Belfast Daily Photo

Gothenburg

2008-08-09T14:11:00.002Z

View across from Stryso to the next little island.

On the boat out to the islands.

View from the Liseberg Tower. (In the foreground is the Gothia Towers Hotel and the Svenska Massan; the Ullevi Stadium in the backround.)

Inside Saluhallen market.

Haven't been posting as (1) still haven't got around to buying that new Dell and (2), we've been away on holiday. We're just back from a short-ish trip to Gothenburg. Gothenburg is really worth visiting - it has a wonderful archipelago of islands, a beautiful old town centre and is home to the terrific funfair Liseberg (imagine Disneyland Paris without the hard-sell and the queues).

runkerry strand

2008-07-06T16:07:00.007Z

We've just spent a mainly very wet week up at Ballylinny (just half a mile down the road from the Giant's Causeway). We did have a few breaks in the weather - we spent a wonderful evening at Runkerry Strand, watching the surfers and letting the wave chase us up the beach.

strawberry season

2008-06-20T20:46:00.003Z

I love this time of year. Almost the longest day, and at last our strawberries are ready. Hard to know whether to make jam or just to gorge ourselves on the fresh berries...

grim food....

2008-06-03T20:14:00.004Z

FIRST of all, I'm sorry I haven't been posting for a while. I've been in a bit of a trough - nothing serious, just a bit out of sorts. I should have posted a notice - I am sorry I didn't do this, it was rude of me. And sorry to have caused any concern - I've been fine - definitely not buried in the allotment! (though maybe this is just what our asparagus crop needs). I'm still taking pictures but am feeling a bit up-to-my-eyes at present so I'm not sure if I'm going to continue on with this for much longer - I'll see how I get on over the next week or so.

Anyhow, God help our tourists if this is what is on offer. The first photo was taken outside a popular local cafe a few weeks ago - I can't imagine how any tourists are going to be attracted by this sort of menu - I thought this was the sort of depressing stuff only the Irish ate. (Can you imagine an Italian tourist sitting down to mince beef pie & chips?).

The second photo was taken in a cafe in Enniskillen last week - sadly I didn't try the special toastie of tuna/banana/redcurrent&cheese - so I can only begin to imagine what it tastes like... In this cafe we were charged £12 for two (soggy from the microwave) sausage rolls, 2 very tiny bottles of (warm) water, a cup of tea and a teeny little pie. Last summer in Rome we paid 5 euro for two gorgeous coffees, a freshly squeezed orange juice and 3 wonderful croissants. I know there is some wonderful food available in NI - a lot of very good restaurants have opened over the last few years, but most of our cafes have a really long way to go.

Happy St Patrick's Day

2008-03-16T19:52:00.002Z

These two boys were celebrating at the Ulster Folk Museum this afternoon. Unlike last year, St Patrick turned the warm side of the stone today - the weather was wonderful - so hopefully we'll have a great summer to look forward to.

Europa Hotel

2008-03-16T19:52:00.001Z

Viewed from Franklin Street. The building on the left has been deserted for years - a shame, as it could be lovely. Hopefully someone has sympathetic plans for it.

2008-03-11T17:51:00.001Z

Spotted this today in House of Fraser's Paperchase concession. It seemed very appropriate, in Belfast's new temple of shopping.

Victoria Square

2008-03-08T21:12:00.001Z

A quick snap of the new Victoria Square shopping centre, taken as I rushed through on Friday morning. For more & better photos, take a look at Dr Adder's post.

muggins

2008-02-28T18:57:00.000Z

Have you ever seen so many spelling mistakes in grafitti?

phone box

2008-02-26T17:20:00.000Z

On Howard Street. Glass smashed sometime last night (I guess everyone uses mobiles today anyway..)

pc problems....

2008-02-20T20:57:00.001Z

So won't be posting for a few days. Have a good week...

on the beach

2008-02-17T20:20:00.001Z

Just south of Strangford. In the distance you can see the lower end of the Ards Peninsula.

the car ferry

2008-02-14T17:35:00.002Z

Waiting at Portaferry for the ferry over to Strangford earlier this afternoon. The trip takes about 5 minutes and costs £6.10 for a car and one passenger. I wouldn't like to be doing this every day.

