tensions run high”. Communities spend months preparing enormous bonfires, while ancient observances are carried out.
It is not possible for Celtic to play against Linfield under normal conditions without jeopardising the welfare of our travelling support. Too many people would be vulnerable in too many places. We should decline tickets for the away game and politely inform Linfield they should do likewise – don’t think for a second it would be only Linfield fans who would pitch up at Celtic Park for the return game. Their presence would be a beacon for all that we don’t want to see or listen to for 90 minutes.
Belfast has so much to teach Glasgow, from tourism, to reconciliation, but conflict remains part of its infrastructure. This is a tie to get out of the way without cost to life or limb.
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Bobby, Bobby
Tsk Tsk schoolboy error.
As you know full well the sun does NOT move round the sky!
pedantgeographerscsc
SHUGGIEBHOY67
In which case,I can highly recommend The Sir Daniel Arms in Swindon.
Apart from-apparently(!)-opening at 8am,it serves possibly the finest pint of Guinness in Britain at £2.50 a throw-used to be £2 though you can still get Magners for that.
It also has two outdoor seating areas,one of which is strictly non-smoking.
Which suits me fine as I don’t get people drawing me dirty looks for daring to smoke outdoors…
Oh,and the bookies is just round the corner.
See a lot of moaning at moderators.
I believe they work voluntarily. In my view asking them to give up more time to explain their reasons for post deletions is not appropriate. If you have had a post deleted, move on or email Paul67. I’ve moved on a few times. Is it really worth the endless posts complaining?
MWD not a mod but certainly off my rocker.
EMERALDBEE
Bit of poetic licence but it bliddy does move round the sky from where I’m sitting!
Which,of course,is usually in the shade. But hat doffed for that one.
HH.
MOONBEAMS WD
I think it’s their consistency rather than their integrity which is being questioned. Personally I agree with you,and “how come that was allowed and mine wisnae?” is whataboutery.
Rules are there,the blog generally observes decency in debate. Aye,I’ve failed that many times,to my shame.
But that’s why they’re there.
(The only time I contacted PAUL67 about a post was to apologise for one of mine and ask him to remove it. He said he would leave it as a reminder. Good move!)
Bobby
Don’t believe him. I’ve been told the bedroom ceiling can’t move but I can assure you I’m my younger days I lay flat on my back many a time and watched it spinning at various speeds.
Curiously, the longer I’d been out that night, the faster it spun. On the odd occasion it spun so fast it made me sick.
Another phenomenon related to this seems strange but it’s true. Nearly every time this happened, the next day, you would find you’d been pickpocketed overnight, and wake up to having little money left.
Memory loss also featured on occasion. Trouble remembering the day before.
So if you say the Sun moves around then I believe ya.
Bobby,
i had fun with Mrs Emeraldbee when we were in Oz a few years ago and she tried her usual trick of sitting in the shade to avoid the nasty sun. She was fairly feckin’ and blindin’ every 10/15 minutes or so as the sun ‘moved’ back into her shady bit. It took her a wee while to remember she was upside-down and that the sun ‘moved’ in the opposite direction.
There’s not many rules or restrictions on CQN. Keep the dialogue and language civil and the moderators won’t be required.
We ignored the requests for self moderation, hence the moderators. As MWD points out, the moderators work voluntarily and I’m sure their time could be put to better use.
HH.to all ( Mods included)
Twists n Turns
That’s amazing!! The exact same things happened to me. Sure is a small world.
All this talk about the Sun.Living in Turkey with 300 days a year of it,I think I am a bit of a go to guy on the subject.my theory is,when I get up in the morning,the Sun is facing one terrace.Then if I go out,or messing about for a couple of hours inside,it is now on the other terrace.Conclusion,dont be so stupid to think the Sun moves about the sky.Its your house that moves.Obvious,innit?.
TWISTSNTURNS
Haha,absolutely brilliant post!
I recall my first Sunday morning after the Saturday before in London,89 or 90
Having no idea how much I’d had to drink the night before,I simply did the usual pocket check for pound notes and fivers,retrieving my jeans from my man-wardrobe,or floor as it is more commonly known.
Blinkin’ flip,barely a one!
Sobering up,I gradually remembered pound coins were what I should have been looking for. My pocket of shrapnel would normally have been silver and coppers in Scotland,but in London it was full of more beer tokens.
Happy Daze…
Bobby,10:02.
The Sir Daniel Arms in Swindon sounds idyllic,
apart from the Swindon bit,;0))
HH
THE GREEN MAN .
ANTHONY BURGESS .
One of literature’s great liars . A fabulous fake who wrote some fabulous novels . .
” I met him (Burgess ). in Morocco and when I say him ,I am referring to whoever he was on those particular days” ..-William Burroughs -The New Yorker 1963 .
A man who responded to the Question -On what occasions do you lie ? -with this answer –When I write,when I speak,when I sleep..
There is a mighty fine biography —-Anthony Burgess-Roger Lewis (Faber& Faber 2002 )
EMERALDBEE
Ouch. I bet you suffered from that.
TURKEYBHOY
I think you might be right. My mate spent twenty minutes the other night battering at his front door to waken his flatmate because his key wasn’t working.
