I’m not the only one who thinks the pantomime at the Europa Hotel during last week was an example of naughty children getting out of hand. Social media was filled with comments, “Characters without character.” “Disgraceful behaviour,” “What price dignity, this will go round the world” and more often than not praise for Health Minister Robin Swann who has worked tirelessly on our behalf trying to stem the tide of Covid.
Undoubtedly there is cause to be annoyed with the decision to cancel the performances, who ever took it, and the confusion it caused, there is a very uneven procedure about who can and who can’t socialise and party. Many many artists and musicians have had to cancel at the last minute and it will happen again but they didn’t resort to such a public sickening rant. Ian Paisley junior is trying hard to be the big boy in the big picture but surely this is not the way to do it. His excuse is weak in the extreme. Regarding Morrison’s protest songs about Covid, Robin Swann was reported as saying , “Some of what he is saying is actually dangerous.” This has obviously angered the singer so he took his revenge. Paisley showed weakness when he agreed to join him on stage and the photo of them both is scary. It’s a delicate debate and my sympathies are with entertainers who are being deprived of a livelihood and fulfilling their heart’s desire to appear before their public and raise spirits. However, this is not the way to make your protest – in my opinion.
The other end of the scale when it comes to humanity was evident yesterday during the Euro football match when Danish player Christian Eriksen fell to the ground for no apparent reason. His colleagues on both teams were immediate in their rescue operation, medical help soon came and the footballers formed a circle around their friend to protect his privacy but there was no doubt how serious it was when we were able to see him receiving heart massage and it looked like shock treatment. There has been criticism of the coverage, the camera probing between players to see what was going on. The BBC has apologised but they were not responsible as coverage is a global thing, no choice when it comes to direction. The emotion on the pitch and in the crowd and indeed houses throughout the watching world, including this house, was high and tears were shed when it looked as if Christian had died. The two opposing fan chanted, from the Denmark crowd ‘Christian’ echoed by the Finnish crowd with ‘Eriksen’.
Thankfully those prying camera were able to bring a shot of him with his eyes open and a hand to his brow giving hope that he might recover. Such is the stamina and the fitness of the man, he has recovered to some degree, he was able to tell doctors that the match would be resumed. Remarkable. Just shows the importance of having as defibrillator available at all venues including schools and offices, all and any meeting place. Life is precious and it precarious.
BROTHERLY LOVE LEADS TO AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY
This is a phenomenal story, a word easier to read than to say out loud!
Take two young men originally from 23 Cape Street off the Falls Road, just opposite the swimming baths. Jim Cullen was born in 1944 and his brother Larry arrived four years later; they became great mates growing up in the rough and tumble of the 1940s.
Jim worked in Shorts, moved to Canada in 1970, got a job with Air Canada, married a Canadian girl and they have three fine sons. But he wasn’t alone for long, brother Larry joined him in 1973. He’d been a Belfast Corporation bus driver so had no problem finding a job as a bus driver with the Toronto Transit Commission.
Part of a big family, the brothers were always close, no more so than in their new homes in Canada. Larry lives at Niagara Falls and Jim is about a two hour drive away in the city of Guelph; they have a video chat every other day when they talk about their native Belfast.
“It was Larry who got the idea for starting up an on-line album of photographs of Northern Ireland. He had some old photos on his computer and this gave him a basis but neither he nor I had any idea of the interest the site would cause, people just kept adding their own photos so it expanded quickly.”
Social Media Site Goes Viral
Larry takes up the story. “I joined Facebook 2018, that’s when I started to post photos and enjoy the response I was receiving, and as Jim says, we were amazed.”
So a club was born and photos and information were being exchanged, for instance the 1936 delight of a smiling postman holding rabbits and pheasants ready to be posted as long as they had labels round their necks. A photo of Cornmarket in 1930s and a young Tom Jones visiting Belfast in the 1960s with Jim Aiken, promoter, and ex-teacher at Hardinge Street CBS.
Soon Larry drew in his brother and as the interest continued to grow they advertised for a someone to help run the group.
“We wanted our new moderator, Mr. Boyd Ireland, to be based in Northern Ireland the thinking being that with Larry and I being five hours behind the UK, he would be able to handle any problems sooner than we could.“
And so Images and Memories of Old Northern Ireland pre 2000 was born three years ago this month. Seven months later there were 10,000 members posting their images and memories. Today upwards of 48,000.
This Was Amazing .
The invitation continues to go out; ‘Ack, there ye are, come on in … we’ve been waitin’ for ya. Come into the parlour, have a wee seat by the aul turf fire and make yerself comfortable. I’ll put the tea pot on … would you like a wee slice of fresh bap or perhaps a wee Paris Bun with yer tea? While you’re waitin’ on yer tea maybe you can have a wee juke at the site rules and give them a once over.’ More and more people say yes!
It’s a free site with very definite rules of engagement as Larry pointed out.
“Rules are paramount, especially rule 5 – No images, posts, comments or discussions from or about the Troubles, politics, terrorists or flags allowed EVER – NO EXCEPTIONS. All too often you see some NI sites deteriorate into a slanging match and name calling and worse. We do not want that so we delete any and all troubles content. Basically we just want this to be a nice site for everyone to enjoy and talk freely about their thoughts and memories of their younger days and past generations.”
Does he have to delete many postings.?
“No, about 20 since we started mostly photos of the Troubles although we’ve deleted many hundreds of comments with a warning sent to members who post them if they persist we just remove or put them on post-approval where they come through us first before posting. Another thing we don’t allow are posts on Covid 19. I posted this announcement March 2020: ‘As you know, we are all living through very trying times right now. We are being bombarded right left and center with news and updates about Covid-19 on our local TV channels around the world. There are also numerous sites around Facebook that talk openly about Covid-19 and how it is affecting people and their daily lives. Because of this, your Admin team has decided to keep this site free of any posts which refer to the current health situation, a time out if you will from today’s anxiety and troubles.’ He added “Please be smart and careful in your part of the world. Stay safe and healthy wherever you are”
Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful photos, more next week.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/187146548638642. (This is the Facebook link)
FINAL THOUGHT FOR ANYONE IN DANGER OF BEING DRAWN INTO CONFLICT IN ANY SITUATION INCLUDING NON EXISTENT CONCERTS.