2008-02-13T23:00:00.000Z

Spending way too much time in Tesco these days...

Ducts

2008-02-11T19:20:00.000Z

The Belfast city centre branch of Tesco is currently being refurbished. Shopping there this afternoon had a slightly surreal feel - I half expected to see a renegade heating engineer.

2008-02-09T20:00:00.000Z

I get really angry with people who throw their cigarettes down in the street and I'm really glad to see that Belfast City Council now employs a number of litter wardens. Having said that, I think someone needs to ensure that cigarette bins, like this one behind Marks & Spencer, are emptied from time to time...

from M&S cafe...

2008-02-03T18:45:00.000Z

View out towards the City Hall and, behind it, Windsor House.

Today I've been tagged by Clarice, so, here are five facts you won't have known about me.

1. I love to cook. I make good cakes and really excellent chilli jam.
2. I really wish I had never let my daughter taste white bread.
3. I'd love a DSLR, and the time to learn to use it properly.
4. I'd love to live in Paris (for the food, and the culture and the glamour).
5. I'm having a bit of a mid-life crisis at the moment (no scary behaviour, just a lot of soul searching).

I'm tagging:
Dr Adder
Mll (Mll - you've started a blog!!)
and
Pat in Guelph

2008-02-02T15:20:00.000Z

Cregagh Glen this morning - a light dusting of snow overnight, thankfully much lighter than last month's snow.

Twilight

2008-01-28T19:02:00.000Z

In the city centre tonight, just as rush hour was starting. This is the first evening I've left work in daylight for months - good to see that the nights are stretching. The building on the left, with the tall green domes, is the old Robinson and Cleaver department store building.

climbing frame

2008-01-27T19:02:00.000Z

At Ballywalter. I loved playing in this little playground above the beach when I was a child. Now my daughter plays here - though it is time maybe for the equipment to be upgraded...

empty seats

2008-01-21T18:15:00.000Z

At Rowallane.

Rowallane

2008-01-18T19:53:00.002Z

Rowallane gardens are just a few miles, and a world away, from the centre of Belfast city. During the summer the gardens are famous for their fabulous floral displays, but they are worth visiting in the winter months too. We spent an hour walking through the damp gardens this afternoon, and it was lovely to see trees budding and clumps of snowdrops. Hopefully Spring isn't too far away.

fishy

2008-01-18T19:53:00.001Z

Fish on sale at St George's Market this morning.

the tele

2008-01-18T19:53:00.000Z

The Belfast Telegraph is our best-selling local newspaper. In past times it was sold all over the city centre by old men and wee boys, all drawing attention by guldering 'tele!!!'. No more shouting and today the paper is sold from these wee red stands. Today's headline refers to the plans of a local businessman to build a nuclear power station in Northern Ireland. I think this one falls into the 'I'll believe it when I see it' category...

Donegall Pass

2008-01-14T20:05:00.000Z

Gable end mural on Donegall Pass. Interesting article (though not one I necessarily agree with) on Belfast murals by Grayson Perry here.

marmalade

2008-01-06T20:19:00.000Z

Wonderful Seville Oranges are in the shops now, so we spent the afternoon making marmalade. For anyone not familiar with this stuff, a good recipe from Delia here.

winter wonderland

2008-01-04T10:19:00.000Z

Winter has arrived overnight...most of Northern Ireland woke up to about 5-6 inches of snow. And as we're not used to these conditions, the country has more or less ground to a halt. Apparently the snow will be gone by late this afternoon and we'll be back to our usual rain...
Sorry for not posting over the last week or so- I've had a busy Christmas - so here's a belated Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T11:10:00.000Z

No white christmas in Belfast this year - but still a lovely clear frosty morning with a big moon in the sky. Merry Christmas everyone.

santa's little helper

2007-12-20T20:45:00.000Z

Spotted this today in M&S - a little stall set up in the underwear department to assist confused husbands (or to separate them from their hard earned cash, depending on your point of view). It reminds me of that episode of Father Ted where all the priests got lost in the largest lingerie department in Ireland...

shiny

2007-12-15T19:20:00.000Z

Well, IKEA has opened - and the expected crowds didn't turn up after all. It is a lovely store, massive (noticably bigger than the Edinburgh and Glasgow branches), though by Friday the lamp I wanted to buy was already sold out....