The residents were none too happy-Graham was at the wrong “block of four”
So,aye. Houses definitely move as the day goes on.
Still not convinced about the Paddy Roberts thing.”Absence makes the heart grow fonder”.
As Confucius never said.
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 20TH JUNE 2017 5:19 AM“We’ve had a chat with UEFA and we had ruled out July 12 for obvious reasons, purely from a practical point of view,” said Blues chairman Roy McGivern. “
Surely UEFA should have a view on ‘obvious reasons’.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 20TH JUNE 2017 10:33 AM,
I rest my case.
SHUGGIEBHOY67
I know what you mean,mate. It’s actually a great place to live,but all the better for good rail connections elsewhere at the weekend.
My nephew started a new job yesterday,btw. Smashing position,great prospects.
Etc.
In Hull. Possibly the only place in the country with a worse rep than Swindon-and Kilwinning(!)
I told him beforehand to go there with an open mind. I’ve been there a few times and it is what you make it. Same as everywhere else.
I suppose everyone kinda slags off their local area a bit amongst their mates-but are fiercely protective of it to outsiders.
Did Anthony Burgess have CQN in mind when he said “Readers are plentiful: thinkers are rare.” por cierto
ONEMALLOY
Sorry to read of Aunt Mary’s passing.
May she rest in peace.
The Sun ..
” There is a big social divide in Sicily : there are those who can afford to keep out of the sun and there are those who have to break their backs and fry their brains working in it “.
Leonardo Sciascia
Angel Gabriel and OneMalloy: Sad news on the passing on of your relatives. RIP.
WEEBAWBABBITY: Apologies for no-appearance in taverna on Saturday night.Commandeered in hotel by company.
SOT
Burgess, knocked it off.
Must have been great to get paid for writing about your drunken exploits:)
He is particularly good when he chastises himself for behaving like an idiot.
No doubt he had a gift though.
HH
BMCUW, yes another of life’s great mysteries. Why do you wake up in the morning after with £20 worth of change in your trouser pocket instead of a couple of £10 notes or a £20 note.
A bit like why can you go out and drink 20 pints then demolish a curry, rice, nan bread and starters but if you eat that first you’re lucky if you can drink a couple of pints?
Also if pork is the most eaten meat on tha planet where are all the pigs?
Some advice, when out on the razz stay away from rivers and canals as the weight of coinage may lead to your demise should you fall in ;-)
SOT
‘The Master and Margarita’ by Bulgakov
The Devil visits the Soviet Union.
One from the vaults, but interesting for all sorts of reasons.
HH
Have there been a few posts deleted since quarter past 11 or is it just quiet on here today?
PHILBHOY
Here’s a wee article I just received,should keep you going till the podium countdown.
Not read it myself yet,btw.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/how-the-grenfell-tower-fire-became-a-metaphor-for-britains-year-from-hell?spMailingID=11298552&spUserID=MTMzMTgzMDU3NzU0S0&spJobID=1181703016&spReportId=MTE4MTcwMzAxNgS2
Glad to see you survived yon beer festival.
Philbhoy
Shhhhh:)
Or you will get censored like me.
HH
“A Maze of Death”…Philip K Dick…..a bit of an acidic read…
THE GREEN MAN @11 16 .
Yes — so good I read it 3 times . 4 if I count the graphic novel by Andrezj Klimowski . First read was in 1967 ( a very good year !!!!).
It is possible to get the early 90s Soviet movie on DVD
Rasberries for the moderators…get a real job!
TGM
been 25 or more years since I read that
thanks for bringing him up
I did a wee whitedoghunch thinking about looking it out for a
peruse
Pigs and ceilings- short story by
SOT
Movie version. Need to check that out.
Yes, a wonderful book, which i still have in the vaults.
Mostly, i read history and politics, but need to offset that with a bit of imaginative writing.
Feed the mind to drive the legs:)
HH
QUONNO on 20TH JUNE 2017 10:34 AM
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 20TH JUNE 2017 5:19 AM“We’ve had a chat with UEFA and we had ruled out July 12 for obvious reasons, purely from a practical point of view,” said Blues chairman Roy McGivern. “
Surely UEFA should have a view on ‘obvious reasons’.
=============================================================
FIFA , UEFA , SFA ……………….Star Chambers.
The single mini ray of sunshine .
The introduction of Video reffing in the current Confederations Cup.
How long till the SFA sanction its use ?
Or rather , how long can the SFA delay sanctioning its use ?
BMCUWP
Thanks for posting that.
Total attempt at smoke, mirrors and cover up in progress.
WHITEDOGHUNCH
Can i mention another fav of mine.
‘The Heart of Midlothian’ by Scott.
His depiction of the Porteous Riot is astonishing.
Scott, who in reality was a bit obnoxious to say the last, is very clever in his writing.
Snapshot of bourgeois fear and prejudice, however, still worth reading.
HH
BMCUW
We had weekend passes covering the 3 day festival, Thursday ’til Saturday.
They ran out of beer at 9pm on Saturday night.
Fortunately we had left long before then!
THE GREEN MAN.
A better quality version of the movie saw the light of day in 2011 .It is on YOUTUBE . — 50 episodes !