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Continue reading →: Little Italy stories at the Dockers Club
On Thursday night I was at the Dockers Club with my wife to enjoy Kabosh perform the stories of Italian families who had emigrated to Northern Ireland. Those first Italian immigrants to Northern Ireland had it tough – picked on as schoolchildren for being foreign, and bombed by the IRA who did not…
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Continue reading →: Big trial in Africa
Two men are to be tried in Uganda for having sex. They have been imprisoned since December 2013 and their trial is scheduled for next month. What is the precise nature of their crime? They are accused of ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’. This description of ‘nature’ is…
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Continue reading →: Seeing red or white?
Poppies spring up over European fields in summertime. Their bright red hue a vibrant reminder of the blood spilled on Flanders fields – the young male blood of Frenchmen, Englishmen, Irishmen, Scots, Welsh, Americans, Germans, Russians and countless other nations who volunteered their youth for the carnage of trench warfare. Remembrance Sunday in…
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Continue reading →: Some people like a bit of filth
My desk is long due a clean. It is the place where I graze and quaff, so among the usual desk clutter there is a picnic for mice. Rather than disturb the breadcrumbs and ruin the fun for miniature creatures, I am content to play my part in ecological diversity.…
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Continue reading →: Truth and Reconciliation
The pain of loss, the suffering of victims’ families and the lack of information about the circumstances surrounding brutalities make the call for truth and reconciliation understandable. Some say it is still too soon for Northern Ireland to begin a process that was adopted in South Africa with some success. The…
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Continue reading →: Drink drugs and authors
There seems to be a feeling among those tortured with the desire to create something with words, that a reckless lifestyle comes with the territory. Whether it is the unsocial hours, staying up all night to escape the demands and intrusion of daylight, or the recreational use of substances, artists are…
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Continue reading →: Brute force and ignorance
Modern rugby dictates that clubs have a few battering rams to punch holes in the opposing team’s defensive line. Sometimes the rams are endowed with intelligence and speed, but they are not always essential requirements. Tom Court for Ulster is one such ram who shows little sign of intelligence. After the Saracens…
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Continue reading →: One Book One City – Art and Reality
I was at the Ormeau library yesterday evening to hear David Park read from his new book The Poets’ Wives. The author is a modest man with many years spent teaching. His relaxed manner settled us all in our seats, we were in for a treat. The background to his…
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