Christmas cheer

2007-12-14T19:15:00.000Z

Sorry for the poor picture quality - I just snapped these two as I was walking through the city centre today. The man on the left is wearing a 'Crist died for our sins..' tabard, and the man on the right is dressed up as a chicken - for a Trocaire appeal. The juxtoposition made me laugh - especially as they both look so grumpy.

home from home

2007-12-10T19:38:00.000Z

IKEA is opening its first Irish branch this Thursday - and there are reminders all over the city - advertising hoardings, leaflets etc. This room set appeared at the bus stop in Donegall Square West today. (I wish this lady had gone to sit on the settee, I'm sure she would have been much more comfortable.)

Rush Hour

2007-12-02T15:28:00.001Z

at Donegall Square West.

yet another view

2007-12-02T15:28:00.000Z

of the big wheel, viewed from the other side of the City Hall.

Christmas Market

2007-11-24T21:57:00.000Z

Has opened again in the City Hall Grounds. We visited it tonight and it was great to see Belfast City Centre full of families on a Saturday night.

at the end of the rainbow

2007-11-17T16:41:00.001Z

Is Goliath (or possibly Samson, I've never been able to tell the difference).

pink morning light

2007-11-17T16:41:00.000Z

.......and mist lying along the River Lagan. This photo was taken on Thursday morning. Sorry for not posting for a few days - blogger seems to be on a go slow at the moment.

um...

2007-11-12T21:09:00.000Z

Not sure what to say about this shop in Belfast city centre. I really can't see that any city (and particularly not Belfast) needs a shop that sells swords, crossbows and, deactivated guns. Just horrible.

robin

2007-11-07T20:02:00.000Z

Sweet little robin - I tried to get a little closer, but of course I stepped on a twig and the robin was gone..

heaven

2007-11-05T21:17:00.000Z

A branch of Avoca has finally opened in Belfast. One for the ladies really - two stories of fabulous clothes, books, food and fripperies. And a lovely cafe (v good coffee cake).

view from the top

2007-11-04T16:48:00.000Z

Finally made it onto the big wheel today, for 15 minutes of stomach-churning terror... Actually, once the first turn of the wheel was over it wasn't too bad, and the views over the city were fantastic. That green bit in the bottom right hand corner of some of the photos is the partially turfed roof of the new Victoria Square Shopping Centre.

Halloween Night

2007-11-03T14:33:00.001Z

Another attempt at uploading a video.... I missed the main fireworks display on Halloween night as I was out collecting my daughter from a party, but people were letting their own fireworks off late into the night - I took this film at about 11pm.

deer

2007-11-03T14:15:00.000Z

At Streamvale Farm.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T16:48:00.000Z

From spooky Streamvale Farm.
I took this photo from inside the mouse barn - the mouse tank was decorated for the occasion with a little haunted house and even a severed arm. Very cute. Sadly you'll have to take my word for it - it was very dark inside and I didn't want to use a flash (I didn't want to frighten the little critters to death....)
For anyone with small children to entertain, Streamvale is well worth a visit. The main farm is closed for the winter, but you can still visit lots of the smaller animals - the chickens, sheep, goats, deer and these gorgeous bunnies. (This is my first attempt at loading video onto Blogger -I hope it works.)

2007-10-27T19:06:00.001Z

The wheel really cheers up the Belfast skyline - especially at night.

boxes

2007-10-26T16:59:00.001Z

Not yet Halloween but all the local shops are starting to decorate their windows for christmas. These lovely little tin boxes are on sale in a local interiors store (£21 each - for empty boxes!!)

pods

2007-10-24T18:14:00.000Z

All the pods are now on the big wheel. It looks great, can't wait to have a go.

