Alliance Party: Great Ideas, Shame About The Public Image
How can the Alliance Party capture the attention of the voters in Northern Ireland? Here’s a few ideas.
Parading Around: Flying In The Face Of Tradition
2007 will mark the 200th anniversary of Portadown District Orange Lodge’s annual commemoration of the Battle of the Somme. As the BBC website points out: it has only been over the past eight years that the Orangemen’s annual Battle of the Somme commemoration service has been making headlines in newspapers and on television screens around […]
May-Day Weekend: What Lies Ahead?
Well, today marks the start of the May Day ‘long’ weekend in Northern Ireland! I’m just about to leave the office now, with no idea of what’s in store. I do want to take my camera out and take a few pictures to share here. It’ll be interesting to see what we find. Hopefully the […]
Snip Snip (Part 1)
Well, I’ve taken the first step on my vasectomy ‘adventure’! On 14 April, I visited my doctor to enquire about the procedure. There wasn’t much discussion, to be honest. I explained to the doc that we were expecting our third child, and that we wanted to ensure that we had no more children after this […]
It's a beautiful day
Working from home today – it’s this that makes me want to have a successful business and never to have to drag my arse into someone else’s office again! Fresh, cool air gently blowing through my window, the street outside is peaceful and calm with the occassional silent pedestrian walking past. Big, blue sky with […]
Portadown News
If you have any interest in Northern Ireland’s current affairs, then check out the Portadown News. It’s a satirical slant on local politics in the tradition of the news articles from Viz. I’ll admit, I’ve seen the site in the past, but not recently. I came across it again last night while doing a couple […]
We've Got White Smoke!
No, not another new Pope story. Not even white smoke really. The composter is really kicking into life right now. Yesterday I got about five bags of grass cuttings from my brother-in-law. There was so much grass I could only fit in three, so there’s a bit left over for later! Regular readers will know […]
Decent People – The Ulster Unionist Election Campaign
I pity David Trimble. Really, I do. Constantly having your leadership challenged, striving for lasting peace but having to balance this with Party alegiances and political career. There was a time a few years ago that I truely believed that Trimble and the Ulster Unionists (along with their opposite number the SDLP) could secure peace […]
Silver Linings: Travels Around Northern Ireland
When I get a few minutes these days, I try to dip into a book by Martin Fletcher called Silver Linings. Fletcher was a journalist for The Times, sent to Northern Ireland to cover the ‘Troubles’. Despite having seen us at our absolute worst, he managed to see a lot of the good in Northern […]
Great Expectations: Pope Benedict XVI
Wow, a new Pope. . . Let’s get things straight – I’m a former Catholic (accident of birth, I’m afraid). These days I have precious little interest in the church, and it’s been this way for the last. . .hmmmmm. . . twelve years. On the other hand, I was surprised at the widespread media […]
