I have been interested in Irish history since I studied it as part of my A level history syllabus and also because of my love of W B Yeats' poetry. We have been over to the Emerald Isle on a number of occasions visiting both sides of the border. We have been to Dublin and Belfast three times, been to Cork twice and various other places such as Port Rush and Waterford.
Watching the film reminded me that I have as friends two churchmen who could add something to this and future blogs. Our rector in Hethersett the Rev Derek McClean was born and brought up in Belfast during The Troubles and I will be speaking to him about this for a future blog.
My other friend, Rev George Abbs, is a Methodist minister, and also has vivid memories of Belfast and the area and graciously agreed to write a piece for this blog and so here it is with huge thanks to him for taking so much time.
"My wife and I eventually got around to watching Belfast last night. We had differing views of it at the end. I was an emotional wreck. Alma although enjoying it didn’t have the same emotional connection. I suppose it could be something as simple, as the film was set in North Belfast, while she grew up in East Belfast. I grew up in North Belfast so the film connected to every atom of my being.
In 1969, I was eleven years old, so a few years older than Buddy the main character in the film. I could easily make the connections with my parents from the first scene. My Mother was a real beauty when she was younger. Not that I knew that of course. To me she was just “she who must be obeyed!” My Dad was born in Dublin and had to move north when he was two after The Irish Free State was formed. His dad, my Grandfather was an English Soldier and that wasn’t a great background to have in the emerging state.
My Dad never bought into the whole loyalist thing, although he was a member of the Orange Order. His view was he was a British citizen and he expected the state to uphold the law. So manning the barricades wasn’t for him. He was also an ex-boxer and although quiet could look after himself if things got edgy. He went through life with charm and good humour and was very popular.
I never lived in the side streets shown in the film, but my Mother's parents did. My Father’s parents and us lived in the massive Rathcool Estate. At one time it was the biggest estate in Europe. The community in the estate was very like the one portrayed in the film, although we had brand new housing provided by The Housing Trust. On the street that I lived, I knew every family and was welcome in every house. The whole of life played out right in front of my eyes, but I was too young to realise that.
We left it in 1969 as it had gone to hell in a handcart by then. The estate was then full of people who had been burned out of their houses in Belfast. They were angry, frightened and looking for revenge. The atmosphere in my estate became heavy and dangerous. Mind you that didn’t stop me being in all the places I shouldn’t have been. My mother and father’s influence stopped me becoming involved with the emerging paramilitaries. But unfortunately friends did. There are parallels in Buddy’s story and mine. The difference was I didn’t live in a flashpoint area.
In 1969, when I was eleven, we moved to Monkstown. My Grandmother was born in Monkstown. It was only five miles away from the estate, but in reality it was a different world. I felt the loss of all my friends and my community. I felt the same way Buddy did when they moved to England. My parents bought a house in a private development, thinking it would be a better place for me to grow up. It was. Although I saw most of my friends at school which was in the Rathcool Estate.
Despite the propaganda that might suggest otherwise, people lived peacefully with their neighbours. Many of my friends in Rathcool and Whiteabbey were Catholic. The only difference was they went to different schools and different churches on a Sunday.
As I mentioned earlier Rathcool estate changed when people who had been burned out of houses were occupied by the Belfast Protestant Diaspora. We call it ethnic cleansing these days. It was horrible and eternally damaging. It removed the sense of belonging. That was something that you don’t think about until it is taken from you. Once it’s gone it can never be restored. Friendships were shattered, although my family managed in-large to maintain their friendships with their Catholic friends. Life had changed and innocence was a thing of the past. The film shows that in a very emotional way.
When I grew up, coming from Belfast was a shameful thing. Nothing good ever came out of here people would say. I suppose the icing on my emotional cake was that three of the very best of Belfast’s Sons had produced this masterpiece, Branagh, from North Belfast, Hinds also from North Belfast, although from the catholic tradition. Hinds attended St. Malachy’s College on the Antrim Road, which was right next door to my Grandfather’s Union Headquarters where he worked. One of my childhood friends from Whiteabbey won a scholarship to there. Then there is Van Morrison from East Belfast. Between them they have produced a thing of beauty, that in many ways is a hymn to our collective childhood. Van’s music is sublime. I know these songs extremely well, but in the context of this film it was like I was hearing them for the first time.
Then there was Jude Hill. What a wee star. (As we say over here). He goes to School in Portadown, where I now live. The final nail in my emotions was the dedication: For Those Who Stayed, For Those Who Left and For Those We Lost. I don’t think I’ll ever watch it again, it’s too much. However, for an hour and a half last night I was eleven once more and back in my black and white childhood. What a gift from Sir Kenneth."
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In the afternoon I went to the latest offering from Hethersett Village Screen to see The Last Bus starring Timothy Spall. For me a good film either entertains or educates and the best films do both. This did neither. It was depressing and tedious.
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As you know I have a strange hobby - collecting ridiculous answers to quiz questions on television. Saturday night is awash with quiz/games shows, many of which feature so called celebrities who usually prove without a shadow of a doubt that they aren't the sharpest tools in the box.
So here are the latest silly answers. Some were from celebrities and some from members of the public.
"What is the result if you take 26 away from 29?" - Answer - four
"In what event did Greg Rutherford jump 8.31 metres in the Olympic games?" - Answer - Sprint.
"In what year was Guy Fawkes arrested?" Answer - 1966.
I watch with almost astonishment the latest game show with Ant and Deck. Limitless Win is designed to tickle the taste buds by offering the biggest monetary prize in the history of game/quiz shows i.e limitless. You can win millions. The problem is the show is so complex and ridiculous that whilst promising untold riches it actually delivers very little. The problem is once you get high on the ladder the questions become virtually impossible and the money only goes up if you get a correct answer. It's an estimation game with questions such as how long to the nearest metre is Dippy the Dinosaur. The chances of getting this kind of question spot on are negligible.
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Yesterday was a very good day for our football team, Norwich City. We beat Wolves 1-0 to get through to the last 16 of the FA Cup and two of our main rivals in the relegation zone - Burnley and Watford - drew which means we stay out of the bottom three. Dean Smith is doing a wonderful job at Carrow Road. He is making us hard to beat. No longer do we play the ridiculous possession game which we adopted under the previous manager who had us playing out from the back, passing the ball back and sideways and having 70% of the possession without scoring. Now we have 40% of the play but win matches. Now which is more sensible? The only problem is we have drawn Liverpool away in the next round.
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Yesterday I mentioned the Billy Cotton Band Show at Norwich Hippodrome. The little poster I have, mentioned a date for the performance of September 14th but no year. Searching the Internet didn't really help. I did find, however, that September 14th was a Monday in the years 1931, 1936, 1942, 1953 and 1959. So my guess is the performances were either 1953 or 1959. Incidentally the shows must have been very short as there were performances at 6.10 pm and 8.25 pm. Take into account the time it would have taken to get one house out and another in and the shows couldn't have lasted much more than 90 minutes and there were six acts. A biff bang evening.
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Finally today I couldn't finish without publishing the lovely picture of our granddaughter Poppy which was taken yesterday on her seventh birthday. I think the photo speaks for itself.