Belfast Eye

2007-10-22T19:20:00.000Z

The 'Belfast Eye' is going up at a cracking pace - I took the first photo this morning, the second in the afternoon. (I see Dr Adder has beaten me to this post!)

city centre

2007-10-19T18:31:00.001Z

Another view of the Victoria Centre dome - I took this photo from my bedroom window this morning. Behind it you can see the new spire at St Anne's Cathedral. I've been finding it hard to get excited about the spire, but it did look good this morning - really glittering in the sunlight.

dome

2007-10-14T21:10:00.000Z

The dome of the new Victoria shopping centre looms over the victorian buildings on Chichester Street.

Templemore Pool

2007-10-10T19:37:00.001Z

Commemorative plaque at the entrance to Templemore Baths. The baths were built at the end of the 19th century (along with baths at Ormeau Avenue, Falls Road and Peter's Hill), when very few houses had bathrooms. (Doesn't bear thinking about.) Since then, generations in east Belfast have learnt to swim here and Templemore now has really excellent swimming tuition. (I see from the plaque that James Ellis and George Best both swam here - along with pretty much everyone else in East Belfast - which makes me wonder why no reference to Van Morrison? He grew up only about half a mile away - surely he went for a swim sometime in his childhood??!)

harvest fair

2007-10-06T21:52:00.000Z

Held in our local church hall this morning. All under one roof - lots of games, a wishing well (with actual elf), a chance to have your photograph taken on a tractor (quite an attraction for us city folks) and as much tea and coffee as you can drink - not bad for £1 entrance fee!

Cinderella's lost her shoe again

2007-10-03T21:52:00.000Z

Another discarded silver shoe - again in Queen Street. (Queen Street is obviously a lot more interesting out of office hours.)

And today the BBC has published my favourite local news story of the year - certainly the silliest title I've seen for a long time...

an enchanted evening

2007-09-29T21:52:00.000Z

Enchanted Evenings are held every autumn at Botanic Gardens. For four nights the Gardens are open at night and full of families with lanterns, light-sticks, fairy wings... We're just back from a wonderful evening meeting pixies, Sean Connery the dragon, and the tree lady (above).

Fitzwilliam

2007-09-25T19:01:00.000Z

Construction has started on the new Fitzwilliam Hotel, in the narrow strip between the Opera House extension and the bottom of the Grosvenor Road. Apparently this hotel will have 131 rooms - I can't imagine how they are going to be fitted into this strip. Perhaps they'll look like this. In any case, this view of the mountain will vanish.

2007-09-21T19:41:00.000Z

This stiltwalker was haranguing shoppers at yesterday's official opening of Marks&Spencer's main Belfast store, after months and months of refurbishment.

ugly building...

2007-09-17T18:54:00.000Z

Really ugly. This block of offices/flats has been thrown up on the site of the old Victoria Centre on Chichester Street. Given that it is right beside the new flagship Victoria Square shopping centre, you'd think someone could have tried a little harder. (The oddest thing about this building is that no matter what angle you look at it from, it looks slightly off-balance. )

bird on the bellsbridge bus

2007-09-12T19:05:00.000Z

This blackbird (?) sat on the bus stop sign this morning for at least 15 minutes (certainly until my bus - heading in the other direction - finally arrived). Maybe he was waiting for a bus too - tired wings maybe? As a regular user/victim of the slow torture that is Belfast's bus service, I think he'd be better off flying.

Bank of Ireland

2007-09-09T17:25:00.000Z

This art deco building at the top of Royal Avenue used to house a branch of the Bank of Ireland. It is now lying empty - I've no idea what is being planned for the building, but hopefully it won't be ruined by any future development.

2007-09-06T19:13:00.000Z

One last photo from Rome before I return to rainy old Belfast. This nun was shopping in Testaccio - her carrier bag caught my eye. I wonder what she bought?

Roma

2007-09-05T19:45:00.000Z

Back from a wonderful holiday in Rome.

We stayed in Testaccio, a really lovely area, just south of the Aventine Hill, not too touristy with lots of really good (and very inexpensive) restaurants, and within easy walking distance of the city centre.

