#WATWB 20 years of peace, kind of

Celebrating small achievements

It's 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in Belfast in effect ending more than 30 years of sectarian warfare.

In joining in with the monthly We Are The World Blogfest to highlight good news stories around the world I thought it was worth celebrating the fact that this accord has lasted for 20 years.  At times it feels like nothing changes, no progress is being made, but then I realise that just keeping going is in itself a huge achievement, one that has allowed us ordinary people to sleep better at night.

Local semi retired political journalist William (Billy) Graham was there at both the signing of the agreement and at the 20 year celebration which brought back the various world leaders who contributed to helping the Agreement happen.

These are  his reflections in the Belfast Telegraph.

William Graham: Like our peace, 

it's still imperfect, but we must 

hold on to Agreement

More than 40 years since he witnessed carnage on the streets of Belfast, 

William Graham believes there is hope for the future.

This is the 13th month of We Are the World Blogfest and the co-hosts this month are
Shilpa Garg, Dan Antion, Simon Falk, Michelle Wallace , Mary Giese 

St George's Market, Belfast

One of the oldest indoor markets in the British Isles St George's Market in Belfast is simply gorgeous and a real treat for a day out.  It is the last covered in Victorian Market in Belfast and dates from the 1890s - before which it would have been an open market.

Full of atmosphere, on a Sunday it is mainly an artisans market - Friday and Saturday are regular market days - fish, veg etc plus artisans.  

Sunday sees ceramics, silversmiths, wood turning, lots of jewellery, foods from around the world, 

Queueing at the Belfast Bap Co. - the best bread rolls in the world!!!

great coffees, local art, photographs and memorabilia, vintage books, specialist bakers - I love it.   

Coffee anyone?

Oh and I forgot to mention live music - which was superb this weekend.

 Today there was a film being shot adding to the chaos - and the pre Christmas rush is well under way.  

Some of the original Victorian design

Someone's yarn-bombed the main entrance grille

And from the inside ..

I hope your Sunday was as much fun :)

Rewriting a song for a new era

Recently I've come across a bunch of songs I wrote back in the mid 90s - around the time of the ceasefires here - it's hard to believe that's 20 years ago now.  We had a referendum back then to vote for power sharing I seem to remember - certainly it was a vote for peace.   The songs are angry and hopeful at the same time - demanding action from our politicians and commenting on their anger and single minded hatred.

Today our politicians are no better - we still vote for tribes here - yet we're governed by a bunch of idiots in Westminster that no more talk for us than they do for the people of England, Scotland or Wales with the one difference that we don't even get to vote for them.

Here we have no opposition.  It's power sharing of the worst kind - us and them together - one hand can't be moved without the other agreeing so there is constant stalemate to the point of ineffectiveness.  It is so frustrating.

Anyway, back to the songs.   I've moved on in the type of music I write or sing nowadays and it's hard to find a new fit for these songs but I don't want to lose them.

This one is called Talk About

Chorus
What you gonna talk about when there's nothing left to talk about?
What you gonna talk about when there's nothing left to say?
What you gonna shout about? What you gonna lie about?
What you gonna talk about when there's nothing left to say?

Your passion and your anger left me speechless
Nothing you would say could change my mind
Your paranoic outbursts on the TV
Show your generation must be left behind

Your energy re-channelled could move mountains
Your passion could be put to better use
The hatred and distortion on a face some think is handsome
Could be a blessing if you only called a truce. 

Chorus

The staying power you've shown is without question
Your single minded mission has been clear
Just think what great achievements you'd have brokered
Had you led by hope and never led by fear

So Mr Politician can you hear me
The people have all spoken with one voice
Together you can build a future worthy of what's lost
It's time to think about our present not our past.

This blog is Day 7 of Sarah Allen's 30 day blog challenge

The Giro d'Italia comes to Northern Ireland

Introducing the teams

Well!   I cannot let this weekend go by without mentioning the Giro ....

Firstly, let me qualify my experience in this sport by saying that I know a bike has two wheels! And I can go about 2 miles on one!  And there's where it ends lol  That plus the fact that I'm  usually giving out when herds of cyclists clutter up the roads on a Sunday morning - they're worse than tractors.    But all is forgiven today :)

I have been glued to the television this evening as one of the 3 biggest cycling tours in the world started off in Northern Ireland and will be here until Sunday morning when it heads down to Dublin for the close of Stage 3.

And I feel so proud to be from here.  

So wherever you are in the world if you want to get a wee look around this place we'll be on tele for the next couple of days .... This footage will be shown in 176 countries!!   And I have to say that the BBC coverage has been spectacular; Belfast looks gorgeous in pink , not an election poster in sight, nor a politically motivated flag,  and for today at least the weather held up well.  The only sad note was one of the 4 Irish riders had an accident and is out of the race.

But tomorrow, they head up the Antrim Coast and a nicer bit of scenery is not to be seen anywhere.

More details here courtesy of the Visit Belfast Blog



So, I've learned that:

• There are 22 teams, each with 9 riders.

• Each member of the team has a speciality - sprinting, endurance or mountain climbing.

• Each team has a leader that is protected by the rest of the group.  

• The bikes are state of the art, high tech machines and the riders are super tuned athletes - one guy knew that his saddle was 1mm higher than it had been before!! 

• The winner of the stage wears the pink jersey - today's winner came from Canada.

• The winning sprinter gets the red jersey

• And the winning mountain climber gets the blue jersey. 

• An Irish guy, Stephen Roche, is one of only 2 riders in the history of the sport who won the Tour de France, the Giro and the World Cup in the same year - 27 years ago and his son is riding in this Giro and is one of the favourites to win.

I've been talking about getting the bike out for weeks now - our road is very dangerous here - no kerbs and it's very narrow and the young drivers treat it like a race track - but maybe I'll check it out over the weekend and see at least if the tyres need replacing...   That'd be a start lol    

How's your fitness?   Do you cycle?  or are you even fitter than that?