Testaccio has a fantastic market.

This stall sold only tomatoes - there were at least 15 different varieties available.

Of course, like in any market, there were stalls devoted to selling general tat.

Outside Volpetti, a fantastic (but very expensive) delicatessen just down the street from the flat we rented on the Via Marmorata.

I liked the name of this shop.....I guess this is all you need really.

Clearing up after the market in Campo di Fiori.

Cafe on the Piazza Navona.

I'll freely admit that we spent most of our time scoffing excellent pizza and industrial quantities of gelato, but we did manage to visit some of the sights ....

The Colosseum

and the Pantheon

Annesley Gardens

2007-08-28T20:51:00.000Z

Belfast City Photo is going on a short holiday. I'll leave you with these flowers in the Annesley Gardens, Castlewellan.

Ballywalter beach

2007-08-26T19:06:00.000Z

Not exactly sunny this afternoon, but warm, so we took the short drive down to Ballywalter beach. This is a wonderful beach - never too crowded, with soft sand and great rockpools. A perfect place to spend Sunday afternoon.

Dulse

2007-08-24T19:33:00.000Z

Dulse is a type of seaweed that has been eaten in Northern Ireland for hundreds of years. Strong, salty (of course) stuff, some people love it. I remember my granny used to eat it like sweeties - I've never been able to acquire a taste for it. (I saw this dulse for sale at the farmers' market - not a bad little business - selling something gathered for free at the shore for £1 a bag.)

Cherub

2007-08-22T19:31:00.000Z

A rather sombre looking cherub in the Annesley Gardens, Castlewellan.

chopper

2007-08-19T19:31:00.000Z

I saw this new Chopper at a local park and it took me right back to the early 70s - when Choppers were the coolest bike to have. (Sadly, my mum didn't think Choppers were safe so I wasn't allowed to get one - I had to make do with a Raleigh 20. I wasn't allowed clackers either...)

fire

2007-08-18T19:51:00.000Z

I was driving along a road just outside Hilltown yesterday and saw that a local farmer had set a fire. I'm not sure what was burning but I thought the smoke looked dramatic against the late afternoon light.

princesses

2007-08-16T18:10:00.000Z

In town today shopping for back-to-school stuff and after the boring stuff was over we paid the obligatory visit to the Disney Store. Some very strange merchandise, including these scary-eyed Disney Princess lollies. Cinderella (top left) is, I think, looking especially rough.

toy stall

2007-08-14T16:25:00.000Z

Toy stall at St George's market.

SD Bells

2007-08-12T21:13:00.000Z

SD Bell's tea and coffee stand at St George's Market. SD Bell is a long established Belfast tea importer and coffee roaster. Perhaps not quite as glamorous as Mariage Freres , but Bells have been around for nearly as long and are an institution in Belfast.

UDA

2007-08-11T12:55:00.001Z

UDA/UFF mural, lower Newtownards Road.
Although the war is over and we have a powersharing government and we are supposed to be a 'normal' society now, Northern Ireland is still plagued by the existence of illegal paramilitary organisations. Yesterday the government announced that if the UDA failed to commence decommissioning within 60 days, funding to the Conflict Transformation Initiative would be withdrawn.

mmmm....(or eew...)

2007-08-05T21:23:00.001Z

Walking past Sawyers Delicatessen this morning I noticed that they are now selling rattlesnake for the barbeque. I thought it must be a joke until I googled this. Has anyone eaten rattlesnake? (I really have no plans to try it!)

Docks

2007-08-05T21:23:00.000Z

View out over Belfast's docks, taken from the Odyssey building.

Turf

2007-08-04T11:29:00.001Z

Dr A was wondering about turf cutting. Well, for all you city folk out there, here's a photo (possibly the dullest photo ever taken) of a turf bed. Peat/turf was the major source of fuel in Ireland for hundreds of years, with the result that about three quarters of our peat bogs are now gone. Some people still like to burn turf fires - they do smell wonderful - though anytime I've spent an evening in front of an open turf fire I found that when I got up the next day, my hair looked something like this.

under Queen Vic

2007-07-30T20:22:00.000Z

There is almost always a third layer of 'statues' underneath Queen Victoria's statue in the City Hall grounds. (The bronze figures under the Queen apparently represent spinning, shipbuilding (the two main industries in Victorian Belfast) and education.) Any suggestions as to what the teenagers below represent (the two on the right must represent love, of course).

busy

2007-07-27T21:24:00.000Z

Whilst England is suffering heavy rain and the worst floods in living memory, the weather here is almost, dare I say it, summer-like. Here's hoping it lasts....

the last one

2007-07-25T19:16:00.000Z

The last raspberry of the year at our allotment.

for cod and ulster

2007-07-23T18:52:00.000Z

This is the first themed chippy I have ever come across. Situated on the Albertbridge Road,
it's name is a pun on the loyalist slogan 'for God and Ulster'. Sticking with the NI political theme, it sells Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams and even Drumcree burgers.

more butterflies

2007-07-20T18:49:00.000Z

Two more photos taken at yesterday's visit to the butterfly house.

big blue butterfly

2007-07-19T18:49:00.000Z

We visited Seaforde Gardens and Butterfly House this afternoon. It is a really lovely place, with an attractively ramshackle butterfly house, gorgeous gardens and a really excellent cafe.

And, on a sunny July afternoon, there were only about 10 cars in the car park. Wheras ten miles down the road in Newcastle, there will be traffic jams and crowds all summer. Go figure.

This blue butterfly took a shine to my daughter and sat on her hand for almost half an hour (she had dipped a finger in some honey water).

Tragic Life Stories....

2007-07-18T21:08:00.000Z

Further to my earlier post, I noticed today that WH Smith have also devoted a whole section to tragic life stories. Very odd.

glass slipper

2007-07-16T19:12:00.000Z

I saw this in (appropriately enough) Queen Street this morning. Either Cinderella passed this way or somebody had a really good time last night.

city skyline

2007-07-15T21:18:00.000Z

View of the city centre skyline, taken from the Odyssey. The large glass dome is the centrepiece of a new shopping centre that is still under construction. The small boat in the foreground is the SS Nomadic (one of the tenders to the Titanic).

Ulster-American Folk Park

2007-07-13T18:56:00.000Z

We visited the Ulster American Folk Park, an outdoor museum that tells the story of emigration from northern Ireland to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. The park contains some reconstructed houses - such as the log cabin above.

I saw the girls below walking round the park and assumed that they were some of the 'living history' costumed staff, but it turned out that they were actually tourists from the USA. I'm not sure what religion they are - Mennonites perhaps? - I was too shy to ask! But they certainly fitted well into the surroundings.

what I did on my holidays.....

2007-07-12T15:17:00.000Z

Today is the 12th of July, and in Belfast, unless you want to view a parade, it just isn't worth going out the front door.

I'm not in the mood to photograph any more Orangemen, but if you want to see some photos from today's parade, have a look here.

So, I'm having a NOT BELFAST DAILY PHOTO day, and are some shots taken over the last week in lovely Santorini.

Oia is at the extreme north of the island. Much prettier and less overrun with tourists than the capital Fira, it has fabulous views.

Pretty much everything is photogenic in Oia, even the dogs are colour co-ordinated...

Atlantis Books is a really lovely wee bookshop in the centre of Oia. Fitted out with eccentric shelving, two dogs and a couple of beds, it is well worth a visit (if you can bear the overwhelming whiff of dog).

We had some really excellent food, including these gorgeous tomato keftedes and wonderful sweet watermelon.

A view from Fira over towards the dormant volcanic plug Nea Kamini.

Santorini is famous for volcanic black sand and pebble beaches -they get very hot so, if you're planning a visit, don't forget to pack your flip-flops...

11th night

2007-07-11T20:57:00.000Z

The eve of the 12th July marches, tonight is the night when loyalists traditionally burn bonfires at locations all over Northern Ireland. Part of a celebration of loyalist culture, the details of which escape me, though as far as I can see large quantities of booze are involved...

This huge bonfire (at Shaws Bridge, on the edge of the Belvoir housing estate) is decorated with an Irish tricolour and Sinn Fein election posters and will be set alight at midnight tonight. Many people object to the bonfires on political grounds, and recently environmental concerns have become an issue.

Here you can view a photo of another large bonfire in Antrim.

Orangemen

2007-07-02T17:50:00.000Z

Orangemen, wearing their traditional sashes, at yesterday's parade. Unfortunately no sign of bowler hats - I always found they added an nicely bonkers touch to the whole look. (The chap in the dark glasses is giving me an even dirtier look than yesterday's flute player.... I'll have to watch my step!)

This will be my last post for a week or so, Belfast Daily Photo is hoping to observe the next bit of the marching season from a safe distance (I'll be wearing my sash & bowler in Santorini....)

marching bands, city centre

2007-07-01T16:07:00.000Z

I was shopping in the city centre today and watched this Orange band parade down Royal Avenue. I'm not sure, but I think the big drum featured on the third photograph down is a traditional Lambeg Drum. It certainly appears to have the bloodstains often associated with Lambeg drumming.

Bonfire preparations, Cregagh Estate

2007-06-29T21:30:00.000Z

Preparations are well under way for the 11th of July bonfires. All over Belfast (well, all over the unionist areas), there are great piles of pallets & old furniture waiting to be set ablaze on the 11th night. A tradition I guess, but a bit of an eyesore.

In the background you can see one of many murals commemorating George Best (he grew up in the Cregagh Estate).

Crumlin Road Courthouse

2007-06-26T19:15:00.000Z

The Crumlin Road Courthouse was closed in 1998, after about 150 years of service. It was the scene of many trials during the troubles, but now, a sign of hopefully happier times ahead, a local developer is planning to convert it into a luxury hotel.

bright sparks

2007-06-25T20:40:00.000Z

Someone has had the great idea of starting to decorate the electrical enclosure boxes around the centre of Belfast... You can see another one here at Dr A's site.

Carlingford Lough

2007-06-23T21:43:00.000Z

A container ship travelling along Carlingford Lough this afternoon. The lough forms part of 'the border' - in the photograph below, the mountains rising to the left are in Northern Ireland, those on the right are in Southern Ireland.

Irish News

2007-06-21T21:26:00.000Z

As mentioned in an earlier post, the second main local newspaper is the Irish News. Their offices are here in Donegall Street - just around the corner from the Telegraph offices.

Gable Wall, East Belfast

2007-06-20T17:27:00.000Z

Mural on a gable wall just off Templemore Avenue. Not the most impressive artistic effort I've seen (the map of Northern Ireland (ie. the white blob in the centre) seems to have lost the Ards penninsula...), this mural is a celebration of a loyalist flute band - the 'Gertrude Star'. More info on NI murals is available here.

Cuddles

2007-06-18T20:28:00.000Z

Cuddles enjoys a little bit of basking as only he knows how. I been studying his technique and when my holidays arrive I plan to put all I have learned into action.... or is that inaction.

Happy Fathers' Day

2007-06-17T16:36:00.000Z

Fathers Day (here in the UK anyway - I know it is celebrated on a different day in the US), and to celebrate we had chocolate and salted butter caramel tart (a recipe from the new book based on the fabulous Chocolate and Zucchini blog), decorated with strawberries from our allotment.

Allotment (2)

2007-06-15T14:51:00.000Z

Late evening at our allotment. (This photo looks better if you click on it to blow it up to full screen size.)

allotment

2007-06-14T14:44:00.000Z

I took this photograph at our allotment on Sunday evening after a day of blazing sunshine - hard to believe how the weather would change within the next couple of days...

East Belfast's flood....

2007-06-14T14:38:00.000Z

A local roundabout during yesterday's flood. You can view a short video here.

rain, hailstones, thunder & lightning....

2007-06-12T13:25:00.000Z

After the blazing sunshine of the last few days, Belfast is now experiencing all of the above....just look at the water pouring off my neighbour's guttering.
Here's hoping the city's drains can cope.